Chapter 7 - Send-Off (1/2)

They arrived back home in the late afternoon, when they walked through the entrance, Ah Jin was there waiting for Lei Xing, ”Miss, Everything was done as you instructed.”

Lei Xing sent her questioning glance, and Ah Jin continued, ”...the slaves you bought.”

”Ah, yes...”

...hahaha I forgot…

”...Let's go to my room first then we'll go see them”

The three bounded off to her room, when they got there, Lei Xing walked into a corner room, grabbed a cloth from the side and knelt in front of the huge trunk by the wall in a corner and looked at it for a while. Xiao Ting and Ah Jin were standing behind her, wondering what she was doing. Lei Xing seemed to be deep in thought.

...how much would be enough? There's 27 of them...I don't want to go broke...not that it's my money anyway, well technically it now is...hmm…

Lei Xing opened the trunk which was filled with silver ingots, she sighed and then looked at it some more. Lei Xing had found this trunk of silver two weeks ago and had asked Ah Jin about them, who told her that apparently 'she' had been saving up her monthly allowance for a while now, saying that her future self would be grateful to have it.

...well, I'm certainly grateful...although, probably for a different reason from the original Lei Xing, who was probably saving up in preparation to ”charm” her way into people's hearts in the palace…

...I had counted all the silver, it's a habit... and they amounted to 510, apparently, she hadn't been spending her money at all for a while, no wonder Xiao Ting had mentioned she liked window shopping, it's because she was being a scrooge …

Lei Xing packed a bunch of silver into the cloth she had picked up, making sure to count them as she put them in.

”Jiejie, what are you doing?” Xiao Ting was confused looking at her sister packing up the money she had been guarding so preciously for almost two years.

”Acc.u.mulating some good luck.” Lei Xing finished her packing, tied the back and stood up. Then walked to the table in the outer room and sat down, ”Where are their contracts?” Ah Jin stepped up and handed over the bundle of papers.

Lei Xing took them and looked it over and asked, ”How do you release someone from the contract?”

”The owner needs to write out a statement of release and stamp it and give it to them along with their original slave contract.” Ah Jin responded.

”Ah? Jiejie you want to release them?” Xiao Ting asked confused.

”Yes.” Lei Xing responded, as Ah Jin put a stack of paper in front of her, as well as the family emblem stamp, which looked to be a set of wings and knelt beside her to grind the ink.

”Why?”

”...I don't need them.”

”Then why did you buy them?”

Lei Xing shrugged, took the first contract and started writing up the release contracts, ”The best way to help someone is to give them their freedom.”

Xiao Ting scrunched her eyebrows, then smiled and said, ”Jiejie, you are very kind.”

”I'm not kind...it's just if you are going to help someone, you should help them towards a better future... there's no point in helping if all you do is stall their suffering and in a situation like that if we had done it your way even though you momentarily spared them, your actions of reprimanding the slave owner would most likely make their suffering worse later on.”

...the one that is kind is you, if you hadn't wanted to rush out, I probably wouldn't have even paid the scene any attention...I would have gone about my life like usual, passing by, at most glancing at the scene, but not stopping as it would have been, as it always has, none of my business….

...I am not a kind person, and frankly do not want to be seen as such, as kind people tend to get the short end of the stick, I have witnessed and had enough first-hand experience to have discovered this...there will always be people suffering in the world...I don't cause harm to people but I also don't go out of my way to save them either, if the situation presents and I feel the urge to help and I am in a position to help then I do...like today...but I am definitely not someone to go seek power to start a revolution to save the world...I'm not saying I wouldn't try to help people if power fell in my hands, but honestly I'd rather stay away from the intrigues and scheming of politics, my dad is, well was...well still is I guess, a politician and growing up watching him live that life, I thought it was tiring and honestly a hassle, I'm already busy enough trying to keep my own life from imploding...I leave that to those who have the passion for change, unfortunately, they don't seem to be the ones who tend to end up in power, either that or that passion falls off somewhere along the way up...

After Lei Xing finished writing up the release contracts, the three of them left the room and headed to where they were being kept. They were being held at the back of the house, near the back entrance in the yard and were being flanked every couple steps with guards who were intently watching the group with their hands on the hilt of their swords, there about ten guards circling around them. Lei Xing stared at the scene a bit dumbfounded as they got closer, she glanced at Ah Jin who was stoic as usual.

...um, I know I said to watch them...but they're not criminals...

When they finally reached the group. Lei Xing saw that there was a doctor amongst them who was currently wrapping up the torso of a young man who seemed to be dazed with the sturdiest looking man of the group holding him up, as well as several others in the group who seemed to have bandages on them as well. Lei Xing looked at Ah Jin who quickly explained, ”When we arrived, some of them collapsed and it seemed their condition was not good so we went for a doctor to look them over.”

”Mm, good job.”

....Oh, that's good, I thought there was a riot or something…

Lei Xing told the guards to move and looked at the group sitting on the floor, then turned to Ah Jin and quietly said.

”Give them their doc.u.ments and the silver, 3 each and let them go.” Lei Xing said quietly.

”Take this silver and your freedom and go live your lives, if you have a family waiting go back to them, if not then...either way, go carve out a future for yourselves.” Lei Xing finished and turned to leave when most of the group bowed in gratitude and like a synchronized choir said in unison, ”Thank you Miss, we will remember this debt and repay you with our lives!”

...did they practice this?...

”I don't need your lives...and you don't need to repay me...if anything, it is this family you need to that you owe. If you really feel the need to repay me...then how about this, if you see me or this girl, my sister...” Lei Xing said pulling Xiao Ting to the front and continued, ”...or anyone from this Lei family in need of help in the future, you can return the favor then if you can.”

”Yes, we definitely will!”

...it seems ancient people really have this synchronization skill...

”That's good then.” Lei Xing gave a smile, looking at their grateful faces, and some even in tears made her feel somewhat happy and but at the same time feel an odd sense of melancholy for their plight and the plight of many others like them who are not as lucky.

...can't save everyone...

She turned to leave and Xiao Ting followed after her. While Ah Jin held the contracts and the silver and started to read out the names, and one after the other, they came up took their contracts and the money bowed and went out the doors.

”Miss! Miss! Please wait!” Lei Xing and Xiao Ting turned back when they heard the frantic hurried voice behind them, they saw one of the young girls from the group running towards them with some of the guards restraining her

It was the girl who was being beaten by the slave trader before. Looking at her now without tears and anguish all over her face, she was quite a beauty if you can ignore the blaring red swollen cheek on her face, but even that will die down eventually. She had fox-like eyes the kind one would call seductive.

”Let her go.” Lei Xing said, the guards let her go and she fell to her knees. Lei Xing scrutinized the girl and asked, ”What is it?”

”Miss! I have nowhere to go...please let me serve you.” As she said this bent over and bowed with her head and hands on the ground.

After a moment of a stretch of silence, Lei Xing said, ”Raise your head.” The girl did and then Lei Xing continued and asked, ”Why?”

The girl seemed to be taken aback and there was a trace of confusion shown on her face before it was quickly replaced by a sorrowful expression, ”I have no family to go home to, I have lived on the streets all my life and do not even remember my parents, I have been begging on the street since young, I have no skills and no hope for the future...Miss is my benefactor, so it is only right that I serve you to repay the debt.” She said bowing her head slightly when she finished, she raised her head slightly and peeked at Lei Xing, who was looking at her with a blank expression.

”I see, that is tragic...” Lei Xing said, ”In that case...”