Chapter 107: Chapter 106: The Old Master’s Story
PM.
Luna had already headed to the One Realm Hotel on the outskirts with several bodyguards under Norman Bennett.
Ready for an ambush!
After arriving at the hotel, Luna sent the room information to Feng Ming as planned yesterday, and the man replied, saying he’d arrive at 8 PM sharp.
While waiting, Luna reported the progress of the investigation to Elliana Lyle.
When Elliana saw Luna’s message immediately, she looked worried.
Luna (Mentor): "We’ll catch the person involved with the loan shark business tonight, don’t worry."
Maomao: "Be careful, pay attention to safety, and it’s better to take a few more people with you."
At this moment, the car stopped, followed by a gentle voice from the man: "We’re here." He then leaned over to unbuckle her seatbelt.
Getting out of the car, Elliana took a closer look at the surroundings. It was a courtyard outside the city, resembling a vacation villa with its tall and long staircases.
Norman Bennett also informed her that this used to be a Bennett Family vacation villa. Later, due to its remote location, fewer and fewer people visited.
Moreover, a forest retreat town was specifically built several miles away in South City! Even if this place was abandoned, the Bennetts would always send someone to maintain it, and only Norman’s grandfather would come here for a short stay each year.
Walking up the straight and high staircases to the top, a modern-style villa appeared before her eyes. The villa had small parks, pebble paths, and a lotus pond. Although the place was big, it felt neither empty nor desolate.
"Let’s go."
The man held her hand and walked straight inside, carrying a big bag of groceries in the other hand. They walked across the pebble path and reached a specially built small villa, obviously different from the other buildings.
Upon entering, the aroma of tea wafted to her nose, rich and lingering.
At first glance, Elliana saw Norman’s grandfather sitting by the tea table, sipping tea. His short white hair and white Tang suit spoke of age, and though his face was full of wrinkles, his eyes were bright, and his back was straight as an arrow!
"Grandpa." Both spoke in unison, slightly bowing to show respect.
Putting down his teacup, the old man smiled warmly and called out to Elliana, "Ellie girl," then said, "Come on, accompany your grandfather and taste this Gu Zhu Purple Bamboo Shoot tea."
Then he turned to Norman, saying, "Go ahead, call us when it’s ready."
From the time she entered this place, Elliana hadn’t seen anyone else, suggesting that Norman’s grandfather was here alone.
She originally found it odd why Norman needed to buy groceries, only to learn that he not only bought them but would also be cooking!
With Norman gone, she felt even more uneasy. At this point, Norman’s grandfather handed her a small cup of tea, chuckling, "Try it."
"Okay." Elliana took it, brought it to her lips, and sipped slowly, savoring the taste.
"How is it?" the old man asked.
Elliana thought for a moment and then organized her words: "This Gu Zhu Purple Bamboo Shoot tea has an orchid-like freshness, the tea taste mellow, and the soup color light green and bright, indeed a good tea."
"Haha, insightful." The old man laughed heartily at her response, then stood up, "Ellie, come take a walk with this old man, you young folks might find it stuffy."
Elliana also quickly rose to her feet, responding, "Alright."
Leaving the house, they walked out onto the forest path from the pebble path outside.
To be honest, she found the old man quite easy-going, more amiable than she had imagined. She just didn’t know why she hadn’t seen Norman’s grandmother and refrained from asking directly.
"Ellie girl, when do you plan to marry Norman? It would be good for this old man to hold a great-grandchild soon."
"Soon..." Elliana smiled awkwardly, not saying much more.
The old man chuckled again, saying, "I’m not in a hurry, it’s your grandmother who’s keen to hold one."
Constantly mentioning children left Elliana at a loss. To change the subject, she asked, "Grandpa, I heard from Norman that you come here every year. Does this place have special significance?"
Hearing this, the old man paused momentarily before smiling, "Yes, to me, this place holds special significance. Every year at this time, I come here by myself to stay a few days! Here..."
The old man sighed deeply, "Holds regrets I can never overcome in my lifetime!"
Hearing these words, Elliana felt the old man suddenly become desolate and lonely.
This statement piqued her curiosity, but she feared asking too bluntly, so she softly said, "There must be a story behind this."
"If you don’t mind an old man nagging, I’ll tell you."
"Sure."
The old man smiled wryly and then looked diagonally upward, seemingly reminiscing, "This place, originally just a small village, during famine times, people here either fled or perished, leaving it deserted."
"Later, I bought this place to turn it into a vacation villa. Believe it or not, this was once a temporary hospital for the troops. I was wounded on the front lines and was carried here, nearly losing my life."
"Doctors were doing their best with limited means, and somehow, when I was almost gone, I pulled through and recovered here. Back then, I was young and met a nurse from this place..."
"She was strikingly beautiful, from a scholarly family in South City, ran away during wartime to serve the country! The moment I saw her, I was captivated..."
"We fell in love, and we promised each other, that we’d marry once the victory was won. However, the enemy discovered this place, and the hospital leaders asked all the wounded to hide in the basement while everyone else armed themselves to defend the temporary hospital."
As the old man’s reminiscing words unfolded, they seemed to take him back to those days...
At that time, regardless of gender, anyone able would pick up a gun. Although Norman’s grandfather had only half-recovered, he joined the nurse to defend the hospital with firearms.
For three days and nights, the enemy couldn’t take the hospital. They only needed to hold on for one more day for reinforcements to arrive, and victory was within reach. But just then, Norman’s grandfather’s wound flared up.
The hospital had no chance to relocate the medicine to a safe place, so it was buried right in the no man’s land between engagements. They repelled an attack, but Norman’s grandfather fell into a high fever-induced coma.
He was the army’s model hero, and the nurse volunteered to get medicine for him.
The nurse was determined and steadfast; ultimately, the hospital leaders had to let her and the remaining few go to retrieve the medicine from the battleground.
Her actions weren’t just for Norman but also for countless wounded soldiers on the frontlines.
Later... while she and the guard platoon were retrieving the medicine, the enemy found them, launching another fierce attack. In the end, only two wounded soldiers returned carrying the medicine.
When Norman regained consciousness, the battle was over, and reinforcements had eliminated the enemy on the opposing front, but he learned she had sacrificed herself.
At that moment, Norman cried like a child! Even when injured by an explosion, he didn’t utter a sound.
With a limp, he defiantly searched the battlefield for her body! However, the battlefield had all sorts, and after three days, he found nothing.
The enemy approached again, and in the end, he had to retreat with the troops!
Later, there was the Bennett Family and The Bennetts, and Norman acquired this place, visiting it for a few days each year!
"Grandpa..." Listening to Norman’s story, Elliana felt a surge of sorrow in her heart, and tears welled up in her eyes, unsure of how to comfort him.
"Child, why cry?" The old man chuckled softly upon seeing her like that, "I’ve long come to terms with it, yet deep down, a hint of regret still remains."