Chapter 3: I Have Come to Take My Granddaughter Home

A few years ago, a wild Siberian tiger once wandered into the village.

Juanzi, hiding inside the house with her parents, caught a glimpse of the tiger through the crack in the door. Their eyes met for a brief moment.

That one look haunted her for an entire year.

Every time she closed her eyes to sleep, the fierce, murderous gaze of that tiger’s eyes would flash vividly in her mind.

Today, when she saw Ye Yuan’s eyes again, long-forgotten memories suddenly resurfaced.

Those were unmistakably tiger eyes!

No—

They were even more terrifying than the eyes of the tiger she remembered.

They were what’s called “four-white eyes.”

The pupils were small, surrounded by more sclera than usual.

Normally, it wasn’t so frightening, but once anger flared and the eyes opened wide, the pupils would be surrounded by white on all four sides—top, bottom, left, and right—truly resembling the savage glare of a fierce tiger.

These were the eyes of a god of war.

Many generals who dominated ancient battlefields were born with such eyes.

Now Juanzi finally understood why Grandpa Ye always squinted.

Who wouldn’t be terrified by such eyes?

Especially since Ye Yuan was a veteran who had never fallen in battle.

Countless enemies had perished at his hands, adding an even more ominous aura to him.

“Ye… Grandpa Ye, I’m going home now…”

Juanzi’s tongue twisted nervously, unable to meet Ye Yuan’s gaze. “You… you must rescue Yan An!”

Ye Yuan nodded faintly.

Juanzi left.

Ye Yuan then steadied the bicycle outside the door and rode directly toward He County.

Ye Yuan was in excellent physical condition.

At over eighty years old, his speed swinging a hoe in the fields was comparable to that of young men.

This was partly because Ye Yuan had been unusually vigorous since childhood, full of boundless energy.

But it was also because Ye Yuan was a man blessed with great fortune.

After all, during the war of resistance, he had killed thousands of enemies.

Such immense blessings bestowed upon him—perhaps even Heaven wished for this old hero to live a long and healthy life.

Upon arriving in He County, Ye Yuan asked some passersby for directions to Liu Dehai’s residence and easily found his villa.

At the villa’s gate, a dozen thugs were idly smoking and chatting.

Seeing Ye Yuan approach, one tossed his cigarette aside and stood up mockingly. “Old man, what are you doing here? Do you even know where this is? Get lost.”

“I’m here to take my granddaughter home.”

Ye Yuan stepped forward, unshaken as if Mount Tai had collapsed above him.

“You call that your granddaughter?”

All the thugs stood up, sneering. “Why are you looking for your granddaughter here? Scram!”

One even stepped up, trying to shove Ye Yuan.

Ye Yuan grabbed his hand firmly. With a slight force, the man immediately let out a scream like a slaughtered pig.

The rest of the dozen men shouted curses and charged at Ye Yuan.

Facing so many men, Ye Yuan remained calm.

He had seen many such scuffles.

True danger was back in the battlefield, fighting bayonets against the enemy.

Soon, all the young, strong men lay on the ground, writhing in pain and groaning.

Ye Yuan took a step forward, intending to enter the villa.

But the door suddenly opened.

Liu Dehai emerged with a dozen men behind him.

What caught Ye Yuan’s attention were two men holding hunting rifles.

These were homemade guns, sufficient for hunting wild rabbits and such.

Of course, if fired at a person, they were no less painful.

“So, you’re that little girl’s grandfather?” Liu Dehai sized Ye Yuan up disdainfully. “Still able to fight at your age, huh?”

“Where is Yan An?” Ye Yuan cut straight to the point, no mood for nonsense. “Give me my granddaughter, and I’ll leave immediately.”

“Hmph.” Liu Dehai scoffed coldly. “Who said I took your granddaughter? Who saw that?”

The thugs grinned wickedly and shook their heads.

“See? You want your granddaughter? Go look for her yourself. What are you doing here? Get lost.”

“My homemade guns are a bit temperamental. If I accidentally misfire, don’t blame me.”

A blatant threat.

Ye Yuan hadn’t expected Liu Dehai to be so brazen in this county.

Without guns pointed at him, Ye Yuan could have charged in single-handedly.

But with two rifles trained on him, he dared not act rashly.

This was no longer the old days.

When faced with difficulties, there was no need to recklessly charge.

He gave Liu Dehai a long, piercing look and turned to leave.

“Wait.”

Liu Dehai called after him.

Ye Yuan turned, unsure of Liu’s intent.

Liu Dehai extended his hand, and one of his men immediately handed him a small package.

He took out two stacks of money and threw them in front of Ye Yuan.

“I sympathize with you losing your granddaughter. Consider this a little kindness from me.”

Liu Dehai spoke slowly. “Given your age, forget about the fact that you injured so many of my men.”

“Hahaha… as expected of Brother Hai!”

“Generous with his money—twenty thousand yuan!”

“This old man probably never saw so much money in his life!”

“Old man, take the money and get lost!”

The thugs cheered.

Ye Yuan didn’t even glance at the money and turned to walk away.

One thug whispered, “Brother Hai, looks like the old man’s going to report this.”

“Let him,” Liu Dehai replied calmly. “Does he have any proof?”

…

Just as the thug said, Ye Yuan arrived at the police station.

The duty officer looked at Ye Yuan and got straight to the point. “Uncle, what’s your business?”

“My granddaughter has been taken.”

Ye Yuan’s expression was grave. “Liu Dehai took her. I need your help to rescue her.”

Upon hearing Liu Dehai’s name, the officer’s face grew serious. “Uncle, do you have evidence?”

“No… but someone saw it.”

“Is there enough testimony to prove your granddaughter was taken by Liu Dehai’s men?”

“No.”

“I see…”

The officer pondered. “Without sufficient evidence, we can’t directly arrest anyone. I understand you’re anxious about your granddaughter’s disappearance, but for now, we can only treat this as a missing persons case.”

“Also, Uncle, it’s not that we’re unwilling to help. The regulations state that if a disappearance hasn’t reached twenty-four hours, it can’t officially be treated as a case. We can only register it and keep an eye out.”

Twenty-four hours!

Ye Yuan’s face darkened. During such a long wait, Yan An might already be in grave danger!

“I want to file a report.”

Ye Yuan spoke sternly, thinking of another way.

“Liu Dehai’s household is illegally in possession of firearms. You should investigate and collect evidence at his residence.”