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墨書 Inktalez
Just as the nobles despised the stench of the poor, the impoverished had little fondness for the aristocrats. When Ivy's Father saw Ye Huan and the others dressed in expensive clothing, an unusual feeling inevitably took hold of him. If it weren't for Ivy pulling him back, he might have stood up and chased these people away. After all, he was a cripple and didn't care much about offending the nobles.
Confused by the sight of this middle-aged man seething with anger, Ye Huan felt as if he were a monk unable to comprehend a situation. He couldn't help but ask the man, "Um, sir, I think you might be mistaken about something?"
"Sir? Am I that old? Get lost! You Southern Xiongnu Empire bastards are not welcome in this slum!" Staring incredulously at Ye Huan, Ivy's Father stroked his bushy beard as if he had been struck at a sensitive spot. He grabbed two broken bowls nearby and hurled them toward Ye Huan and his companions. If they hit their mark, it wouldn't be fatal—just a few bumps on the head at most.
At his shout, more residents from the slum rushed over, many wielding wooden sticks, basins, and various makeshift 'weapons.'
Though crude, their weapons did not diminish their fierce demeanor. After dodging a flying bowl, Ye Huan sensed a hint of violence emanating from these people—he couldn't tell if it was just his imagination.
Upon observing the crowd surrounding them more closely, Ye Huan quickly noticed something: many of these slum dwellers bore various disabilities—some were missing an arm or a leg, while others were blind or had lost an ear. Despite their physical shortcomings, they stood tall and straight.
Recalling what Zhang Ren had said about many being veterans who had returned from battle, Ye Huan suddenly understood their identities. He hurriedly turned to Ivy's Father and explained, "Sir, I think you might have misunderstood something. I'm not a noble from the Southern Xiongnu Empire; I'm from Huaxia Nation and came from Beiyuan City..."
Clatter...
As soon as Ye Huan finished speaking, the former soldiers surrounding them dropped their weapons to the ground with a series of clattering sounds that formed a crisp symphony. In front of Ye Huan, Ivy's Father widened his eyes in shock, his arm that had been poised to throw the bowl now suspended in mid-air.
The scene seemed frozen in time…
After a moment, Ivy's Father's raised arm slowly lowered as he struggled to press it against the ground for support and moved closer to Ye Huan. Tears filled his dull eyes as he trembled and stuttered, "What did you just say? You came from Beiyuan City? Is that true? Is that really true?"
While speaking, Ivy's Father reached out his right hand to grab Ye Huan's arm but lost his balance due to supporting himself with one hand and fell to the side. Yet his gaze remained fixed on Ye Huan and his companions as if waiting for an answer.
Outside the makeshift hut, those who had come to help after hearing Ivy's Father's shout looked on with hope in their eyes—as if they were dying men seeing a glimmer of life ahead.
Ye Huan frowned in confusion at Ivy's Father and stepped forward to help him up while providing an answer: "Yes, we came from Beiyuan City. Is there something wrong with that?"
"Really? It’s true! Haha! Fifteen years! It's been fifteen long years since someone from Huaxia Nation has come here! Where is the army? Is Huaxia Nation's army coming to fight?!"
Upon hearing Ye Huan's response, tears streamed down Ivy's Father's face even more profusely. He wore a smile that was neither fully joyful nor sorrowful and tightly grasped Ye Huan's arm while continuously asking questions.
At this moment, Ye Huan began to understand why Ivy's Father spoke such words; it turned out that for fifteen years, Huaxia Nation had not sent even a single soldier to Liangzhou. No wonder these former soldiers would react so emotionally.
Staring at Ivy's father's already twisted and deformed face, along with his tear-filled eyes, Ye Huan truly felt reluctant to tell him that he had 'accidentally' crossed over the Northern Liang Mountain Range to come here.
With no other choice, Ye Huan could only choose silence.
As time passed, it gradually seemed that Ivy's father understood the reason behind Ye Huan's silence. The hope in his eyes slowly transformed into impatience and anger, ultimately turning into endless disappointment. The hands that had tightly grasped Ye Huan's arm gradually loosened.
On Ye Huan's arm, two marks appeared from the pressure, clearly showing how much strength Ivy's father had used and the turmoil within him.
"Uncle, please don't be too disappointed. I believe that one day Huaxia Nation will still send troops to attack Liangzhou," Ye Huan said after scratching his head, struggling to find a way to comfort Ivy's father.
"One day? When will that damned day come? I've been waiting in this filthy slum for fifteen years. Do I have to keep waiting?"
Among the onlookers, one person was visibly affected by Ye Huan's words. He cursed under his breath while squatting down with his head in his hands. The other hand was empty, with only half a sleeve fluttering in the wind, indicating he was likely a wounded soldier returning from the battlefield.
Perhaps this person's words resonated with those around him. Outside the straw hut, countless poor people were cursing, and some of the more sensitive ones were even crying while holding their heads.
Affected by this atmosphere, both Ye Huan and Weiyang felt a heavy gloom in their hearts and dared not speak up, fearing any negative reactions.
Time passed without them noticing until the wounded soldiers outside had cried enough and left. Only then did Ivy's father raise his head again and wave at Ye Huan and the others, softly saying, "Forget it. Since you are all from Huaxia Nation, come in."
After saying this, he laboriously moved back to where he had been sitting before and closed his eyes once more.
With the 'master' giving them permission, Weiyang and the others found a spot inside the straw hut and sat down casually. However, Ye Huan couldn't suppress his curiosity and approached Ivy's father to ask what was going on. Especially since those wounded soldiers seemed to be from Huaxia Nation in Ye Huan's eyes, he couldn't help but open up a conversation: "Uncle, can you tell me your story?"
"Don't call me Uncle! You can call me Al. Damn it, I'm only thirty years old!" Hearing Ye Huan call him 'Uncle,' Ivy's father Al lost his composure again and muttered a low curse at Ye Huan.
"Thirty years old?"
Looking at Ivy, who was at least thirteen or fourteen years old, Ye Huan widened his eyes and even dug at his ears in disbelief.
"Don't look at me like that. To be honest with you all, Ivy is someone I picked up when I came to this slum fifteen years ago..." Noticing the disbelief in Ye Huan's eyes, Al forced a bitter smile and shook his head as if recalling something while beginning to tell Ye Huan a story...
Fifteen years ago, when little Al was about Ivy's age, Liangzhou City still belonged to Huaxia Nation’s territory and was always managed by officials sent from Huaxia Nation.
One day, when General Lin Xiao of the Southern Xiongnu Empire led nearly a hundred thousand soldiers across the Northern Liang Mountain Range and appeared outside Liangzhou City, everyone was stunned. This unexpected event was something they never could have imagined, yet it was happening right before their eyes.
Faced with no other choice, the lord of Liangzhou City had to rally the professionals of Liangzhou City to resist. However, the professionals, who had not undergone unified training, were unable to inflict any substantial damage on the massive army. They even suffered heavy losses themselves. The Lord of Liangzhou City had no choice but to draft a large number of able-bodied civilians to assist in defending the city, and Al was among them.
As time passed under the prolonged siege, food supplies within Liangzhou City began to dwindle. With most of the farmland located outside the city, the lord was left with no option but to surrender and submit to the leadership of the Southern Xiongnu Empire. Many wounded soldiers from Huaxia Nation who participated in the war, along with their families, were driven into a single area, gradually forming what is now known as a slum.
As for how Ivy ended up as an abandoned child, one only needed to look at the current living conditions in the slum to understand.
"Wait a minute? I clearly sensed that half of the population in Liangzhou City are professionals. How could it come down to you all going to battle?"
Not far from Ye Huan, after hearing this story, Weiyang carefully tried to sense the fluctuations of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy within the slum. Soon enough, he discovered that despite being in a slum, the proportion of professionals still exceeded half of the population. Even Al before him was a First-Level Warrior.
According to the rate at which different professions absorb Heaven and Earth Spiritual Energy, a First-Level Warrior could advance to Second-Level Warrior in less than six months. However, Al had not done so, indicating that he had not been a warrior for long. Fifteen years ago, he was just an ordinary person; hence Weiyang's question.
Tilting his head in thought, Ye Huan found Weiyang's reasoning quite valid. With a population of four million in Liangzhou and two million professionals, surely one spit from each could drown an army of a hundred thousand? How could they lose so miserably?
"Professionals? I think you must be mistaken. I'm just an ordinary person; how could I possibly be a professional?" Al looked innocently at Weiyang. After some casual conversation, his mood visibly improved as he smiled and responded.
Seeing Al's crippled legs, Ye Huan and Weiyang instinctively chose to believe what he said. Yet another question arose in their minds:
'If he is not a professional, then what is it that gives Weiyang that feeling of professionalism from these people?'
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