Grandmother and Granddaughter

"I'll repay the money they owe you." A handsome young man in luxurious clothes stepped out of the crowd.

"You?" Looking at Ye Qiu before him, Shopkeeper Li found it strange that he would help them. Could he have taken a fancy to the girl's beauty?

"How much do you owe him?" Ye Qiu asked the old woman.

"Thirty Gold Coins." The old woman was somewhat excited. The young master before her looked like he came from a wealthy family, and he seemed like a decent person. Her granddaughter would surely be much better off following him than being taken away by Boss Li.

She did not believe that anyone these days would think they had too much money and help others for free, especially insignificant people like this grandmother and granddaughter.

"Here, thirty Gold Coins. You can let her go now, right?" Ye Qiu tossed a money pouch to Boss Li. This was the small change he had prepared for meals, exactly thirty Gold Coins.

"Let's go." After counting the money in the pouch, Boss Li reluctantly released the girl and left with his lackeys. As he passed Ye Qiu, he gave him a careful look.

He had not actually wanted to take the money. The girl was lovely and delicate, and he truly wanted to take her into his room and have his way with her. But seeing Ye Qiu's luxurious attire, he feared he had some background. Besides, the debt had already been repaid, so he had no reason to take her away. Better to avoid trouble when possible. Women could be found anywhere with money, so after thinking it over, he took the money and left.

"Thank you, Young Master, thank you! A good person like you will be rewarded! Thank you..." After Boss Li left, the surrounding crowd gradually dispersed as well. The old woman brought the girl before Ye Qiu and knelt to kowtow.

"Please get up, Elder." Ye Qiu immediately stepped aside, refusing to accept the old woman's kneeling. As an outstanding young man from the twenty-first century, he still did not dare accept an elder's kowtow.

"Elder, how did you end up being..." Ye Qiu asked.

"Alas, it was all caused by that beast from our family!" At Ye Qiu's question, the old woman wept with anger and sorrow.

"Grandmother." Seeing the old woman crying, the girl gently patted her back in comfort.

"Forgive my loss of composure. If you do not mind, Young Master, why not come to my humble home for a cup of cold tea?" The old woman held her granddaughter's hand to show that she was fine, then turned to Ye Qiu.

"All right. Then I shall gladly accept." Ye Qiu had originally come out to gain experience. That did not mean fighting all the time, but experiencing life and improving his state of mind. After all, his mentality had yet to match his current strength.

Besides, although no one had yet been sent to take over Black Willow Town, he already regarded it as his own territory. It was only right to see how the people here lived.

The grandmother and granddaughter's home was merely a low, single-story house. It was extremely crude, reminding him of villages deep in the mountains and forests of the twenty-first century.

It seemed that many people on the Dou Qi Continent could not even manage to survive. Ye Qiu sighed inwardly.

"Grandmother, I'll go wash up." The girl spoke to the old woman, then bowed to Ye Qiu before entering the bedroom.

Ye Qiu then asked the old woman about their circumstances. It turned out that the old woman's Son—the girl's father—had offended a tavern woman favored by the third captain of the local Flame Serpent Mercenary Group, and the man had borne a grudge against him.

The two had fought fiercely. The old woman's Son was defeated and, with no other choice, sold off all his property and fled Black Willow Town. Fearing that others would discover his whereabouts and pursue him, he abandoned his mother and Daughter, neither of whom possessed any Dou Qi.

The third captain of the Flame Serpent Mercenary Group was at least a decent man. He had not implicated the grandmother and granddaughter over the man's actions. However, Shopkeeper Li had coveted the girl's beauty for a long time. As it happened, the old woman's Son had previously owed him thirty Gold Coins for wine, so he directly brought his men to seize her.

Originally, the man had not cared about those thirty Gold Coins at all. He often went to Shopkeeper Li's place to drink, so they had agreed to settle the bill once a month. Yet who could have expected this incident? He had been busy selling his property and fleeing, but in the end he had implicated the old woman and her granddaughter.

Alas! Hearing the old woman's words, Ye Qiu let out a deep sigh. What was there to say? Blame Shopkeeper Li? He certainly was not a good man, but debts had to be repaid.

Blame the captain of the Flame Serpent Mercenary Group? On This World, such conflicts were utterly commonplace, and he had not even implicated the man's family.

The real problem was the old woman's Son! He could not defeat the other man, yet he provoked that man's woman. In the end, he abandoned his mother and Daughter, fled alone, and even took all the property with him. Wasn't that forcing his own mother and Daughter onto a dead end?

"He's simply inhuman!" Ye Qiu cursed furiously.

"I have made you witness such a disgrace, Young Master." The old woman said as she wiped away her tears.

"Grandmother, Young Master, please have some tea!" At that moment, the girl emerged from the room. She had washed up and no longer looked like she had before, with disheveled hair obscuring her face.

Ye Qiu glanced at the girl, and his eyes immediately widened. She now possessed an added air of quiet gentleness and fragility. Her smooth, glossy black hair fell softly around her, while her flawless skin, like congealed cream, gave off a faint orchid-like fragrance. Her clear, lively eyes seemed to gather all the radiance of heaven and earth, drawing one deeply into them.

This girl actually possessed such breathtaking beauty! Ye Qiu thought in astonishment.