Qin Yan'er suddenly cut in. "Then how did I die, Brother?"
"You..." Ye Yuan suddenly stopped. He did not want to tell Yan'er. It was also a pain in his heart that could never be erased.
Back then, after Qin Yan'er learned that all four of her limbs had been crippled and that she had been driven out of the imperial city, she went to see him alone.
But she was captured by the royal guard midway there.
Then the royal family branded her an imperial heretic and tied Yan'er to a stake, burning her alive.
By the time Ye Yuan returned, nothing remained but ashes.
After Tang San and the others ascended to the God Realm, Ye Yuan found everyone involved and exterminated their entire families. He did not even spare the onlookers from back then.
Seeing the grief on her brother's face, Qin Yan'er hurriedly said, "It's okay, it's okay! Brother, if you don't want to talk about it, then forget it."
Ye Yuan forced a smile.
Looking at the familiar face before him, he could not help recalling the days when the two of them had depended on each other.
Back then, he had lived alone in the imperial city, lonely and helpless, with no one to rely on.
Whenever there was a holiday, he could only hide in his room like a sewer rat, peering through the window at other people's happiness.
Until he met her.
Ye Yuan's thoughts returned to that snowy night.
At the time, Ye Yuan had just become a knight commander. The royal family was planning to hold a large event outside the city, so he led people there in advance to check for danger.
The snow had fallen heavily that day. When he had nearly been beaten to death back then, the snow seemed to have been just as heavy.
After arranging the patrol points,
he wandered alone through the imperial city beneath the swirling snow.
A crowd had gathered not far away, and curses rang out without pause.
Ye Yuan ignored them. He merely glanced over before leaving.
He roughly knew what had happened. Ever since coming to this world, he had seen such things countless times.
Just as he was about to pass the crowd, a thin, blood-covered figure rushed out.
It crashed directly into his feet and fell to the ground.
Ye Yuan was dumbfounded. Was someone trying to scam him?
Looking closely, he could vaguely make out that it was a little girl. Her hair was a mess, and her clothes were thin.
It was the coldest time of year in the Star Luo Empire. Dressed like that in the snow, she would probably freeze to death before nightfall.
The girl climbed to her feet as though she had found a savior. She hid behind Ye Yuan and clutched the hem of his clothes tightly.
That group immediately walked over, about to loudly berate Ye Yuan for meddling in other people's business.
But the knight's emblem on Ye Yuan's chest frightened them. It was the mark of a Royal Knight, someone people like them could not afford to offend.
A finely dressed person stepped out from the crowd, seemingly their leader.
He slowly walked up to Ye Yuan, bowed, and said in a low voice, "Honorable knight, I am the owner of this pawnshop. May I ask whether you know this little girl?"
"She stole gold from our pawnshop and smashed quite a few things in the store, which is why we wanted to punish her."
Ye Yuan did not want to meddle, so he said, "Of course I don't know her..."
Before he could finish, he felt the small body behind him trembling.
He sighed inwardly. After all, he was not from this world. He still could not be that coldhearted.
So he shook his head and said to the owner, "Yes, I know her. What about it?"
The owner clearly had not expected this beggar-like girl to know Ye Yuan, or perhaps this knight had some peculiar tastes.
He could only consider himself unlucky. His gaze turned fierce as he looked at the few gold bars clutched tightly in the little girl's hands.
But he did not dare demand them. In the end, he said with a dark expression, "Oh, then it's nothing. So it was all a misunderstanding!"
Ye Yuan took the gold bars from the little girl's hands, then pulled out 3,000 Soul Coins from his clothes and tossed them all to the pawnshop owner.
He said coldly, "Take them. These 3,000 Soul Coins are compensation for the things in your shop."
The pawnshop owner hurriedly caught the gold bars and Soul Coins. He bit one of the gold bars to make sure it had not been switched, then opened the money pouch to see whether there was really money inside.
Upon seeing the 3,000 Soul Coins in the pouch, the owner immediately beamed. "Ah! Very good, my lord knight. You truly are a good person! I will definitely sing your praises to all my friends and family!"
"Leave. Stop gathering here," Ye Yuan barked, and the crowd dispersed.
Then he said to the little girl, "Go on. You will not be this lucky next time."
With that, he left.
He continued walking through the city alone.
Halfway there, Ye Yuan drew a deep breath. "Sigh..."
He turned to look at the little girl behind him. "Why are you always following me? Go back."
When Ye Yuan snapped at her, the little girl's round eyes instantly filled with tears, and she ran into an alley on her tiny legs.
"She sure runs fast." With that, Ye Yuan turned around and continued walking.
Suddenly, Ye Yuan seemed to sense something. He immediately turned around and saw that the little girl had somehow quietly followed behind him again.
The instant the girl saw that she had been discovered, she immediately scurried away on her little feet again, like a little mouse. As she ran, she said, "I-I'm not following you!"
Ye Yuan turned and continued walking, but this time, the moment he turned around, he looked back again.
At a glance, he spotted the little girl coming out of the alley.
"Ah, you found... found me!" the little girl cried.
Then she tried to run back again, but Ye Yuan reacted swiftly and grabbed her by the collar, lifting her up like a chick.
Ye Yuan had not expected this little thing to be so light, even lighter than he had imagined.
"Wah! Let me go!" the girl kicked her legs.
Ye Yuan could not help rubbing his forehead. Why did it look like he was bullying a little girl?
He set the little girl down, but still held onto her clothes. "Tell me. Why are you following me?"
The little girl hesitated. "I... I want to borrow money from you."
"Borrow money?"
"Yes, borrow money. I need money to buy medicine for Mama."
Ye Yuan stared at the little girl's dirty face, trying to determine whether she was lying.
"Are you sure you're not lying?"
The girl nodded rapidly like a pecking chick. "No!"
So this little girl had stolen the gold bars to save her mother.
"Where is your father?"
The girl's eyes darted around before she said, "Yan'er doesn't have a father. Mama found Yan'er."
Ye Yuan's expression dimmed. "It was wrong of me to bring up something sad."
The girl said, "It's okay." Seeing that Ye Yuan had not agreed to lend her money, she hurriedly added, "Big Brother, don't worry."
"Yan'er is very capable! Yan'er can serve you tea and water, and when Yan'er grows up, Yan'er can even become Big Brother's wife!"
"Look, these are Yan'er's muscles!"
As she spoke, she did not forget to bare her arm and show Ye Yuan her "muscles."
"Anyway, Yan'er will definitely pay back all the money!"
"Hahaha, you little girl are both filial and amusing."
Ye Yuan did not know how long it had been since he had laughed like this.
At that moment, his fondness for the girl before him rose considerably.
"How about this? I'll go see your mother with you first and find out what illness she has. That way, I can lend you money to buy medicine. What do you think?"
Qin Yan'er nodded. "Mm, Big Brother, hurry and come with Yan'er."
Before you continue