Vol.2-Chapter 70 – Town of Yu Hua

When Zhao Jiuge arrived in the town of Yu Hua, it was getting dark and night would arrive soon. The town of Yu Hua didn’t have a wall like the city of Dong Yang. It was near sunset, so only a few figures were rushing home.

The town was not big, but it was not small either. Zhao Jiuge walked along the paved road and curiously looked at his surroundings. Perhaps because it was almost night, he didn’t experience the poetic feeling he had in the city of Dong Yang, nor did he see the beautiful sunset. Instead, he felt a more down-to-earth atmosphere.

There were still quite a few pedestrians rushing through the town, some heading outside the town. Zhao Jiuge hadn’t seen the mortal world in a long time, so he felt inexplicably happy.

Perhaps these people were often busy during the day in order to live, but when night arrived, they quickly returned home. Even if their home was not comfortable, at least they had the company of their families. Even if their days were not easy, they were still happy.

Once upon a time, Zhao Jiuge was one of them, always running around for his livelihood. But was he ever happy? Where was his home?

Fortunately, heaven pitied him and allowed him to walk on this path of no return. Although the future was difficult, he had a goal in his heart. This gave him motivation and desire.

On the side of the road were small buildings, some being private residences and others stores or restaurants. The better-off families had already lit their lamps or candles, while those in poorer conditions were enjoying the last bit of light before night fell.

Zhao Jiuge aimlessly walked through the town. He wondered if he should find the Yu family now or wait until tomorrow. Normally, he would go now, but he was afraid of disturbing them.

Soon, the sides of the road were filled with light. The restaurants and hotels all leaked lights out of their front doors. There were also people rushing home.

A sound suddenly rang out. Zhao Jiuge clenched his teeth and felt somewhat embarrassed. His stomach was growling from smelling the aroma of the food coming from the restaurants.

Normally, cultivators didn’t need to eat—they only needed to absorb spiritual energy to nourish their bodies. However, Zhao Jiuge had not yet reached that point. Only when he reached the Foundation Realm could the foundation formation inside his body constantly absorb spiritual energy, making it so he would no longer need to eat.

Zhao Jiuge hadn’t eaten for a few days, and now that he smelled food, his stomach growled in protest. Earlier, when the burly man invited him to eat, he was moved and struggled for a long time before he finally decided to leave instead.

In an instant, Zhao Jiuge decided to find the Yu family. He didn’t care how late it was, because he was hungry.

Thinking about this, Zhao Jiuge reluctantly withdrew his gaze from the people eating inside the restaurants and decided to get some information on where the Yu family was located.

Bang!

A muffled sound. Zhao Jiuge felt something hit his leg and quickly looked down. It turned out to be a cute little girl with a ponytail. She had been eyeing the candied hawthorns across the street, so she hadn’t seen Zhao Jiuge.

Zhao Jiuge thought they were the same, both gluttonous. He had also been staring at the people eating inside the restaurant, so he hadn’t seen the little girl.

Thinking about this, Zhao Jiuge revealed a warm smile.

The little girl was only around five or six years old. She wasn’t very tall, only going up to Zhao Jiuge’s waist. Perhaps because Zhao Jiuge didn’t look like a bad person and had a gentle smile that gave people a good feeling, the little girl timidly looked up and softly said, “I’m sorry, Big Brother.”

After she finished speaking, she apologetically lowered her head. Her right hand was clenched and her left hand was grasping the corner of her dad’s pants. Because she was so nervous, her little hands had turned white from how hard she was clenching.

There was a dark-skinned, middle-aged man standing next to the little girl. Their faces were very similar, but he looked very tired and had an honest face. When he saw his daughter run into the young man, the middle-aged man immediately stopped pushing the wooden cart.

He bowed slightly and his face was filled with embarrassment. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

He said it three times in a row, and each time, he lowered his head a bit more. However, even this could not hide the fear in the middle-aged man’s eyes.

The middle-aged man was not good with words, but he stepped forward to face Zhao Jiuge while making his daughter stand a step behind him. He waited for Zhao Jiuge’s reaction.

The middle-aged man had no choice but to act like this. If he wanted to survive in this world, he had to suffer all these grievances. Although he was just someone that sold watermelon and other vegetables, he normally wouldn’t need to give face to the rich families or even the tax collectors from the Wang family. However, when facing the Yu family, he apologized with a smile. He would rather suffer a bit himself than let his daughter be wronged.

Although this young man was wearing ordinary-looking clothes, he gave off an extraordinary aura. This young man could be a disciple of some family, so it was better if he was more careful.

Zhao Jiuge was a bit startled by how panicked those two were, then he began to carefully observe the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man was wearing a vest that had turned white from being washed so much, and there was a patch on his pants. There were two or three watermelons in the wooden cart he was pushing, and there was a layer of yellow grass under the watermelons.

The little girl was wearing a red flower dress. Although it looked fancy, it was already getting worn out. After seeing this, Zhao Jiuge knew that this father and daughter had likely come to this town to sell watermelons. The man was probably in a rush to return home, but the little girl had walked off to look at the candied hawthorns.

While Zhao Jiuge was looking at them, the middle-aged man panicked even more because Zhao Jiuge didn’t speak. He fearfully said, “Little Brother, my daughter really didn’t mean to run into you.”

Looking at Zhao Jiuge’s extraordinary temperament, the middle-aged man was even more afraid of causing some kind of trouble.

Originally, Zhao Jiuge didn’t understand why the middle-aged man was acting like this, because to him, it was not a big deal. However, now that he figured out the reason, he could only sigh in his heart.

“It’s no problem, Uncle. I was just looking elsewhere and wasn’t paying attention to the road.” Zhao Jiuge revealed a gentle smile and shook his head. He was afraid the other party wouldn’t be at ease, so he had even added an explanation.

The middle-aged man’s mouth opened slightly after hearing Zhao Jiuge answer, drifting off in a daze. He didn’t think this youth would have such a good temper. The little girl looked at Zhao Jiuge’s friendly face and revealed a loveable smile.

Zhao Jiuge reached out his right hand and affectionately rubbed the little girl’s head. He smiled and then left.

He only took two or three steps when a crisp voice echoed behind him.

“Big Brother, wait.” The little girl ran up while carrying a big watermelon.

Perhaps because the big watermelon was too heavy, even holding it with two hands made the little girl struggle. “Big Brother, please eat the watermelon my family grew, it's very sweet.”

After she finished speaking, the little girl looked expectantly at Zhao Jiuge. That cute smile moved Zhao Jiuge.

The dark-skinned, middle-aged man only smiled and dotingly looked at his daughter with no intention of stopping her. Perhaps the cost of one watermelon was enough to support his family for a day, and perhaps his family was very poor, but just because they were simple people, that didn’t mean they were stingy.

“Thank you, Little Sister, You’re very cute.” Zhao Jiuge could only accept the watermelon with one hand and rub the little girl’s head again with the other while saying a few words of phrase. He was also someone who was bad with words.

Seeing Zhao Jiuge take the watermelon, the little girl smiled happily and ran back to her father’s side.

Through the light leaking out from the restaurants, one could see that Zhao Jiuge had a complicated expression.

In the distance, the father held his daughter’s hand and slowly pushed the cart toward the place selling the candied hawthorns. One could still hear their voices in the air.

𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

“Little girl, let’s go, I’ll take you to buy a candied hawthorn. You look like a gluttonous cat.”

“I just knew Dad was the best.”

“Haha, then Dad will buy you candied hawthorn every day. How about it, little gluttonous cat?”

“If the melons don’t sell out like today, will Dad still buy me candied hawthorns to eat?”

“I will. As long as my baby girl wants it, even if dad doesn’t eat or drink, I’ll do my best to achieve it.”

.

“Then, once I grow up, I’ll buy candied hawthorns for my dad to eat every day.”

“Haha…”

The voices of the father and daughter echoed from the distance and became more and more distant until they disappeared.

However, Zhao Jiuge had a complicated smile. Perhaps for this father, home was wherever his daughter was. In order to support his family, he was not afraid to work outside and wouldn't hesitate to bow down even if he was being wronged, because his home was wherever his daughter was, and at home he was happy.

Perhaps if there was anyone to blame, it would be this world. It was easy to be born, but it was not easy to live.

Whether it was the rulers, ordinary people, or even the powerful cultivators, everyone had their own heartaches and troubles others didn’t know about.

Zhao Jiuge sighed once more. He could work hard to cultivate for these people so he could kill all the evil doers in the world and right all the wrongs. However, he was helpless when it came to this kind of lifestyle—there was nothing he could do. He could only become strong and protect the people he wanted to protect and live life the way he wanted to.

Life was only a short 100 years, so just live it without any regrets.

Zhao Jiuge split the big watermelon with his palm and tasted it. He only wanted to say one word: sweet. It was really sweet, but no matter how sweet it was, it couldn’t be sweeter than the smile from the little girl.

Just like this, Zhao Jiuge held the watermelon in his hand and carefully ate it under the night sky.

If one looked at Zhao Jiuge under the moonlight, one would find that his aura that had been slowly undergoing a metamorphosis had changed a bit more.

If cultivators inside the sect were all immortal and were not contaminated by the mortal world, then Zhao Jiuge was now dyed by the color of mortal life.

This was why every sect would release their disciples to go out to experience the world once they achieved a bit of success in their cultivation.

Under the night sky, a strange youth was holding two halves of a watermelon and taking a bite from time to time while walking toward the Yu family.