Chapter 35: The Wandering Girl Qian Qian
Over the next few days, Huo Rui and her younger brother consistently outperformed their opponents, often winning within just three moves. In a mid sized city like David City, few could match their skill, let alone wield top tier martial souls. By the third day, Ye Wen handed over nearly all his gold coins to the siblings.
"Bet it all on yourselves to win," he said. "And if you lose, don't expect any sympathy from me."
"Yes, master! We'll make sure to complete the mission!" they replied in unison, determined.
Ye Wen then wandered freely around David City. Confident in their victories, he found no interest in the matches unless, perhaps, two great beauties were fighting. ←_← This trip had a different purpose anyway; after all, he was hunting for some high quality soul tools. Having already parsed nearly all the medicinal herbs he could find, it was time to start creating actual remedies. While a tedious and often trial and error process, Ye Wen knew scientific exploration required relentless patience.
However, recently he'd felt an itch to explore the potential of soul tools. Although, in the original series, they were mostly used for travel and storage, by the time of Soul Land II, they played a critical role and even changed the world's power dynamics.
Ye Wen couldn't help but think that the Sun and Moon Empire in Soul Land II might have been a natural reaction of the world trying to balance itself, given how outstanding their soul tool and martial soul quality was featuring royal martial souls like the Sun, Moon, and Purple Sky Extinction Dragon.
But back in the present, he sighed, realizing David City wasn't a prime market for high level items. Though it had an arena, there was no auction house. He found a few soul tool shops, yet each only carried basic items like his old one cubic meter storage soul tool, which still cost a steep 5,000 gold coins. It felt like a fruitless journey: his disciples might be earning prize money, but he had come up empty handed.
However, David City's street food lifted his spirits. Caught up in research lately, Ye Wen realized he'd overlooked the simple joy of trying local cuisine such a distinctly Chinese pleasure. As he savored a cup of tea and pastries, a commotion at a nearby table caught his attention.
"Stupid girl! How many times have I told you not to steal food here? Get lost!" the burly shop owner shouted at a young girl, raising a hand to drive her off. But as he accidentally brushed her, the thin girl toppled to the ground. "Waaaah... Please don't hit me... Qian Qian didn't mean to, I promise..." she whimpered, her voice soft and broken. She tried to get up, only to collapse again, too weak to stand.
The owner frowned in annoyance. Already in a foul mood, he watched her struggling and, feeling she was disrupting his business, stepped forward to toss her out himself.
Ye Wen watched silently, something stirring inside him. Just as the owner reached out, he flicked a bamboo skewer, sending it flying past the man's hand to embed itself in the wall. Startled, the man froze, stumbling backward in shock.
Ye Wen walked over to the trembling girl, his brow furrowing at her ragged appearance. "Is it really necessary to be so harsh on a child?" he said coldly. "She only took scraps from leftover dishes."
"Y you're absolutely right, sir. I I overreacted," stammered the shop owner, now realizing the man before him was a soul master. Apologizing profusely, he turned to the girl, who was nothing more than a street waif. "I'm sorry, little girl."
"It's... it's okay," Qian Qian murmured, forcing herself up despite her bruises. "It was my fault... Please don't be angry with the uncle..."
Her voice was barely above a whisper, but her quiet forgiveness was heart wrenching. Ye Wen sighed, realizing he hadn't actually wanted to be harsh with the owner; he had merely been reminded of his own lonely past and acted on impulse.
Gently patting Qian Qian's tangled, dirty hair, he said softly, "Little girl, do you have a home or an orphanage to return to? Let me take you there."
Upon hearing this, Qian Qian's eyes filled with fear. She shook her head frantically, trying to pull away. Ye Wen's expression darkened slightly; he suspected something was amiss with the city's orphanage.
The constant wars between the two empires had left countless children orphaned, and it was the Spirit Hall that initially opened orphanages, primarily for the children of its members who had fallen in battle. Later, as more orphans flooded in from ongoing conflicts, Spirit Hall considered expanding its orphanages to boost its reputation among the common people. But sensing the Spirit Hall's ambitions, both empires quickly established their own orphanages in major cities, securing the loyalty of these children for themselves.
As he looked at Qian Qian's frightened expression, Ye Wen realized there was probably a dark story behind her reluctance to return to the orphanage.
Nobles, the parasites of society, made it difficult enough for orphans to grow up at all. The two empires would only invest in raising orphans if they possessed outstanding talent. Otherwise, they'd be sent out on their own as soon as they turned twelve.
That's if they were lucky enough to end up under the care of decent nobles. If they fell into the hands of depraved ones or got involved in unspeakable trades, the orphans of an entire city would face horrific fates. It was clear to Ye Wen that the orphanage Qian Qian had come from harbored its own hidden filth.
Unbothered by the dirt covering Qian Qian, Ye Wen gently picked her up and patted her back softly.
"It's alright now. It's alright. Big brother won't send you back to the orphanage," he said gently.
After calming her down, Ye Wen settled the bill with the shopkeeper and left with Qian Qian in his arms.
Back at the hotel, he carefully cleaned the grime from Qian Qian's body and bought her several new outfits. The previously dirty and unkempt girl, who had repelled everyone with her appearance, was transformed into a delicate, adorable figure.
Her slightly curled golden hair resembled the legendary Golden Fleece from Greek mythology soft and fluffy. She was no taller than the average six or seven year old girl, just reaching Ye Wen's thigh. Her face, though thin and pale from malnutrition, bore a quiet elegance.
Though Ye Wen wasn't trained in psychology or child development, he had a knack for handling young girls like Qian Qian. After all, he had once been the "big brother" at his orphanage.
With Ye Wen's gentle persuasion, Qian Qian gradually let down her guard and fell asleep peacefully in his arms. Through her, Ye Wen uncovered a hidden, darker side of David City.
The city's orphanage was run by a relative of the city lord. Outwardly, this man was a kind, rotund figure, but secretly, he was involved in human trafficking a practice explicitly banned by the empire.
The vile man would secretly sell off the more attractive orphans after their martial spirits awakened. Unfortunately, Qian Qian had witnessed this firsthand. Knowing she was considered "cute" and feeling his disgusting gaze on her, she had fled the orphanage when she was only five.
She had even tried to persuade her fellow orphans to escape with her, unwilling to become slaves to nobles. However, most of the children were too frightened of hunger and hardship to leave, preferring to stay in an orphanage that was, at best, tolerable.
From Qian Qian's description, Ye Wen pieced together an intriguing detail her background likely wasn't that of a commoner. Few children from ordinary families had such a deep understanding of nobility.
Still, Ye Wen wasn't surprised. A child as clever as Qian Qian was unlikely to have come from an ordinary family.
Now, Ye Wen found himself troubled over how to handle the orphanage. While he didn't see himself as a righteous hero, the idea of human trafficking taking place under his nose clashed with his values.
"Slavery, huh? What a disgusting concept. Reporting that orphanage director seems pointless; corruption between officials and merchants is timeless. And let's not forget that fat pig is connected to David City's lord.
For a noble to govern a mid sized city like David, they must at least be a Spirit Emperor with ties to the central government of the Heaven Dou Empire. Uprooting them would undoubtedly cause a mess.
Killing the fat pig by faking a natural death is simple enough. But would replacing the orphanage director fix the problem? Clearly not."
Ye Wen sighed. "Human greed is a sickness I know all too well. Even I can't resist the allure of gold spirit coins after all, even a hero can be stumped by a penny."
Suddenly, an idea crossed Ye Wen's mind, and a sly smile curled his lips.
Over the next few days, Ye Wen went about his usual routine of wandering the city. He also introduced Qian Qian to the siblings Huo Rui and Huo Feng.
The two siblings were initially surprised by the sudden appearance of this pitiful little girl. But Qian Qian's soft, adorable cries of "big brother" and "big sister" melted their hearts almost instantly. Before long, they were utterly smitten, spending every waking moment doting on her.
To snap them out of their obsession, Ye Wen flicked their foreheads and scolded them, "Calm down, you weirdos. Lolicons are the worst hetui!"
Time passed quickly. The siblings successfully completed their tenth consecutive victory in the Spirit Arena, earning Ye Wen a substantial 100,000 gold spirit coins. They were also promoted to Bronze Spirit Fighters.
Ye Wen decided not to push their luck by fighting further. It wasn't that he didn't want more gold, but earning excessive sums in a city like David City was a surefire way to court disaster.
This wasn't the Heaven Dou capital, where nobles casually threw around millions. A profit of 100,000 gold spirit coins was already enough to make the Spirit Arena feel the sting. Any more losses might provoke retaliation or attract the attention of the city's high ranking nobles.
Knowing when to quit was key to survival.
If he were a Title Douluo, it would be a different story entirely.
While Ye Wen seemed idle on the surface, he was secretly gathering evidence of the orphanage director's slave trade. Though the fat man had carefully distanced himself from the city lord, Ye Wen had collected enough evidence to incriminate him alone. That would suffice.
Ye Wen discreetly handed the information over to the Spirit Hall's main branch in David City. Given the mounting tensions between the Spirit Hall and the two empires, he was confident the Spirit Hall would seize this opportunity to undermine the city and bolster their reputation among commoners.
As for the fat orphanage director, Ye Wen laced his tea leaves with a slow acting, colorless, tasteless poison. In a few days, the man would suffer a sudden and fatal heart attack, leaving no trace of foul play.
Even if someone suspected poisoning, Ye Wen would be long gone by then.
In an era like this, tracking down a poisoner from weeks ago was as futile as finding a needle in a haystack.
By the time Ye Wen returned to Tiangxing Academy, rumors of the David City orphanage scandal had already reached him during a routine supply trip.
The city lord and his family had been stripped of their noble status and reportedly met violent ends soon after. The incident sparked widespread fear among Heaven Dou's nobility, silencing any open discussion of slavery.
"I didn't expect the Spirit Hall to move against the two empires this early. I thought they wouldn't escalate things until Bibi Dong's era," Ye Wen mused.
"Well, it saves me the trouble. I had been planning to assassinate David City's lord myself if he went unpunished."
Ye Wen quickly put the matter behind him. His current trip to Nuoding City was for a shipment of metals he had ordered from a merchant guild.
Having mastered the basics of crafting first tier soul tool storage rings, it was time to put his knowledge into practice.
Relying on the Spirit Arena for income, while lucrative, wasn't sustainable. Ye Wen planned to sell storage rings for a steady, long term source of gold.
(End of Chapter)
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