Martial Peak
chapter-4680

Following several years of development, Seven Stars Town had expanded significantly. With the presence of Seven Stars Sect, the town had attracted a lot of people to move in and settle down.

A group of kids were messing around at the moment. A boy and a girl, who were about seven or eight years old, were running at the front while they were being pursued by four to five kids. The kid leading the pursuing pack was furious as he hurled sand balls at the boy in front of him, he yelled, “Stop right there, Zhao Ye Bai!”

The angry boy was several years older, so not only was he stronger, but he could also throw things at his target accurately. A sandball the size of a fist struck the back of Zhao Ye Bai, who gasped in pain and almost fell to the ground.

While never stopping in his tracks though, he held the hand of the young girl beside him and charged forward. After he made a turn, he dashed towards a stall that sold sweet rice dumplings and snuck beneath the cart.

It was apparent that it wasn’t the first time he had done this.

When the older kids arrived, Zhao Ye Bai was nowhere to be seen. After searching around, they could only leave this place since their target wasn’t around.

“Come out,” Yang Kai, who had worked for half a day, wiped the grease off his hands and landed a gentle kick on the cart.

Two petite figures crawled out from beneath the cart. A bruised Zhao Ye Bai flashed a silly smile at Yang Kai.

The young girl looked at Zhao Ye Bai with reddened eyes and touched his bruises. In a choking voice, she asked, “Does it hurt, Big Brother Ye Bai?”

Zhao Ye Bai grimaced in pain, but he still replied steadfastly, “No, not at all.”

Hearing that, Yang Kai extended his hand and forcefully pinched the young boy’s face.

“Ouch! It hurts!” Zhao Ye Bai hurriedly begged for mercy. Then, he was worried that the young girl beside him would be concerned, so he patted his chest, “Don’t worry, Xiao Ya. I’ll be fine after a night’s sleep.”

In response, Zhao Ya nodded.

Seeing the young boy pretending to be tough in front of a girl, Yang Kai pursed his lips to stop himself from laughing.

Nevertheless, both Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya believed what the former said to be true. That was because regardless of how badly Zhao Ye Bai became bruised over the years, all his wounds would disappear after he had a night’s rest.

This fact amazed Yu Lu and Grandma Zhou as they thought that the young kid might possess some kind of extraordinary physique.

“How did you offend those guys?” Yang Kai asked while giving them a sweet rice dumpling each.

Zhao Ye Bai took the smaller one and munched on it while replying in a muffled voice, “I didn’t offend them. It was Miao Fei Ping and the others who wanted to bully Xiao Ya. They were being unreasonable!”

“And then you were beaten up?” Yang Kai gazed at him with a faint smile.

Zhao Ye Bai started flushing as he said in a bashful manner, “Mother told me that I couldn’t get into a fight, so I didn’t fight back. I ran away instead.”

“What if there’s no way you can run away one day?” Yang Kai questioned.

Zhao Ye Bai became startled for a moment, then put on a silly smile, “I don’t think that will ever happen. I’m a fast runner, and no one can catch me. Moreover, the Disciple Recruitment of Seven Stars Sect will begin in a few months. I’ll give it a try then. Mother said that if I manage to become a disciple of Seven Stars Sect, I’ll be able to cultivate, and I’ll become a cultivator!” He then balled up his fist and flashed a smile at Zhao Ya, “I’ll always protect you, Little Sister Ya.”

Zhao Ya put on a sweet smile and nodded.

All of a sudden, Zhao Ye Bai looked fervently at three passers-by, “Look, they’re from Seven Stars Sect!”

There were three people, one man and two women, who were passing by. While the man was handsome, the women were alluring. All of them were clad in white clothing that suggested that they were from Seven Stars Sect. They looked like pure snow lotuses.

Admiration and yearning were written all over Zhao Ye Bai’s face, “When I become a disciple of Seven Stars Sect, I can wear such clothing as well.” He then said to Zhao Ya, “You’ll be just as beautiful as them when you grow up, Xiao Ya.”

While munching on the sweet rice dumpling, Zhao Ya gently nodded, “When I grow up, I’ll marry you, Big Brother Ye Bai.”

Hearing that, Zhao Ye Bai started coughing violently as the sweet rice dumpling got stuck in his throat. He almost suffocated as a result. He then extended his hand and sought help from Yang Kai, “Give me some soup, Uncle Yang!”

“Take it slow.” Yang Kai was torn between tears and laughter. After passing the young boy a bowl of soup, he patted the latter’s back.

After the two little ones were done with the food, Yang Kai stroked the young boy’s head and said, “It’s getting late, so you should head home now. Don’t worry your Mother.”

“En.” Zhao Ye Bai rose from the chair and beckoned to Zhao Ya. The little ones then snuck into the crowd and disappeared.

A short while later, Yang Kai cleaned up the stall and wheeled his cart home.

Since two years ago, he started selling sweet rice dumplings on his own. Grandma Zhou was old after all, so she couldn’t really work too hard. That was the reason Yang Kai told her to stay home and let him handle the stall.

However, what made Grandma Zhou feel odd was that as time passed, she felt more energetic than before instead of getting weaker. She initially thought that her end would soon come, but it now seemed that she could live for another ten years with ease.

On the other hand, Grandma Zhou was very pleased with Yang Kai. The only complaint she had was that Yang Kai had never returned to his own home over the past few years. She was concerned about the wives he had in his hometown.

After all, many things could happen when a Husband was not around for such a long time.

Initially, Grandma Zhou would persuade Yang Kai to go home to have a look. If he wasn’t willing to leave his Wives there, he could bring them over. Seven Stars Town was bustling with people, and their sweet rice dumpling business was doing well. He could definitely provide for all his Wives; however, since Yang Kai wouldn’t listen to her no matter how many times she brought the issue up, she stopped persuading him.

Subconsciously, she thought that Yang Kai was just lying back then when he said that he had several Wives. Otherwise, a man couldn’t possibly leave his women in his hometown and ignore them. He didn’t seem like an irresponsible man after all.

When Yang Kai returned home, Grandma had already prepared a meal for him. She also took out a pot of fish soup and said, “Send it to Lady Yu. The kids are still growing, and it’s hard enough for her to raise them.”

“En,” Yang Kai replied and took the fish soup before sauntering towards Yu Lu’s house.

Her house was pretty close to Grandma Zhou’s place, which was the reason she looked for Grandma back then when the rain was pouring that night.

As soon as Yang Kai arrived at the front door, Zhao Ye Bai and Zhao Ya rushed out of the house. The young boy took the soup and turned his head to shout, “Uncle Yang is here, Mother!”

A woman clad in simple clothes soon walked out of the house. She was none other than Yu Lu. From the looks of it, she was preparing a meal as there was a bit of ash on her fair face. A piece of cloth had been wrapped around her head as she said bashfully, “You’re here, Big Brother Yang.”

Yang Kai nodded, “Grandma prepared some fish soup and wanted me to send it to you.”

Yu Lu replied gratefully, “It’s you and Grandma Zhou who have been taking care of us over the years. I can’t say enough how grateful I am.”

Yang Kai said with a smile, “We’re neighbours, so stop being overly polite with us. Good, you should continue preparing your meal. I’ll head back now.”

All of a sudden, Yu Lu lifted her head and called out, “Big Brother Yang.”

Hearing that, Yang Kai turned around and gazed at her.

Yu Lu clenched her clothes as though she was trying to summon her courage. She then asked, “Why don’t you stay here to have a meal with us?”

Yang Kai waved his hand with a smile, “Next time, perhaps. Grandma has already prepared dinner for us.”

As Yu Lu watched the man leave, she let out a sigh. In fact, her intention was simple; she just wanted to treat her Big Brother Yang, who had helped her a lot over the years, to a meal that she had prepared. However, a widow could easily draw criticism for her actions, so she wouldn’t dare to make him stay in the past. Although she had made a request this time, she still didn’t have the courage to insist on it.

“It’d be wonderful if Uncle Yang was my Father,” Zhao Ye Bai suddenly said.

Yu Lu started blushing as she landed a knock on her son’s head, “What nonsense are you spouting?”

She had been the centre of gossip among the neighbours over the years. If others heard what her son had said, she wouldn’t be able to clear her name.

Zhao Ye Bai stuck out his tongue and pulled a face at his mother.

After taking the fish soup from her son, Yu Lu said, “Uncle Yang has always been good to you both. In fact, he gave you your names. Both of you must return his favour when you grow up. Understood?”

The kids nodded at the same time.

“Wash your hands before having your meal,” Yu Lu ordered. The kids instantly dashed into the house. She took one more look in the direction Yang Kai had left before shuffling into the house.

Yu Lu had never expected that she would have two kids, a son and a daughter, one day.

Zhao Ye Bai was her biological son. Although many years had passed, she had never forgotten about the night with torrential rain when she almost lost her life. Just when she was about to give up all hope, a warm force streamed into her body and ensured that she and her son remained safe.

One month after Zhao Ye Bai was born, Yu Lu heard a baby crying outside the house. Upon opening the door, she saw that an infant had been left there.

The infant was none other than Zhao Ya.

In fact, Yu Lu had never hidden the fact that Zhao Ya was adopted. Fortunately, the young girl was kind-hearted and understanding, so she never complained about her fate. Although she had experienced a lot of hardship with her adoptive Mother, she remained sanguine.

What Yu Lu wasn’t aware of was that Zhao Ya was sent to her by Yang Kai.

In fact, the young girl’s parents were still alive, but they preferred a boy to a girl. Barely after a few days Zhao Ya was born, and her Father secretly dumped her on a mountain.

The infant was mercilessly discarded before she could even see the world clearly.

As the owner of the Small Universe, Yang Kai inadvertently saw the sight when he was travelling nearby. Naturally, he couldn’t turn a blind eye to it.

Since Yu Lu had given birth to a child not long ago, he decided to put the infant down in front of her door. It wouldn’t make a difference to raise one more kid anyway. In that case, Zhao Ye Bai could have a companion.

Since the kids were raised together from birth, they could be said to be childhood sweethearts.

Meanwhile, in a house where the candlelight was flickering, Yang Kai was having dinner with Grandma Zhou.

Grandma appeared hesitant, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything.

Seeing that, Yang Kai asked with a smile, “Is there anything you want to say, Grandma?”

In response, Grandma dipped her head, “Yes, but I’m not sure if I should say it.”

Yang Kai replied, “There’s nothing you can’t tell me, Grandma. Please speak your mind.”

“I’ll go ahead, then.” Grandma put down the chopsticks and stared seriously at him, “How do you find Lady Yu?”

With a solemn expression, Yang Kai replied, “She’s a demure, considerate, and kind-hearted woman. It’s just that life has been unkind to her.”

“Yes, she has suffered a lot over the years.” Suddenly recalling something, Grandma let out a sigh, “It’s said that men are most afraid of taking up the wrong careers while women are most worried of marrying the wrong men. In fact, Lady Yu’s previous man was not bad, but he passed away just like that after falling down the stairs. She has been a widow for years, and there’s no man to take care of her. She has even adopted a young girl. It makes it even harder for her to put food on the table.”