While the children continued talking about beasts, Tao's face suddenly fell.
"Will it be very bad if we stop using the new cultivation thods here? I hate that they're forbidden in Goldcrest territory..." His voice dropped to a whisper, eyes darting nervously toward the door as if patrollers might materialize at the re ntion of 'forbidden' techniques.
"You stopped today's cultivation?" Ren asked.
The casual conversation had suddenly veered into more serious territory.
Tao and Li exchanged nervous glances.
"Technically the day isn't over yet, but yes," Li admitted in a low voice. "We use them freely at school since it's on the other side of the new border... but not here."
"Master Huang told us not to bring any notes ho," added Tao, leaning closer as if sharing a dangerous secret. "He says he doesn't know what the patrols might be using to detect if we're using them."
The fear in his voice reflected the reality of their new divided world, where even children's cultivation thods had beco political battlegrounds.
Ren nodded thoughtfully, his expression serious as he considered their predicant. "Your teacher was right... I don't think those patrol idiots can distinguish whether you used the thod or not, unless you bring written notes. But don't be afraid either, the cultivation thod itself doesn't leave visible traces to ordinary eyes."
His reassurance carried the confidence of soone who knew precisely what he was talking about.
"Really?" asked Li, visibly relieved.
"Of course," Ren confird. "You should do your cultivation today. If you don't have crystals, I can get you so from my parents who've gathered quite a few... The thod for plants is quite simple, after all. You just need to properly process the mana that falls in the rain, expose it to the sun for a specific number of hours, and seal the energy at the appropriate monts, so I can replenish so for you later."
The technical details flowed naturally, his explanation precise and confident. The children looked at him with amazent, their eyes widening at his casual expertise.
"How do you know the exact details of the new cultivation for plants?" asked Tao, his brow furrowing with suspicion. "You have a completely different beast."
Ren shrugged, trying to appear casual. "I know it. At the academy, we have access to information about all types of beasts."
"Well, we don't need crystals... We already have so processed ones saved," comnted Li, changing the subject from his friend's probing question. "But we stopped cultivation today for fear the patrols would discover it."
"It's not good to interrupt the process once started," Ren warned with seriousness. "I'd recomnd resuming it as soon as possible, right now if you can. One lost day can affect the entire sequence... I insist they won't discover you."
The explanation seed to montarily satisfy the children, though Tao continued looking at him with certain suspicion.
Yang and Wei had finished digging a considerably larger hole than the improvised previous hiding place. The earth walls had been reinforced with stone manipulation, creating a surprisingly stable structure. The unconscious patrollers lay at the bottom, securely bound with multiple restraints.
"The hole is ready," announced Yang, wiping his hands with a cloth. "Deep and with enough air for us to survive a while even when sealed."
Ren went down and illuminated the work area with his mushrooms, and it was then that he truly noticed the state of his parents in the clearer light of the storehouse. After all the rushed events of today, a relaxed look showed him what he had unconsciously ignored...
They were considerably thinner than he rembered, their clothes hanging from their bodies in a way that suggested significant weight loss.
"When was the last ti you ate properly?" asked Ren, concern evident in his voice.
Reed exchanged a look with Fern before responding. "We've been rationing," he finally admitted. "The difficulty in getting food in this area has increased considerably since the division."
"Yang," Ren called imdiately, turning to the massive tar with urgency, "could we take out so of the provisions?"
Yang nodded, approaching his backpack to extract several sealed packages. "We have ergency rations. They're not gourt, but they have good nutrients."
"Unfortunately, we can't cook them to show off your parents' talent that you've told us so much about," comnted Lin, helping distribute the packages. Her usually stern face softened as she handed food to Reed and Fern. "But they'll serve to recover energy for now."
Ren took several additional rations. "Could we give so to my friends too? And bring sothing to Mr. Chen?"
His generosity was instinctive, the wealth he had accumulated was aningless if it couldn't help those around him.
"Of course, everything is at your disposal," responded Wei, nodding.
While distributing the food, Ren approached his backpack and extracted a considerably heavy bag.
"I want to give this to Mr. Chen," he declared, showing the bag. "Ten thousand in small crystals." His voice carried the casual confidence of soone for whom such sums had beco commonplace.
He opened it, revealing piles of small crystals, and also took out one the size of a fist that shone with the unmistakable bronze glow.
His parents exchanged looks of astonishnt.
"Ren," Fern began cautiously, "the change in small crystals is fine, but the bronze sphere... that's an enormous amount for these areas."
"That bronze crystal will be difficult to exchange around here without attracting attention," added Reed, his expression mirroring his wife's. "People might co asking questions about where such wealth ca from."
"They've helped us a lot," insisted Ren, his determination unwavering. "And if I can, I'll do everything possible to take us all to the other side of the border, including them."
Wei observed the scene with a thoughtful expression. Ren's innocence was touching but also inefficient. The boy seed to believe that money could solve all problems, when reality was much more complex. It wasn't just the Chen family who suffered, but all poor people trapped near the new border, unable to abandon their properties.
So many lives couldn't be changed simply with crystals... There weren't enough to go around.
But Wei kept silent. There was no reason to break Ren's illusion for now, especially knowing that real change would co precisely from the boy's relative kindness... not from the crystals, but from the knowledge the young man was sharing with the world at a very reasonable price. His cultivation thods were already transforming lives on a larger scale than any monetary donation could achieve.
A weak groan interrupted his thoughts. The patrollers were waking up.
Lin and Yang imdiately approached them, their expressions hardening. "Ti for the interrogation," Lin murmured, her panther briefly surfacing beneath her skin as she prepared to extract information from their prisoners.
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