Chapter 69 Lonely and Silent Ye Ningchuan

The middle-aged woman was talking until her mouth was dry. When she noticed that Liu Dashi's long knife had moved away a little, she quickly drank a mouthful of the porridge in her bowl and continued to explain,

"I only ate half a bowl of my own rice, and shared the other half with my husband and my youngest son Ye Zhuangshi. The boy is eight years old and is in the growth period, so one bowl is not enough. I thought Ningchuan's appetite was relatively small, so I came over to take her bowl..."

Liu Dashi frowned. It seemed that this was someone else's family affair and it was not convenient for him to interfere, so he could only put down his sword.

Liu Xiaoshi also followed and heard what the middle-aged woman said. He turned to look at Ye Ningchuan and found that the girl was squatting on the spot, hugging her legs, her head slightly lowered, her body thin, lonely and silent.

A look of pity flashed in Liu Xiaoshi's eyes.

He turned around and ran back, brought a new bowl of porridge and handed it to Ye Ningchuan.

"Here, drink it."

Ye Ningchuan raised his head, his eyes were still slowly changing color, but they were perfectly hidden by his hair.

Liu Xiaoshi felt a little awkward. He said, "Your hair covers your eyes. Doesn't that make you uncomfortable? How about I get you a comb?"

The girl shook her head, raised her hands and took the bowl that Liu Xiaoshi handed over.

Then continue to drink in small sips.

"Are you...mute?"

Liu Xiaoshi did not leave, but squatted down beside and asked.

The girl didn't answer, so Liu Xiaoshi asked again: "Is that woman really your mother? If she isn't, just blink and I'll go and get justice for you."

The girl froze for a moment: "..."

Who can keep going without blinking?

Liu Xiaoshi rolled up his sleeves and said, "Okay, I knew she was pretending to be your mother!"

After saying that, Liu Xiaoshi stood up and looked at the middle-aged woman not far away with a vicious expression.

The woman sat cross-legged on the ground, happily drinking the half bowl of porridge she had just snatched from Ye Ningchuan. Liu Xiaoshi's yelling was so loud that the woman heard it and hurriedly licked the bowl clean. Then she looked up at Liu Xiaoshi and shouted,

"It's unfair! Ye Ningchuan has never liked to talk since she was a child. She is not dumb!"

"We really are a family. If you don't believe me, ask my neighbors."

Liu Xiaoshi selectively ignored what the woman said. He just came here deliberately to find an excuse. There were families in their village that favored boys over girls, but none of them were as excessive as the middle-aged woman in front of him.

Liu Xiaoshi couldn't stand the woman's behavior and wanted to scare her, so he walked over with a stern face and said, "Everyone gets a big bowl of porridge, but you are the only one who is special?"

"That's my own daughter. How could I not know how much she eats?" the woman argued. "Besides, you've already given her another bowl of rice. Why are you blaming me? Do you think I ate a lot? I only ate half a bowl myself and gave the rest to my family."

Liu Xiaoshi said angrily: "You voluntarily gave it to your family. She was already very thin, and you still took her things!"

The woman continued, "The one who was robbed has no problem with it, but you come to me. It's the first time you met her, and you're defending her like this. Are you interested in my daughter? If so, bring the betrothal gift. If not, what right do you have to intervene in this matter?"

Liu Xiaoshi blushed and was at a loss for words. "I... I just felt sorry for her..."

"We are all refugees, all pitiful. Why do you only care about her?" The middle-aged woman was sharp-tongued and acted like a spoiled child. She slapped her thigh and cried, "I'm almost starving to death. Since you are kind-hearted and pity her, why can't you pity me?"

"My husband and I have worked so hard to raise three children. Do you think I have a good life? I am a woman, and you are young and strong, and you still clench your fists... Do you want to hit me? Wuuwuwu, my life is so miserable, you might as well beat me to death... I won't live anymore..."

Liu Xiaoshi was angry and speechless, "I didn't hit you!"

He just clenched his fist in anger, and the woman started yelling.

The refugees nearby moved silently away from here.

Liu Dashi saw his brother's embarrassment, walked over with a knife in hand, and said to the middle-aged woman: "If you dare to say another word, I will cut your head off!"

The middle-aged woman thought: The people in this village look fierce, but they are actually kind-hearted. Otherwise, why would they be willing to give us porridge? They will definitely not kill me...

Thinking of this, the middle-aged woman felt fearless and continued to cry, "Wow, I'm so hungry. Give me another bowl and I'll stop crying..."

Unfortunately, she threatened the wrong person. Liu Dashi didn't waste any time and directly used a knife to cut a bloody mark on the middle-aged woman's arm.

"ah!"

The pain of her skin being cut made the middle-aged woman scream, and her crying stopped abruptly. She looked at Liu Dashi in horror.

Liu Dashi had a scar on his face, and his sneer was ferocious and particularly intimidating. "You want another bowl, right? No problem. Come on, stand up and walk away. When I chop off your head, I will definitely fill your mouth with a big bowl of porridge so that you can rest in peace."

"I..." The middle-aged woman backed away using her hands and feet, shaking her head, "No, no, I'm full..."

Her husband mustered up the courage to stop her, looked at Liu Dashi in a flattering manner, and said with a smile: "We know we were wrong, please be magnanimous and let my wife go..."

Liu Dashi snorted coldly and put the knife on the man's shoulder.

The man's legs suddenly went weak and he knelt down in front of him.

Ye Zhuangshi and Ye Meili were frightened and cried when they saw this scene, "Wow... don't kill my parents... please..."

The two children huddled in the arms of the middle-aged woman.

Seeing this, Liu Dashi could not take action again, so he could only say: "Keep your wife under control, if you do this again, I will not let you off easily!"

The man nodded repeatedly. After Liu Dashi left, he hugged his wife and children tightly, feeling relieved to have survived a disaster.

The middle-aged woman cried softly in his arms, "I just stole half a bowl of porridge from Ye Ningchuan. She couldn't drink that much, and she also gained the favor of others and got another bowl of rice. But not only did she not let me go, she even instigated other men to bully us..."

The middle-aged woman continued, "For the sake of this family, I would rather sell my own son than sell Ye Ningchuan, but she is so ungrateful. I know she doesn't care about me. After all, I'm not her biological mother, but her stepmother. My existence is just an eyesore to her..."

The man hugged his wife, patted her back, and said, "I know how much you have devoted to this family. It's Ningchuan who is too ignorant and doesn't know how to care for others."

The couple spoke in very low voices, and people at a distance could not hear them at all, but Luo Mingyue was an immortal cultivator with sharp ears and eyes, and she could hear their conversation clearly.

Luo Mingyue raised her eyebrows and called out, "Dashi."

Liu Dashi raised his head.

Luo Mingyue said: "Ask about the situation at Ye Ningchuan's home."

After a pause, he added: "Please take care of Ye Ningchuan."

Liu Dashi said seriously: "Yes, I'll go right away."

What the immortal tells you to do is the most important thing.

Liu Dashi put down his knife and went to ask nearby refugees for information.

Most of the refugees did not dare to look Liu Dashi in the eye. When they saw him coming, they all lowered their heads.

A brave child stopped Liu Dashi and asked nervously, "Benefactor, can you give me something to drink?"

Liu Dashi smiled, "Sure, as long as you answer a few questions for me."

"What's the problem?" The child tilted his head and his parents pricked up their ears.

Liu Dashi asked: "Do you know Ye Ningchuan?"

"Yes, Sister Ningchuan is beautiful and gentle!"

Liu Dashi asked again: "What about her family?"

The child shook his head, "I don't know."

Liu Dashi looked at the child's parents and asked, "Do you know the situation at her home?"

The couple also shook their heads and said, "We don't know. We have only met Ningchuan. She is helpful, sincere and kind."

Liu Dashi went to ask other refugees.

No one noticed that Ye Ningchuan, who was drinking porridge with his head down, had his eyes flickering.

She had also heard the fairy sound just now and wanted to look up at the sky, but she was afraid that her abnormal pupils would be discovered and she would be caught as a monster. She could only keep her head down and drink the millet porridge in the bowl in silence.

After drinking it, she licked her lips with satisfaction.

Liu Xiaoshi squatted beside her and asked, "Do you want more?"

Ye Ningchuan thought, can I have another bowl?

She nodded slightly.

Liu Xiaoshi went to serve her another bowl.

At this time, Liu Dashi walked to a deserted place and couldn't help but raised his head and muttered: "My Lord God, I think these refugees are very strange!"

"Everyone praised Ye Ningchuan as a good person, but whenever I asked about her family situation, the refugees said they didn't know. I went around for a long time but didn't get any information."

Speaking of this, Liu Dashi felt very ashamed. He was so useless that he couldn't even do such a simple thing.

Luo Mingyue comforted him: "It's okay, take your time."

Liu Dashi felt more and more ashamed. The immortal was so kind, how could he bear to disappoint him?

Therefore, Liu Dashi decided to mobilize the power of the masses, convey the immortal's words to the villagers, and point out to the villagers who is Ye Ningchuan and who are her family members.

When the people in Tianliu Village heard this, they immediately became very enthusiastic. The young people ran among the refugees, trying to build relationships with them and to inquire about the news.

Several elders in the village, with their descendants, walked directly towards Ye Ningchuan's parents.

"You...what do you want to do?" Ye Ningchuan's father was terrified. "If you have anything to do, come to me. Don't hurt my wife and children!"

The elder of the Ling clan didn't waste any time talking to him. He just waved his hand, and several of his children and grandchildren stepped forward and directly captured and subdued the family of four.

Then he took Ye Ningchuan's father to a remote place and began to "interrogate" him:

"What's your name?"

"Ye...Ye Renyi."

"Tell me more about your family situation."

"My wife is Qu Xiaohua, and my children are Ye Ningchuan, Ye Zhuangshi, and Ye Meili..."

The elder of the Ling clan laughed and said, "Please explain it in detail. The god of our village... is a big shot. He is very interested in your family. If you explain it more clearly, we don't mind giving you more food."

As he spoke, the elder of the Ling clan took out two strips of meat from the package.

Ye Renyi's eyes widened.

He didn't bother to think about the big shot's purpose. All he could think about was the meat strips. He said, "I got married at the age of 20. A year later, my wife gave birth to a daughter named Ye Ningchuan. Two years later, my wife gave birth again, but she had a heavy hemorrhage and a difficult labor, resulting in two deaths... My mother disliked Ningchuan because she was a girl, so she asked me to marry again."

"Later, I met Qu Xiaohua through an acquaintance's introduction. Xiaohua was a widow with a 10-year-old son. I married her and started a new family with her."

"When Ningchuan was eight years old, Qu Xiaohua gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl."

Speaking of this, Ye Renyi's face was filled with obvious joy, because twins represent auspiciousness. He used to love his eldest daughter Ye Ningchuan the most, but since he had twins, he transferred most of his love to the twins.

Of course, he still loves his eldest daughter, but not as much as before.

"Ningchuan is sixteen years old this year. Logically, it's time for her to get married. Xiaohua arranged a marriage for her last year. The man's family is well-off, but Ningchuan doesn't want to get married. I am quite indulgent towards this daughter, so I continue to support her."

"The water in the village was getting less and less, so we started to flee from the famine. Before we fled, Xiaohua sold her eldest son, born to her ex-husband, in tears in exchange for life-saving food for our family. Otherwise, we would not have been able to hold on for so long..."

Ye Renyi sighed and said, "Although Xiaohua is a little harsh towards Ningchuan, she is a kind woman. She has sacrificed too much for this family. Ningchuan should be more considerate of her."

"Kind?" The Ling clan elder was confused.

He didn't hear any kindness in Qu Xiaohua at all, he just felt that this woman was very scheming.

Everyone is not blind. Just by looking at Ye Ningchuan's bamboo-like body, they should know that this child is not having a good life.

Although there is a shortage of food now, Ye Renyi's twins do not look that weak.

Moreover, Ye Renyi's words were very vague just now. For example, when he talked about introducing a marriage to Ye Ningchuan, he said that "the man's family is well-off", but he did not mention any information such as the man's age and character. Ye Renyi also said that his wife treated Ye Ningchuan "a little harshly", and then lightly passed over the topic.

This is why the rest of the villagers chose to ask other refugees about Ye Ningchuan's family instead of asking the Ye family directly, because the same thing would give people completely different feelings when spoken from different people.

However, no one asked Ye Ningchuan directly, because Liu Xiaoshi was guarding by Ye Ningchuan's side, but Ye Ningchuan kept her head down, looking like a very introverted girl. Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that she would not easily reveal her true feelings to strangers.

The elder of the Ling clan told Liu Dashi the information he had obtained.

Liu Xiaoshi also ran over and after listening, he said, "Miss Ye is so pitiful. Her father doesn't love her and her mother doesn't care about her. This is the first time I've seen such a pitiful girl in my life."

Liu Dashi said, "It's just right. The immortal asked us to take care of Ye Ningchuan. Please help her when you have time."

Liu Xiaoshi nodded and agreed without hesitation, then hesitated and said, "This is not good, men and women should not touch each other..."

Liu Dashi glared, "I asked you to help her, not to do anything to her. What are you thinking about?"