Interference and Control
Afterward, Xu Huo learned about the boy's background.
He had been born somewhere with a fairly good economy. He vaguely remembered his parents often taking him out to buy clothes and bread. Then his memories had broken off. When they resumed, he was being beaten and starved. The people who had kidnapped him waited until he was so sick he was near death before selling him cheaply to the owner of the Underground Palace. He had arrived in the slums at the age of six and had lived in the Underground Palace ever since.
The owner liked him a lot and sometimes didn't keep him out of sight when he met with people from Bai City. So the boy knew that even though every city now kept a strict watch on its population, every so often, some children who looked well cared for would still pass through the slums.
"Do you know of anywhere else?" Xu Huo asked.
"I don't know about anything else..." The boy thought for a moment, then added, "But the owner has a ledger hidden in his safe. I can steal it!"
"No need." Xu Huo waved a hand, then asked whether he still remembered his hometown. "I'm leaving in a few days. I can take you back on my way."
The boy's hopes soared, but quickly faded. "No city would take in someone from the slums. The people at the Underground Palace said so..."
"You're nearly an adult and look healthy. Even as an ordinary laborer, you'd be welcome in some city," Xu Huo said.
The boy knew this was the only chance he would ever get. He knocked his head against the ground three times and said, "I'm afraid I won't get the chance to repay you, but from now on,