0p0 Chapter 180 Chivalry and Tenderness II
Chapter 180 Chivalry and Tenderness II
"Uncle Cai, thank you for your concern. Don't worry, I'm perfectly fine."
Moreover, our Ling Kingdom soldiers were brave and fearless, fighting valiantly and successfully repelling the Qin army.
He nodded repeatedly and excitedly said "good" three times.
"That's wonderful! That's really wonderful! The people of Nanshan Town should really thank you, these heroes who protect our country!"
"If it weren't for your valiant fighting on the front lines, desperately resisting the enemy, this small town would probably have been destroyed long ago," Cai Bo said with deep emotion.
Shanzi's smile faded slightly, and he sighed deeply, speaking with a solemn expression.
"Uncle Cai, you flatter us. It's a pity we arrived too late and couldn't protect all the people. Nanshan Town... alas, too many people have died or been injured."
Uncle Cai waved his hand hastily, tears glistening in his eyes.
"Not too late, not too late! You've arrived just in time! If it had been any later, Nanshan Town would probably have been razed to the ground by the Qin army. We're all alive and well today thanks to you!"
Uncle Cai wiped the tears from his face before remembering to greet the two.
"Quickly, sit down and rest."
As Cai Bo spoke, his gaze fell on Da Tou with a hint of doubt.
"May I ask who this young man is?"
Shanzi quickly stood up and introduced, "Uncle Cai, this is my brother. He grew up in the same village as me. His name is Cai Zihe, and everyone calls him Big Head."
He smiled slightly and bowed with his hands clasped in greeting.
"Uncle Cai, my name is Cai Zihe, you can just call me Da Tou."
Uncle Cai nodded, and said with deep gratitude, "Young Master Cai, thanks to your help, the people of Nanshan Town owe you a debt of gratitude."
Da Tou waved his hands repeatedly, somewhat embarrassed: "Uncle Cai, please don't say that. This is all we should do. We don't deserve your thanks."
Uncle Cai warmly invited the two to sit down, then turned to prepare the meal.
"Please sit down. You must be exhausted from your journey. I'll go get some hot food, and we can eat and chat at the same time."
When Da Tou saw that Uncle Cai was going to cook, he jumped up immediately.
“Uncle Cai, I’ll go with you and give you a hand.” With that, the two of them went out of the house together.
The sound of their footsteps faded into the distance until they disappeared completely.
The room fell silent, leaving only Cai Yao'er, Xiao Die, and Shan Zi.
The air seemed to grow heavy, carrying a sense of oppression.
After today's misfortune, Cai Yao'er lost all her energy and spirit. Her eyes were empty, her expression was gloomy, and her heart felt as if it were being pierced by thousands of needles, with pain spreading throughout her body.
She felt that her life was over. Although Shanzi saved her in time and prevented her from suffering a more tragic fate, that shadow was like a bone-deep ailment that she could not shake off.
Xiaodie sat beside her, her face also full of worry. She opened her mouth several times, but couldn't think of a single word of comfort. She could only worry anxiously.
Shanzi sat to the side with his head down and his brows furrowed, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.
The three of them sat there awkwardly, none of them speaking to break the dead silence.
After some time, Da Tou and Cai Bo returned with trays laden with food, steaming hot, instantly adding a touch of warmth and life to the room.
With a big smile plastered on his face, he called out in a loud voice, "Coming, coming! The food is ready, let's eat it while it's hot!"
He quickly and efficiently placed the dishes on the table, then turned around to serve Uncle Cai soup.
Uncle Cai walked up to Cai Yao'er, his eyes full of tenderness.
"Miss, the food is ready. You haven't eaten a single grain of rice all day, come and eat something, don't starve yourself."
Xiaodie chimed in, "Miss, let's go eat something, at least to fill our stomachs."
Big Head chimed in, "That's right, that's right. We've been on the move since morning and fought the Qin army all day. Our stomachs are growling with hunger. Let's all eat something together."
Under Xiao Die's gentle persuasion, Cai Yao'er finally stood up, dragged her feet to the table, and sat down.
After everyone was seated, Cai Bogang was about to get up to serve the rice.
Big Head reacted quickly and grabbed Uncle Cai.
"Uncle Cai, you rest, I'll take care of it."
After he finished speaking, he quickly served rice to everyone and warmly greeted them, "Come on, everyone, start eating!"
Looking at the people at the table, Uncle Cai smiled with satisfaction: "Shanzi, Datou, you've been busy all day, eat more."
Xiao Die also urged Cai Yao'er from the side, "Miss, you should eat something too."
Cai Yao'er forced a smile and softly replied, "Okay."
Everyone picked up their bowls and chopsticks, and after taking a few bites, Da Tou couldn't help but give a thumbs up in praise.
"Uncle Cai, your cooking skills are absolutely amazing! This dish smells so good, I've never eaten anything so delicious in my life."
Uncle Cai beamed with joy at the praise: "As long as it tastes good, that's fine. I'm just worried it might not suit your taste."
Big Head ate with his cheeks puffed out, mumbling indistinctly, "How could that be! With your skills, even the chefs in the restaurants of Dashi Town can't compare to you."
But no one expected that this would happen while these people were eating.
Cai Yao'er suddenly covered her face with her hands and began to sob, tears streaming down her cheeks like broken beads.
This left Xiaodie, Cai Bo, Datou, and Shanzi completely stunned and speechless.
Xiaodie was the first to react, anxiously calling out, "Miss!"
Uncle Cai also put down his chopsticks, his face full of concern: "Miss, what's wrong? Is the food not to your liking?"
Da Tou hurriedly put down his chopsticks and bowl, his eyes full of worry: "Miss Cai, what's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"
Shanzi also frowned, looking at Cai Yao'er with worry in his eyes.
Cai Yao'er sobbed, and it took her a long time to squeeze out a sentence: "I'm fine."
Looking at her like this, Da Tou felt a pang of sadness in his heart, let out a long sigh, and spoke with such sincerity that it could melt your heart.
“Miss Cai, I know you’ve just gone through something terrible today, and your family must be feeling terrible too… You must be heartbroken and upset.”
But the dead cannot be brought back to life, so please don't bottling it up.
When Da Tou got to this point, it was as if something had stirred up some sad memories.
He paused, took a deep breath, as if gathering immense courage, before continuing to speak.
"One night four years ago, the night was as dark as ink that could not be dissolved, and every household in the village was doing the same thing as usual."
Everyone blew out the lights early and drifted off to sleep.
That night, my brother and I were still awake, chatting idly in the room.
To everyone's surprise, in the middle of the night, they suddenly heard a 'bang'.
A violent kicking sound came from the courtyard, particularly jarring in the quiet night.
My brother and I instantly became alert, each grabbing our swords and rushing out.
As Da Tou finished speaking, tears welled up in his eyes and streamed down his face.
He raised his hand to wipe his face, and continued in a sobbing voice, "Who would have thought that that very night would be the end of our Su Family Village?"
A group of masked men dressed in black surged into the village like ghosts, killing anyone they saw. The flash of their blades illuminated the night, and blood splattered everywhere.
Of the more than two hundred people in our entire Sujia Village, not one could escape this fate.
We fought back desperately, but those men in black were all highly skilled in martial arts and ruthless.
In the end, only about thirty people escaped from the entire village. My family…”
Big Head's shoulders trembled, and his hands were clenched tightly.
"Everyone died that night, and my brother died at their hands in the end because he tricked me into going out to find everyone."
Da Tou suppressed his grief and looked at Cai Yao'er, who was also in tears.
“Miss Cai, I understand the pain you're going through right now, just like I was back then.”
I don't know how to comfort you and stop you from crying, but life goes on, and we have to pull ourselves together.
Think about it, you still have Uncle Cai and Miss Xiaodie to keep you company.
I also have Brother Shanzi, Sister Daya, and other surviving elders from the village here.
We must live well for their sake. When I've mastered martial arts, I'll make those bastards pay for their crimes in blood!
Uncle Cai had been listening quietly, but now his face was full of shock, his eyes were wide open, and he stared intently at Shanzi and Datou, his lips trembling.
"This, this, this... how could this be?"
Shanzi nodded at the three of them, his tone unusually sorrowful.
“Miss Cai, every word Da Tou said is true. To be honest, we still don’t know who those men in black are.”
I only heard Sister Yang and the others say that the group of men in black seemed to be from the Qin Kingdom.
Don't worry, we will all practice our martial arts diligently.
Once we've improved our martial arts skills and investigated the situation, we'll find out if they're also from the Qin state.
"We will definitely find them and settle this blood feud. We will avenge your family."