Raising Orphans, Not Assassins

Vol. 1 - Ch. 7 - Reunion

Yuhang County, Wutong Street.

“Huff... huff...”

Xiao Lian rested her hands on her knees, panting heavily with her rosy little mouth wide open.

She turned to glance at Da Ming beside her. Da Ming still had that dumbfounded look, having run all this way without even breaking a sweat.

"How come you’re not even out of breath?"

Xiao Lian’s clear, melodious voice rang out as she spoke, her lively eyes filled with surprise.

Da Ming blinked and stared blankly at Xiao Lian.

Suddenly, as if remembering something, he reached into his pocket with his right hand. Feeling the fan in his pocket, a silly smile appeared on Da Ming’s face.

‘The fan was still there. Dad would be so happy to see it.’

Thinking of this, Da Ming tilted his head and looked around, a confused look in his eyes.

‘Where’s this? Why did it feel so familiar?’

‘Where’s Dad?’

Da Ming opened his mouth, wanting to call out for his dad, but no sound came out.

"Don’t bother. Your mute acupoint was sealed. It’ll be at least another hour before you can speak."

Xiao Lian patted her chest and took a deep breath before speaking.

After saying that, she muttered to herself, "Wait, why am I telling you this..."

"You can’t understand anyway."

After observing Da Ming, Xiao Lian was convinced that he was just a strong but simple-minded fool.

Xiao Lian lifted her head to look around, recognizing that they were on Wutong Street, just two streets away from the north side of the city.Explore new novels on

"Hey dummy, do you remember where your house is?" Xiao Lian withdrew her gaze and looked back at Da Ming with her bright eyes.

Just as she turned her head, a young man in coarse clothes came running over, his face filled with excitement, and grabbed Da Ming in an embrace.

"Da Ming!"

Hearing the familiar voice, Chen Da Ming turned around in surprise. The moment he saw Chen Ye, he froze.

Then, his eyes reddened, and tears started streaming down his face. Da Ming began to cry loudly, hugging Chen Ye's legs, unable to stop.

Seeing Da Ming like this, Chen Ye felt a mix of emotions—relief, touched, and a bit of heartache.

"Wait a minute, Da Ming, why can’t you make any sound?"

Chen Ye noticed something was wrong. Da Ming was wailing, but not a single sound came out.

Panic set in, and Chen Ye pried Da Ming’s mouth open to check his tongue and throat.

"He had his mute acupoint sealed. It’ll be at least another hour before he can speak again."

A clear, pleasant voice came from beside him.

Chen Ye then noticed the child standing nearby.

This child was slightly taller than Da Ming, wearing a faded blue dress, and her face was smeared with mud, making it impossible to see her true appearance.

But from the voice, it was clear that she was a girl.

"Oh, so his mute acupoint was sealed."

Hearing the explanation from the little girl, Chen Ye breathed a sigh of relief.

Having just witnessed a fierce battle between assassins from Fengyu Tower and the local constables, he had already accepted the existence of martial arts and sects in this world.

Maybe she wasn’t even an orphan.

Seeing Chen Ye preparing to leave with Da Ming, Xiao Lian hesitated for a moment, then called out in a clear voice, "How did you know that he ran this way?"

After speaking, she took a few steps back.

Chen Ye’s words had made her think deeply.

She didn’t want to assume the worst about people, but she wasn’t naive either.

Xiao Lian had made it all the way from Jianing Prefecture to Lin’an Prefecture by being cautious.

Some orphanages were no different from human traffickers.

They’d receive a child one moment and sell them the next.

Hearing her question, Chen Ye stopped and smiled, saying, "I saw a group of children running out earlier, but I didn’t see Da Ming, so I came to look for him in the adjacent streets."

With that, Chen Ye continued leading Da Ming toward the orphanage.

Xiao Lian stood still, watching Chen Ye’s retreating figure, her eyes thoughtful.

...

Yuhang Orphanage.

"Da Ming, come lie down on the bench. I’ll put some medicine on you."

In the middle of the courtyard was a bench. Chen Ye held a bottle of Safflower Oil he had just exchanged from the system store.

Da Ming dumbly lay down on the bench. As soon as he did, he flinched. {ED: Why do we have to bully Da Ming like this! My man did nothing wrong!}

Quickly getting up, he pulled out a pink fan from his pocket and handed it to Chen Ye. Da Ming looked at Chen Ye, grinning, mouthing words without sound.

Chen Ye was momentarily taken aback by the fan Da Ming handed over.

"Hey, where did you pick this up?"

Chen Ye recognized it at once as one of the fans used by the girls at the Yi Hong Courtyard, and his expression turned peculiar.

Da Ming dumbly mouthed a word.

Chen Ye understood the silent voice.

"Alright, I’ll keep it."

Chen Ye tucked the fan into his pocket, patting it like a treasured item.

Da Ming grinned foolishly.

"Alright, lie back down now."

Chen Ye laughed and scolded him gently. Da Ming took off his shirt and lay back on the bench, exposing his shoulder to Chen Ye.

Chen Ye saw the long bruise on Da Ming’s skin and felt a pang in his heart.

"Which damned bastard did this, so cruel?"

Chen Ye cursed, pouring some Safflower Oil into his palm and quickly applying it to Da Ming’s bruise, rubbing it in bit by bit. Da Ming lay quietly on the bench, not making a sound.

Outside the orphanage, a small head peeked in.

She glanced around and was drawn to the scene in the courtyard.

In the small courtyard with white walls and blue tiles, Da Ming lay shirtless on the bench while Chen Ye carefully applied safflower oil to his back.

Da Ming’s tan back gleamed with the reddish-brown oil.

Seeing this warm scene, Xiao Lian felt a soft spot in her heart being touched.

She withdrew her head and leaned against the orphanage gate, staring at the clear blue sky in a daze.

‘Mom, maybe he isn’t a bad person after all?’ {ED: Orphan 2 acquired!}