allonlinenovel Chapter 999 Dad Found You
Chapter 999 Dad Found You
At the bottom of the steps, the little girl being led by the officer was startled by the sudden shouts and chaos, and turned her head sharply.
When she saw the man, his face streaked with tears, seemingly insane, rushing towards her without regard for anything, her pale face was first filled with extreme shock and bewilderment. Then, a faint, incredulous light gradually appeared in her previously empty eyes.
Her lips trembled slightly, as if she wanted to shout something, but no sound came out. She just subconsciously wanted to take a small step closer to that familiar figure.
The Japanese officer who was holding her hand, Lieutenant Yusuke Ichijo, was also taken aback by this sudden turn of events.
His brows furrowed, his sharp gaze instantly locking onto Li Shouren, his hand instinctively gripping the hilt of the military knife at his waist.
However, he did not immediately take strong measures, and raised his hand to stop his men from firing.
Instead, she looked at the suddenly appearing, emotionally unstable Chinese man with a scrutinizing gaze, tinged with doubt and wariness, her eyes darting back and forth between Xiao Juan and Li Shouren.
The air around him seemed to freeze.
The military police pointed their guns at Li Shouren, waiting for their superior's order.
The procession on the street was briefly disturbed and paused, with countless eyes focused on this abrupt scene.
Li Shouren finally rushed down the steps, only a few steps away from his daughter.
He collapsed to the ground, reaching out his trembling, dirty hands to embrace his daughter, but two military police officers who rushed forward held his arms firmly, preventing him from moving any further.
"Xiao Juan... my child... you're still alive... Dad has found you..." He looked up at his daughter, so close yet untouchable, sobbing uncontrollably, his words incoherent.
Looking at the familiar yet unfamiliar man crying his heart out, Xiao Juan's blank expression was gradually replaced by a huge, belated fear and sorrow, and large tears silently slid down her cheeks.
She opened her mouth, and finally uttered a faint, almost inaudible, tearful cry:
"father...?"
This call was like the last straw, completely breaking Li Shouren's spirit.
He collapsed to the ground, all his strength seemingly drained away, leaving only endless tears and an unbelievable surprise at what lay before him.
Time seemed to have frozen.
The chill of the early morning of the fifth day of the Lunar New Year seemed to solidify at that moment, pressing heavily on the hearts and shoulders of everyone present.
Li Shouren lay limp on the cold, muddy ground like a lump of mud. Two tall, cold-faced Japanese military police officers used their rigorously trained strength to tightly bind his arms behind his back.
A sharp pain shot through his joints, but he seemed to have completely lost consciousness; all his senses and all his awareness were focused on that small figure a few steps away.
He tilted his head back, his face a mixture of mud, tears, and congealed blood, making his features look distorted and horrifying.
But those eyes were frighteningly bright, burning with an almost insane flame of something lost and found, yet tormented by immense fear and uncertainty.
His lips trembled uncontrollably, emitting broken, incoherent sobs and growls, like the wails of a wounded wild animal:
"Xiao Juan...it's my Xiao Juan...Dad...Dad has finally found you...Dad is so sorry...Dad shouldn't have let go of your hand...Dad deserves to die..."
Tears mingled with the grime on his face, leaving two dirty streaks that dripped onto the frozen ground.
He struggled desperately to crawl forward, to get closer, to confirm that this was not yet another illusion that had tormented him for countless days and nights, but the military police's iron grip held him firmly in place.
The girl, Xiao Juan, whose hand was being held by Yusuke Ichijo, was completely frozen in place, as if she had been struck by a spell.
She was wearing an ill-fitting, slightly oversized navy blue cotton robe, probably an old garment found by the military police. Neat white bandages were wrapped around her forehead and one slender arm, making her small face appear even paler and bloodless.
Her once clear and bright eyes were now wide open, filled with utter astonishment, bewilderment, and disbelief.
The father I remember is the man in the "Ruifuxiang" silk shop who always wore a neat dark long gown, had a gentle smile on his face, and would lift her high above his head and rub his slightly stubbled chin against her cheek—a reliable man as solid as a mountain.
But the person before him—this ragged beggar, his cotton-padded jacket ripped open with blackish-gray cotton wadding, his face filthy, his hair tangled like a mess of weeds, looking like a madman, being held firmly to the ground by soldiers… how could this possibly be his father?
But those eyes! Even though they were sunken in their murky sockets and bloodshot, the concern, anxiety, and deep-seated love in them were something that nothing could fake!
And that voice, though hoarse and torn, was still the most familiar call in my memory!
A tremendous shock crashed over her young mind like a tsunami. For days, she had been hiding everywhere, surrounded by the sounds of gunfire and the death of countless people. She was constantly being beaten and verbally abused, and chased by vicious Japanese soldiers.
After a brief period of silence came a belated, overwhelming surge of grievances, lingering fear, and an uncontrollable torrent of emotions.
The fear, repression, and helplessness I felt these past few days by Yusuke's side finally found an outlet at this moment.
Her large eyes quickly filled with tears, which rolled down like beads from a broken string. Her small mouth trembled, and she broke free from Yusuke's warm yet unsettling hand. With all her might, she let out a shrill, distorted cry: "Daddy! Daddy!!"
Like a fledgling bird that has finally found its nest after being frightened, the little girl stumbled and rushed towards Li Shouren. In her haste, she almost fell to the ground, but she didn't care. She got up and rushed over again, hugging Li Shouren's neck tightly. She buried her tear-streaked face in her father's dirty but all-too-familiar neck and cried loudly. Her thin body trembled uncontrollably from the violent sobs.
Yusuke's brows furrowed instantly, forming a deep "川" (river) shape.
But he didn't stop Xiao Juan's actions immediately. Instead, his sharp, hawk-like eyes scanned back and forth between Li Shouren and Xiao Juan several times, his gaze as cold as a scalpel, as if dissecting the sudden situation before him.
His gaze quickly swept over the military police around him, who stood as if facing a formidable enemy, their guns lowered, and the soldiers in the distant marching column who were drawn to the commotion and turned their heads to look.
The hand that had been resting on the hilt of the Type 94 military knife at his waist slowly loosened.