Teacher by day, Farmer by passion-Chapter 157: Aftermath [3]
Ace leaned back, his expression unreadable as he absorbed the weight of Yuri's words.
"So you're saying… these other kids are the children of your co-workers?" His tone was calm, but there was an underlying sharpness to it.
Yuri gave a slow nod, her fingers tightening slightly around the thin blanket covering her.
"This is messed up," Ace muttered, shaking his head. "Do they not care about their own children?"
Yuri's lips curled into a bitter smile as she looked down at her hands.
"They don't have a choice," she said softly. "Whenever a girl gets pregnant, she's taken care of, fed, given a brief reprieve until she gives birth."
Her voice trembled slightly. "And then… then they send her right back to serving guests, we don't know what happened to the kids we birth."
Ace said nothing, but his fingers tapped against the armrest of his chair, a subtle sign of his irritation.
He then asked a question without hesitation.
"Do the women know their children are still alive?"
Yuri flinched at the question.
Her fingers curled into fists, gripping the fabric of her blanket. "I-I don't know," she whispered.
"We were all told our children would be taken to a safe haven."
Ace's eyes darkened. "So the brothel—"
"They lied to us," Yuri interrupted, her voice trembling with quiet fury. "They took the babies away… and left them to die."
She swallowed hard, forcing down the lump in her throat. "I overheard them once. They fed the children just enough to keep them alive for a few years, then let them starve, punishing them, hurting them, as if it were some kind of game."
Her breath hitched. "I tried to tell the others, but they were too afraid to confront to the owner. And when they found out… they beat me within an inch of my life."
Her fingers clenched into fists. "I would have died… but Blind Dog saved me."
Ace exhaled slowly, his irritation mounting.
The pieces were falling into place, they had been deliberately keeping the mothers in the dark while allowing the children to fend for themselves in the streets.
Yuri continued, her voice shaking, "Some girls tried to run… to hide their pregnancies… but they were always found. Punished."
Her expression twisted with pain. "No one escapes."
Silence filled the room.
Lily remained quiet, her gaze fixed on Yuri.
Ace leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees. "If they found out the truth… if they knew their children were alive… what would they do?"
Yuri blinked, caught off guard.
"They—" she hesitated, her voice uncertain. "I don't know."
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Ace tapped his fingers against his knee. "Would they want their children back?"
Yuri's breath hitched.
A long silence stretched between them before she finally admitted, "Yes."
Her voice was barely a whisper, but it carried the weight of every woman who had been forced to part with her child.
Ace sat back, his mind already forming a plan.
He turned to Lily, his voice calm but firm.
"Call the kids over."
Lily nodded and left the stone house without question.
Ace glanced at Yuri, still lying on the bed, her lifeless smile never quite reaching her eyes.
"Hmm, well…"
Ace found himself at a loss for words now that he was all alone with Yuri.
Yuri turned her head slightly, her voice soft yet distant. "Thank you, sir."
Ace awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Ah… it's the least I could do."
Before the awkwardness could settle further, Aunt Hong strolled in, carrying a basket of freshly picked fruits.
She took one look at the situation and chuckled knowingly.
"Well, well, looks like a flower is blooming." Her voice was rich with amusement, her sharp gaze flicking between Ace and Yuri.
Ace stiffened. Aunt Hong, why are you like this?
Suddenly, he remembered something, Lily's constant nudging about selling those rebellious variant humans.
Right! An escape plan!
"Aunt Hong, I, uh—there's something I need to do."
And before she could say another word, Ace snapped his fingers and vanished.
Ace stared at the numbers, tapping his fingers against his arm. It wasn't much, but it was still 400 lives.
A thought crossed his mind. Why not return them to the mortal world? Wouldn't that be the "right" thing to do?
He shook his head. Too naive.
With a sigh, he dismissed the hesitation and instead began setting up his stall.
Ace sighed. "At the end of the day, I'm in a cultivation world. Too much kindness gets you nowhere."
Meanwhile, in the Spirit Garden…
Lily made her way to the lush orchard, where rows of spirit apple trees stood in perfect formation.
The air was thick with the sweet scent of ripening fruit, but what caught her attention wasn't the trees, it was the scene unfolding beneath one of them.
Liu Mei sat atop White Fur, her majestic seven-tailed fox soul beast.
Her white robes billowed slightly as she gazed down at the group of children sitting cross-legged below, their eyes sparkling with admiration.
Among them, one particular little girl was the most enthusiastic.
"Grandma, why do people cultivate?"
Liu Mei, smiled slightly. "To grow stronger, to protect what matters, and to live beyond mortals."
The little girl—whose name was introduced to be Stupid Fool—nodded sagely, absorbing this wisdom like a sponge.
Then she tilted her head. "So if I cultivate, I can be a grandma too?"
Liu Mei's smile twitched. "...That's not quite how it works."
The other kids gasped at Stupid Fool's apparent genius. "Whoa! If we cultivate, we can all be grandmas!"
Lily, watching from the sidelines, exhaled quietly. They were lucky Liu Mei had the patience of a saint despite being at a age where she won't be surprised even if she beat all of them up.
Instead of refuting them, Liu Mei rested a hand on White Fur's soft fur and continued answering their endless questions with gentle amusement.
"Grandma, why does White Fur have seven tails?"
"Because she's special."
"Grandma, if I eat a spirit apple, will I grow a tail too?"
"No, but you'll grow healthier."
"Grandma, do cultivators fall in love?"
Liu Mei paused for a fraction of a second before saying, "Some do."
"Then, Grandma, when I grow up, can I marry you?" Stupid Fool asked, completely serious.
Lily stifled a laugh as the other children gasped at the sheer boldness.
Liu Mei, utterly composed, nodded. "Work hard, grow strong, and we'll talk about it then."
The kids cheered, while Stupid Fool pumped her tiny fists in determination.
Lily, watching all of this, shook her head fondly.
"I should hurry before they start planning the wedding."
With that, she stepped forward to call them back.
