I don't know how much time had passed. As Mother's cries subsided, A Lai heard a tiny, faint wailing sound.
But it stopped within moments.
The number of people in front of him gradually decreased.
A Lai, who was crouching in the cabinet, seized the opportunity and wanted to go out to find his mother.
Suddenly, he heard footsteps approaching. A Lai gave up the idea of going out and hid back in the cabinet.
After a while, the owner of the footsteps appeared. It was Aunt Ye Zheng and an old woman.
The old woman handed a small package to Aunt Ye Zheng.
A Lai saw the old woman open the package, count the contents, and then break into a smile. Her face was full of wrinkles as she nodded obsequiously at Ye Zheng before leaving.
A Lai wondered in confusion, "Why did Auntie give the old woman gold?"
Suddenly, a crying sound came from the cloth - wrapped bag that Ye Zheng was holding.
The first thought that flashed through A Lai's mind was that this was the "sister" his mother had just given birth to.
His mother had shown him other babies before, and this was the sound they made.
When he saw Aunt Ye Zheng about to leave through the side door with the bag in her arms, an alarm went off in his mind. He couldn't let her take his sister away.
A Lai's blood boiled. He dashed out of the cabinet like the wind, desperately grabbed Ye Zheng's leg, and shouted for his mother in the inner room.
Although A Lai was a small child, he let out an unusually loud voice at this moment. He roared at the top of his lungs, "Father, Mother, Sister is here!!!"
Ye Zheng never expected such a turn of events. She panicked and kicked A Lai against the wall, trying to shake him off.
But A Lai endured the impacts. Even though his head was hit by something heavy, he still kept shouting for help.
Ye Zheng was so anxious that sweat broke out on her forehead. She nervously glanced around, afraid that someone would come.
Finding that she still couldn't get rid of A Lai, a hint of cruelty flashed in her eyes. She murmured, "Then don't blame me."
She freed one hand, grabbed A Lai's hair, and pulled him off her leg. Without any hesitation, she grabbed his head and smashed it hard against the corner of the table. Blood gushed out immediately.
A Lai's shrill scream echoed inside and outside the room. Ye Jin, upon hearing the scream, forced herself up with the help of the wall despite her weak post - delivery body and found A Lai behind the curtain.
Ye Jin's husband heard his son's cry for help. He broke down the door, throwing the secular idea of not being able to touch "unclean things" out of his mind, and quickly pushed open the door.
Other servants rushed over one after another, subdued Ye Zheng who was trying to run away, and snatched the crying baby from her arms.
Ye Jin saw a dark hole on A Lai's head, from which blood was gushing non - stop.
She hugged A Lai tightly. No matter how hard she pressed on the wound, the blood kept spurting out from his forehead. Her hands couldn't help but tremble.
Ye Jin roared in despair. Tears streamed down her face continuously. "Doctor, come quickly!!! Oh, my A Lai."
The doctor knelt on the ground in a hurry. After examining the wound, he helplessly shook his head at Ye Jin.
A Lai's father kicked the doctor to the ground and roared, "If you can't cure A Lai, you'll be buried with him."
The unstoppable blood soaked Ye Jin's clothes.
A Lai felt so much pain, so much pain, and so sleepy...
He felt something warm drop on his cheek and heard his mother's crying.
A Lai tried hard to open his eyes. His small hand touched Ye Jin's face, and he comforted her softly, forcing a stiff smile. "Mother, don't cry. A Lai is okay. I'm so happy. A Lai is a brave warrior who protected his sister."
Ye Jin's tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks. She hugged A Lai tightly, as if she wanted to meld him into her arms. With a sobbing voice, she stammered out these words, "Our A Lai is the best elder brother in the world."
A Lai wanted to raise his hand to hug his mother, but he was too sleepy. Eventually, he closed his eyes.
It was so noisy around.
His mother was crying and scolding Aunt Ye Zheng.
"I helped you get rid of the women around your husband as you asked. I sent people to kill those you didn't like. I've always been on your side since childhood to repay your family's kindness of raising me. Is this how you treat me?"
"You can't have children yourself, and you even set your sights on me?" Ye Jin was crying so hard that she could hardly catch her breath. There was more hatred for Ye Zheng in her heart.
Ye Zheng was initially a bit scared after killing someone for the first time. But when Ye Jin accused her, she became hysterical.
"Why? Oh, you ask me why."
"You were just a foster child in our family, but you married better than me. You have a considerate husband, while I'm beaten every day. Why do you have both a son and a daughter, and why can't I have children? Even that bitch Ye Qianmo has found a good destination. If it weren't for my family's kindness in adopting you, you wouldn't even know where you'd be struggling to survive. What's wrong with you giving me a child?"
Ye Jin was extremely heart - broken. She said harshly, "From now on, we'll sever our relationship. After your parents died, I've been taking care of you all these years. The debt of raising has long been repaid."
Hearing this, A Lai completely lost his perception of the surrounding things...
All the servants around knelt on the ground with a rustling sound.
The last words A Lai heard were what his mother said while holding him. "A Lai, don't be afraid. Wait for Mother. I'll go find the great - grandmother to save you."
But, Mother, don't go to the great - grandmother. Didn't you say you don't like her?
A Lai originally thought he could take a look at his sister and proudly tell her that she had a good elder brother. But now, he couldn't do it.
The messengers of death didn't come to take A Lai's soul. He was in a pitch - black darkness where he couldn't feel the passage of time. He didn't know how much time had passed. He missed his father, mother, and sister so much.
When he opened his eyes again, the first person he saw was Aunt Ye Zheng. His body had also become this burly one. The iron chains penetrated his body, but A Lai didn't feel any pain at all.
He missed his mother so much that he was even willing to follow Ye Zheng, who somewhat resembled his mother.
He watched as Ye Zheng became more and more obsessed with immortality and beauty day by day, and her means became more and more cruel.
But A Lai wasn't afraid at all. After coming back to life, his only obsession was his family, and his perception of other things wasn't very strong.
After that, things became numb. He just mechanically obeyed Ye Zheng's words.
Until Ning Yitao appeared.
*********
After Ning Yitao took out A Lai's head, she had been observing Ye Zheng's reaction.
Only when A Lai was in danger did other expressions that didn't belong to Ye Zheng unconsciously appear on her face.
Ning Yitao could tell that there were two souls in Ye Zheng's body. One of them was Ye Jin. But she didn't know why Ye Jin was completely suppressed by Ye Zheng without any ability to resist.
Normally speaking, the body belonged to Ye Zheng, and Ye Zheng was now in her twilight years. Ye Jin's soul had been sleeping and wouldn't age. It should be easy for her to seize control of the body.
Since Ye Jin didn't seem to have any intention of seizing control, Ning Yitao would do something to make her have this intention.
However, all of this was just a gamble, a gamble that she would emerge.