Chapter 89 - 90: Meeting the Mute Girl Again, Thirty Thousand Taels of Silver

Chapter 89: Chapter 90: Meeting the Mute Girl Again, Thirty Thousand Taels of Silver

"Speak. What is the meaning of this? What happened to these children?"

A demonic voice rumbled from deep within Tian Yi’s throat. His eyes, freezing and utterly ruthless, bore into the Medicine Gang members.

The moment the crates were opened, the surrounding temperature seemingly dropped to a freezing point. A chilling dread gripped everyone’s hearts, plunging them into a bottomless abyss.

There were over a dozen large crates, each packed to the brim with children’s corpses. The numbers varied, and their sizes differed, but without exception, every single one was reduced to skin and bones, so horribly emaciated they barely looked human anymore. A single crate held at least seven or eight bodies. With over a dozen crates, there were at least seventy or eighty corpses in total!

It was no wonder Tian Yi was so furious. His glare toward the Medicine Gang thugs burned with undisguised murderous intent. Even a man of his vast experience found this sight absolutely sickening.

"Beat them! Beat them until they talk!" he ordered. When no one dared to reply, Tian Yi lunged forward and viciously kicked one of the Medicine Gang members.

The suppressed fury of the Governmental Constables erupted like a volcano. They unleashed a merciless barrage of punches and kicks, and in an instant, agonizing screams echoed endlessly throughout the courtyard.

"We’ll talk! We’ll talk!" someone finally shrieked, unable to endure the brutal beating any longer. If it continued, they wouldn’t just be castrated—their heads would be caved in.

As the Medicine Gang members spilled everything, a horrifying and tragic tale slowly unspooled before everyone.

The true power behind Tongshan Hall was the Medicine Gang. On the surface, the hall claimed to take in orphans or abandoned infants. In reality, it was a front to amass wealth and funnel children with martial arts potential to the Rebirth Sect for training.

Since its establishment, many local commoners had sent abandoned babies to Tongshan Hall. The hall would reward the donors with a small fee to spread its good reputation. However, this very reward also opened Pandora’s box. It incentivized opportunistic merchants and street thugs to round up—or even abduct—children from all over just to sell them to Tongshan Hall for profit.

Furthermore, impoverished families, desperate to keep their own children alive, would hand them over, hoping the hall would raise them to adulthood.

Tongshan Hall accepted anyone and everyone. They used this influx to broadcast their name, subtly usurping the Government Office’s duties of providing disaster relief and maintaining order, effectively hijacking public sentiment among the lower classes. Yet, no one could have imagined that this supposed sanctuary for children was actually a living hell.

Though Tongshan Hall took the children in, they operated on a hidden, unspoken rule: "No guarantees on life or death!"

Later, as various natural and man-made disasters threw the world into chaos, Tongshan Hall grew increasingly brazen. Backed by the Medicine Gang, they began to openly extort money. They even publicized their morbid condition: "We will raise the children, but we are not responsible for their survival. You have no right to hold us accountable!"

Why would anyone agree to such terms?

Because it was a time of chaos. Because they were refugees. Because they desperately needed to continue their family lines. Because even with money, medicine and food were impossible to buy. Because they lacked the power to resist! 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

It was the harsh reality. As a refugee fleeing from war and famine, how could one possibly fight back? They could only submit to being slaughtered. Under this forced transaction, parents were coerced into "donating" their entire life savings to Tongshan Hall in exchange for the "care" of their children. Whether they were willing or not didn’t matter—they had no choice in the matter.

Especially during the recent war in Yellow Stone City, countless refugees had fled to Medicine Town, pushing Tongshan Hall’s "business" to new heights. The majority of these deceased children had been taken in during that period.

Upon taking them in, the hall would intentionally starve the children for three days and three nights. This cruel method weeded out the weak and sick. The survivors were then given the bare minimum of care; living was deemed good luck, and dying was just bad fortune.

This horrific neglect resulted in an abysmal survival rate—often fewer than ten out of a hundred children would make it. The dead were callously tossed into crates, just like the ones discovered, and hauled off to unmarked mass graves. Of course, they weren’t buried with the crates. They were unceremoniously dumped into shallow holes. After all, the large crates were worth money.

After hearing the Medicine Gang members’ confession, the crowd’s fury reached a boiling point. Tian Yi issued a ruthless command without hesitation. "Beat them! Beat the absolute hell out of them! I don’t care if they live or die. Let’s see if they can survive like those poor children did!"

Another storm of punches and kicks descended. But this time, even Li Mo and the others joined the fray, viciously beating the thugs until they were dead.

After the beating concluded, Tian Yi ordered his men to continue their search. Soon, someone ran back to report, "Boss, it’s bad! We found a dungeon beneath Tongshan Hall, and there are many children locked inside."

Everyone’s hearts sank upon hearing this, a terrible foreboding washing over them. Tian Yi’s expression was grimly calm as he said, "Lead the way."

They soon arrived at the dungeon. The moment they stepped inside, a nauseating stench hit them—a foul blend of decay and filth. Row upon row of cells lined the subterranean space. Each cage held over a dozen children. Though not dead, they lay motionless on the cold ground like corpses.

Even when Tian Yi and his men arrived, the children showed zero reaction. They didn’t even spare the men a single glance.

"Hmm?" Walking at the front, Su Chen suddenly noticed a gaze directed at him. Following his intuition, he spotted a familiar face—it was the mute girl.

She sat slumped against the corner of the cell, numb and fragile like a startled bird. Upon seeing Su Chen and the others, her face immediately twisted in terror. Out of all the children present, she was the only one who displayed any emotional reaction.

"Bring them all outside." This was the first time Su Chen had spoken. The constables said nothing in response, silently unlocking the cells and carrying the children out.

Not all the children in the cages were alive. Most were on the brink of death, while a few had already turned into cold corpses.

"Come with me," Su Chen said softly, approaching the mute girl who was resisting fiercely.

Hearing his gentle tone, she paused her violent struggles and looked up at him. A faint glimmer of clarity returned to her clouded eyes. Su Chen let out a quiet sigh and extended a hand, waiting for her response.

Perhaps sensing his genuine kindness, she shakily got to her feet, though she kept her body curled up defensively and did not take his hand. Su Chen didn’t mind. He simply turned and led her out of the dungeon.

They brought her into the main hall, where someone had already prepared a large pot of porridge. Liu Fang brought over a bowl and placed it in front of the mute girl, gently gesturing for her to take it. Staring at the warm rice porridge, the mute girl immediately began wolfing it down.

Just then, Tian Yi walked over and whispered, "Su Xiaoyou, we’ve found Tongshan Hall’s vault. We discovered thirty thousand taels of Silver inside, along with a strange man!"