"Die!"
Witnessing the violent scene about to unfold, Charlotte, Iris, and Fiona instinctively closed their eyes in terror.
After all, they were only three-year-old girls who had never seen violence before.
One minute...
Two minutes...
After three minutes, the girls, still with their eyes closed, began to feel a sense of surprise, as there were no sounds of pain from the middle-aged man being beaten by the three burly n.
Curiously, they opened their eyes but carefully averted their gaze from the violence. Instead, they looked at Stella, who sat across from them with an expression of astonishnt and horror, covering her small mouth with both palms.
Seeing this, Charlotte, Iris, and Fiona swallowed nervously, but none of them dared to turn around and look at the middle-aged man.
With a scared yet curious expression, Charlotte couldn't help but ask in a nervous tone, "Sister Stella, what happened to the middle-aged man? Is he getting injured?"
Although Fiona and Iris remained silent, the sa curiosity was evident in their adorable faces.
Upon hearing the question, Stella, still looking astonished and horrified, quickly ca to her senses. She turned her gaze toward Charlotte and shook her small head.
"That middle-aged man is fine," Stella said in a bewildered and uncertain tone, startling Charlotte, Iris, and Fiona.
"Fine? What do you an, Sister?" Iris asked hesitantly.
Earlier, it was clear that the middle-aged man was surrounded by the three burly n and about to be beaten up. How could he still be okay?
Stella shook her head again, gesturing toward the front. "I don't know how to explain it. It's better if you see for yourselves."
Stella's words made the three little girls exchange hesitant and confused glances. Yet, driven by their imnse curiosity, they nodded in unison, as if to reassure each other.
In slow motion, the three of them turned their gazes toward the direction Stella was pointing, their eyes widening in astonishnt.
"This is... What's going on?" Charlotte rubbed her eyes, struggling to believe the scene before her.
In their view, the white-haired middle-aged man, whom they had expected to be injured, was completely unhard. He stood calmly with a faint smile on his lips, while the three burly n lay unconscious on the wooden floor, foam pooling at their mouths.
Charlotte, Iris, and Fiona exchanged amazed glances before finally turning their eyes toward Stella.
"Sister Stella, can you explain what happened?" Fiona, her fear replaced by curiosity, asked with eager anticipation.
In response to the question, Stella pursed her lips and slightly furrowed her brow before answering hesitantly, "I don't understand what happened, Fiona. Just monts ago, when the three burly n tried to attack the middle-aged man, they suddenly froze, as if turned to stone. Then, out of nowhere, they ended up lying unconscious on the floor."
Despite her vast experience, Stella had never encountered such a strange and inexplicable situation before.
It was clear that the middle-aged man had done nothing, yet the three burly n, who had previously been so dominant, had suddenly collapsed and were now lying on the floor. This left Stella both astonished and perplexed.
"Could it be magic?" she wondered briefly before dismissing the thought.
Previously, she had encountered a mage at the edge of the capital and learned a bit about magic. Therefore, she was certain this wasn't magic, as she hadn't seen any spellcasting or similar actions from the middle-aged man.
anwhile, the middle-aged man smiled at the three burly n sprawled on the floor before shifting his gaze to Charlotte, Iris, Fiona, and Stella and walking towards them.
As the middle-aged man approached, Charlotte, Iris, Fiona, and Stella felt a brief mont of panic. However, realizing that he had just saved them, their fear quickly faded.
"Little girls, are you alright?" the middle-aged man asked gently as he stopped in front of their table.
Upon hearing this, Charlotte quickly got off her seat and approached him, replying with a polite smile, "We're fine, uncle. Thank you for your help. If it weren't for you, we might have been kidnapped by those bad guys."
Although she didn't know the middle-aged man, his kindness had indeed saved them.
Seeing Charlotte's gratitude, Iris, Fiona, and Stella also got off their seats and joined her.
"Thank you, uncle!" Iris said it in an indifferent tone, though a small smile ford on her lips.
"Thank you, uncle!" Stella echoed politely, bowing her head slightly.
"Um! Um! Thank you, white-haired uncle!" Fiona's round, golden eyes sparkled with happiness as she looked at the middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man's smile widened even more, especially at Fiona's enthusiastic thanks, which made him chuckle slightly.
"You don't need to thank , little girls. Helping you is sothing I must do," he replied in a gentle and calm tone.
Iris, Fiona, and Stella nodded happily at his words, but Charlotte felt a bit puzzled.
"'Helping you is sothing I have to do?' What exactly does he an?" She muttered, repeating the middle-aged man's statent in confusion.
For so reason, his words felt strange to her. However, despite her pondering, she couldn't pinpoint what was odd about them and quickly dismissed her confusion.
"White-haired uncle! What happened to those three evil n?" Fiona asked curiously, pointing at the burly n lying on the floor.
The middle-aged man smiled, crossing his arms behind his back, and replied lightly, "They all fainted. Perhaps in a few hours, they will wake up again, Fiona."
Fiona gave a small nod as if she understood, but then shock quickly spread across her round, chubby face.
"Huh? Uncle, how did you know my na?" Fiona inquired doubtfully, instantly making the middle-aged man's smile freeze.
"Ahem! I accidentally heard your na from your previous conversation," he replied in a calm and nonchalant tone.
Fiona's lips ford an "O" as she gave a small nod, appearing to understand.
Only Charlotte, Iris, and Stella found the middle-aged man's words a bit strange, though they couldn't pinpoint why.
"By the way, uncle, the three of them are evil demons known for serious cris like kidnapping and slave trading. If they're released, they might commit even more troubling offenses in the future." As if recalling sothing, Stella said it with a worried tone, glancing at the burly n.
Although they were currently safe, these three evil n would likely seek other targets in the future, which was sothing she wanted to prevent.
The middle-aged man shook his head with a light smile. "I understand your concern, but you don't need to worry. I can guarantee they will not commit any cris in the future."
Stella let out a sigh of relief and nodded slightly, saying nothing more. Though she didn't fully understand how the middle-aged man could be so confident, she had witnessed how he had subdued the three burly n without moving, which made her naturally trust his words.
Besides Stella, Charlotte and Iris also sighed in relief after hearing the middle-aged man's reassurances.
Although they didn't fully understand the implications of terms like slave trading, they sensed that it was sothing very bad.
Charlotte then reached into her pocket, retrieved a few gold coins, and offered them to the middle-aged man.
"Uncle, since you saved us, please accept this as a gift," Charlotte said with a smile.
The middle-aged man was initially taken aback but soon let out a small chuckle.
"As I ntioned earlier, helping you was sothing I felt compelled to do. So, you don't need to give gold coins," he said, shaking his head.
Charlotte pursed her lips and said, "But uncle, our mommy always taught us to return a favor to those who help us."
"Right, uncle! Please accept it!" Iris looked up at him, nodding firmly.
"Um! Um! Please accept it!" Fiona chid in, nodding enthusiastically in support of Charlotte.
Stella remained silent but nodded in agreent with Charlotte's words.
The middle-aged man smiled, still shaking his head. "I appreciate your kindness and admire your mommy for teaching you such excellent manners. However, as I ntioned, I'm helping you because it's sothing I must do, so there's no need to thank ."
This caused Charlotte, Iris, and Fiona to imdiately frown.
Sensing their disappointnt, the middle-aged man sighed softly and added, "However, if you still wish to show your gratitude, how about we change the terms?"
"Change the terms?" Charlotte asked, clearly confused.
The middle-aged man nodded with a slight smile. "I won't accept your gold coins. Instead, I'd like sothing else: just a chance to pat your heads. How does that sound?"
Upon hearing his words, the four cast each other puzzled glances.
"Pat our heads? Uncle, what do you an?" Iris asked, her voice tinged with skepticism and hesitation.
Sensing that his words might be unclear or easily misunderstood, the middle-aged man cleared his throat and said with a wistful expression, "Actually, the reason I'm helping you is tied to so past mories. I once had adorable daughters like you, but I lost them due to unforeseen circumstances. To ease my longing for them, I'd like to pat your heads."
Charlotte, Iris, Fiona, and Stella were taken aback, exchanging sympathetic glances.
Turning back to the middle-aged man, Charlotte quickly nodded and said, "If that's the case, we don't mind at all, uncle."
Iris, Fiona, and Stella nodded in unison, making a smile spread across the middle-aged man's face.
"In that case, I'm truly grateful to you," he said with a calm and gentle tone.
The middle-aged man then approached Charlotte, Iris, and Stella, gently stroking their heads one by one. As he did, each of them closed their eyes and smiled.
For so reason, his touch brought them a sense of comfort and familiarity.
After finishing with the others, the middle-aged man walked over to Fiona and paused before her.
Gazing at her curious and endearing face, he seed montarily dazed.
Reaching out to gently pat her head, he smiled softly and whispered with a trembling voice, "This is all real, but not for …"
Reviews
All reviews (0)