Chapter 221: Passing Away
Facing Yu Zhengqing’s intense gaze, Chang Huilan dared not say much.
Guilt-stricken, she lowered her eyes, avoiding his gaze entirely.
Seeing this, Yu Yingying, who was still bedridden, clenched her fists, her eyes turning red.
“It was Yu Haojie and Yu Luo!”
Yu Zhengqing froze.
Looking at his daughter’s furious expression, he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Impossible! If they truly wanted to harm your grandmother, your second uncle and Xiao Luo would have acted long ago. They wouldn’t have waited until now.”
Instinctively, Yu Zhengqing refuted the claim, refusing to believe his daughter’s words.
Seeing her father still defending Yu Luo’s family even at this point, Yu Yingying’s resentment only deepened.
“Hah! Father, you’re still protecting them? Have you forgotten that when Yu Luo dealt with the mountain bandits, she deliberately shot arrows toward Grandmother?”
“That wasn’t intentional. The situation was chaotic at the time. How could Xiao Luo have had the time to deliberately seek revenge on Grandmother? Yingying, I understand that in your current condition, you may be thinking in extremes, but you need to be rational. Everyone is finally settling down here. Why would your second uncle and Xiao Luo suddenly target Grandmother? If they had wanted to, they had plenty of chances during our exile journey.”
Even Yu Xiaoran refused to believe it.
Watching his sister, who was completely consumed by hatred, Yu Xiaoran found it hard to accept that things had taken such a drastic turn in just two days.
“Hah, the truth is right in front of you! Mother’s grave is in the vegetable field. Do you want me to dig it up for you so you can confirm it yourselves?”
Seeing her husband and son still defending Yu Haojie and Yu Luo, even Chang Huilan, who had initially felt some guilt, became enraged.
These were the people closest to her and her daughter, yet they refused to believe her.
Thinking about her daughter’s lost leg, Chang Huilan’s temper flared, and her usual gentle demeanor vanished.
At her words, Yu Zhengqing abruptly turned and sprinted out of the cave!
He refused to believe it.
He refused to believe that his mother had passed away in just two days.
Before leaving, she had been fine. How could she be gone just like that?
Yu Zhengqing rushed into the pouring rain, using his lightness skill to leap down toward the vegetable field.
At this moment, the seeds that had been planted earlier had already sprouted into lush greenery. Once the rain stopped, the once barren land of the frontier would finally show signs of life.
But right now, Yu Zhengqing had no interest in any of that.
His father had disappeared without a trace, and that was already an unhealed wound in his heart. Now, his mother was suddenly gone too. How could he accept it?
Yu Xiaoran followed closely behind.
When they arrived at the small burial mound, his heart sank.
Cold rain poured down their faces, but neither of them cared to use their internal energy to keep warm.
The chilling air was nothing compared to the cold grief seeping into their hearts.
Yu Zhengqing stared at the small, unmarked grave before him.
Not even a proper gravestone.
He dropped to his knees, his grief bursting forth in a wailing sob.
At the entrance of the cave, Yu Xiaoxuan watched his father and brother kneeling before the grave, their sorrow evident. His eyes filled with hesitation and conflict.
*
Meanwhile, Yu Luo had just returned home.
As expected, everyone had made it back safely.
Yu Haojie and Ye Jiamei, who had been anxiously awaiting their daughter’s return, immediately forgot about the ten men Tao Ming had brought back and stood at the entrance of the house, looking out for her.
Seeing Yu Luo hurrying toward them through the rain, they finally sighed in relief.
“You’re finally back. Honestly, girl, how can you be so reckless? Why did you return alone? Was Feng City dangerous?”
Helping her remove her rain cloak and hat, Ye Jiamei couldn’t help but nag at her. Even though Yu Luo had returned safely, the worry in her heart hadn’t yet settled.
“It wasn’t exactly dangerous, but it was definitely complicated. People from all over gather there, and I happened to arrive during their monthly auction event. The place was packed. I wasn’t careful and ended up drawing some attention at the auction, especially after purchasing that little troublemaker Ming Ye. I was worried someone might take an interest in me, so I played it safe and had everyone split up to avoid attracting attention. The last thing we need is for someone to find our settlement too soon.”
As she spoke, Yu Luo took the dry towel Yu Haojie had prepared and wiped the rainwater off her face while recounting her experiences in Feng City.
“Looks like I was worried for nothing. You thought everything through even better than I did. We wasted our energy worrying.”
“What are you saying? Of course, we should worry when our daughter is out alone!”
Yu Haojie immediately retorted, clearly displeased that his wife was downplaying their concern.
Seeing her husband’s rare temper, Ye Jiamei quickly smiled and nodded, admitting her mistake.
“Alright, enough about that, Mother. The man I bought at the auction—please check his condition. The system says he lost his sanity due to a qi deviation while practicing martial arts. He’s prone to violent outbursts.”
“If that’s the case, why buy him? What if he loses control and slaughters us all?”
Ye Jiamei had heard Zhang Hu describe the man’s condition earlier, but she had been too worried about Yu Luo to think much about it at the time. Now that Yu Luo was back, she finally had the energy to question her decision.
“It’s fine. He was cheap, and his martial arts skills are excellent. The system says that once it recovers, it can help fix his condition. If we can tame a powerful martial artist, it’ll be a great advantage to us.”
Seeing that Yu Luo had already made up her mind, Ye Jiamei had no further objections.
With a nod, the three of them shut the door and headed toward the main hall.
Just as they reached the corridor, Yu Luo spotted the ten men she had purchased from the black market.
Ming Ye and Tao Ming stood nearby.
“Miss, I’ve safely brought all ten of them back. Please check if everything is correct.”
Truth be told, Yu Luo had never gotten a good look at these men before buying them. Now, she wouldn’t be able to recognize them even if she tried.
Still, hearing Tao Ming’s words and seeing the shock on the ten men’s faces as they looked at her, Yu Luo knew they had finally realized something.
“Wait… Wasn’t it a young master who bought us? Just now, Tao Ming called you ‘Miss’… What does he mean by that?”
One of the men hesitated, glancing between Tao Ming and Yu Luo with growing confusion.
“Hah, our lady merely disguised herself. In a place like Feng City, it was naturally more appropriate for her to wear men’s clothing.”
Hearing Tao Ming’s explanation, the ten men stared at Yu Luo in astonishment.
“Never would we have imagined that our master would be so intelligent and resourceful. Even as a woman, she dared to step into Feng City and handle everything so flawlessly.”
