Yang An Is Back

At this moment.

A long time had passed since the White-clothed Woman left the Li household.

Yang Ning had just awakened from her unconscious state.

Li Yan’s leg, just as the White-clothed Woman had said, had fully healed in about an hour, allowing him to walk again.

Yet, there was not a trace of joy on either of their faces.

They sat numbly at the dining table.

Three bowls of congee were placed on the table—cooked by Li Yan, who had noticed how pale Yang Ning looked and hoped she might eat something.

But once the congee was ready,

neither Yang Ning nor Li Yan touched it. They simply sat there, motionless, staring blankly at the empty seat where Yang An used to sit.

The couple seemed like two lifeless puppets, devoid of soul.

They waited until the congee turned cold,

unable to accept yet knowing deep down that their second son would never return…

Silent tears streamed down Yang Ning’s face.

Li Yan held her hand,

wanting to say something comforting, but no words came out.

The agony of losing a loved one

was equally unbearable for him, filling him with a desperate urge to lash out at someone.

But Yang An had already slain all their enemies.

Li Yan didn’t even know who to direct his rage toward.

Just as sorrow threatened to drown them, as the entire Li household was steeped in this suffocating gloom—

"I’m back!"

Yang An’s cheerful voice rang out from outside.

Li Yan: ?

Yang Ning: ?

Li Yan paused. "A-Ning, I think I’m hallucinating. I heard Yang An’s voice."

Before Yang Ning could respond,

Creak.

The wooden door swung open from the outside, and Yang An strode into the courtyard with Manman in tow, swaggering all the way into the main hall.

Li Yan: ?

Yang Ning: ?

Yang Ning lowered her head, then raised it again. "Husband… I think I’m hallucinating too."

Spotting Yang Ning and Li Yan seated at the table with three bowls of congee laid out, Yang An grinned. "Oh, you even served me congee! Perfect timing—I’m starving!"

Under the couple’s dumbfounded, almost ghost-seeing expressions,

Yang An sat down with Manman, picked up a bowl, and took a big gulp—only to frown. "Why’s it cold?"

Li Yan: …

Yang Ning: …

"Ah well, cold is fine." Yang An pulled out meat pies from his robe and handed them over. "Good thing the pies I bought are still warm."

He took alternating bites of hot pie and cold congee, eating with gusto.

This hallucination felt too real.

It didn’t seem fake at all.

Yang Ning trembled. "Husband… do you see him too?"

Li Yan nodded shakily. "I do."

Afraid this might be an illusion, Yang Ning grabbed his arm. "Hit me. Quick, hit me!"

Li Yan couldn’t bear to strike her.

He swallowed hard. "You hit me instead."

Slap!

Yang Ning delivered a sharp smack across Li Yan’s face. "Well? Does it hurt?"

Li Yan clutched his reddened cheek. "A little."

If it hurt, then this wasn’t a hallucination!

Which meant… the Yang An before them wasn’t an illusion—

He was real?

The hollow look in Li Yan and Yang Ning’s eyes slowly gave way to an indescribable glow.

By now, Yang An had already downed half his bowl.

Noticing the couple still staring at him, he raised an eyebrow. "What’s wrong? Brother-in-law, sis, why aren’t you eating? The pies will get cold too."

Yang Ning and Li Yan hastily grabbed the pies and stuffed them into their mouths.

As they ate,

"Hahahahaha!"

Li Yan couldn’t hold back his laughter.

Yang Ning burst into laughter next, bending over until she could barely stand straight, her whole body collapsing onto the table as her shoulders shook uncontrollably.

Li Yan’s reaction was even more exaggerated.

Porridge shot out of his nostrils from laughing so hard, and seeing her husband’s ridiculous expression, Yang Ning only laughed harder.

But as their laughter continued,

tears began to glisten at the corners of the couple’s eyes.

Yang Ning rushed forward and threw her arms around Yang An. Feeling his sister’s trembling body, Yang An knew he had worried her and his brother-in-law deeply.

Originally planning to brush it off, he instead apologized:

“Sis, Brother-in-law, I’m sorry. I came back late.”

“As long as you’re back, that’s all that matters!” Li Yan walked over and wrapped his arms tightly around both siblings.

Watching the three of them embrace so fiercely,

Manman, sitting to the side, pondered for a moment, hesitating whether to join the hug. But then she reconsidered—how could she keep eating if she did that?

So she ignored them,

lowering her head to focus on devouring the meat pie on the table.

After a while,

the initial overwhelming joy of Yang An’s return gradually settled, and Yang Ning and Li Yan naturally began questioning him thoroughly.

Especially Yang Ning.

While wiping her tears, she had already gripped a rolling pin, looking ready to beat Yang An to death if he dared hide even half a word.

The bloodshed at the Wang Family Bank had been too brutal.

Yang An hadn’t wanted to speak of it.

From his sister and brother-in-law, he learned that the White-clothed Woman had not only delivered the silver for him but also healed Li Yan’s leg—she seemed like a good person.

Taking the jade token from the White-clothed Woman that Yang Ning handed him,

Yang An realized they already knew part of the story from her. Under the threat of Yang Ning’s rolling pin, he reluctantly gave a simplified account.

He avoided all mention of the bloody, violent methods of killing,

instead boasting about his own heroic feats—how he had fearlessly held his own against multiple foes, how he had outwitted and outmaneuvered the villains Wang Gou'er and Zheng Huaiyi, toying with them effortlessly.

After spinning such tall tales for a while,

Li Yan was so fired up he repeatedly clapped and cheered, even pacing back and forth in excitement at one point.

He looked ready to grab a weapon and challenge Wang Gou'er to a duel—

if the man hadn’t already been dead.

Yang Ning, however, paled at the dangers described, quickly pulling Yang An’s hand and lifting his clothes.

“Let me see if you’re hurt anywhere!”

Yang An reassured her, “It’s fine, sis. Wang Gou'er and his gang were all bark and no bite—they crumbled at the first touch.”

Yang Ning didn’t believe a word of it.

She insisted on checking him head to toe, only relaxing once she confirmed he was unharmed.

As for the matter concerning Qin Guo'er,

Yang An hesitated but decided to keep it hidden for now.

It wasn’t that he wanted to deceive Yang Ning and Li Yan—

but this involved retaliation from the Cui Lin families, and the less his sister and brother-in-law knew, the safer they’d be.

Just as Yang Ning was about to whack him with the rolling pin after his story,

a little figure suddenly darted between them.

Tugging at Yang An’s sleeve,

Manman piped up in a clear voice, “I finished the pie.”

The shock of Yang An’s return from the dead had consumed the couple’s attention until now, when they finally noticed Manman.

With her delicate, doll-like features,

she was utterly adorable.

Yang Ning was instantly captivated, putting the rolling pin aside. “What a beautiful little girl! Yang An, whose child is this?”

Thanks to Manman’s timely interruption,

Yang An narrowly escaped a beating.

Yang An let out a sigh of relief.

As early as on his way home, he had already thought up what to say. He spoke eloquently, "I'm not sure either. Last night, I broke into the Wangs' bank. She was caught by Zheng Huaiyi and locked up inside the bank. There were also four or five other women with her."

"After I killed those people,"

"All the other women died. This little girl named Manman seemed to have nowhere to go and just kept following me."

"I felt sorry for her, so I brought her home."

Hearing that she was a poor child,

and seeing that Manman was prettier than the porcelain dolls sold in the jewelry store, Yang Ning, who had never had a child of her own, instantly felt a surge of maternal love.

She didn't even bother to scold Yang An.

She quickly pulled Manman to her side and asked all kinds of questions, "Little girl, what's your name?"

"Manman."

"What a nice name, Manman! Do you have a formal name?"

"What's a formal name?"

Manman tilted her head in confusion.

Yang Ning was taken aback for a moment.

Then she smiled and taught her, "A formal name is the name given by your parents."

Manman said "Oh" and replied, "Then I don't have a formal name."

Yang Ning frowned and asked, "Do you remember how you got separated from your parents?"

"Yes, they don't want me anymore."

Manman's voice was clear and she didn't sound the least bit sad.

Yang Ning and Li Yan were stunned.

Yang An also looked at Manman in surprise. Previously, he had thought this little girl had grown up with Qin Guo'er since childhood.

He never expected there was such a story behind it.

Yang Ning looked at Manman with even more pity. She stroked her long black hair and said, "Manman is so pretty. How could they not want you? Maybe they'll come to find you when you grow up."

Not knowing that Yang Ning was telling a white lie,

Manman wrinkled her little face upon hearing this.

She lowered her head and thought for a long time. Then she looked up and said, "They had nothing to eat, but they didn't want to eat me, so they didn't want me anymore. Without me, they would have something to eat. So they won't come to find me."

As soon as these words were spoken,

the entire Li family fell into silence.

"Exchanging children to eat" was never just an empty talk.

Since the ascension of the so - called "sacred and useless prince" to the throne, large - scale construction projects had been carried out every year.

The Ming Tower was built and the "Paradise" was renovated.

The political situation in the Great Xia Dynasty was in a complete mess. The surrounding ethnic groups took the opportunity to cause trouble, and uprisings occurred frequently in various states. The common people had long suffered a great deal.

Looking at Manman who was licking her fingers,

Yang An's eyes softened a lot. 'No wonder she loves to eat so much. It turns out she has such a past. I should treat her better from now on.'

The kind - hearted Yang Ning rubbed Manman's little head and said, "What a poor child. She's so beautiful even at such a young age. She'll surely be a great beauty when she grows up. If she can't find a good family to adopt her, I don't know how much suffering she'll have to endure in the future."

"There's enough food in our family anyway."

"Shall we keep her?"

Yang Ning cast an inquiring look at Yang An and Li Yan.

Li Yan always listened to Yang Ning in family matters, so he naturally had no objections.

As for Yang An, he had no problem with it either.

If that "bitch" wasn't just joking with him, the safety of their whole family would still depend on this little girl.

Yang An said, "If you like her, sister, then keep her."

Yang Ning was very happy.

Seeing that Manman had licked the grease on her fingers several times in a short while, she asked with concern, "What, didn't you have enough to eat just now?"

Manman nodded quickly.

"Then I'll go and cook something else for you." After saying this with a smile, Yang Ning led Manman's little hand and walked towards the kitchen.

Manman thought Yang Ning was also a good person.

Just as Yang Ning was about to reach the door, she suddenly remembered that there was something very important she needed to tell Yang An.

"Second brother..."

She stood at the door and called out, turning around.

But just as she was about to speak, Yang Ning couldn't recall what she wanted to say to Yang An.

"What's the matter, sister?" Yang An looked at her in confusion.

Yang Ning was taken aback and thought to herself: What was it that I wanted to tell my younger brother?

Suddenly, a scene flashed before her eyes.

She saw Yang An in the scene, only five years old, with his eyes tightly shut and covered in blood as he lay in her arms.

As Yang Ning continued to think along with the scene.

A glint of golden light flashed in her eyes, and then her head felt as if a nail had been driven into it, causing excruciating pain. The pain made her face turn deathly pale, and cold sweat instantly broke out on her forehead.

If she hadn't been holding onto the door frame, she would have fallen.

Yang An was greatly shocked and quickly ran over to support Yang Ning. "Sister, what's wrong with you?"