Land of Fire border, an unknown town.
This small town is located at the junction of Land of Fire and Land of Fields. It is a market town at best, but a no-care zone at worst.
Caravans on the road occasionally stop here, but most of them are those who are struggling to survive without returning.
Ning Xue has been here for a few days.
He came here just to wait for Sasuke, but he didn't expect that the poverty of this town was far beyond his imagination.
The buildings on the street are low and dilapidated, with crumbling wooden walls.
To put it bluntly, the eaves are not as good as the villages near the Sky Fortress.
But these were secondary. What made him uncomfortable the most was the ubiquitous eyes on the street.
Beggar's eyes.
The eyes of a thief.
The eyes of an abandoned child.
There is numbness, greed, despair, and cruelty in those eyes.
They came from all corners and landed on Ning Xue and his luggage.
Ning Xue ignored those glances and just walked across the street with a blank face Earth Flow, sat down in a relatively clean teahouse, and ordered a pot of the cheapest tea.
The tea was very weak, so weak that he even suspected that it had been steeped twice.
But at this moment, a hand silently reached for the wallet on his waist.
Ning Xue did not raise his head, but reached out and grabbed the wrist.
"Ah--!"
A childish cry of pain sounded.
Ning Xue looked sideways and saw a teenage boy, skinny and skinny, his face was dirty, but his eyes were particularly fierce.
Feeling the strength in his hands at this moment, he looked at him in horror.
"Sir... sir, please spare my life! I don't dare to do it anymore!"
The boy's voice was trembling, and he was obviously a habitual thief who knew when to give in.
Ning Xue looked at him, was silent for a moment, and then let go of his hand.
The boy was stunned for a moment, then rolled away and ran away. After running a few steps, he looked back, as if to confirm whether the scary adult had caught up with him.
Ning Xue didn't chase, just picked up the tea cup and continued to drink the cup of weak tea.
The teahouse owner was a skinny old man. He witnessed the whole process, shook his head and sighed.
"Guest, you shouldn't let him go.
This kid is a habitual criminal and has stolen money from countless people. If you let him go today, he will come back tomorrow."
Ning Xue has no answer.
He was just thinking that the child's wrist was as thin as a dead branch, as if it could break if he pinched it.
This is not a normal child's hand.
But in order to survive, he was forced to become a thief.
After drinking tea, Ning Xue stood up and continued to wander around the town.
Beggars were sitting in twos and threes under the eaves and at the corners of the streets on both sides of the street, including old people, disabled people, and women holding children in their arms.
Most of them had numb expressions and empty eyes. They neither begged nor expected the passers-by. They just sat like that, as if waiting for death.
Ning Xue walked past them without stopping.
Turning a corner, he saw several children digging through the trash can.
They were four or five-year-old children, both boys and girls. Their clothes were so torn that they could hardly cover their bodies, and their faces and hands were covered with dirt.
They crowded around the trash can and stuffed the contents into their mouths.
Moldy steamed buns, rotten fruits, and even leftover fish bones from others.
A boy grabbed a piece of hard cake and immediately stuffed it into his mouth. His cheeks were bulging, but he choked and rolled his eyes.
An older girl next to him quickly patted his back, while using his other hand to protect the half piece of equally hard cake in his arms.
Ning Xue stood there and looked at it for a long time.
The children finally noticed him, and one by one they stopped and looked at this strange white-haired man warily.
The older girl instinctively hid the younger boy behind her and blocked herself in front.
And those eyes were staring at Ning Xue in front of them, seeming to be saying.
This is food you don't want, we didn't steal it.
Ning Xue did not approach, but faced the other person's wary eyes, turned around and walked away.
He walked into a dry food shop, bought some cakes, wrapped them in oil paper, and walked out.
As soon as he went out, the corner of his clothes was grabbed by a dirty little hand.
He looked down.
It's a little girl.
At the age of five or six, he was as thin as a bean sprout, his hair was withered and yellow, his face was all gray, and only one pair of eyes were still clear.
Those eyes were looking up at him at the moment. There was no fear or vigilance in them, only a kind of... longing that made people feel heartbroken.
"My lord..."
Her voice was very small, almost inaudible.
"You... do you have anything to eat? Just one candy..."
She paused and added another sentence, her voice even lower.
"I... I don't want more, just one..."
Ning Xue looked at her, looked into those eyes, and was silent for a long time.
The little girl was a little panicked when he saw her. Her fingers unconsciously clenched the corners of her clothes, but she still didn't let go.
"You... if you don't have it, forget it..."
She whispered, ready to let go and leave.
"Yes."
Ning Xue's voice is very calm.
The little girl's eyes suddenly lit up.
Ning Xue squatted down, took out a piece of cake from the oil paper bag, and handed it to her.
The little girl's Adam's apple moved, her eyes fixed on the piece of cake, but she did not immediately reach out to take it.
"Really... is it for me?"
"Yes."
The little girl bit her lip, finally stretched out her hand and carefully took the piece of cake.
Her hands were shaking, as if she was afraid that the cake would suddenly disappear.
"But there's a condition."
The voice of Ning Xue suddenly sounded.
The little girl's movements froze, a trace of fear flashed in her eyes, and she subconsciously took half a step back.
"What... what conditions?"
"Eat here."
Ning Xue looked at her with a calm tone.
"You can't leave until you finish eating."
The little girl was stunned for a moment, looked down at the cake in her hand, then looked up at Ning Xue, her eyes full of confusion.
"Why... why?"
Ning Xue didn't explain, he just stood up and looked at her condescendingly.
The little girl bit her lip. Finally, she couldn't resist the temptation of food. She lowered her head and started eating with big mouthfuls.
She ate in a hurry, her cheeks were bulging, and she choked several times before swallowing it hard.
Ning Xue looked at her and sighed silently in his heart.
Why?
Because in this place, the weak are most likely to have their food robbed.
If she takes the cake and leaves, before she leaves the street, the cake will be snatched away by children or adults who are older than her, and not even the crumbs will be left.
After eating here, at least the meal is hers.
The little girl finished eating the cake and licked the crumbs on her fingers clean. Then she raised her head and looked at Ning Xue. There was something extra in her eyes.
"Thank you, sir."
Her voice was a little choked.
Ning Xue Seeing that she had finished eating, he said nothing, just turned around and continued walking forward.
Behind her, the little girl was still looking at her blankly, as if trying to remember his back.
Finally, he came to the trash can again and saw the group of children again.
He still stood there, and the group of children also noticed this strange guy again.
Facing the wary looks of these children, he still did not approach, but threw a few wrapped pancakes to them and left again.
But this time it was a complete departure, for no other reason.
He can't stand this place anymore.