"What would be the point of going back? There's no way to solve the trouble facing my people. Going back wouldn't mean anything." The black-furred Lion Person released him and sighed.
It stood over two meters tall. Standing beside the one-meter-eighty Mingde, the difference in their builds was enormous, like an adult beside a child.
"I thought you'd gone back long ago. Last time I ran into Dong Hao and the others at Qingle Market, they said they hadn't seen you for a while."
Mingde seemed quite close with this black-furred Lion Person. The moment they stood together, they lowered their voices and began chatting away without end.
Lin Hui stood to one side. Mingde only briefly introduced him by name, then said nothing further.
So he simply ate the chilled white fungus soup the stall owner brought over by himself, waiting for his teacher and friend to finish talking.
As he ate, he watched the man who was still kneeling on the ground, endlessly kowtowing.
"That fellow has been here for two days already." The cold-drink stall owner wiped down the tables and stools as he casually explained.
"Sir, be careful. Don't get too close—watch out in case he has an episode."
"Are people like this common?" Lin Hui struck up a conversation.
"Fairly common. One shows up every few days." The owner nodded. "Times are hard for everyone these days. When people are poor enough, they can't afford Feather Blood. They'd rather die in the Inner City than be driven out to the Black District. There are far too many people like that."
"The Black District?" Lin Hui was startled. "You mean the Outer City?"
"Yes. Once you get there, your life and death become a dish on someone else's table. It's no longer up to you." The