Chapter One: Granddaughter Abducted!

1999.
Dragon Nation.
Northeast.
Kaoshantun.

Ye Yuan lay on the kang bed, squinting his eyes and crossing his legs as he puffed on a dry tobacco pipe with a rhythmic clicking sound. Beside him, a battered radio crackled and hissed, filling the room with a faint voice.

Ye Yuan’s house was very simple—a common rural brick and tile home. But due to years of neglect, cracks had formed in the walls, allowing the wind to whistle through whenever a strong breeze blew.

Inside, the furnishings were sparse: a well-worn table polished smooth from use, two rickety old armchairs with chipped teapot lids resting atop them. Slowly sitting up, Ye Yuan kept his eyes half-closed as if unable to open them fully.

He tapped the ashes from his pipe and glanced toward a gray military uniform hanging on a crude clothes rack nearby. That uniform was the embodiment of all the honor he had earned in his lifetime.

Winter of 1931.
At just seventeen, he witnessed the brutal rampage of the invaders who stormed his village and unhesitatingly joined the Anti-Japanese Alliance. Over fourteen years, he transformed from a naive boy into a battle-hardened veteran and eventually a commanding general.

Ye Yuan raised his hand to touch the tattered notebook resting near his heart. With a slow but resolute step, he rose and left the room.

As he stepped outside, he heard footsteps approaching. A mischievous smile flickered in his heart, and he feigned ignorance as a pair of hands covered his eyes from behind.

“Guess who I am?” a playful voice whispered in his ear.

Ye Yuan played along, “Who is it?”

“Grandpa, you’re really getting old if you can’t recognize my voice,” came a crisp reply, followed by the hands withdrawing.

Standing behind him was a bright-eyed girl with a radiant smile. Though her clothes were patched and worn, her natural beauty and youthful innocence shone through.

Ye Yan’an.
Her name, given by Ye Yuan himself, meant “clear rivers and peaceful seas, a prosperous and tranquil nation.”

“Grandpa, you’re old and useless now,” she teased.

Ye Yuan smiled warmly.

“I’m not old!” Ye Yan’an pouted affectionately, wrapping her arms around his hand. “Grandpa will live a long life—one hundred… no, one hundred and fifty years!”

“That’d make you an old monster,” Ye Yuan chuckled, eyes twinkling with wisdom. “With such sweet talk, you must be up to something.”

“Hee hee hee,” Ye Yan’an giggled. “Grandpa, I want to go to the county with Juanzi to sell the mountain goods we gathered these past few days. The college entrance exam results just came out—I want to see how I did.”

Kaoshantun was not far from Hehe County, just thirty li away. A bicycle ride would get them there quickly.

“Go ahead, the sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll be back,” Ye Yuan said without hesitation.

“Yay! I knew Grandpa would let me go!” Ye Yan’an cheered, then dashed inside to grab two bulging hemp sacks.

“Juanzi, let’s go!” she called toward the neighboring yard, then happily pushed her bicycle out of the courtyard.

Watching Ye Yan’an and her friend Juanzi ride away laughing, a hint of sadness flickered in Ye Yuan’s eyes.

He had once been worthy of walking through the city gate on that day. But he refused. He asked for nothing, choosing instead to return alone to the village he once knew, living quietly under an assumed name, willingly becoming an ordinary man.

Now his granddaughter was seventeen, fresh from the college entrance exams, with her life just beginning, while he was already old and frail.

The two of them had always lived together, surviving on the small income from Ye Yuan’s farming.

The children of poor families grow up fast. Ye Yan’an was dutiful and mature. While other children played, she ventured into the mountains to gather wild goods, entrusting villagers to sell them at the market.

As she grew older, Ye Yan’an rode her bicycle alone to the county, using all the money earned to support the household.

During summer break, she was out early and late collecting mountain products to help pay for college and buy supplies to make life easier for Ye Yuan while she was away.

Though he never said so, Ye Yuan understood everything.

Once, he had resolutely given up everything within reach because of his beliefs. But now, he felt a pang of regret.

At an age when she should be enjoying new clothes, Ye Yan’an was still wearing patched garments. Though she never complained, he could not help but notice.

If only he had chosen differently back then, perhaps his granddaughter wouldn’t have to endure such hardships.

...

Hehe County.

Every time Ye Yan’an came here, she was filled with awe.

Tall buildings several stories high, clean and spacious streets, and passersby dressed in bright, fashionable clothes—the likes of which she had never seen in her village.

Juanzi chattered excitedly in her ear as they both dreamed of what a true big city might be like.

At that moment, a black Santana pulled up before them.

The window rolled down, and a fierce-looking man scrutinized Ye Yan’an carefully, then compared her to a photo in his hand.

“Looks about right.”
“Close enough.”
“We’ll confirm with a blood test once we catch her.”

The car door opened, and several men rushed out without hesitation.

Without a word, they placed a sack over Ye Yan’an’s head and forced her into the car.

“Juanzi, help me… help me…” Ye Yan’an screamed, but her cries were in vain.

“Yan’an!” Juanzi’s face turned pale as she chased after the car, but no matter how fast she ran, she couldn’t catch up.

Watching the car vanish into the distance, Juanzi collapsed onto the ground, overwhelmed by despair.

“Sigh... what a pity,” muttered a woman at a nearby roadside kiosk, shaking her head. “They probably had to send five or six people for this one.”

Hearing the noise, Juanzi looked at the woman with desperate hope. “Auntie… who took Yan’an?”

Seeing Juanzi’s pitiful expression, the woman softened and whispered, “It was Liu Dehai’s family. They run the forest farm. His son is sick and needs a ‘part replacement.’ They’ve spent a fortune, but his son’s blood type is rare and hard to find.”

“Liu Dehai even bought a lot of information from the county hospital and surrounding villages, specifically looking for people with blood types similar to his son’s.”

The words hit Juanzi like a thunderclap, leaving her stunned.

“Why are you telling her this?” a nearby man hissed, glancing around nervously before warning in a low voice, “Don’t you fear Liu Dehai will take revenge on our family?”

The woman’s face paled with fear, and she dared not say more.

If what she said was true, did Ye Yan’an even stand a chance?

Trembling, Juanzi struggled to her feet, her legs weak with terror as tears streamed uncontrollably.

She stumbled toward her fallen bicycle, her mind consumed by one thought:

Hurry!
Hurry back to tell Grandpa Ye!
Save Yan’an!