Leaving the inn, Ye Yu wandered aimlessly through Guangxi Town. Most of the people passing him by were brightly dressed and cheerful, some women holding freshly bought crepes as they chatted and laughed.
In the gloomy shadows of a street corner not far away, a half-naked child sat slumped on the ground with a chipped bowl placed before him. He was muttering something under his breath, but everyone who passed his spot gave him a wide berth.
Ye Yu did not go over. Although the child was pitiful, this world operated on the law of the jungle where the strong preyed upon the weak. Besides, even if he gave him some money, so what? When the money ran out, the boy would still have to go begging on the streets, and by then no one would be willing to help him anymore; he would still end up starving to death in the gutter.
Or perhaps other beggars would discover the money, and with his frail and tiny body, how could he possibly compete with those adults? His ultimate destination would still be death all the same.
Perhaps dying a little earlier was nothing short of a release for a life so full of suffering.
Ye Yu prepared to withdraw his gaze and keep walking.
Living in the world of assassins, compassion, kindness, and helping others had never been a part of his life. He had seen people who helped others only to be blackmailed in return; he had seen people lose their lives while helping others, only to have those they saved distance themselves in later interviews; and he had been betrayed by his own partner of ten years.
This world was not beautiful at all. Ye Yu stopped in his tracks and stretched his arms. The society he lived in before had at least called itself civilized, let alone this present world where the social order was gradually collapsing.
Ye Yu glanced once more toward the spot where the child had been, but froze in place. Chen Konghao was passing by with Akame and Kurome. Then, Chen Konghao very naturally took out ten copper coins and handed five each to Kurome and Akame. The two girls clutched the coins and ran swiftly to the child's broken bowl, dropping all the coins inside. Amidst the child's expressions of gratitude, Chen Konghao, smiling together with Akame and Kurome, resumed his stride.
Ye Yu watched as the child quickly picked up the copper coins from the bowl, shoved them through a tear in his clothes, and then looked around anxiously in every direction, terrified of being discovered.
Ye Yu quickly picked up his pace, catching up with Chen Konghao and the others who had not yet gone far.
"Brother Chen!" Ye Yu walked up behind Chen Konghao and called out. Chen Konghao turned around in confusion, but finding no one behind him, looked around, assuming he had suffered auditory hallucinations.
"Ah, it's Big Brother Ye Yu!"
Kurome called out happily, letting go of Chen Konghao's hand and running over to Ye Yu's side to naturally take his hand. Akame held her father's hand and waved at Ye Yu. Compared to Kurome, Akame appeared much quieter as the older sister.
Hearing Kurome's voice, Chen Konghao finally lowered his gaze and saw Ye Yu.
Watching Ye Yu stroke Kurome's hair, Chen Konghao offered an awkward, sheepish smile. "So it's young master Ye Yu. I didn't expect us to meet again."
Ye Yu nodded nonchalantly, pulling Kurome over to Chen Konghao's side to walk along with him. With a smile, he said, "Brother Chen, quite the charitable streak you have."
"Hahaha, were you seen?" Chen Konghao scratched his head sheepishly. "I hope both of my daughters will grow up to be kind people. But before I even said anything, they went and gave that to the little fellow. It really took me by surprise."
"Because Daddy does it often too," Kurome said with a smile, and Akame nodded in agreement.
Passing by a crepe stall, Ye Yu bought four portions, all of them wrapped with ice cream. Kurome and Akame accepted theirs happily, and Chen Konghao took his with an embarrassed look. As he ate his crepe, Ye Yu asked, "Educating Akame and Kurome? That's fine and all, but blind kindness will only get you taken advantage of in the future."
"It's not really education," Chen Konghao said between bites of his crepe. In the past, treats like these could only be bought occasionally for Akame and Kurome to share; he never imagined there would come a day when he could afford to eat one himself.
"Those begging people might starve to death today, but giving them this money might only mean I eat a little less, while for them, it means living to see tomorrow." Chen Konghao swallowed the food in his mouth and mumbled indistinctly.
"What if they're tricking you? What if street begging is actually their profession rather than a desperate last resort, and when they finish work for the evening, they walk into a house bigger than yours, complete with thousands of maids serving them?" Ye Yu used his hand to wipe a smudge of ice cream from the corner of Akame's mouth, speaking indifferently.
"But not all of them are like that, right? As long as I do it enough, eventually a portion of it will reach the hands of the person who truly needs it. That person will make it to a new day thanks to my help. Their life might still be terribly painful, but what if surviving today means that tomorrow they'll run into young master Ye Yu just like I did?" Chen Konghao said happily. He didn't dislike discussing and sharing these thoughts with Ye Yu.
"I am a once-in-a-lifetime encounter, not someone you just stumble upon." Ye Yu waved a hand. If not for Akame and Kurome, he wouldn't have interacted with Chen Konghao at all.
Little did he expect Chen Konghao to be such a bleeding heart. Even though he probably couldn't even feed himself properly before meeting Ye Yu, he still insisted on parting with a portion of his means to do good deeds.
"I know what the young master is referring to," Chen Konghao stopped eating his crepe and said earnestly. "Perhaps what I do brings no reward, perhaps it can't really help anything, and perhaps it even causes them trouble."
Pausing for a moment, Chen Konghao racked his brain for the right phrasing before continuing, "My efforts might be useless, and they might even backfire, but I believe someone out there will find salvation."
"Many people just drift along with the current in this world, and many more have probably been tortured by life to the point of losing all will to live. I don't have much power, but this helping hand I extend might just become a tiny spark for them, igniting a glimmer of hope for life."
"Making them, just like me, search for the light of survival amidst a painful existence—just like how I met my wife, my daughters, and young master Ye Yu. Perhaps surviving just one more day means crossing paths with fortune?"
Watching Chen Konghao, Ye Yu came to a halt. Chen Konghao's crimson pupils reflected Ye Yu's figure. Though he said nothing, the sudden, oppressive atmosphere caused Chen Konghao to shudder involuntarily.
"Young master Ye Yu?" Chen Konghao ventured carefully. Akame and Kurome also looked at Ye Yu with worry; although they didn't understand the conversation, they could sense something was wrong with the mood, failing to notice the ice cream beginning to drip from the crepes in their hands.
Ye Yu gave a light chuckle, and the oppressive atmosphere vanished instantly. "Brother Chen's outlook is much grander than mine."
Hearing the praise, Chen Konghao laughed awkwardly along with him, failing to notice that his back was already soaked with sweat.
Hope?
The group resumed walking. As Ye Yu ate his crepe, he thought of the old woman who had thrown him out onto a garbage heap, of Lox who had been hunted for years, and of his past life where he had died so cleanly.
Ye Yu lived in a hopeless assassin's world, his hands stained with countless lives. He had no family, no companions, and even his final partner had betrayed him.
Why had his past self watched anime? Probably because the emotions portrayed in anime were much purer.
With a self-deprecating shake of his head, he was no great philanthropist like Chen Konghao. As an assassin, the last thing one should do was become shackled by emotions.
Yet to go on living... perhaps it was just as Chen Konghao said—living for hope.
Just like his present self, rushing about to save the people he wished to save.
At this thought, Ye Yu placed his hand on top of Akame's head and gently stroked it. Akame closed her eyes in enjoyment, rubbing back against his palm.
At that moment, the sound of rapid hoofbeats echoed from behind. Many pedestrians on the road scrambled out of the way in a desperate rush, eager to avoid being trampled. Ye Yu and Chen Konghao hurriedly pulled Akame and Kurome aside.
The rider was a bloated, corpulent brute. Sitting astride his horse with a perverted grin, he held a rope in his hand, dragging something behind him, yet his sickening laughter filled everyone on the street with disgust.
"That's the son of a city guard officer who lives in the outskirts. His father is an officer in the guard, so thanks to his dad's connections, whenever he causes trouble in Guangxi Town, his father always manages to sweep it under the rug." Chen Konghao crouched down and whispered into Ye Yu's ear.
Ye Yu nodded, fixing his gaze behind the horse. Whatever was being dragged behind it, the mere thought of it left Ye Yu with a foul taste in his mouth.
The horse was moving fast, and Ye Yu quickly realized that what was being dragged was a small boy. He looked at Chen Konghao—surely it couldn't be that much of a coincidence?
Before Ye Yu could finish the thought, Chen Konghao let out a soft gasp of dismay. "It's that child."
Ye Yu looked again. Sure enough, it was the ragged child, his neck bound with a rope, being dragged rapidly across the ground. Chen Konghao sprang to his feet, but Ye Yu pulled him back.
"Don't move. I'll handle this. You take Akame and Kurome away first," Ye Yu said, then dashed toward the boy. Chen Konghao was in no position to show his face; if he were targeted for retaliation, it would be nothing short of catastrophic for him.
Given Ye Yu's usual character, he was loath to get involved in such matters to avoid bringing trouble upon himself. But today, let him too grant someone else the hope of living one more day.
Seeing that the boy was already at his last gasp, Ye Yu reached toward a mercenary's waist. Before the mercenary could even let out a stream of profanity, Ye Yu had already hurled the man's knife, severing the rope tied around the boy's neck. The boy rolled over several times on the ground before coming to a motionless stop, leaving it unclear whether he was dead or alive.
Seeing his knife thrown at the city guard officer's son, the mercenary didn't even dare to curse, fleeing the scene in a hurry for fear of drawing fire upon himself.
"Who!?"
The guard officer's son roared angrily in his grating voice, spinning around to face the direction the knife had come from, only to see a kid walking toward him.
He opened his mouth to hurl a torrent of abuse, but before the words could leave his lips, a crushing pressure instantly enveloped his entire body. He could only gape, letting out a wheezing, rattling sound without managing to utter a single word.
As Ye Yu walked toward him step by step, the horse beneath the officer's son began to tremble uneasily, dumping him straight onto the ground before bolting away.
Ye Yu bypassed him entirely and reached the boy's side. Inspecting the child's injuries, he saw deep rope burns around the neck, and the breathing was down to shallow gasps.
He scooped the boy up without hesitation and charged straight back toward the nearest clinic. Having wandered around Guangxi Town for quite some time, Ye Yu had a pretty good grasp of the town's layout.
Seeing Ye Yu rushing back toward him, the guard officer's son hurriedly closed his eyes and shielded his head with his hands. After waiting a long time without feeling any attack, he finally dared to lower his hands.
The street had emptied completely, leaving him sitting alone on the ground. Failing to find any trace of the kid, he began to pant heavily, suddenly feeling a chill beneath him. He looked down and realized he had been scared to the point of incontinence by a mere glance from someone! Unable to contain the grievance swelling in his heart—having lived this long, this was the first time anyone had ever dared to treat him with such insolence!
Fuming with vicious resentment, the officer's son scrambled to his feet and scuttled away toward his home, leaving behind a puddle of stench.
By this time, Ye Yu had already brought the little boy into a clinic and gently laid him down on a treatment bed. A female doctor in the clinic saw Ye Yu storm in, but without saying a word, walked straight over to the boy's bedside to examine his injuries.
Seeing the doctor approach the little beggar without a hint of disgust, Ye Yu stepped back to clear some space. Considering how long it had been since the little beggar had last bathed, his body gave off a pungent odor. Just as Ye Yu took two steps back, he heard the female doctor call out, "Alcohol."
Ye Yu looked left and right, seeing no one else around. He scratched his head—how was he supposed to know where the alcohol was? He hurriedly began searching through the desk. Fortunately, the alcohol was placed in a fairly conspicuous spot. Ye Yu snatched it up, grabbed a handful of cotton swabs, and ran back to hand them to the female doctor.
At that moment, Chen Konghao walked in holding Akame and Kurome by the hand. "I knew you'd be here," he said hurriedly. "How is the child?"
"Chen Konghao, don't you know shouting is prohibited in the hospital?" the female doctor complained, though her hands never stopped working.
"Sorry, sorry," Chen Konghao apologized profusely, leading his two daughters to Ye Yu's side.
Ye Yu looked at him in surprise and asked in a low voice, "You two know each other?"
"He often brings people like this to my clinic. Even though he barely has a few copper coins to his name, he still dares to wade into these muddy waters." The female doctor shot Chen Konghao a sideways glance, then snapped irritably, "Bandages!"
Chen Konghao scurried off to fetch the bandages. Watching his familiar routine, Ye Yu felt a surge of curiosity—the relationship between these two clearly wasn't simple.
"When Daddy gets hurt on mercenary missions, he always comes to Sister Ruyue's place." Sensing Ye Yu's confusion, Akame leaned close to his ear and whispered quietly.
Watching Chen Konghao scurry back and forth following the orders of the "Sister Ruyue" Akame had mentioned, the three children—Ye Yu and the girls—moved their heads in unison, tracking Chen Konghao's movements left and right with perfect synchronization.
After a long while, Ruyue finally finished the treatment, let out a long sigh, and said to them, "Good thing he was brought in time. Most of his injuries are superficial, though the rope damaged his vocal cords, so his voice might sound a bit rough in the future. He needs complete rest now, and he'll be fine in a few days."
Chen Konghao let out a breath of relief; as long as the boy would live, that was enough. He slumped into a chair and wiped the sweat from his forehead—the running around earlier had thoroughly exhausted him.
"Now about the treatment fee, Chen Konghao." Ruyue held out her hand toward Chen Konghao, waving it in front of him.
A crooked smirk appeared at the corner of Chen Konghao's mouth, radiating the supreme aura of a swaggering protagonist. He reached inside his tunic, preparing to pull out the gold coins he kept in his bosom to put on a grand display. In the past, Ruyue had always mocked him for being too broke to afford medical fees; this time, he would show her just how dashing he looked paying off all his back-pay and treatment costs in one lump sum!
I, Chen Konghao, am no longer the man I used to be! Wryyyyyyyyy!!!!!!
Before Chen Konghao could fish out the money, Ye Yu stepped forward, pulled out two gold coins, and handed them directly to Ruyue. "I'll pay for this."
Having looted those gold coins from the wealthy estate earlier, Ye Yu felt no pangs of heartache spending them. He had almost forgotten the actual purchasing power a gold coin represented.
As an assassin, he had always lived by the motto of eating, drinking, and being merry today, with no guarantee of survival or wealth tomorrow.
Therefore, money had never been something Ye Yu cared about very much.
Watching Ye Yu pay the bill, Chen Konghao sat back down with tears streaming down his face. Just when he finally had such a golden opportunity, someone else had snatched it away.
Staring at the money in her hand—enough to buy her entire clinic several times over—Ruyue froze in place for a moment before hurriedly pocketing it. Her eyes sparkling, she gushed, "Big spender! Come to me with any problem from now on; even if you die, I'll bring you back to life! My name is Zi Ruyue, just call me little Yue."
Gazing at Zi Ruyue, who was clearly much older than him, Ye Yu felt a twitch of black lines cross his forehead. He hadn't expected her to be completely devoid of any dignity or restraint. "Hello, Sister Ruyue. My name is Ye Yu, a traveler heading to the Imperial Capital."
"The Imperial Capital? Considering those gold coins just now, let me give you a warning: things aren't peaceful over there, especially since Prime Minister Honest took office." Zi Ruyue patted Ye Yu's shoulder with an earnest expression, pronouncing every word with deliberate weight.
Ye Yu nodded to show he understood, then turned his head to Chen Konghao. "Leave this child in your care. I have some business to attend to, so I'll be leaving first."
Amidst Chen Konghao's chest-thumping assurances and farewells exchanged with Akame and Kurome, Ye Yu fished a single copper coin from the pockets of the homeless boy lying on the bed—to the astonished gazes of the others—and walked out of the clinic.
Gazing at the mask and black-robe shop not far away, a smile touched the corners of his mouth, though his eyes held not a shred of mirth. He looked precisely like a released demon, calmly mapping out the program for a mad, world-destroying party.
"Take people's money, eliminate their disasters~"
He flipped the copper coin into the air with his thumb. The coin tumbled gracefully through the air before Ye Yu caught it firmly in his palm, and strode straight toward the shop.