Family

Chapter 680: Family

“What are you standing there for? Hurry up and apologize to your father. It’s late, don’t make such a scene.”

“That’s right. If he were my son, I’d have him hanging from a beam by now.”

Yang Xiaohai looked around in disbelief, unable to trust what he was seeing. These Dan-min people, these so-called relatives of his.

In their eyes, Houwa wasn’t even a person. He was just merchandise to be bought and sold!

Yang Xiaohai’s gaze slowly shifted, finally landing on his biological father, Chi Baishui. Bitterness filled his heart.

It wasn’t just Houwa. He, his own son, was the same. In his father’s eyes, he was just something that could be traded for silver.

Just then, Chi Baishui noticed that Yang Xiaohai hadn’t moved. With all the neighbors watching, he felt his face burning with shame.

He rolled up his sleeves, strode over to Yang Xiaohai, and slapped him hard across the face. “Kneel down!”

Feeling the sting on his cheek, the bitterness in his heart quickly faded. A nameless rage surged up from his gut, burning so hot it made his scalp prickle.

“No! Why should I kneel? You’re not fit to be a father!” Yang Xiaohai shoved Chi Baishui away with both hands, clenching his fists and screaming.

“Son of a bitch! You’re asking for it!” Furious and humiliated, Chi Baishui looked around, grabbed a plank studded with nails, and raised it to smash down on Yang Xiaohai’s head.

His mother and his second and third brothers rushed forward, grabbing at him to stop the blow.

Just as the standoff was getting tense, the eldest sister stepped in, giving her father a way to save face.

“Forget it, Dad. There’s no need to sell the three kids. Besides, with all this chaos from the war, how much silver can children even fetch? We’ve got enough to get by.”

Hearing this, Chi Baishui lowered the plank, but his words grew even sharper.

“Listen here, Fifth Boy! I’m your father! I’m selling all three of your brats! If you talk back to me again, I’ll sell your wife too! A gentleman’s word is his bond—four horses couldn’t drag it back!”

At those words, the look in Yang Xiaohai’s eyes changed completely. He had never understood why Chun Xiaoman had killed her own father. Now, he finally understood.

It turned out that family could be worse than strangers. Far worse!

“Alright, Dad, don’t say things you don’t mean,” the eldest sister said, exchanging a glance with the second and third brothers. They understood immediately and began easing their father back into the boat cabin.

“Nothing to see here, everyone. Sorry for the trouble, keeping you up so late over such a small matter.”

After dispersing the surrounding Dan-min, she walked over to Yang Xiaohai and scolded him in a matronly tone. “What’s wrong with you? We’re all family. Couldn’t you just say something soft?”

Yang Xiaohai kept his head down, his jaw clenched tight. His hands were trembling at his sides, as if he had already made up his mind about something.

Seeing his attitude, the eldest sister sighed in exasperation. “Let’s leave it at that for tonight. Third Uncle has gone out fishing, so you can sleep on his old boat for now. We’ll talk about everything when the sun comes up.”

With that, she pointed a finger toward a lonely little boat floating out on the sea.

Yang Xiaohai gave a silent nod and led Houwa and the pale, terrified Zhao Xiumei toward the boat.

It was small and shabby, with water already seeping into the cabin. Yang Xiaohai sat down in the middle of it, motionless as a statue, his heart cold.

“Husband… what do we do?” Zhao Xiumei trembled as she pressed herself against his side. She was terrified.

This place reminded her of the horrors she had suffered in the bandit camp.

“This isn’t our home. And they aren’t my family. We’re going home. Back to Niuxin Village.”

Zhao Xiumei watched as Yang Xiaohai slowly came back to life, the statue turning back into a boy. A fierce, aching longing appeared on his young face.

“The martial brothers in Niuxin Village are my real family! Niuxin Village is my real home!”

Back when he was a beggar, starving and freezing, he had imagined a thousand times what his family might be like. How kind they would be to him.

But now, at this moment, he finally understood. If they were really so good to him, they wouldn’t have sold him in the first place. All those fantasies were just wishful thinking.

“How do we get out of here? The cart and the silver were all taken by your father,” Zhao Xiumei said bitterly.

“Then we take them back. That silver was ours. What right did they have to take it without even asking me?”

Yang Xiaohai clenched his fists. “The silver is with Eldest Sister right now. I’ll find a way to lure her out. Houwa, you and the others steal it back.”

“Once we have the silver, we can buy a new cart and horse. Then, while they’re all asleep, we leave tonight. We’ll circle back to Qingqiu.”

There was another reason he didn’t say out loud: without the silver, his family wouldn’t be able to join that evil Fa Sect.

“Good!” Zhao Xiumei let out a huge sigh of relief. She hadn’t been wrong about him.

Just as they were discussing the details, a sound came from outside the cabin. Both of them fell silent.

“Fifth Boy, it’s cold out. I’ve brought you and your wife a blanket.” It was his mother’s voice. A flicker of warmth crossed Yang Xiaohai’s face. Here, his mother was the only warmth he had.

He went out and brought her inside.

“Oh, this place is no fit for anyone to live in! It’s leaking, look how damp it is,” his mother complained.

But Yang Xiaohai looked at her seriously. “Mother, I’m leaving. Do you want to come with me? I’ll take you to Niuxin Mountain to live in comfort.”

“Huh? Fifth Boy, my ears are getting old. I can’t hear you. What did you say?”

Yang Xiaohai took his mother’s hand and led her out of the cabin. He gestured wildly, pointing at the distant land and using his hands to explain, until she finally understood.

“Fifth Boy, why do you have to leave? I only just saw you. Why would you want to go?” his mother wept, pleading with him.

Yang Xiaohai shook his head sadly. He didn’t want to be separated from her either. She was the only one here who had ever been good to him.

“Is it because of your father? We’re all family. Can’t we talk things through?”

Yang Xiaohai tried hard to convince her, but she wouldn’t agree to leave with him. In the end, all he could do was beg her not to tell his father.

“Alright, I won’t tell your father. Fifth Boy, when you get where you’re going, remember to write and let us know you’re safe. And if you ever pass by this way again, stop in and see us.”

He watched his mother look back three times as she shuffled into her cabin. In the distance, a light flickered on the sea—a boat was coming to shore. But Yang Xiaohai had more important things to do. Under cover of night, he made his way toward his eldest sister’s boat.