Kael turned around.
The afternoon air felt heavy in his chest. Behind him, the Xue Ying family stood stiffly, like statues that had forgotten how to move. The father was slightly hunched, his body clearly not yet fully recovered. His wife supported him from the side, while Xue Ying stood half a step forward, close enough to protect, far enough to flee if necessary.
Kael took one step forward.
The mother's knees immediately touched the ground.
Small clouds of dust scattered.
The father followed, his movements slow and hindered by pain. Xue Ying hesitated for a fraction of a second... then knelt as well.
Three heads bowed.
"Immortal..." the father's voice sounded hoarse, like a throat that had long forgotten water. "Thank you for your help. We will pay five hundred Mana Stones within one month."
Kael stopped directly in front of them. From the corner of his eye, he saw the father's fingers trembling on the ground.
"Stand," he said.
Not a harsh command. Not a request either.
Yet their bodies moved before their minds could catch up. They stood hurriedly, as if afraid of being even one second late. The father's breathing quickened, his chest rising and falling irregularly.
"Can your words be trusted?" Kael asked lightly, as though the topic didn't concern anyone's life or death.
Silence.
The father's face tensed. His lips opened, then closed again. Brief hope flickered in his eyes, quickly extinguished, replaced by doubt, then shame that made his back bend further. In the end, only desperation remained, naked and honest.
Kael didn't need to ask again. He knew the answer even before the father dared to look at him.
One month.
Impossible.
That promise was born not from calculation, but from panicked gratitude... and greater fear.
The mother reached for her husband's arm, her fingers gripping the worn fabric as if she could hold him from collapsing.
"Sir... we beg you..." she said softly. Her voice trembled, not from cold.
Kael suppressed a smile.
Perfect.
He'd read scenes like this countless times. Cornered people, impossible promises, and choices that weren't really choices.
He hadn't come to save them.
He'd come to take what he needed.
"I have a way," Kael finally said.
His tone was flat, almost boring as if he were offering ordinary manual labor, not the future of the three people before him.
"You work at my place for one month. Without pay. I'll cover your meals."
The words fell one by one.
No one answered immediately.
The father swallowed. His throat moved visibly. One month without payment meant every day they would live on Kael's mercy.
"What kind of factory...?" the mother finally asked. "Where?"
"Lake Lakering. Western section," Kael answered without hesitation. "Not dangerous. Just work."
"What kind of work?" Xue Ying's voice interjected.
The girl's tone was soft, yet steady. Kael turned to look. Her eyes didn't shine with hope, but were full of calculation. She was weighing.
Good.
"Farming," Kael said. "Indoor rice paddies. Automated systems."
He paused for a moment, letting the words work.
"You'll do the same things as usual. But the harvest will be faster."
Xue Ying's eyebrows rose slightly. She clearly didn't understand all those terms, but her instinct caught one thing: this wasn't ordinary village farming.
The father exhaled a short breath. "One month..."
"No." Kael's voice cut him off.
All three flinched.
"Two months," Kael continued. "Without pay. As collateral."
His shoulders sagged, as if an invisible burden had just been placed there. The mother bowed her head, her fingers wringing the hem of her own shirt. Xue Ying clenched her fists, nails pressing into her palms.
Kael observed it all carefully.
Desperate enough to accept.
Not broken enough to be useless.
"Five hundred Mana Stones in three days is impossible," Kael said flatly. "You know it. I know it. So this isn't about money. This is about time."
He stepped closer. The distance between them narrowed, enough to make the father's breathing feel heavy.
"Two months working for me," Kael continued. "Your debt is cleared. After that, you're free."
He stopped.
"Or you can stay. Work. With wages. The choice is yours."
The father looked at his wife. The wife looked at Xue Ying, her eyes red but resolute.
Xue Ying raised her face and looked at Kael directly.
"Will you torture us?" she asked bluntly.
Kael almost smiled.
"No," he answered. "You're too valuable to torture."
"Valuable?" Xue Ying's brow furrowed.
"Assets," Kael said. "Damaged assets produce nothing."
No empathy. No sweet promises.
Only cold honesty.
Strangely, that was more calming than false compassion.
The father drew a long breath. His gaze fell to the village soil... soil he had tilled for decades, soil that always demanded more and gave too little.
"Alright, Immortal," he finally said. His voice was heavy, yet firm. "We will work for you two full months without pay."
Kael's eyebrows rose slightly.
"Agreed," he said.
***
In the inner circle area of the village, one of the main houses appeared quiet.
Bao Lang lay on a mattress, his body stiff. Every breath felt like it pierced his chest. His wife sat beside him, replacing the warm cloth on his chest with repetitive, anxious movements.
"Who was that young man?" she asked. Her tone was suppressed, but her anger seeped through. "Which village is he from?"
Bao Lang snorted softly. The ache in his chest paled compared to the heat spreading to his head when he recalled Kael's gaze.
"Quiet," he said. "He's also an Immortal."
He didn't mention that the young man was at the same stage as himself.
His wife fell silent. Her hands continued working, but now more rigidly.
"What about the Xue family's debt?" she asked again. "Young Master Fei wants it soon."
Bao Lang's jaw hardened. He stared at the house's dingy ceiling.
He had briefly considered paying first, if Kael truly kept his word.
The problem was...
He didn't even know where Kael lived.
"Damn... the Xue family..." he muttered.
The veins at his temples bulged. His fingers gripped the bedsheet until it wrinkled.
There was no solution.
For now, all those problems had to be shelved.
Bao Lang closed his eyes.
But that hatred... remained alive.