Chapter 80: Seizing the Source
At noon, Ye Fan returned to the small restaurant. He truly enjoyed the atmosphere of eating together with Old Man Jiang and Little Tingting.
After the meal, Little Tingting obediently went to wash the dishes. Watching this, Ye Fan felt quite embarrassed; it seemed he had never helped with anything.
"Let me do it. You're still young; you don't need to do this yet. Go take a nap so you can grow taller."
"No need for Big Brother to do it. I can wash the dishes, and I wash them very cleanly." The little girl insisted on pushing Ye Fan aside.
Old Man Jiang's face was full of smiles as he cleared the dishes nearby, looking at his granddaughter with deep affection.
A sudden voice interrupted this warm atmosphere: "Two years have passed, and this little girl has grown a bit, starting to do things."
A young man of about twenty-five or twenty-six stepped inside, a faint smile on his face. He cast a contemptuous glance at Old Man Jiang and Ye Fan, then fixed his gaze on Little Tingting.
"Uncle, who are you? Do you know me?" Little Tingting had a sweet mouth. Although she sensed some hostility, she still obediently called him uncle.
"Of course I know you. I knew you even when your parents were still alive." The young man had a pale complexion and thin lips, giving off a sinister feeling. He spoke without hesitation, directly mentioning that Little Tingting's parents were dead.
The little girl's big eyes immediately reddened. She could still vaguely remember her parents' appearance. In the past, she often woke up crying in her dreams. Later, she and Old Man Jiang depended on each other for survival. As time passed, she finally stopped crying in her sleep.
Now, with someone bringing up her parents again, she couldn't help but shed tears. She turned her small back and slowly washed the blue-and-white bowls, her little shoulders trembling continuously.
Seeing Little Tingting saddened, Old Man Jiang's expression changed. "Seventh Young Master of the Li Family, do you have business here?"
The young man pulled out a chair and sat down casually. "Nothing much. I'm just a nostalgic person, so I came to see how you and your granddaughter are getting along."
Old Man Jiang's face showed neither joy nor anger. "Thanks to the Seventh Young Master's blessings, we barely manage to get by."
Ye Fan said nothing on the side. He had already recognized this person—it was the young man riding the Dragon-Scaled Horse that morning.
"I sense a hint of resentment. Old Man Jiang, are you holding a grudge against me?" The young man looked down from above with a faint, cold smile.
This man had entered the Misty Grotto-Heaven at the same time as Tingting's father. Due to his limited talent, he was left far behind by Tingting's father. Moreover, he had committed evil deeds and was severely punished by Tingting's father, which bred deep resentment. After Tingting's parents died, he ordered the Li Family to seize Old Man Jiang's tavern and inn, forcing the grandfather and granddaughter to the brink of survival.
"How dare I hold a grudge against the Seventh Young Master? That's not the case."
The young man's thin lips gave him a very harsh appearance. "There's no need to keep things bottled up. If you resent me, it's better to spit it out openly. Otherwise, anger will harm your health. You're over seventy now; you don't have many years left."
Old Man Jiang's body trembled a few times, but he eventually calmed down. "Seventh Young Master, I only want to ask you one question. Otherwise, I won't rest easy even in death."
"Go ahead and ask." The young man snapped open a folding fan with a "crack" and began to wave it leisurely, looking completely at ease.
"I only want to know—were Tingting's parents really killed in an accident?" The old man's emotions seemed to be spiraling out of control. He clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles turning white, his body trembling slightly.
Ye Fan quickly walked over and supported him. On the other side, Little Tingting sobbed silently, her small back turned to the others, her shoulders shaking continuously as she slowly scrubbed a small porcelain bowl.
"Old Man Jiang, it seems you've been holding a sky-high resentment. But what can you do about it? At your age, are you thinking of fighting to the death? If you die, your beautiful little granddaughter will truly have no one to rely on."
"How exactly did Tingting's parents die?" Old Man Jiang's breathing became rapid, his chest heaving, his face filled with sorrow.
"Guess as you please." The young man snapped his fan shut with a "crack" and turned to look at Ye Fan. "I heard you led people to beat Steward Liu into a cripple?"
Ye Fan did not respond. He supported Old Man Jiang and stood to the side. The young man glanced at him but said nothing more. He stood up and walked toward Little Tingting.
"What are you doing?!" Old Man Jiang's eyes showed fear. Like an old hen, he spread his arms to block the way, shielding Little Tingting behind him.
"Old Man Jiang, why are you so nervous? Do you think I would lay a hand on a little girl?" The young man carefully examined Little Tingting, nodding repeatedly. "It's uncanny, too uncanny. What a pity about Misty Cloud Fairy Maiden; her death was not worth it. Two years have passed, and I never expected your daughter to look so much like her now."
Little Tingting bit her lip. Although she was sobbing, she didn't cry out loud, as if she didn't want to cry in front of the Li Family's Seventh Young Master.
The young man tapped his left hand lightly with his right hand holding the fan. "Alright, Old Man Jiang, you won't have to suffer anymore. I'll take this little girl away from now on. You can enjoy your old age in this small town."
"What do you mean?!" Old Man Jiang began to pant heavily, shielding Little Tingting behind him, staring intently at the Li Family's Seventh Young Master.
"This little girl is clever and dexterous. I plan to take her to the Misty Grotto-Heaven and have her do some tasks by my side. That's certainly better than following you, never knowing where the next meal will come from."
"No, not unless I die! Seventh Young Master of the Li Family, you can't bully people like this!" Old Man Jiang was furious, his breathing becoming difficult, his eyes reddening, his body swaying.
Ye Fan quickly supported him.
"Grandpa, are you okay? Don't scare Tingting..." The little girl hugged the old man's leg, looking up with a face full of worry and fear, tears streaming down continuously.
The young man sneered, "Old Man Jiang, why get so worked up? You need to understand that after leaving you, she will live a different life. Who knows, she might even shine brilliantly in the Misty Grotto-Heaven in the future."
Old Man Jiang panted heavily. It took a long time before he calmed down and pleaded, "Seventh Young Master, please just let us go."
"What kind of talk is that!" The young man's face darkened, turning cold and sinister. "I'm offering you a comfortable old age, and you still refuse. You really don't know what's good for you."
"I will always be with Grandpa!" Little Tingting's eyes were swollen and red as she tightly hugged Old Man Jiang's leg.
"I still have important matters to attend to. I must return to the Misty Grotto-Heaven tomorrow. In a few days, I'll come personally to take her away." After saying these words, the Li Family's Seventh Young Master turned around and glanced at Ye Fan. "Even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner. Although it's a dog that's been driven out, outsiders still can't bully it." With that, he lightly patted Ye Fan on the shoulder twice. "Impulsive people rarely live long."
"Bang"
Ye Fan suddenly sat down on the ground, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. The chair behind him was shattered by the impact.
The young man cast a cold glance, sneered, and strode away.
"Child, what's wrong?!" Old Man Jiang was shocked and angry, quickly moving to help Ye Fan.
"Big Brother..." Little Tingting's face also showed panic as she used her small hand to wipe the blood from Ye Fan's mouth.
Seeing the Li Family's Seventh Young Master far away, Ye Fan quickly stood up. "I'm fine."
"Really fine?" The old man was skeptical.
Little Tingting also looked tense. "Big Brother, are you really okay? There's blood coming from your mouth."
"I almost had an accident."
"Is it serious?" Old Man Jiang showed concern again.
"You misunderstood my meaning. I meant I almost couldn't hold back from striking. I'm fine myself. But this person is truly vicious. If it were an ordinary person, after taking those two hits, they wouldn't live for more than half a month."
"It's our fault for dragging you into this. If it were just you alone, you wouldn't have to endure this kind of humiliation." Old Man Jiang blamed himself.
"Old man, don't say that. The blood just now was something I forced out myself." Ye Fan chuckled lightly. "In fact, I should thank this Li Family's Seventh Young Master. He's about to give me a great opportunity by personally telling me when he's leaving."
"You..." Old Man Jiang looked puzzled.
"A person as vicious as him doesn't need to remain in this world. And he wants to take Tingting away? Not even in his next life!"
That night, Ye Fan kept a close watch on the Li Family's movements. After midnight, he left the small town and waited on a mountain road about twenty miles away. This was the only path leading from Breeze Town to the outside world.
The moonlight was hazy. A dark cloud drifted by, and the forest suddenly turned pitch black. The roars of unknown beasts echoed incessantly, making the deep night woods seem eerie and terrifying.
In the latter part of the night, the mountain road shook with heavy hoofbeats. Under the dim starlight, a Dragon-Scaled Horse covered in green scales rushed forward like a streak of green light.
Ye Fan waited quietly. Only when the Dragon-Scaled Horse was close did a blazing golden light suddenly burst from his body, exceptionally brilliant in the darkness, like a blazing sun crossing the sky.
"Puff"
Blood splattered. A scream came from the Dragon-Scaled Horse, but the rider did not fall.
Ye Fan was startled. He quickly redirected the Golden Book and sent it flying in a slash. With a soft "puff," the Dragon-Scaled Horse was split in two, its corpse crashing heavily to the ground. The rider was flung more than twenty meters away and landed on the ground.
"Chi"
A silver light flashed. A half-foot-long silver spear shot toward Ye Fan like a silver bolt of lightning.
"Clang"
With a flash of gold, the Golden Book Ye Fan had summoned struck the silver spear, snapping the half-foot-long spear in two. It fell to the ground.
Not far away, the person who had been thrown from the Dragon-Scaled Horse quickly leaped up and tried to dash into the forest.
At that moment, Ye Fan struck again. The Golden Book turned into a bolt of lightning, cutting through the dark void. In the blink of an eye, it reached its target, as unstoppable as a flowing ribbon. With a "puff," it severed the man's left leg.
"Ah..."
The man finally screamed in agony, rolling on the ground.
Only then did Ye Fan let out a long breath. Cautiously, he approached. This was his first time ambushing an enemy, and he had been a bit nervous at first, losing some accuracy.
"Seventh Young Master of the Li Family, we meet again."
The man rolling on the ground, covered in blood, had a pale face. When he recognized Ye Fan, he showed an expression of disbelief and screamed, "How is it you?"
"Is there something wrong with that?" Ye Fan's expression was calm as he watched him from a distance.
"I never expected it to be you, you little brat! I really misjudged you!" The Li Family's Seventh Young Master's face twisted with ferocity, filled with pain and fury, looking extremely terrifying.
"Thank you, Seventh Young Master, for giving me such a great opportunity." Ye Fan stood at a distance, a faint cold smile on his face.
"You... you..." The Li Family's Seventh Young Master trembled with rage. At this moment, he felt despair, frustration, and immense anger.
"How exactly did Tingting's parents die?" Ye Fan's tone turned icy. With a flash of gold, the Golden Book shot out.
With two soft "puff" sounds, both of the Li Family's Seventh Young Master's arms were severed. Still not reassured, Ye Fan summoned the golden rainbow again and lightly traced it across his Sea of Suffering.
"Ah... you little brat, I'll haunt you even as a ghost!"
"Why do people always say such useless things?" Ye Fan walked up to him. "You beast, you've done every evil deed, lost all conscience. Today is your retribution. I'll take my time with you."
"Slap"
Ye Fan slapped him, sending him flying four or five meters away.
"You..." The Li Family's Seventh Young Master's eyes blazed with fire.
Ye Fan walked over and stepped on his still-smooth face. "Heaven watches what people do. You've done every evil deed. Did you think you could get away with it forever?"