âIsnât it just a chicken? Iâll help pay for it so let him go.â Rummaging through his clothes, Bai Xiachen tosses over a piece of silver to act as payment to the man. Coming before the old beggar: âAre you alright Grandpa?â
âIâm hungry, Iâm so hungry.â Maybe its due to hunger or something else entirely, but the senior didnât pay any heed to the little steambunâs inquiry and instead continued to gnaw away at the chicken.
Normally one would be quite irritated at being ignored, but in this case, Bai Xiachen only felt an uncomfortable sadness circulating from within.
âEat slowly Grandfather, no one will steal it from you.â
Itâs then the crazy old man paused in his gnawing and turned to look up at the boyâs face. âDid you see my Bai Bai? Iâm looking for my little Bai Bai.â
Taken aback by the question, the boyâs lovely brow furrowed up: âGrandpa, who is Bai Bai? If you tell me I will help you look for that person.â
âBai Bai is Bai Bai, she is my good granddaughter. Let me secretly tell something, I actually snatched Bai Bai off of my old friendâs hands. Her talent is very good so me and my old friend both wanted to accept her as our granddaughter. In order to win, I used a sneaky scheme to snatch her over.â With that said, the crazy old man then bursts into tears and even tossed the chicken to the ground as he sobbed away.
âI shouldâve given her to him. He couldâve taken her to a secluded place where no one can hurt her. Bai Bai must hate me to death, woohoohooâ¦..â
To the seniorâs credit, his words were clear and credible, totally unlike his crazy appearance. Unfortunately, that glimmer of clarity only lasted for a brief moment before he returned to his usual erratic state with that silly dumb smile.
âHave you seen Bai Bai? If you see her, can you tell my Bai Bai that I miss herâ¦..â
Against this partially unstable old man, Bai Xiachen just didnât know how to handle him. Nevertheless, his heart told him he couldnât leave this person behind. âOld Grandpa, get up first and tell me how your Bai Bai looks. This way I can help keep an eye out for her.â
âBoy.â The middle-aged man over there had a better attitude after taking the little steambunâs money, but that changed again into a sneer after hearing the old manâs words. âDonât blame me for not warning you. This old beggar is a liar. Heâs been here for a few days already and has done nothing but freeload off others. Donât be fooled by him.â
Naturally Bai Xiachen wouldnât be swayed by a simple comment from some stranger, especially when they have shown such harshness against an old senior. Still showing concerned eyes, he helps the crazy old coot up.
âMy Bai Bai is all pearly and white, oh yes, sheâs also extremely talented, andâ¦.â Patting his chicken coop of a hair, the old manâs gaze suddenly turned dull in the eye like heâs lost in memory, âI canât remember, I canât remember anymore, I think Bai Bai has been gone for a long timeâ¦.â
âHighness.â Giving the boy a gentle tug on the sleeve, Dragony offers up a suggestion: âWhy donât we bring him to Mother for help? This old grandpa is too pitiful, I feel so sorry for him.â
Nodding after a moment of thought: âAlright, letâs do that. Although it can be dangerous if he follows us around, but I canât see how its better than letting him stay here in this place. Perhaps we will encounter someone that knows him along our travel.â
âThatâs right!â From out of the blue, the crazy old coot suddenly slaps his thigh and then obsessively stared at the little steambunâs face. âYour eyes, your eyes are just like Bai Baiâsâ¦.. youâre both very bright in there.â