From the position of the first quarter moon, Ye Chen could easily determine that it was already the latter half of the night.
That is to say, he'd been trapped in this cold, wet cave, chilled and hungry for almost an entire day.
He had called for help during the day, but alas, to no avail. This ravine was too far from Tianfang Village. No matter how loudly he yelled, no one could hear him.
As darkness fell, he consciously remained quiet. Firstly, because his throat was hoarse, and secondly because there were wolves and other predators in the deep mountains. Shouting would be nothing short of suicide, alerting these nocturnal hunters.
"I can't believe I've run into trouble like this. I've wasted two lifetimes."
Ye Chen sat on the ground, his head tilted upwards to look at the cave entrance. Despondency filled his seemingly thirteen-year-old innocent face.
He came from a blue planet called Earth, transported to this world after a car accident. Raised by a single mother in a mountain village, and as for his father...
Heaven knows, Earth knows, he just doesn't know.
Because of this, the children of his age in the village bullied him, called him a wild child without a father. Several times they even purposely blocked his path and spat at him.
Falling into this pit today was also a trap set by those brats, led by the village chief's portly son. They came to him early in the morning, saying Little Hua had fallen into the pit and forcefully dragged him to help. He rushed over without giving it much thought. After all, Little Hua always protected him from the fat boy and his cronies' bullying. She was one of the very few kind people in Tianfang Village.
How could he possibly turn a blind eye to such a kind-hearted little girl in distress?
However, when he arrived, the pit was there, but Little Hua was nowhere to be found. The moment he realized something was wrong, several small hands had already pushed him forcefully from the back, sending him into the pit and causing him bruises and abrasions.
Don't underestimate these thirteen or fourteen-year-old children; they can be very crafty when engaging in mischief. They chose the location well. This pit wasn't very deep, not exceeding three meters, but due to the damp environment and slippery mossy stone walls, he couldn't climb out no matter how hard he tried.
"Damn it, once I get out of here, I'll definitely make these brats pay."
Just thinking about this made him seethe with anger. He picked up a stone from the ground and threw it forward in frustration.
What he didn't know was when someone would come to his rescue.
When daylight came, everything was calm, and Ye Chen, covered in frost, was almost ready to resign to his fate. Suddenly, he saw a rope dangling from the entrance of the pit.
Ye Chen was overjoyed. At last, someone had come for him. He hadn't given up. He grabbed the rope and climbed out, only to see the village chief's chubby son Jia Tianhao and a couple of other local bullies.
The young man on the left, standing with his arms crossed, looked at him sarcastically and said with a somewhat childish voice, "So, how does it feel to be stuck in the pit?"
This was Jin Hui, one of the group who had pushed Ye Chen into the pit yesterday, and a lackey of Jia Tianhao.
What's going on? Ye Chen spat, realizing that it was this gang who had pulled him up.
However, these sheltered country brats might be timid, but they were still scared of him dying in the wilderness, so at least they thought to come back and pull him out.
Seeing as though that was the case...
Jia Tianhao's chubby face showed a trace of ruthlessness as he said in a low voice, "You guessed it right. We intentionally pushed you into the pit this time. Consider this a lesson. I'll see if you dare to get so close with my Little Hua in the future."
Turns out, this whole fiasco was a bunch of children fighting over a girl. Ye Chen couldn't help but smile and shake his head. It seemed the saying 'beauty brings calamity' held no regard for age.
Ye Chen remained silent and scanned the surroundings. He casually picked up a large stone from the ground and slowly started walking towards Jia Tianhao.
"What... What are you... What are you doing with that stone?"
Spotting the ominous look on Ye Chen's handsome face, Jia Tianhao's typically arrogant expression was replaced with panic. The two lackeys by his side instinctively stepped back.
The oppressive atmosphere around Ye Chen was unusually terrifying, causing the few half-grown children to feel somewhat uneasy. His footsteps became faster until finally, with a leap, he raised the stone high in his hand and slammed it down mercilessly onto the fat boy's forehead.
If agony had a color, it would surely be the crimson splash of blood at that moment.
"Ahh—"
Jia Tianhao let out a shriek akin to a pig being slaughtered, clutching his bleeding forehead as he fell backward.
"Damn it, I didn't bother with you kids before, but you've gone too far, haven't you?"
After being trapped in the pit for a day and night and almost starving to death, Ye Chen needed to vent his anger. He coldly surveyed the few teenagers.
A group of half-grown children, raised in an isolated village, had never seen such a bloody scene. The typically standoffish Ye Chen had revealed a ruthless side, scaring them so much they couldn't move. Jin Hui mustered the courage to stutter, "Fat brother, you... are you okay?"
"He's not okay," Ye Chen answered for him, "He's in deep trouble."
With that, Ye Chen walked over and punched the already dazed and bloodied portly boy in his flat nose one more time. Without any consideration for his gushing nosebleed, Ye Chen grabbed the fat boy by the collar and dragged him over to the pit, giving him a swift kick into the hole.
"Ahh—" The fat boy's screams echoed through the pit as Ye Chen turned around and shot a fierce glance at the lackeys.
"Help! Ye Chen's trying to kill someone—"
With Jin Hui at the lead, they all fled.
"Ha, a bunch of bullies who only know how to pick on the weak."
Ye Chen sneered coldly, threw away the blood-stained stone he was holding, and dragged his weary body back home.
"Chen'er, where have you been? Why didn't you come home last night?"
From afar, Ye Xue hurried over to meet him.
"Mother, oh, who's this?"
Just as Ye Chen was about to answer, he noticed an unfamiliar young man in a gorgeous white robe standing behind his mother.
Furthermore, he noticed several other young men in white robes, each armed with a sword, near the entrance of his house.
These people were clearly of significant origin.
Ye Chen wondered when his family had gained such prestigious relatives.
"Come on, call him Uncle Master!"
Ye Xue did not have time for further questions and pulled Ye Chen in front of the young man in the white robe.
A baffled Ye Chen called out uncertainly, "Uncle Master!"
"Ah!"
The young man in the white robe was extraordinarily handsome, his face serious and stern. He revealed a rare smile upon hearing Ye Chen say Uncle Master and praised, "What a handsome and elegant young man, Junior Sister, he resembles you!"
Ye Xue's pretty face, which appeared no more than a young girl's, flushed a little at his words. "Come on, let's go inside and talk. Chen'er, what are you standing there for?"
Ye Chen stood there as his fiercely handsome eyebrows creased together.