---
Several men leapt over the crevice and arranged the orphans into five rows.
The total number of orphans that Young Master Yi Fei had gathered was two hundred and fifty, thus they were divided into rows of fifty each.
Finding the orphans had not been difficult. On the contrary, it was easier than picking an apple.
Regardless of how scattered they were, nobody wanted them. Society saw them as nothing but weeds, a swarm of annoying flies.
Who would look kindly upon children who stole from their goods just to eat, or begged here and there?
Zhang Yu stood in the third row, and compared to the vast majority of the orphans, he looked remarkably healthy.
Most of these children had suffered from malnutrition, relying only on themselves to find food. In many cases, they went days without eating.
So, even if they doubted Young Master Yi Fei's words, what could they do? They would rather cling to a faint hope than embrace despair.
"You are number six. Go."
For each row, there were three men.
The first man would assign random numbers to the orphans.
The second man gave them the elixir.
The third gathered the orphans into smaller groups.
Ahead of Zhang Yu stood a ragged boy in tattered clothes, barely covering his back.
He looked frail, emaciated, short, his shoulder blades, ribs, and vertebrae protruding clearly through his skin.
When his turn came, the first man gave him a complicated look, handed him a random number, then pushed him toward the second man.
But this time, the second man gave him no elixir.
Instead, he simply passed him along to the third man, his face twisted with disgust.
Zhang Yu's expression darkened, yet he merely stepped forward in silence.
Would he risk his life for an orphan he had seen only once? Someone he might never see again in his whole life?
This time, the first man's expression was far better compared to before. Perhaps it was because Zhang Yu had a slightly muscular build and did not look as malnourished as the others.
"Looks like you've lived well up until now, haha. Take it, you're number three."
Zhang Yu showed no expression, only staring back in silence.
The first man did not press further. He knew well that none of these orphans had truly lived well.
Maybe some were mute, maybe deaf, but who cared? Certainly not him.
Zhang Yu moved on to the second man, who handed him a black opaque bottle containing a strange liquid.
He glanced at the bottle in his hand and moved forward.
"So this is how they treat future heroes? Hah… I don't know what awaits now. Perhaps Wuqi has already abandoned me."
"Well, it was a good life I lived, aside from the end. I only hope Yi Fei's words are true, for I do not intend to die yet…"
Zhang Yu's thoughts grumbled in his mind, and he did not notice that he had been placed with four other orphans, all of whose numbers contained the digit three.
When he noticed, he realized that their numbers either began or ended with the number three.
"Your group's name is Si. Remember it," the third man said.
Zhang Yu did not bother looking at him, instead glancing with pity at the children in his group.
There were two girls, number thirty-five and number thirty-nine.
They looked at Zhang Yu with lumps in their throats. They wished to grow, to gain healthy bodies, to have a chance at marrying a good man who loved them.
It wasn't only the girls. The boys were just as full of bitterness and envy.
In Group Si there were three boys and two girls.
Among them: Zhang Yu, number three, the boy number sixty-three, and the last, number thirteen.
The other boys were in no better shape than the girls, though at least they could stand somewhat properly.
By the time all the orphans were processed, night had already fallen.
"Fifty groups in total, young master. Shall we place them in the same chambers?" asked a guard beside Young Master Yi Fei's chair.
"Each group shall enter a single chamber. Do not put more than one group in each. We have seventy chambers, correct?" Yi Fei replied.
"That is correct, sir. We shall do as you say." The guard bowed with clasped hands.
Then he straightened and turned to a band of men, giving them a nod.
At his signal, they immediately advanced to perform their task.
Each took a group and led them toward the great fissure in the ground.
When Zhang Yu first saw the crevice, he thought it was merely symbolic, to mark the divide between the lofty Young Master Yi Fei and the Yi Clan above, and the shame and lowliness of the orphans below.
But he had been wrong. When he looked more closely, he shuddered.
Within the crevice were countless hollow chambers, resembling a giant beehive.
"With this distance… how are we supposed to get there…?"
Suddenly, Zhang Yu felt his body was no longer his own.
He lost all control, overwhelmed by numbness and suffocation.
When he blinked, he found himself leaping together with the man assigned to them, landing within one of the hollows.
Moments later, the orphans of his group, along with Zhang Yu, collapsed to the ground gasping for breath.
The man remained standing, looking at them coldly.
"You will sleep today, get to know one another tomorrow, and take the elixir the day after."
Then he left with a high leap.
None of the group could move, and soon they all fell asleep.
---
"My foot still hurts, damn it."
"How did this happen? Why did this even happen to me?!"
"And why should I want to know a group of pitiful orphans anyway?!"
Zhang Yu had woken some time earlier, and since then had been complaining and thinking hard.
He observed the orphans. The two girls looked somewhat better. He noticed that without malnutrition and illness, they might have become beautiful women.
As for the other two boys… he could only sigh.
What could he say? The body of number thirteen was covered in scars. Clearly, his body had not endured its injuries, for he lacked even enough sustenance to survive.
But it was his face that was most pitiful. Without the burn marks and the scar marring the right side of his face, he would certainly have been handsome.
Zhang Yu wondered who could commit such cruelty upon a child, and at the same time gained a partial understanding of the nature of people in this world.
"To brand and scar the face of a mere orphan child… perhaps not even Wuqi would go so far… What demon would do such a thing?"
"And number sixty-three… his teeth deliberately broken, an eye missing. Are his ears deformed as well?"
"This… is far too cruel…"
As he was inspecting them, one of the girls stirred awake—number thirty-five.
She looked around in fear, her small body trembling.
Seeing the others still asleep, except for Zhang Yu, she shuddered.
"You're awake then?" Zhang Yu said.
But unexpectedly, her face darkened in terror.
She covered her face with her tiny hands and began to tremble, sobbing audibly.
It was clear she was terrified, and Zhang Yu's voice only frightened her more.
She hugged her legs and drowned in long weeping and wailing.
Zhang Yu merely watched with patience, not approaching.
Her crying soon woke the rest of the orphans, who joined her in a chorus of grief.
But number thirteen did not cry. He only wore a sorrowful expression.
Slowly, he rose and walked toward Zhang Yu.
The latter only observed silently, not minding his approach.
He sat beside him, looked sadly at the children, then at Zhang Yu, and asked, "How did you get a body like that? Did you bully other kids, steal their food and make them give it to you?"
Zhang Yu was stunned. He had not expected such a question.
His eyes narrowed. "I… no. I was the one bullied. I was beaten nearly to death, many times."
But number thirteen's face filled with anger and disdain. "Are you mocking me?! Do you expect me to believe that? How could I not see a single scar on you?"
Zhang Yu did not answer, remaining silent.
Number thirteen waited, but when he saw no reply, he calmed and sighed.
"I apologize for my earlier outburst. I was resentful of you. As you can see on my face, I was once a slave to a family of merchants, used as a toy for their children."
Zhang Yu stared. He had expected a sad story, but not one so agonizing, so heart-shattering.
He tried to steel himself against sympathy, but in the end, he gave in.
"I was born into a poor family, and even among them I was bullied and mocked. I was more handsome than my father, so he disfigured me. My hair was longer and finer than my mother's, so she burned it."
"Your father and mother…?" Zhang Yu was shocked. His view of family was utterly different from number thirteen's.
His own father had been loving. He had lived happily with him and his foster sister. He had never imagined that a father or mother could be abusive.
"Yes. Did you think these scars on my face came from the merchant's children? No, but they were the ones who carved the marks into my body. They beat me every day until I breathed my last, then fed me poison or something to make me scream till morning, only to resume their beating to satisfy… their desires!!" Number thirteen's fists clenched, his teeth ground tight.
But tears overcame him, and he wiped them quickly.
"I-I'm sorry. But I felt if I didn't tell you my story, you wouldn't tell me yours either…"
Zhang Yu was shaken by number thirteen's life. "Can this even be called a life…?" His chest ached, a lump stuck in his throat.
He bit his tongue and asked, "Then why didn't you just end it? Wouldn't death have been better than this? It's unbearable!"
Number thirteen answered bitterly, his voice broken. "B-because… even my death is not mine to choose!"
Zhang Yu trembled.
How could he imagine such a life, when his own had been so kind?
"This… those are demons. No! They are worse than demons!" Zhang Yu cried with grief.
But number thirteen's eyes were cold. "Demons? No. They are human. And I understand their stance."
"You… you understand?!" Zhang Yu shouted.
"They mutilated you and robbed you of an entire life! How can you understand, how can you not be angry?!" His fists clenched, his sorrow turning in an instant to fury at number thirteen's calmness.
Yet instead of arguing, number thirteen answered gently: "What would you have me do? If a slave wronged you, would you thank him?"
Zhang Yu's eyes trembled. He fell silent. His fists relaxed. He lowered his head and thought.
"I don't think… I wouldn't be angry…" The words came broken, as though forced from his lips.
"See? Then I do not blame them. No matter what happens, I blame no one. You know, I believe in karma. What they did to me will return to them a hundredfold. Knowing this alone brings me peace."
Number thirteen was calm as water, while Zhang Yu was his opposite, fire that consumed everything in its path.
Zhang Yu still burned with anger, though he had just admitted the truth.
"How did you gain such a mindset, when you are so young?" Zhang Yu was stunned. If he had not seen his appearance, he might have thought him an old man who had lived a hundred years.
Number thirteen smiled. "The same way you gained such a body, when you are so young."
Zhang Yu stared for a moment, before both burst into laughter together.
One had a fine, bright body with a broken mind. The other had a fine, bright mind with a broken body.
As for the rest of the orphans, they felt terror and madness at these two laughing together.
The conversations and introductions lasted until sleep overcame them. Tomorrow would be the day of the elixir.
Zhang Yu realized that each of these orphans carried a story.
Number sixty-three had been a human plaything for the son of an evil sect. That son, lustful and addicted to women, had still found time to amuse himself with number sixty-three, doing unspeakable things to him.
As for the girls, they had been acquaintances. Both were sold to different brothels. Each time one was discarded, she was thrown to another, enduring a life of filth and shame, forced to clean the leavings of clients with their bodies and their very teeth.
---
Midnight had long passed. The orphans slept upon the hard floor.
But Zhang Yu could not sleep. He thought of his past, his present, his future, of the lives of the others.
His view of the world before entering the chamber was utterly different from now.
"Why is this happening to me… Hah. I understand now."
"I thought myself weak, pitiful, as though Wuqi and the world conspired against me."
"But looking at them… I truly lived in paradise…"
As he mused, a faint voice reached his ears. "Number three, may I ask you something?"
Zhang Yu turned, finding number thirteen still awake, like himself.
He was surprised at first, but quickly answered, "What is it?"
"Tomorrow is the day of the elixir. However I look at it, this is but sifting sand to find gold."
"So, if you survive, would you grant me one promise?"
Zhang Yu's confusion deepened. He had thought of number thirteen as a silent wall of steel. But now…
"What do you want? I promise I'll do it if I am able."
Number thirteen hesitated before speaking. At last, broken words escaped his lips: "The Fu Trading Clan… if you ever go there… please take my revenge. As for my family, I forgive them."
Zhang Yu's eyes narrowed with distaste. "Didn't you say you believe in karma? Then what are you doing now?"
A small laugh escaped. "Meeting you is karma itself."
Zhang Yu stared off for a while, then smiled. "Very well. You have my word."
"Good. I appreciate that. Thank you. Since you'll do something for me if you survive, then if I survive, I'll do something for you. Tell me, what do you wish?"
Zhang Yu fell silent. He didn't know what to say. His father was dead, and he had already avenged him. Wuqi could not be touched, and he did not see him as a full enemy.
For him, only one thing was missing: his sister.
"I have a little sister. I lost her when…" He recounted how she had disappeared, omitting much and leaving things unsaid.
Number thirteen agreed to Zhang Yu's request.
Only then did both of them rest and sleep.
---
Sunlight crept into the chamber, and with it, a man.
He strode toward the orphans. Upon arriving, he shouted, "Rest is over! It is time to take your elixirs!"
The children awoke in terror, trembling violently.
The man noticed their fear and quickly barked, "What is this fear?! You will become proud heroes of this world! Come now, bring out your elixirs and drink!"
At his command, the orphans drew out their bottles with trembling hands, opening them at once.
"This…!" Zhang Yu was shocked. The liquid's aroma gave off relaxation and calm, yet also a hidden power.
"Could it be… their words about elixirs and heroes were true?" he thought.
"Now, drink." the man commanded.
Slowly, Zhang Yu raised the bottle, and in one gulp, swallowed it all.
Contrary to expectation, the sensation in his mouth was like silk—softer even than silk—filling him with strangeness.
But peace did not last. The moment the liquid entered his body, his veins swelled violently.
"Damn it—this isn't an elixir!!!" Zhang Yu wanted to scream, but his throat failed him.
"It's poison!"
"Ghh!"
He felt immense pressure surging through his veins, bursting some from within.
Not just his body's veins, but even his brain's. The vessels in his eyes swelled and throbbed with force.
"But I can endure it!!!"
Ordinarily, any other child's body would have exploded by now.
But Zhang Yu's body and will were exceptional, driving him further.
Still, this was the utmost he could bear.
Struggling to calm himself, he managed to sit cross-legged once more.
"I can do this… I can!" he kept urging himself, and it was not without reason. He could feel his body adapting, the pressure flowing with more ease.
Pffft!
Blood spurted from his mouth and eyes.
When he opened his eyes, he could not comprehend what he saw.
"Hahaha! Bastard, you never expected this, did you?!" number sixty-three roared.
Zhang Yu, engrossed in calming himself, had not noticed number sixty-three's hand piercing through his chest, seizing his heart!
Number sixty-three's body was swelling grotesquely, on the verge of exploding.
His skin was splitting, blood bursting out like water from a leaking pipe.
"Before I die… I'll take you with me, you heartless bastard!" sixty-three screamed, crushing Zhang Yu's heart in his grasp.
Zhang Yu felt his nerves ablaze, as if millions of nails pierced the same point in his head and body.
He spat blood, his eyes bloodshot with rage and agony, his head on the verge of bursting.
But then, sixty-three's grip slackened, and the crushing force on Zhang Yu's heart vanished.
BAAAAM!
He thought it was over—but number sixty-three's body exploded.
A full circle of flesh vanished, including Zhang Yu's heart and a portion of his chest.
All expression drained from Zhang Yu's face, and a profound emptiness consumed him.
---