"I'm finally back!"
Standing on the streets of Luo City, Jiang Ning felt as if he was in a different world.
When he left, he was but a seventeen-year-old high school senior. Now, he was a twenty-five-year-old young man.
Eight years have passed, and the scenery he remembered has disappeared, replaced by towering skyscrapers.
The city has changed, but are his relatives who live here still alright?
He quickly tidied up his backpack and hurriedly walked towards the direction of his home from his memory.
After escaping the bustling new city and traversing through the intertwined narrow lanes of the old city, in the distance, he saw the nostalgic tube building of his memories.
At this moment, it was early spring, and the air in the evening was still filled with a hint of chill. The warm light from the buildings cast on his homeward path, familiar local accents crossed over the walls and entered his ears, providing him with a sense of familiarity.
His pace quickened, like a gust of wind. He crossed the yard, climbed up the stairs and arrived at the door of his fourth-floor home.
Just as he was about to knock, the door opened from the inside. A young woman with a bowl of herbal medicine residue walked out.
Suddenly seeing a grown man at the door, the woman was startled and reflexively stepped back. However, after she saw Jiang Ning's face clearly, she became stupefied and hesitated, "You, you are..."
Jiang Ning was surprised too.
Although many years have passed, her delicate features still remained, he could recognize that she was his high school classmate, Ye Shuang.
But why was she at his house?
"Are you... Jiang Ning?" Finally regaining her senses, Ye Shuang exclaimed in surprise.
Jiang Ning nodded and responded with a smile.
"Why are you only coming back now?" Ye Shuang immediately widened her eyes, as if she had suffered a great grievance, and reprimanded him, "Where have you been all these years? Do you know that Uncle and Auntie have always been looking for you?"
The smile on Jiang Ning's face slowly turned bitter.
His disappearance was due to an accident, and these past eight years abroad had been too bloody, making him unable to express his feelings, no matter how helpless they were.
Fortunately, Ye Shuang didn't continue to question him. She quickly pulled him into the house and hurried to close the door after a glance outside.
Turning around, she examined Jiang Ning for a moment before heaving a sigh, saying, "Auntie is ill, Uncle has no time, so I am taking care of her here."
"Ill?"
Jiang Ning's heart dropped suddenly. His mother had always been in good health, why would she suddenly become sick?
His gaze trailed along the direction of Ye Shuang's finger, towards the adjacent bedroom.
An elderly woman with snow-white hair was lying in the bed, with an IV drip next to her, seemingly in a deep sleep.
Her sickness was evidently severe — even under thick blankets, her face was sheeted with a sickly pallor. Even in her sleep, she displayed occasional hints of pain.
Jiang Ning blinked, finding it hard to believe that this was the mother who had given him life and raised him.
Tears welled in his eyes as he slowly approached, knelt beside the bed as gently as if not wanting to disturb her sleep, picked up her hand full of needle holes, and pressed it firmly against his own face.
"Auntie has heart disease, it's been several years," Ye Shuang who had followed him in quietly explained. "Originally Uncle had saved up a little money from his scrap-collecting job to prepare for her surgery, but not long ago, he accidentally hit a luxury car. The money he had saved was used up, but it wasn't enough. Now, he's physically laboring to pay the debt. With no money, Auntie's illness has worsened, now they can only maintain with some cheap traditional medicine..."
Her words increased the anguish in Jiang Ning's heart.
He had left home eight years ago and failed to keep in touch for various reasons. The fact that his parents had fallen on such hard times was beyond his comprehension.
However, his knitted brows gradually relaxed.
From what Ye Shuang suggested, the illness, though perilous, could be completely cured with modern medical technology as long as there were funds available for the surgery.
Despite having encountered numerous dangers during his years abroad, he had also reaped considerable benefits.
At that thought, Jiang Ning took out a small bottle from his luggage, poured out a golden pill, dissolved it in the warm water on the table, and slowly fed it to his mother.
The pill was something he had obtained from a tribal chief in Africa, supposedly woven from a variety of extremely rare and valuable medicinal herbs, with the ability to extend life. Three of them had once saved Jiang Ning's life, one had been used to rescue a woman suffering from severe poisoning, and this was the last one left.
The magic potion soon worked wonders. Jiang's mother's frostbitten face regained a bit of color after drinking it.
Witnessing the entire process, Ye Shuang, who was standing behind Jiang Ning, had no idea what it was and her eyes widened in astonishment.
Gradually, Jiang's mother in her stupor seemed to sense something. She slowly opened her eyes, and seeing Jiang Ning kneeling at her bedside, she was stunned. "Am I dreaming?"
Jiang Ning shook his head.
He was intently looking at his mother's face, diligently waiting for her to drink all the water from the cup.
"Xiao Ning, is it really you, Xiao Ning?"
Jiang's mother had fully regained consciousness, but she clearly didn't dare to believe what she was seeing.
"Mom, it's me, I'm back!"
Jiang Ning clutched his mother's hand tightly, nodding his head earnestly.
This young man who had just struggled from the battlefield, who had once stirred up a storm in the mercenary world abroad, this war god, now in front of his mother, could no longer suppress his emotions and shed tears like a child.
"You are my little Ning!"
Madam Jiang suddenly sat up, pulling him into a tight hug and sobbed uncontrollably, "Why have you only come back now? Where have you been these past years? Your father was framed, they are planning to take away our house, but I couldn't bear to leave this place, fearing you wouldn't be able to find your way home when you returned..."
Her tears quickly soaked Jiang Ning's shoulder.
He bowed his head in silence, letting his mother vent her hardships and yearning over the years.
Eight years. He had been away from home for too long.
"Bang!"
Just as Jiang Ning finally saw his mother, only to find she had grown old and ill.
Just as he was overwhelmed by guilt.
The tightly closed door was suddenly kicked open, and a shrill voice echoed,
"What's the use of crying? Pay your debts, it's only natural!"
Jiang Ning could clearly sense that his mother's frail body violently trembled in fear at the sound.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes as he turned his gaze towards the sound.
In his sight, a slovenly-dressed young man appeared.
The man kicked the door open and stormed in, cursing and swearing. He stood in the middle of the living room, his gaze scanning around the room before finally landing on Mrs. Jiang. He snorted coldly, saying, "Don't blame me for not warning you guys. If you don't move out today, get ready to collect that old man's corpse!"
"Looking for death!"
Before his words had even fully echoed, Jiang Ning lunged at the young man, throwing a punch.
"Bang!"
Blood sprayed from the young man's mouth and with a cry of despair, he was thrown several meters back and smashed hard into the wall, before bouncing back and landing heavily on the ground.
"What the hell are you? How dare you yell here?"
Without waiting for the young man to get up, Jiang Ning grabbed him by the throat, lifting him off the ground.
This damn guy, he dared to threaten his own mother!
At this moment, could Jiang Ning's expression be described with merely the word 'fierce'?
The young man was named Xiang Cheng, the head of security at Jin Ding Entertainment City, and was a local small-time ruffian, with seven or eight followers under his command, a figure of some renown in the seedy side of the old town. But now, in the face of Jiang Ning, he couldn't even muster up the courage to speak.
Ye Shuang was also taken aback by Jiang Ning's sudden outburst. After she snapped out of her daze, she rushed forward to stop him, "Jiang Ning, let go! You could kill him like this."
Jiang Ning snorted, his eyes cold as ice. He had no intentions of letting this punk leave alive.
"Xiao Ning, don't be rash, your father is still in their hands!" Mrs. Jiang also hurried out to intervene.
Jiang Ning was momentarily stunned, his brow quivered.
With a slight shove, he tossed Xiang Cheng out of the door like a broken sack.
Xiang Cheng slowly rose from the ground, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
Just a moment ago, he had almost thought he would lose his life.
Having recovered his senses, he touched his neck, a hint of venom flashing in his eyes. He glared at Jiang Ning, who was slowly approaching, threatening in a severe tone, "Just you wait, I won't let this go."
As he spoke, he reached into his pocket to call for help.
However, before he could draw his phone, Jiang Ning grabbed him by his collar and slammed him against the wall. His mobile clattered to the ground, and a spine-crushing pain shuddered through him, causing him to wail out loud.
"Thud!"
Jiang Ning landed a punch to his lower abdomen.
The powerful impact sent spasms rolling through Xiang Cheng's organs. He choked on the thick surge of blood caught in his throat - neither able to spew it out nor swallow it down, his screams abruptly died.
"Where's my father?" Jiang Ning's voice was as cold as ice.
At this point, Xiang Cheng realized that he had messed with a ruthless man, a shadow of hesitation flashing in his panicked eyes.
"Thud!"
Before he could decide whether to own up, Jiang Ning gave him another punch - the trapped blood immediately gushed out. He retched out his dinner, accompanied by a hot, coppery sweetness.
"I'll give you one last chance!" Jiang Ning's voice was icy cold, with no trace of sentiment.
"I'll tell, I'll tell..." Xiang Cheng no longer dared to hesitate, begging in desperation.
Jiang Ning snorted coldly, and the pressure of his hand loosened slightly.
"The old man...the boss is at our company, and Boss Geng said he will only let him go once he has taken over his house," said Xiang Cheng. His tears mixed with the blood on his face, falling uncontrollably due to the intense pain.
"Take me there!"
Jiang Ning, not having the time to argue with this punk, grabbed his hair and started dragging him downstairs.
"Ning..."
From behind, Ye Shuang and Jiang's mother followed out, their faces filled with worry.
Jiang Ning turned back, giving them a smile, then comforted, "Mom, you and Ye Shuang should just prepare dinner at home. I will bring dad back soon."
With that, he slapped Xiang Cheng's bruised and swelling face lightly, "Right, isn't that so?"
At this point, Xiang Cheng was in so much pain he wished he could just die. He could do nothing else but nod fervently in agreement.
