Slum

Wei Fang awakened when it was time for lunch. There was a disciple who informed him about it and where he could get his lunch, but he just answered simply and continued his rest.

His mind already accepted what had happened before; even if he didn't want to accept it, he would be forced to accept it. After all, he couldn't always live in a dream.

When he came out of the room, he didn't see anyone else. He walked towards the dining hall as the disciple told him.

The sect looked empty and deserted; there were only occasional disciples who were on duty with sour faces walking here and there.

Wei Fang knew the reasons for it; it was because of the selection. He could even hear the cheering of the disciples from where he was, even if it was faint.

After he arrived at the dining hall, he ate his lunch quickly. He thought that the food from there and the main sect was not much different.

After all, he was not like Fang Jiuyi, who tasted various delicacies that were developed in a peaceful world like Blue Planet.

After he ate his fill, he thought of walking around the sect, but considering that the tournament was still ongoing, he reckoned the disciples would likely gather at the fighting arena, so he decided to walk around the city instead.

The city was still as lively as when he had just arrived. The road and the people were full of a festive mood.

After walking around for a bit, maybe because of the festive mood that infected him, he felt his mind was a bit clearer and his heart was lighter.

If your mind is tired, you need to come out more.

He saw many people along the way, and he even saw many cultivators in the city.

He also saw several disciples from the Cloud River Sect that were tasked with patrolling the city.

As he walked further and further from the Cloud River Sect, he realized that the people had become sparse.

"It seems everyone was gathering at the city square, so the further away from it, the quieter it became." Wei Fang muttered.

Even so, he didn't intend to come back. He continued his walk until, finally, he stopped in front of an alley.

There was nothing remarkable about the alley. Even if one looked at it carefully, it would still be the same.

The reason he noticed the alley was because he saw someone enter it. Of course, it was not just anyone who entered the alley; after all, in the festival, there would be many people who would choose to enter an alley because of how many people there were on the main road. The one who entered the alley was a child with tattered clothes.

After thinking for a bit, Wei Fang entered the alley.

At first, there was nothing different about the alley. But after he walked for more than hundreds of meters, the difference started to appear.

What appeared in front of him was an old and worn-out district. The houses three had many holes in them, be it the walls or the roofs.

The clothes that people wore were worn out at best, and there were many who wore tattered clothes.

Many people had resigned expression as they just did their own thing.

It was so much different from the lively atmosphere he saw on the main road. The atmosphere was not as bad as it was full of despair, but it could be said that there was no 'live' in the atmosphere except the one that was radiated from the children.

"Is this a slum that many seniors have talked about?"

He was a villager and never went out to a city. In a village, everyone was helping each other. So, even if there were differences in wealth, there would never be a situation where one would be so low in poverty. This was the first time he had seen a slum, and it made him a bit uncomfortable.

Wei Fang hesitated but chose to enter the district in the end.

As soon as he entered, he could feel the change in the atmosphere. He could also feel many gazes landing on him, which made him uneasy. But the gaze only lingered on him briefly before disappearing.

Before he could process what happened, a voice interrupted his thinking.

"Young hero, please take pity on us; we haven't eaten anything for three days." One of the people who was sitting near the district entrance approached him suddenly and said,.

"Yes, young hero, please take pity on us!"

"Look at how thin our bodies are; you should know that we are not lying."

Several people suddenly followed the man in the lead and started to beg Wei Fang.

Of course, it was not their intention at first. As soon as Wei Fang stepped foot into the slum, their malicious eyes were already upon him, trying to estimate whether it was worth it or not to take the risk. But as soon as they saw the robe he was wearing, they gave up their intentions.

They didn't dare target someone from a sect like Cloud River Sect, not to mention Azure Cloud Sect. It was because there was an eighty percent chance that they would be captured. Not because of how outstanding the investigation team from the sect was, but because their 'friends' from the slum would sell them out.

After all, they knew how big forces or families were conducting their behavior; maybe they would have more reservations with other cultivators. But with mortals, they would choose to kill 1000 wrong people than to let the culprit escape, not to mention them—slum dwellers—who were considered scum of society. So they changed their strategy and started to beg.

Wei Fang felt overwhelmed with all the people who started begging him; it was the first time he realized how uncomfortable it was for many people to crowd around you.

After much deliberation, he took out a gold coin from inside his robes and gave it to them.

"You could divide it among yourself." He said as he hurriedly left that place.

After he walked some distance, he felt someone was behind him and sidestepped, causing the child to stumble forward.

He frowned at the child but chose to ignore him as he continued forward.

At the distance, one of the people near the entrance said, "What a pity; he was quite vigilant for a young disciple." He didn't know that Wei Fang had just experienced something that always made him vigilant.

Wei Fang saw many things he had never thought of in the slum. an emaciated child that was still playing and laughing; a woman with heavy make-up who waved her hand at any man who passed by; several men demanding protection fees; slave trading; and many more.

He even saw the child he saw at the beginning sitting on the side road playing with his friends.

At first, he thought of giving money to the children there, but after thinking that it could bring them disaster, he refrained from doing it.

Finally, he arrived at the main road again after walking through an alley. He looked at the passing people that had smiles on their faces and at the road that was full of festivities, and then looked behind him, as if his eyes could see through the alley at the misery of the people in the slum.

He stood there for a moment before shaking his head. He looked left and right before and found a shop that sold buns.

He walked towards the shop and took his gold coin. As he looked at the coin in his hand, he was struck with realization.