"All right, all right." Li Wei felt that he had finally satisfied this young lady's curiosity, so he urged Seraphine behind him onward. "Let's go. Dead people aren't much to look at."
"But..." Seraphine still started walking under Li Wei's urging.
Yet she kept her head lowered, as if she were pondering something deeply. Without realizing it, she had even forgotten about the trash flying all over the streets. She just kept walking, not even bothering to dodge it.
However, before they had gone very far, Li Wei and Seraphine came across several people by the roadside.
Those people sat slumped beside the road with vacant eyes, men and women alike. Their hair was a mess, their clothes were ragged, and broken bowls, cups, hats, and other such things lay before them.
"These people are beggars." Suspecting that Seraphine was about to put on another hundred-thousand-whys performance, Li Wei simply explained first. "Beggars are people who, for various reasons, can't work or don't want to work, and make a living by begging."
"Mr. Li Wei..." Seraphine muttered, blushing. "I'm not stupid. I know what beggars are! There are beggars outside the Zaunite Community too. I've seen them."
"That's good." Li Wei noticed Seraphine's gaze.
Every now and then, she glanced at those pitiful beggars. After looking at them for a while, she gradually slowed her pace.
"You want to give them alms?"
"Mm." Seraphine looked at him questioningly. "Can I?"
"Did you bring any money?" Li Wei had used all his money to pay back the rent.
"I did. Before I ran away, I took the money pouch my dad had left on the table too."
"Fine. Give them some if you want." Li Wei did not stop the young lady from doing a good deed. "But be careful not to give too much."
"One or two coins will do."
"Okay." Seraphine nodded obediently, as though she had taken his words to heart.
Then, she pulled a heavy money pouch from her clothes, opened it, casually scooped out a handful of clinking coins, and handed them to the beggars.
She gave each of them two gold Hexcoins.
Yes, gold Hexcoins.
A huge sum that Li Wei would have needed months of starving himself to save up was casually tossed to beggars by her.
"Holy shit!" Li Wei was dumbfounded.
When I told you to give one or two coins, I meant one or two Copper Rings just to show goodwill.
Why did you give them gold coins right away?
"Wait, Seraphine—"
"Does 'one coin' mean one gold Hexcoin to you people?"
"Or have you only ever seen gold coins in your life and never even known what a Copper Ring looks like?"
"I-I've seen them, of course!" Seraphine looked at him with a blush. "I'm not stupid, Mr. Li Wei. I know how much money I gave them, but I wanted to give that much."
"You..." Li Wei hesitated.
"Mr. Li Wei, I know what you want to say." Seraphine, who had always seemed so adorably clueless, looked exceptionally resolute this time. "When I was little, I once went out with my father. We met a very pitiful beggar, and I wanted to give him more money, but my father disagreed."
"He said there were too many beggars in the world, that they could never all be saved. No matter how much I gave them or how many people I helped, it wouldn't change anything. He told me not to be so naive and not to do meaningless things."
"Mr. Li Wei, you think the same way too, don't you?"
"But I don't think so." Seraphine bit her lip, secretly bolstering herself. "I think that helping one person means helping one person. Whether the world changes or not, at least that person's life can improve because of my help. How can that be meaningless?"
"Uh..." Li Wei had no reply.
Not because Seraphine had convinced him, but because she had left him speechless. "Well... I don't mean the same thing as your father."
"What I mean is, if you give away too much money, you're not helping them—you're harming them. Especially in the Zaunite Community, a place with no order at all."
"Huh?" Seraphine looked utterly confused.
Li Wei merely pointed at the beggars. "See for yourself."
The moment those beggars received the gold Hexcoins, they were plunged into unprecedented shock and delight.
They stood there stupidly for a moment, then they all came to their senses—
Not to thank Seraphine or show gratitude, but to immediately clutch the two gold Hexcoins tightly in their palms, hide them against their chests, and warily eye the companions beside them.
They guarded against one another while sizing one another up.
Like starving wolves protecting and fighting over food.
Their eyes gleamed with bloodthirsty red light.
"Wait." Even innocent Seraphine realized that something was wrong.
But there was nothing she could do, nothing she could stop.
No one knew who moved first.
Almost instantly, the beggars who had received gold coins went mad, grappling, fighting, and killing one another over them.
"Hand over the money if you don't want to die!"
"Mine! It's all mine!"
"..."
They immediately fought with bloodshot eyes, and the scene descended into chaos.
Even those who tried to run would be forcibly dragged back by the others, stomped viciously to the ground, and searched for money.
For a time, ugliness was laid bare and viciousness ran rampant.
Some passersby noticed what the beggars were fighting over and joined the robbery without a word.
Some even became so consumed by greed that they turned their covetous eyes toward Seraphine, the kind person who had given them alms.
Fortunately, Seraphine's refined attire as a noble young lady made them wary of acting rashly, and Li Wei stood beside her like a bodyguard, protecting her closely. Otherwise, things might have taken an even uglier turn.
"Wh-why did this happen..."
"I only wanted to help."
"Because your father was right. You're too naive." Li Wei criticized her without mercy. "You may know how much one gold Hexcoin is worth, but you don't know how much one gold Hexcoin means to a Zaunite—especially a Zaunite beggar."
"To you, these gold coins might only amount to a fairly nice dinner. But to Zaunites, these gold Hexcoins... are enough to cost several lives."
"Honestly, if it had been the old me..."
"I definitely would have fought desperately to grab them too."
Why wouldn't I? If I got them, I could pay the rent, treat my sister's illness, avoid being driven back to Zaun, and still have hope in life.
Compared to that, morality wasn't worth a damn!
And Seraphine had casually thrown a fortune to Zaunites who lacked the ability to protect their own property, while she herself had no ability to maintain order. The only result could be a bloody storm.
"I-I didn't want this to happen."
"I didn't know it would turn out like this."
Seraphine bit her lip tightly, guilt bringing tears to her eyes.
She had only wanted to do a good deed, yet she had become like the cruel spectators beside a Noxus arena, using money to create a bloody spectacle of people slaughtering their own kind.
"Do you understand now?"
"Sympathy can't save them, and charity can't save them either. Even if you truly help them properly, the result will still be as your father said. You can't change the bigger picture, much less save this world."
Li Wei felt that this might be an opportunity.
An opportunity for Seraphine to see this cruel world clearly and begin thinking seriously.
So he patiently guided her to think.
"Seraphine, think carefully again."
"What could truly help all those people you could never possibly help one by one?"
This was a difficult question. Li Wei himself was only exploring the answer.
He did not expect Seraphine to come up with anything. He only hoped that she could descend from the clouds to the ground and truly think from the perspective of reality.
And Seraphine seemed to have been moved.
She could not help but fall into deep thought.
"I've got it!"
Suddenly, Seraphine's eyes lit up.
"What did you come up with?"
Li Wei encouraged her to voice her idea.
No matter how naive or childish it was, it would still be progress for her.
That was what he was thinking when Seraphine said solemnly:
"When my mom and dad were in pain, sad, angry, or arguing, I would always sing for them. As long as they heard me sing, their emotions would relax. Through my singing, they could hear each other's hearts and understand and care for one another."
"So I think..."
"If I could spread my singing, let everyone in Zaun and Piltover hear it, maybe they could understand and care for one another too."
"Maybe that could encourage more people in Piltover to help Zaunites like I do, while also letting Zaunites unite and live in harmony with one another like family."
Li Wei: "..."
I told you to think about solving the main problem, and you're telling me you want to debut as an idol singer?
Fuck... forget it.
She was already dumb enough. No point insulting her.
"Mr. Li Wei."
"What?"
"Were you calling me stupid again?" Seraphine pursed her lips aggrievedly.
"Hm?" Li Wei was slightly startled.
He had not even touched Seraphine.
"You read my mind again?"
"No. You admitted it yourself just now."
Before you continue