You can't only love the Qing Dynasty when you're eating the fruits of others' labor.

Chapter 4 I can't stand it~
Zhou Shao's words came too late; Jiang Qingyun had already stepped into the "Infant Care Center."

Moment~
The hair is creepy.

The ground was littered with naked children, some sitting, some lying, some crawling, the stench was overwhelming, and there was excrement everywhere, yet no one was crying.

A child grabbed a piece of feces and stuffed it into his mouth, swallowing it in large gulps.

The slightly older companion next to him was holding a piece of Guanyin clay in his hand and putting it into his mouth in small bites.

……

Upon seeing strangers, the children, who should have been lively and curious, remained expressionless.

Two zhang away~
A legless child quickly crawled over, crossed the puddles, and reached Jiang Qingyun's feet, raising his face.
In that instant, Jiang Qingyun's hair stood on end.

He stumbled back two steps, almost drawing his sword. At that moment, only the sword in his hand could give him the courage.
"Brother Jiang!"

Zhou Shao gave a low shout, which startled Jiang Qingyun.

He then awkwardly released the hilt of the knife, realizing that he was still in the human world.

……

Two people, a man and a woman, came out of the dilapidated house. Upon seeing that it was an official visiting, they immediately ran over and knelt down with a thud.

"I deserve to die for soiling your boots, sir."

Jiang Qingyun asked:

Who are you two?

"I am the manager of the orphanage, and this is my wife~"

"These children?"

"They are all abandoned babies. Some are sick, some have lost their parents, and some are girls who didn't want to lose money."

brush~
Jiang Qingyun's eyes were bloodshot, and he drew his sword, but Zhou Shao grabbed his arm.

"Brother Jiang, wait a minute!"

“Such a beast, kill him to uphold justice.”

“Brother Jiang, you are wrong. Killing them is a greater sin.”

……

The couple were so frightened that they kept kowtowing on the spot.
Zhou Shao pulled Jiang Qingyun outside the door and whispered:

"I've been here before! This orphanage has been here since the Ming Dynasty. Someone couldn't stand it and reported the couple to the authorities, who were arrested. But what happened afterward? No one took over, and all the children died because no one fed them. It was a terrible sight. The neighbors were so frightened that they all moved away."

Jiang Qingyun was speechless, staring blankly at Zhou Shao.

"Brother Jiang, listen to my advice. Things are bad now, but this is the best outcome yet."

Under the warm sunlight, the two stood facing each other in silence.

After a while~
"Brother, are you still brave enough to go in?"

"dare!"

Jiang Qingyun took a deep breath and stepped back into the courtyard.
This human world is just a mirage of hell.

……

At the doorway, a timid-looking child, who appeared to be only four or five years old, suddenly stretched out his hands.

Jiang Qingyun was about to pick him up.

"Sir, please don't hug him."

Jiang Qingyun ignored him and picked him up anyway.

"My lord, you can't carry him all the time. You can carry him for a while, but you can't carry him forever."

Feeling the baby's thin frame in his arms, Jiang Qingyun took out a silver ingot and tossed it to the noisy woman.

"Go buy some food and share it with everyone when you get back."

"Thank you, sir. May your descendants be noble and prosperous for generations to come." The woman beamed and left the house clutching a silver ingot.

Jiang Qingyun couldn't help but ask a question that had been puzzling him: "Why aren't these children crying?"

The man answered in a low voice:

“Sir, the children who come here cry at first too. They cry, but no one pays attention. After a few days, they stop crying and get used to it. No one holds them, no one pities them. They live or die.”

The tone was very flat.

Jiang Qingyun was also a very experienced person, and he quickly realized that what the man said was true.

Where does the money for the orphanage come from?

“Kind people will donate some, and we’ll go out and beg for some more.”

How much food ration do these children receive per day?

"That's uncertain, sometimes it's 3 liang, sometimes it's 2 liang."

How many children will survive?

"Out of ten, maybe three or four will survive. They'll die in their teens. They become beggars, servants, or concubines. The most successful one here is called San Gou. He went to the palace and became a eunuch. He's living a life of luxury now."

……

A commotion arose outside.

Looking through the broken window, I saw that the woman from before was carrying two baskets of food on a shoulder pole as she returned. Her voice was full of energy.

"Hehehe, time to eat!"

Instantly, they swarmed forward.

The children who managed to grab the steamed buns tore at them with all their might, their eyes only on the food. When they choked, they would lie down in a nearby puddle and drink the dirty water.

In the courtyard, there were still a few small figures standing motionless.

The woman was not surprised. She slowly tore the steamed bun in her hand into strips and put them into the mouths of the "little corpses" one by one.

Jiang Qingyun trembled with heartache.

At that moment, it felt as if a giant hand reached into his chest and squeezed his heart hard.

Zhou Shao smiled wryly:

"Brother Jiang, you're going to lose money!"

The two exchanged a glance, said nothing, and silently took out their money. Silver notes, silver ingots, copper coins—they emptied their pockets completely.
……

The two walked out of the house dejectedly.

The couple followed silently behind, step by step, and when they were almost at the gate of the courtyard, they knelt down again with a thud.

"Sir, please come again soon."

Jiang Qingyun turned his head:
"If you dare to misappropriate the money, I will skin you alive."

The man looked up and chuckled:

"Don't worry, sir. I'm doing it, and Heaven is watching. When I die, I will be the Arhat who holds the alms bowl in Heaven."

"Who told you that?"

"Master of Heavenly Secrets".

……

The two walked in silence, without saying a word.

Zhou Shao broke the silence first: "I accidentally wandered in here once last year!"

"The results of it?"

"Like today, I lost both money and people, and I haven't slept well for two weeks since then."

"Alas! In times of prosperity, the people suffer. In times of ruin, the people suffer. Which is more painful?"

"Brother Jiang, be careful with your words."

After this incident, their relationship progressed rapidly. They had only known each other for half a day, but it felt like they had known each other for half a lifetime.

That's probably the charm of having like-minded people.
At least, Jiang Qingyun understood the reason behind it.

……

Just outside the alley.

The two then witnessed an unpleasant scene: four burly thugs were beating up a peddler in the street, cursing and swearing.

"So you won't pay protection money, so you'll hide."

"You dare to defy the Tiger Lord of the South City? You think you're safe just because you're hiding in the inner city? I'll kick you to death, kick you to death."

The people around were terrified and kept their distance.

Jiang Qingyun, with nowhere to vent his anger, strode forward, pulled out the bronze official seal, and roared:
"You're on official business, kneel down!"

……

The southern city belongs to the Vermilion Bird position, which corresponds to the element of fire in the Five Elements theory. Therefore, the word "fire" is engraved on the bronze token.

The four thugs stared at Jiang Qingyun, whose expression was ferocious, at a loss for what to do. Even if they had a hundred lives, they wouldn't dare to go against an official.

"My lord, we were blind to your greatness! Our Tiger Lord~"

Just as the leader was about to explain, a scabbard came whistling through the air.

The sandalwood scabbard, covered in horsehide and studded with copper, was incredibly powerful; a side strike to the temple was ruthless.

After knocking the man down, Jiang Qingyun quickly turned his scabbard and struck a nearby thug in the face with a fierce and powerful blow, shattering his nose and teeth.

The other two thugs were terrified.

One person turned and ran, while the other remained where he was.

Jiang Qingyun grabbed the terrified guy by the braid and dragged him to a wall, then slammed his head against the wall repeatedly.

Thump thump~ thump~
The bloodstains appeared as splattered patterns.

……

Zhou Shao stood on the outside, arms crossed, watching this scene unfold. Although he hadn't personally participated, he still felt a sense of satisfaction.

Jiang Qingyun perfectly embodies the aesthetics of violence.
Whether someone's martial arts skills are mediocre depends on who they're fighting.

With his official position, weapons at his disposal, and family tradition of martial arts, Jiang Qingyun could easily take down a few thugs, much like a professional-level bottom-tier player utterly crushing an amateur-level player.

After the fight, he stepped on the thug's head and used his clothes to wipe the blood off the scabbard.

I just looked up~
He then saw a tall, dignified-looking monk smiling at him from the outside of the crowd.

(End of this chapter)