After a short while.
Fang Yu left the main road and walked into the residential area. It was no longer as bustling and prosperous as outside; instead, it felt quiet.
After turning a few more corners, he stopped by an alley.
Not far ahead of him stood a house.
If he remembered correctly, this was the place where he had lived as a child.
After hesitating for a long time, Fang Yu stood silently at the corner, looking over there.
He just wanted to take a distant glance and see how they were living now. But after waiting for quite some time, no one opened that door.
"I was sold at seven. Now I'm seventeen."
"They probably wouldn't recognize me."
After confirming that, he walked to the door and raised his hand to knock.
Just as he was about to do so, his hand suddenly froze midair. His heart was no longer calm. He did not know how to face the family behind that door.
Taking a deep breath, he finally knocked on the somewhat worn wooden door.
Knock, knock!
The sound echoed.
Fang Yu stood there waiting.
After a short while, footsteps could be heard from inside, followed by an aged voice:
"Who is it?"
The door slowly opened, and an elderly woman peeked out, looking at Fang Yu.
"And you are?" Fang Yu asked, startled.
In his memory, there was no image of this person.
"You're a funny young man. You knock on my door and then ask who I am?" the old woman said with a chuckle.
Puzzled, Fang Yu asked, "Does this house belong to the Fang family?"
"Fang?" The old woman thought for a moment. "I believe it used to."
"Used to?" Fang Yu was surprised.
"Come in. My old man knows more about it," the old woman said, stepping aside.
"Thank you," Fang Yu said gratefully, lowering his head.
Stepping through the gate, he saw the familiar courtyard, almost unchanged.
Just much older.
"He's in the backyard," the old woman said, closing the door behind them and leading Fang Yu inside.
As they walked slowly through the yard, Fang Yu looked around.
Passing by a stone block, he remembered sitting there, sneaking food and dreaming about the future.
As he walked past the house, he seemed to hear his stepmother's scolding in his ears.
"Eat, eat, all you know how to do is eat. Go do some work!"
When they reached the backyard, Fang Yu saw the stacked firewood. This place was familiar.
He had slept here, and from the age of four or five, he had been chopping wood and cooking.
He had not expected that even now, they were still using firewood.
Looking at these places, he felt an inexplicable sense of warmth.
This time, he had returned to see both the place and the people.
Unfortunately, things had changed.
"Old man, this young fellow seems to be looking for the Fang family. You tell him about it," the old woman said before leaving.
Fang Yu saw an elderly man ahead, still in fairly good spirits, slowly chopping wood.
Hearing his wife's words, the old man looked at Fang Yu in slight surprise.
"Looking for relatives?"
"Yes." Fang Yu nodded politely. "I hope you can tell me what you know."
"It's been a year now," the old man said with a faint smile. "Let me think."
Fang Yu did not rush him. Instead, he took the hatchet from the old man.
"Take your time. I'll chop the wood for you."
"You're quite polite. Judging by your clothes, you don't seem like you come from an ordinary family."
"You've probably never chopped wood before, have you?" the old man asked in surprise.
As a mage, Fang Yu could earn money easily. He did not dress plainly.
Hearing the question, Fang Yu smiled lightly.
"You must be joking. I started chopping wood when I was four or five. Back then I didn't have much strength, it was pretty hard."
Right here. In this very spot.
Fang Yu set the hatchet against a log, weighed it lightly in his hand twice, then adjusted its position more firmly.
With two solid strikes, the log split cleanly.
"Four or five?" the old man exclaimed.
"You could barely even hold the axe at that age, couldn't you?"
"It was pretty difficult back then," Fang Yu said with a smile.
Ten years had passed. He could reflect on what he had gone through, but he did not harbor any hatred.
Aside from remembering his stepmother scolding him, he could not even recall her treating him especially badly.
In fact, he was starting to forget what she looked like.
"Seems you really did come from hardship," the old man said, still somewhat incredulous.
As Fang Yu chopped the wood, he felt as though he had returned to his childhood.
Unfortunately, he did not remember that much.
As a transmigrator, his memory should have been excellent. Yet as he grew older, the events of the past had gradually blurred and faded.
As for the stories of this magic world, if he had not forced himself to review them from time to time, he might have forgotten those long ago as well.
"You came to ask about the Fang family," the old man said curiously as he watched Fang Yu.
"What's your relation to them?"
At that Fang Yu paused. He looked at the elderly man before him. Though aged, the man was in good spirits and carried a certain presence.
In his youth, he had likely been someone of standing.
After a brief hesitation, Fang Yu answered honestly.
"I'm their son."
"Son?" The old man was startled.
"That shouldn't be. When I bought this house from him, I never heard he had a son."
"Yes." Fang Yu nodded calmly.
"I was sent away when I was seven. I happened to return to Luo City today and wanted to see how they were doing."
The old man stared at Fang Yu in shock, opening his mouth but failing to speak.
Fang Yu split a few more logs before the old man finally said,"When did you leave?"
"Ten years ago," Fang Yu replied.
"I bought this house a year ago," the old man said after thinking for a moment.
"I heard they were moving somewhere else."
Last year?
The year I awakened my magic.
Were they afraid I would come back for revenge after awakening?
A bitter feeling rose in Fang Yu's heart.
He would never go that far.
Even if those years after leaving had been harsh and impoverished, it would not have come to that.
Wait.
If that guess were true, then they knew where I had gone.
That…
"Did they say where they were moving to?" Fang Yu asked.
"No." The old man shook his head.
"But it shouldn't be far, probably some nearby town. If you truly want to see them, you could try searching around."
Fang Yu lowered his gaze and did not respond.
He had come out this time with Leng Qing. He simply did not have the time to wander through nearby towns.
Besides, in a sea of people, how could he possibly find them?
"I remember ten years ago there was a plague, wasn't there? Livestock died in batches. The whole city was struggling back then," the old man added.
"Yes, I remember a little," Fang Yu nodded.
Looking at him, the old man seemed to understand something of what he felt and asked,
"Do you hate them?"
"No. I just hold a bit of resentment," Fang Yu replied softly.
"That's rare. Most people would hate them to the bone," the old man said with a faint smile.
Fang Yu did not say anything more and continued chopping wood quietly.
After a long while, he finished splitting the pile. In the past, this would have been the moment he could find something to eat.
A rare, easy time.
"I should be going," Fang Yu said politely as he stood.
"Wait a moment," the old man said, getting up and heading inside.
What was this about?
Fang Yu was puzzled.
A moment later.
The old man returned with a worn stone box and handed it to Fang Yu.
"This was left behind when the Fang family moved out. I'll give it to you."
Fang Yu accepted it. Though curious, he did not open it immediately.
Afterward, the old man walked him out.
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