"Daddy, is this where our home used to be?"
Standing before the former Wang Manor, Wang Zhenzhen looked lost and dazed.
She had left Qing'an County when she was three years old. Now, returning for the first time after ten years, she retained very few memories of her childhood.
Yet Wang Zhenzhen still clearly remembered the towering tree in the courtyard by the gate. Whenever summer came, its lush canopy shielded them from the scorching sun, and there had been no end of fun swinging beneath it.
But the Wang Clan of old had changed hands, and even that great tree had vanished without a trace.
Looking at the "Zhang Manor" plaque hanging above the gate, the girl could not help feeling a sense of loss.
"Yes."
Wang Chen gently stroked his daughter's silky hair and said, "In ten years, things and people have changed beyond recognition."
"What are you people doing here?"
Just then, a gatekeeper came out and started driving them away aggressively. "Don't block the entrance. Do you know who my master—"
The next moment, Wang Chen's gaze swept over him. He immediately felt as though he had fallen into an ice cellar, a chill surging from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head.
He froze on the spot, unable to move.
"Let's go."
Wang Chen said, "There's nothing here worth holding on to anymore."
Present-day Qing'an County Town could not compare to what it had been ten years ago. It looked quite rundown and desolate.
It was said that in the years after Wang Chen left, a period of turmoil had broken out, killing many people before things gradually settled down.
He took his daughter northward, passing through many cities and villages along the way and meeting all kinds of people.