Trembling At A High Altitude

The floor bedding must be where Liu Yin and Yingying slept, next to the wall lay a small bear toy, picked up from who knows where, looking like Yingying's only toy.

On the coat rack by the door hung a light green women's coat, surely belonging to Liu Yin.

Beyond that, there was no further trace of any female presence in the room.

"Sigh..."

Li Teng sat down by the bed and heaved a soft sigh.

Feeling that Yingying had fallen into a deep sleep, Li Teng decided to use the Dream Entry Technique on her to probe her memories and search for Liu Yin's whereabouts.

Li Teng sat motionless, gradually entering a state of self-forgetfulness, concentrating his Soul Power. He soon locked onto Yingying's dream.

In order not to disturb Yingying, he floated through her dream like a wisp of air, observing for a while.

In the dream, Yingying appeared amidst the darkness of the night.

She walked around the streets, her eyes constantly scanning her surroundings.

A cold breeze blew by, causing Yingying to unconsciously hug herself.

"Mom, Mom, where are you?"

As she walked, Yingying searched all around.

A moment later, she thought she saw her mother's figure on the opposite side of the street.

Or maybe it was just a silhouette that resembled her.

"Mom!" Yingying shouted across the street.

But the figure did not respond, quickly vanishing into a dark alley.

Yingying wanted to cross the street, but it was filled with fast-moving cars.

She hesitated, waited, and finally seized a moment when the traffic was lighter.

Then, she hurriedly ran across to the other side.

There was a piercing screech of brakes, as a car stopped less than half a meter away from Yingying.

"Whose kid is this? Can't the adults watch her?" The driver stuck his head out and cursed for a few sentences.

Yingying rushed to the opposite side of the street, into the dark alley.

But, it was pitch-dark inside, and her mother was nowhere to be seen.

"Mom! I won't be naughty anymore, please come back..." Yingying cried out desperately into the dark lane.

The dream began to destabilize, the walls and streets around her started to shake, and the cars from the street floated into the air, beginning to fly and spin in the sky...

"Yingying, where did you see Mom for the last time?"

Li Teng had to intervene in the dream, gently guiding Yingying with his voice.

The expression on Yingying's face in the dream became blank, as if trying to recall something.

The dream once again stabilized.

Around her were children playing.

Yingying stood there fearfully, watching those children.

After a moment, she looked towards a certain place.

Liu Yin appeared, standing next to a staff member with red eyes as if they were talking.

She was also showing some documents or something to the staff member.

But at that time, Yingying evidently did not hear what they were saying, nor did she see what document was in her hand. Therefore, Li Teng was also unable to clearly hear their conversation through Yingying's memory or see the contents of the document.

After a while, the staff member walked away, and Yingying ran over to Liu Yin.

"Yingying, you play here with the other children for a while, Mommy has some things to do, and then... I will come back to pick you up..." Liu Yin squatted down and spoke to Yingying.

"No, I don't want to be separated from Mommy!" Yingying shook her head vigorously.

"Not being obedient again, are you? If you're not obedient, Mommy won't want you anymore!" Liu Yin scolded Yingying with tears in her eyes.

"I'll be good! I'll be good! Mommy, don't abandon Yingying!" Yingying started to cry.

"We agreed, no crying! Why are you crying again? If you cry, that means you're not being obedient!" Liu Yin continued to scold Yingying while wiping her tears.

"I won't cry anymore, I won't cry anymore, Mommy, don't be angry!" Yingying forcibly stopped her tears and looked at Liu Yin pleadingly.

"Behave well and listen to the auntie, Mommy will come to pick you up after I finish my errands." Liu Yin touched Yingying's cheek with her hand, her face showing a determined expression.

"Mommy, don't go..." Yingying pleaded softly.

"Be obedient! No crying!" Liu Yin stood up.

"I'll be obedient, I won't cry…" Yingying sobbed quietly.

Liu Yin took another look at Yingying, tears uncontrollably streaming down like a broken thread as she quickly turned around and ran out of the iron gate.

The words "Children's Welfare Institute" were inscribed upside down on the concrete frame above the iron gate, which Li Teng recognized after some scrutiny.

"Mommy! Mommy!" It seemed Yingying sensed something was wrong as she quickly chased after her.

But an already shut iron gate blocked her way; she could only watch helplessly as the figure disappeared in the distance at the corner of the street.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Yingying burst into great sobs.

Some staff members came over to try to take her away.

The dream became extremely unstable, with menacing black fog appearing everywhere in the sky and on the ground, as if wanting to tear and devour everything...

Li Teng knew the appearance of the black fog meant the dreamer was too emotionally agitated, which could lead to damage to the soul, so he quickly used his Soul Power to suppress the black fog and stabilize Yingying's dream.

As his Soul Power was exhausted, Li Teng was ejected from Yingying's dream.

It seemed that the mother and daughter were separated at the Children's Welfare Institute?

Since Yingying was sent to the Children's Welfare Institute, why did she end up by his side in the shack?

It seemed a trip to the Children's Welfare Institute was necessary.

...

The next morning, he woke up.

While his Soul Power was abundant, Li Teng materialized several One Hundred Yuan Banknotes.

He decided to first take Yingying to a hotel to get a room, so both of them could take a good bath, change into new clothes and new shoes, before heading to the Children's Welfare Institute.

Otherwise, in their current appearance, they would look like a pair of beggars, and would be despised no matter where they went.

Before leaving, Li Teng searched the shack again. Underneath the bedding where he slept, he found a bag.

Inside were his ID card, some medical records, and various hospital billing documents.

From the medical records and billing documents, it seemed that every few months, Liu Yin would take him to the hospital for checks and treatment.

The most recent one was three months ago.

For five years, she never gave up.

Yet she had left half a month before he was about to awaken.

When she left, she placed Yingying in the Children's Welfare Institute rather than taking her back to the Liu family, which suggested her family was unwilling to accept Yingying.

Could she have returned home? Back to her parents' side?

And the condition to trade was giving up Li Teng and Yingying?

Even if that was the case, no one could blame her.

In these five years, she had endured hardships unimaginable to the average person.

No matter what, he had to find her first, find out the reasons, and then decide.

If no clues could be found at the Children's Welfare Institute, then he would have to visit her home, at least to confirm whether she had returned to her parents' side or not.

…

A small hotel on the street corner.

After making sure there was hot water available for a bath, Li Teng paid one hundred yuan and got a room with Yingying, where father and daughter washed their hair and took a bath.

During the bath, Li Teng noticed there was a terrible scar on Yingying's calf, likely from a serious injury.

Li Teng reached out to touch Yingying's calf, let his Soul Power seep in, and quickly diagnosed the issue.

Yingying's leg had been broken!

And it hadn't set properly.

For such a young child, how painful a broken bone must have been!

Pretending to massage Yingying's leg, Li Teng silently channeled Soul Power into it, gradually correcting the badly healed bone, bit by bit healing the fracture's scars. A few minutes later, Yingying's calf was completely healed; the external scar vanished, and the bone was as if it had never been broken.

"Huh? Yingying's leg doesn't hurt anymore! Daddy is better at massaging than Mommy, it doesn't hurt at all!" Yingying looked at Li Teng with happiness.

"Yingying, how did your leg break?" Li Teng asked Yingying.

"A bad uncle broke it," Yingying said, her face showing fear.

"Which bad uncle did it?" Li Teng's face immediately became stern.

If her leg had been broken accidentally, healing it would suffice.

But to think someone deliberately broke it? What kind of person would be so cruel to a little girl?

Fear spread over Yingying's face even more, she didn't answer but instead burst into tears on Li Teng's shoulder.

"Don't be afraid, Yingying, don't cry, Daddy is here!" Li Teng comforted Yingying quickly.

This incident had obviously caused her great psychological trauma, and he could not ask about it anymore; it would cause her secondary harm.

Better to wait until she fell asleep at night and then use the Dream Entry Technique to search for relevant memories.

If he found out who had broken Yingying's leg, he would make sure the perpetrator suffered a hundredfold, a thousandfold, the pain of a broken leg!

…

After the bath, dressed in new clothes, the duo looked rejuvenated.

Especially Yingying, clean of all dirt, her large eyes sparkling, she was truly beautiful and adorable.

"Wow! So pretty!" Yingying twirled her skirt, looking in the mirror, appearing very excited.

"Yingying is so beautiful," Li Teng praised sincerely.

"Thank you, Daddy! I love you!" Yingying flung herself into Li Teng's arms, planting a kiss on his face.

A child with a mother is treasured, like a jewel, while a child without one is like a blade of grass...

Daddy will surely find Mommy for you.

Daddy will also stay by your side, watch you grow up happily, and make you the happiest daughter in the world!

Li Teng swore this solemnly in his heart.

"Daddy, I want to braid my hair." Yingying somehow found a rubber band and handed it to Li Teng.

"Braid your hair?"

"Yes, yes, I want a very pretty braid." Yingying nodded, a little girl of her age already knew about beauty.

Li Teng fumbled for a good while before he finally managed to tie a topknot on top of Yingying's head.

This thing was much harder than practicing Soul Power!

"Daddy's braid is not as good as Mommy's." Yingying commented as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Ahem…" Li Teng felt quite embarrassed.

"But it's still very pretty! Thank you, Daddy!" Yingying turned back and planted a smacking kiss on Li Teng's face.

"You're welcome."

...

After leaving the small hotel, Li Teng took Yingying to the Children's Welfare Institute in He City.

He City had only one Children's Welfare Institute. It was about a dozen bus stops away, a forty-minute to an hour taxi ride.

After getting off, Li Teng did some shopping on the street, and then he took Yingying to the entrance of the Children's Welfare Institute.

"Daddy! I don't want to go in!"

Upon arriving at the entrance of the Welfare Institute, the previously excited Yingying became terrified and tried to run away.

"Daddy isn't leaving you here. Daddy brought you to find mommy. Daddy will hold you tight and not let go. Don't worry." Li Teng quickly grabbed Yingying to comfort her.

He knew why Yingying was reacting so violently. She must be worried that he would do the same as Liu Yin—abandon her here and then disappear.

"To find mommy? Then Daddy has to hold Yingying very, very tightly and cannot let go," Yingying hesitated and bargained with Li Teng.

"I will, I swear I will never let go! Not in this lifetime!" Li Teng promised Yingying.

Yingying hesitated for a moment and then threw herself into Li Teng's arms, clinging tightly to his neck, her whole body still trembling.

Li Teng carried Yingying over, gave a pack of cigarettes to the security guard, and explained the situation in the security room. The guard still didn't let him in but made a phone call.

A moment later, a staff member arrived at the security room.

"We don't have her information registered here, and we are unaware of the situation you mentioned." The staff member made a few statements to Li Teng as soon as they arrived, also appearing somewhat nervous.

Li Teng recognized the staff member; it was the same one who had conversed with Liu Yin in Yingying's dream.

"I am the child's father. I am not looking to make any trouble. The child misses her mother, and I just want to know what you discussed when her mother came here, why she left her here, and where else my child's mother might have gone. Whatever you know, please tell me. I truly don't mean to cause any disturbance," Li Teng tried to communicate with the staff member.

The staff member still hesitated.

"I just want to help her find her mother; I have no other intentions." Li Teng handed a bag of cosmetic products to the staff member.

"Please don't... The child's mother... When she brought her here, we were not supposed to accept her. She told me that she had a terminal disease and was in the late stages. She showed me her medical records and said she was going to have surgery soon, and she might not come off the operating table. She asked us to look after the child for a while, and if she recovered from her illness, she would come to pick her up.

"I went to report this to the leader, but while I was away, she left the child behind and ran away.

"We had no choice but to prepare to take the child to the police station to report the matter, but the child disappeared in the blink of an eye as we were leaving. We couldn't find her... We thought perhaps her mother had come to take her away, so we didn't file the report. As for where the child's mother went, she probably went to the hospital for surgery, right?" After hesitating for a moment, the staff member pulled Li Teng aside and explained the situation.

"Thank you. Do you remember what specific illness she had, which hospital the medical records were from?" Li Teng continued to ask the staff member.

He truly hadn't expected Liu Yin to have left for this reason.

Her terminal illness, without a doubt, must have been caused by his five years of delay...

Li Teng had even suspected at one point that she might have given up Yingying and returned to her parents in exchange for leaving him...

If only that were the case, it would have been better than this outcome.