Chapter 346: Chapter 347 Hate Hate Hate

Lin Qian’s words completely stunned the old man, who quickly got up from the ground, grabbed the former’s shoulders excitedly, and said, “Really? Can you really save Yaner?”

Seeing Lin Qian nod affirmatively, a hopeful light burst in the old man’s eyes. He quickly pulled Lin Qian into his shabby little house.

The room was extremely simple, with only a table, two chairs, and a broken straw bed, aside from some ruined walls and tiles, there was nothing else.

On that broken straw bed lay a child no more than ten years old, wearing only a thin hemp shirt that had been stained red with blood.

And the child lying on the straw bed was tilting his head, coughing violently from time to time; whenever he did, fresh blood would spray from his mouth.

Seeing this situation, Lin Qian hurriedly stepped forward like an arrow, his hand producing an extremely dim blood-colored restoration potion. He pulled out the stopper, pried open the child’s mouth, and forcefully poured the potion down.

It wasn’t that Lin Qian was stingy, but the child’s body simply couldn’t bear the potency of a stronger potion.

After pouring the restoration potion, Lin Qian tore open the child’s shirt, his pupils slightly constricting.

On the child’s chest was a black footprint. Without looking further, Lin Qian understood that the child must have been kicked in the chest by a Soul Martial Artist, causing such serious injury.

Apparently due to malnutrition, the child already looked much thinner. How could someone even bring themselves to harm him?

Lin Qian’s face clouded over as he placed his hand on the child’s chest, his Ice Cold Soul Power entering the other’s body as gently as possible to help digest the potency of the restoration potion.

The old man watched from the side, no longer crying but watching his grandson’s rapid recovery with surprise and joy.

After pulling Lin Qian into the house, the old man regretted how rash he had been, thinking this young man who came from an out-of-the-way small town could cure his grandson’s injuries.

While he was doubting, he saw the young man pour a strange red liquid into his grandson’s mouth and run Soul Power into the boy’s body with his palms.

Although the old man did not understand, he had heard others say that Soul Martial Artists sometimes use Soul Power for healing.

Seeing his grandson no longer coughing up blood violently, breathing steadily, and his complexion gradually becoming rosy, the old man trembled with excitement.

It didn’t take long for Lin Qian to withdraw his hand, and the black footprint on the child’s chest had also disappeared.

Thump!

As Lin Qian stood up and turned around, the old man fell to his knees with a thump, tears flowing once again, knocking his head against the ground in gratitude, “Thank you, kind sir, thank you so much.”

Lin Qian quickly helped the old man up from the ground, saying, “You don’t need to do this, old man. Just don’t look at me with that look of disgust, haha.”

Hearing Lin Qian’s words, the old man felt not only ashamed but speechless. Finally, he could only sigh, “Young man, you are a good person. Why on earth would you want to become one of those demons in the City Guard?”

“Old man, the City Defense Army is the main force of the Qin Dynasty and also the people besieging Yushui City. When the forces from Double Pole Palace, Carefree Sect, and Blood Spirit Valley attack, it’s them we’ll be relying on to protect us.” Seeing the old man’s deep hatred for the City Defense Army, Lin Qian couldn’t help but ask curiously.

“Rely on them for protection? Pah, I wish the Qin Dynasty would be destroyed and the City Defense Army would become ghosts under someone else’s command!” declared the old man venomously.

After the old man spoke, Lin Qian just stared at him, dumbfounded, not expecting this response.

After his fierce statement, the old man saw Lin Qian’s shocked expression and suddenly reached out to wipe the murky tears from his face, seemingly lost in thought.

Immediately afterward, the old man hurried to the door, peeked outside, then tightly shut the wooden door and closed the only small window. He then approached Lin Qian.

“Young man, tell me, who are you really?” the old man asked in a low voice after doing all this.

Lin Qian looked deep into the old man’s eyes and suddenly, Soul Power emerged within him, enveloping the entire interior of the small house, isolating it from the outside world. Only then did he say to the old man, “Honestly, old sir, I am not from the Qin Dynasty.”

Lin Qian decided to reveal his identity to the old man after much thought; he had clearly seen the old man’s bitterness towards the Qin Dynasty and his vendetta against the City Defense Army.

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Lin Qian still needed the old man’s place, so it couldn’t hurt to let slip some details to him.

Based on his own rescue of the man’s grandson as well as their shared enmity, Lin Qian believed the old man would aid him.

Even if the old man refused, Lin Qian would be forced to silence him for the success of his plan. If his plan succeeded, casualties among the disciples of the three forces would greatly diminish, and mercy in times of war was the height of folly.

“Now I understand, young man. Such a kind-hearted person as you, why would you think of joining the City Defense Army, and how would you know about my grandson’s injury?” The old man, grasping Lin Qian’s hand, was overjoyed as he spoke, as if finding out Lin Qian had no real desire to join the City Defense Army was a cause for great celebration.

Lin Qian moved two chairs over, asked the old man to sit down, and then sat opposite him, curiously voicing his question, “Old sir, I don’t understand, why do you harbor so much hatred for the City Defense Army, so much resentment towards your own dynasty?”

Hearing Lin Qian’s puzzled question, the old man laughed sadly and asked back, “Wouldn’t you be livid? If someone didn’t treat you as human, if someone killed your son, insulted your daughter-in-law, and nearly kicked your grandson to death, wouldn’t you be furious, wouldn’t you bear a grudge?”

As he spoke, the old man’s tears flowed uncontrollably, his withered hands covering his face: “If it weren’t for your intervention, young man, I truly wouldn’t know how to face my son and daughter-in-law after death.”

Then, the old man began to recount the story slowly to Lin Qian, “My surname is Qi, just call me Old Man Qi. That’s my grandson, Qi Yan. As I told you before, my son was murdered by the City Defense Army for the mere reason that when he sold the Soul Beast pelts he had gathered, the City Defense Army took them without paying. When he dared to ask if he could be given some Soul Crystals as a tip…”

“He was humbly begging, with not a trace of disrespect, yet the City Defense Army still beat my son to death. Because he asked for money, we lowly commoners should be grateful when the City Defense Army takes our things, and asking for money deserves death.”

“My daughter-in-law went to beg for mercy, but they took her away. Ten days later, they returned the body of Yaner’s mother, just because Yaner’s crying was too loud, the leader of the City Defense Army gave him a kick!”

“Just for crying too loudly!”

Lin Qian remained silent, producing a bottle of low-grade healing potion and handing it to the old man to drink.

Lin Qian didn’t want the old man to go blind from bloody tears he shed in rage.

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