Chapter 15 - Aftermath

“So what was it again? You’ve said these poor guys tried to kidnap some children from the ruins, eh?” said the short guard, a little wide on the sides, his face riddled with pockmarks and adorned with an awfully thin mustache that fell quite short of delivering the hard look this guard surely thought he’d get.

Lei nodded for perhaps the tenth time, going over the explanation yet again. “They tried to take our coins and the children. Said the little ones made for good workers, or something like that. You’ve seen the swords, Sir; that alone should be enough to get them locked up in the Governor’s Prison.”

“You’re right. They don’t have the permit or the status to carry weapons.” The guard blew out a long breath, a drop of sweat trickling down through his marks. One could’ve thought he was the one who carried these bastards all the way down the ruins from how he kept yawning in front of the pair of them.

The only explanation for his lack of interest in this matter could be that he didn’t like it. Simple as that. When Lei woke him up, as the man had been busy slumbering in the corner, he had to listen to his tirade about how hard it was to become a guard, and how little they got paid for the work they’d been trusted with, which was to deal with thugs and make sure the city didn’t get razed to the ground.

Oh, wait. The city was razed to the ground. You’re not too good at your job, then, eh?

Lei shook his head. A part of him knew that a simple guard couldn’t hope to stop some demonic bastard whose breath would probably be enough to erase his existence. He wasn’t even a cultivator. Another part of him, though, couldn’t just accept the fact that these fools, the guards of the city, were simply a useless bunch.

This plump guard, for example, had just the look that told Lei that he was some officer’s nephew who got recruited into the force with a little push from the higher-ups.

Nepotism at its finest.

“You’ve got the rest, then?” Fatty Lou said and hawked another mouthful to the line of thugs, who were still smarting from the bruises as they kept mumbling like junkies. Not Bushy, though, as he had an easy expression on his face as if he was simply waiting in the line of a street vendor.

“They’ll be put on trial first thing in the morning,” the guard said, yawned, stretched, and checked half-assedly the chains binding the thugs to the metal bar that ran the length of the wall, before waving a hand toward the exit. “Chief would want to listen to your statements. One of you will be enough.”

“I’ll do it,” Fatty Lou said and shrugged when Lei glanced at him. “The sun’s here already. You go and get some rest. Check those little devils for me.”

“Sure you don’t want me to stay?” Lei asked one more time and trudged out when Fatty Lou gave him a nod.

Outside the Guard Station, Lei took in the chilly air as he rubbed his shoulders. The first lights of the morning were about to break through the dark, so he wanted to pour himself over the ground and lay there sleeping, but he also had the mind to check the kids.

At least we’ve got our money back.

The city was rather lively even this early in the morning. A bunch of drunkards sang songs, arms locked together as they swayed this way or that, blissful smiles a bad sleep away from crumbling into grave realizations. Lei watched them as they seemingly decided to spend the night under the big statue of some minister of the state, whose name was lost on him, that stood right in the middle of the square which sprawled before the Guard Station, depicting an old man who had the whiskers of a flood dragon.

But they didn’t forget to blow a whistle to the two ladies who passed by them, dressed up in fancy clothes, spreading a wave of aromatic perfume about them.

Shaking his head, Lei made for the ruins, mind heavy with all sorts of thoughts. Sure, there was the Guard Station, a Governor’s Office, and even a law that governed the Empire, but these things weren’t enough to spark a sense of security in him.

On the contrary, it seemed like death was all around him, just that he’d managed to fool it this time. But it was hard to say what’d happen if or when he’d come across real cultivators, rather than some miserable thugs. Would that spiritual ladle be enough to ward off the real ones?

Not likely.

There was the system, and it promised too many things, none of which he had the resources for. Spiritual ingredients, was it? He just had to be reincarnated into the remotest of the places when that higher entity could’ve easily sent him to the capital, which many called the Immortal City.

I should be grateful to get a second chance. This whining isn’t going to get me anywhere.

That was true, but for the last month he’d been pushing himself for all his worth to do something with this second chance, so maybe what he needed was a little breather. Take the day off. Allow himself to rest. He’d earned it, right? Got enough money to fix a place for the kids now, there was that.

Yeah. You’ve to be optimistic. I’m making good progress here.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

And who knew? Perhaps their mission would bear fruit soon and he’d start making another spirited dish. He’d gotten a real kick out of that Spirited Fried Rice, and it wasn’t just the Qi. That thing seemed alive, something more than a mere dish. It was an expression of his knowledge, mixed with the magical side of this world, the perfect combo, to Lei’s thinking.

There must be hundreds of ingredients out there. Thousands of things I’ve yet to explore. You’ve to keep your head up and running. That’s the key here.

It was easy to say, of course.

…….

Back in the house, Lei found the children sleeping soundly inside the cramped space, scattered like a bunch of stray cats all across the ground. Stone seemed to have thought Lei’s wok would be as good as any pillow, one cheek flattened out over the metal cookware, tongue lolling out lazily. Snake was resting with his back on the wall, arms crossed over his chest. Seemed as if he’d dozed off waiting for Lei, as he had that same scowl on his face that made him look like an angry older brother.

The only one who welcomed Lei was the black cat, and even then the animal only spared a tired look at him before getting back on Little Mei’s head where it closed its eyes again.

They’d experienced way worse before.

Hence why they probably didn’t have any trouble sleeping like babies after the eventful night. Lei didn’t know if that was something to be glad about. On one hand, these kids had to be mentally strong if they wished to survive in this cruel world, but on the other hand, they were damned kids for god’s sake. They should’ve been playing, running about, and chasing each other like normal children.

Let me prepare something for you.

Lei felt a little smile settling on his lips as he slowly, carefully pulled his spare wok from the top counter and placed it over on the makeshift stove. He still had some eggs from the other day, but he’d used the last of the tomatoes for his kebab venture, so menemen wasn’t on the table.

Sunny side-ups, then, for the morning!

He used the leftover cottonseed oil and kindled the firewood before placing over ten eggs near the stove. Then he cracked them down on the wok when the oil got that first wave of heat from the wood, sprinkling a pinch of salt as a last touch. The eggs popped and crackled, and it wasn’t long before a tiny head craned near him with curious eyes.

“Morning,” Lei said as Snake gulped loudly while staring at the eggs. “You’ve kept them safe as promised and watched over them. That’s what I call being a good big brother, there. Very well done.”

Snake’s eyes darkened as he took a step back, glancing up at Lei with gloom. “That’s the only thing I’m good at, Big Brother Lei. Watching them like a coward. But I couldn’t do anything when those thugs tried to take them away…”

“Nonsense!” Lei said, a bit louder than he would’ve liked, which he compensated by pulling Snake closer and ruffling his hair. “These things take time, Little Junjie, so don’t be too hard on yourself. And what kind of a coward would try to fight a man twice his size who also carries a sharp axe? You were brave enough to distract him. You and Stone both. It’s thanks to you guys we’d managed to handle those people.”

Snake lowered his head, but Lei could see the promise of a little smile on his lips. Still, there was some hesitation that warranted an extra push to convince him to believe those words.

“I couldn’t have done it at your age,” Lei said as he gave the wok a little shake. When Snake’s eyes snapped back at him, he tried hard to keep his face straight. “And your Big Brother Lou… Well, he’s a different man, so he probably would’ve done the same, but yeah, you get the point. Goes without saying that if you’d gotten proper training, you could’ve easily handled those thugs with one little tail.”

“Training?” Snake asked, tilting his head.

Lei nodded. He was painfully aware that these children weren’t in a position to think about the future, but he also knew he couldn’t just leave them to their own after placing a roof over their heads. Talent was hard to come by around this part of the world, and these children, at least a bunch of them, had what Lei thought was a real gift in them.

But he couldn’t force them against their wishes, thus he’d decided to probe Snake about what he thought of becoming a cultivator.

“Say, Little Junjie—“

“Snake,” he said, puffing his cheeks. “You’d promised you’d call me Snake, Big Brother Lei!”

“Alright, alright, Little Snake,” Lei said, and chuckled when Snake hunched his shoulders. “Now tell me, if you knew you’ve got the talent for it, would you have tried to study at a school?”

“School?” Snake shook his head. “I don’t have the time to waste on studying meaningless things, Big Brother Lei.”

“Then what do you want?”

“I…” Snake trailed off, then mustered his courage before looking straight into Lei’s eyes. “My father had told me once that everything in this city is about money. He’d said that if you have enough money, then nobody can say no to you. So that’s what I want. I want to earn money and become someone important. This way, Little Mei and others can live happily without suffering.”

“Money, is it?” Lei said gravely. Snake was twelve years old. Age wasn’t the same number here as it was back on Earth, but still, he couldn’t be considered an adult before passing the age of sixteen. It was way too early for him to start thinking about things like money.

Desperate times.

“But I’m not talking about a normal school,” Lei said, as he removed the wok from the stove, setting it aside for it to cool down a bit, before turning back to Snake. “What about cultivation schools? I’ve heard with the education you get in those academies, the possibilities are endless. You can, say, become an officer of the Emperor’s Own. I’ve heard those people earn quite the money. And there’s one such school in Lanzhou.”

Snake looked doubtful at first, as if thinking about it, then shook his head. “I’ve been to Lanzhou once with my Father. We went there to sell the crops. He’d always say you can get higher prices there. Worth the trip, he’d say. They have a school, but it’s weeks away from here. I can’t leave them alone,” he said, looking back at the others.

You’re too responsible for your own good, little snake. I’m afraid there’s not a future in which all dozen of you attend the same school, or stay in the same place. Sooner or later you’ll have to part ways.

But the simple conversation showed Lei that Snake wasn’t ready to think about his own future. His mind was full of the responsibility that he carried on his little shoulders. Lei could only hope that when they got a place in the city these little ones would start to shed their insecurities bit by bit.

A place in the city. I don’t think I’ll have the time to sleep today. We have to find a place right away.

He’d have to visit the city to see about the options. But before that, it was time for breakfast. “Go wake your brothers and sisters,” he said to Snake, to which the little devil nodded with a smile and started barking at the others like a drill sergeant.

They floundered up and swayed away under the assault, but Snake didn’t give them a chance to say anything and dragged them to the table. Once everyone was seated he gave a curt nod, and Lei thought for a second that the kid was about to salute him.

He sighed out a long breath as he placed the wok on the table and pulled out the leftover bread from the other day. It didn’t take long before they started wolfing down the eggs, mouths too stuffed to utter anything other than blissful chomps.

……