Battle Through the Heavens: Purple Heaven Thunder Emperor

Chapter 69 Qinglin's Buns

The little girl was about eleven or twelve years old, and stood there somewhat bewildered and awkward, showing a hint of naivety.

Seeing the young man in black scrutinizing her, her clear eyes held a hint of unease. She clutched the paper bag tightly in her hands, her head bowing lower and lower.

"Don't be nervous, what's your name?"

Hearing that gentle voice, the little girl mustered a little courage and answered softly:

"Green Scales!"

"Alright, Qinglin, keep an eye on him!" Xiao Bai pointed to the burly man standing there, sweating profusely.

Qinglin raised her head and looked in the direction he was pointing. The moment she saw the big man, she trembled and quickly lowered her head, not daring to look him in the eye.

"Don't bow your head, raise it!" The previously gentle voice suddenly became stern.

Qinglin's heart skipped a beat, a little scared. She had no choice but to muster up her courage and raise her head, but when she saw the big man, she closed her eyes tightly again.

"Don't close your eyes, keep them open!" The voice remained stern.

Xiao Qinglin was about to cry. She didn't know what the person who saved her wanted to do. She suppressed her fear and opened her eyes a crack with trembling hands.

"Do you hate him?" Xiao Bai didn't care how wide she opened her eyes, as long as she looked at him.

Upon hearing this, Qinglin shook her little head earnestly. She dared not hate. When her mother was alive, she taught her to be tolerant in all things, so that she could survive here.

And that's what she always did, letting herself be beaten and scolded.

At first, she pleaded, but now she didn't want to speak anymore, because the more she spoke, the happier they seemed to be, and the longer they beat her.

"Do you want to kill him?"

Although Xiao Bai's voice was soft this time, Xiao Qinglin was startled. Killing someone? She had never thought of killing anyone.

Unable to resist looking at the big man, she saw that his eyes revealed a pleading look. Qinglin was very familiar with this look; she used to look at the people who hit her and the onlookers with this look.

But no one stood up, and she knew how desperate that feeling was!

Biting her lip, Qinglin didn't know what she was feeling. Did she hate him? Did she empathize with him?

She didn't know that she was only eleven years old and no one had taught her how to behave. All her mother had taught her was to be tolerant.

"Qinglin doesn't know, but Qinglin doesn't want to kill anyone!"

For the first time in her life, the little girl shouted out her true thoughts to anyone other than her mother, and she didn't know where she got the courage from.

After shouting, she became a little scared and nervously glanced at the young man in black out of the corner of her eye.

"Alright! Then I won't kill her!" Xiao Bai smiled and nodded at her.

Whether this person kills her or not is unimportant; he just wants to make this poor little girl less fearful and anxious.

"roll!"

The burly man felt as if he had been struck in the chest with a dull thud, and he spat out a mouthful of blood before flying backward.

But he didn't care at all. He endured the pain in his chest, hurriedly got up, kowtowed and said, "Thank you, sir! Thank you, sir!" After saying that, he got up and staggered away.

Xiao Bai looked around, stepped onto the stone steps, and sat down without paying attention to the yellow sand on them.

He waved to Qinglin, who was standing there, and pointed to the side next to him.

Seeing this, Qinglin knew that the young man in black wanted her to come over. After thinking about it, she realized that this young man was the first person in her life to help her when she was being beaten. She was no longer so afraid and took small steps to stand in front of him.

"Come sit next to me, what are you standing there for?"

Qinglin had no choice but to sit down on the stone steps next to him. Xiao Bai turned his head to look at the little girl who was dressed in a rather simple manner. Her green dress had some patches, but they were sewn very well, and it was clear that the person who sewn them had put a lot of care into it.

"What are you holding in your hands? Why aren't you letting go even after being hit?" Xiao Bai asked curiously, noticing that she was still holding the paper bag with both hands.

"Baozi!" Qinglin replied softly, her head lowered.

Xiao Bai noticed the dust clinging to the bag, but the little girl was still clutching it tightly, showing how important the few buns inside were to her.

He couldn't help but sigh inwardly. This girl was a hybrid of the snake-people and the human race. Normally, snake-people and humans cannot have offspring, but there is a small chance that they can give birth to a baby. Such babies usually do not live past the age of two, but Qinglin was an exception.

She is eleven years old this year, so she is considered cursed and ominous. Because the snake people and humans are sworn enemies on this border, Qinglin bears the discrimination and hatred of both sides. In a way, she is just an innocent little girl.

"Can you buy me a steamed bun?" Xiao Bai said with a smile.

Seeing that she didn't react, he teased, "What's wrong, reluctant to part with her?"

Upon hearing this, Qinglin became a little anxious, fearing he might misunderstand, and quickly and timidly shook her head at him: "It's dirty!"

"Don't worry, it doesn't matter if the surface is dirty, as long as the heart inside is clean!" Xiao Bai said meaningfully.

Qinglin was a little confused after hearing this, as if she understood but not quite. However, seeing that he insisted on having it, she carefully opened the paper package, picked out the cleanest-looking one from the three buns, and handed it to him somewhat embarrassedly.

She had no money left, otherwise she would have liked to buy some fresh food for the kind young man in front of her.

After handing it to Xiao Bai, Qing Lin saw Hai Bodong standing to the side. After thinking for a moment, she picked out the one with the least dust from the two and handed it to him somewhat timidly.

"Grandpa, do you want some?"

Looking at the expectant yet somewhat timid girl in front of him, Hai Bodong felt a little helpless. He didn't know what Xiao Bai was up to and couldn't help but look at him.

Xiao Bai acted as if he didn't exist, busying himself with cleaning the sand off the buns, silently thinking to himself:

"Now that this goodwill has been handed to you, let's see if you, the old man, can accept it or not!"

In the end, Hai Bodong took the bun from Qinglin and sat down on the steps.

If it were an ordinary little girl, he wouldn't bother to take the bun, but Xiao Bai was clearly treating this little girl differently, so he had no choice but to follow suit.

The three of them sat on the steps by the roadside and ate, ignoring the stares of passersby.

Xiao Bai and Hai Bodong completely ignored what those people thought, while Qing Lin kept her head down and refused to look at them.

She was very happy today because finally someone didn't mind her and ate with her. This was the first time someone had been willing to eat with her since her mother passed away.

The buns were covered in sand and dust, but she thought they tasted especially delicious today.

She didn't care that the two people next to her had eaten her food for two days and would go hungry for the next two days.

Xiao Bai sensed that the girl next to him was a little more lively than before, and a smile flashed in his eyes.

"Let's go! You treat me to steamed buns, and I'll treat you to a meal! How about it?" Xiao Bai said with a smile, looking at the little girl.

Qinglin shook her head. She could sense that this young master was a good person, the best person she had ever met, but she couldn't go.

Her steamed buns were very valuable to her, but to this young master, they were things he would never normally even look at. It was already very good that he didn't look down on them; he dared not ask for more.

(End of this chapter)