Chapter 71: Breaking the Chains That Bound Them

The warehouse Yu Liang rented occupied an entire block in the western district. He paid the owner six months of advance without negotiating, three million mid grade spiritual stones for what should have cost half of that. The man had handed over the keys so fast he’d nearly tripped.

Yu Liang stood in the middle of the empty warehouse, looking around at the bare space.

Meihua had gone to arrange the basics like food, water, blankets, and other things they would need. She had asked him what he planned to do with everyone, but Yu Liang only told her to take care of the preparations for now and trust him.

He wasn’t entirely sure he could trust himself with what he was about to do.

About 4,000,000,000 Mid Grade Spiritual Stones.

The system had already returned far more than he spent, so money wasn’t something Yu Liang needed to worry about right now.

His attention was on the warehouse.

Soon, one hundred forty people would arrive here, and he still needed to figure out what exactly he was going to do with them.

First, they needed food, water, and a place to rest and he need to figure out how to make them whole again.

Or at least functional.

Everything else could wait.

The first wagons arrived exactly two hours after he had left the slave market. Master Huo had sent six transport cages, each one pulled by spirit beasts and guarded by Foundation Establishment cultivators.

They began unloading the slaves one by one. Despite the nature of their business, the handlers were careful with them.

After all, injured or dead merchandise meant a loss of money.

Yu Liang watched them enter the warehouse.

The Body Tempering cultivators came first, their chains making faint sounds as they walked inside. Most kept their heads lowered, while a few looked around the unfamiliar place with uncertainty.

The Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment cultivators followed after them. They were quieter. Some looked tired, while others simply watched Yu Liang and Meihua, waiting to see what kind of person had bought them.

None of them knew what would happen next.

The Core Formation cultivators were brought in separately, each accompanied by two guards. Hei Lang, the one-eyed bear-kin, walked slowly with his chains around his wrists and ankles. He glanced at Yu Liang once before looking away.

The five Nascent Soul cultivators came last.

Their restraints were much heavier, covered with suppression formations and sealing runes. Four guards accompanied each of them.

Yan Ruo walked among them with her back straight despite her condition. Her gray-streaked hair was tied into a simple braid. She looked around the warehouse before her eyes stopped on Yu Liang.

None of the five said anything.

Once everyone was inside, Master Huo’s people left.

The warehouse doors closed behind them.

Silence.

One hundred and forty cultivators stood in loose groups, sorted roughly by power level. Most looked confused. Some looked terrified. A few of the stronger cultivators simply watched Yu Liang in silence, waiting to see what he would do.

Yu Liang walked to the center of the warehouse and looked at the people gathered before him.

"My name is Yu Liang. I bought the consciousness seals that bind you, so legally, you’re under my control now."

Several people lowered their heads. Others simply stood there in silence.

"I didn’t buy you to make your lives worse. I need people to protect my employees and the people working for me. One of them was attacked three days ago, and I don’t expect that to be the last attempt."

He paused.

"That’s why you’re here."

Yan Ruo’s eyebrow rose slightly. This clearly wasn’t the speech she had anticipated.

"Here’s what I’m offering," Yu Liang continued. "Five years of service. You protect my business, my employees, and my interests. In return, I’ll provide healing, cultivation resources, and whatever you need to recover."

He paused, looking over them.

"You’ll be treated like people, not property. After five years, the seals will be removed. You can leave, or stay if you want."

A few people exchanged glances. Some looked confused, while others remained suspicious.

No one seemed to know what to make of the offer.

A Core Formation cultivator stepped forward not Hei Lang, but a lean man with burn scars covering half his face.

"Nice words, kid. We’ve all heard them before. But once the seal is triggered, we find out what our new master really wants."

Yu Liang looked at him for a moment.

"You don’t have to believe me."

The man frowned slightly.

"I can’t remove the consciousness seals. I don’t have that ability. But I don’t need to use them to get what I want from you." Yu Liang’s voice remained calm. "You’ll work for me, and I’ll give you what I promised. As for whether I’m telling the truth, you can judge that for yourself."

He glanced across the room.

"You’ll see soon enough."

He pointed to the end of the building where Meihua was working with other helpers to set up the tables. "Food and water. No limitations. Take as much as you need."

Nobody moved.

The scarred man laughed bitterly. "What’s the catch?"

"There is no catch. You are hungry. There is food. That’s it."

Still nobody moved. Years of abuse had taught them that nothing was ever that simple.

Yu Liang sighed and walked over to the tables himself. He picked up a bowl of rice, took a bite, and swallowed.

"See? Not poisoned. Just. Simple. Food."

He set the bowl down and looked at them. "And relax. I don’t have any strange habits like poisoning people for fun."

A few of them exchanged uncertain glances.

"Suit yourselves."

He turned his back on one hundred and forty cultivators and walked toward Meihua, who looked like she might faint from stress.

For several minutes, no one moved.

Then a young Body Tempering cultivator finally stepped forward. He couldn’t have been more than fifteen.

He walked toward the tables slowly, glancing around as if expecting someone to stop him or whip him. When no one did, he picked up a bowl and began eating.

At first, he tried to eat slowly but he simply couldn’t.

He shoved one mouthful after another into his mouth, barely chewing before swallowing. His hands shook as he reached for more.

No one laughed at him and no one said anything.

That broke the dam. One by one, the others began moving toward the tables. Within minutes, all the lower realm cultivators were eating. The stronger cultivators waited longer.

Hei Lang was the first among the Core Formation cultivators to move. He walked to the table, picked up a bowl, and glanced at Yu Liang once before returning to his place. He ate quietly, taking his time.

The five Nascent Soul cultivators remained where they were.

None of them touched the food. They simply watched Yu Liang and the others.

As more of them began eating, the warehouse slowly filled with the sounds of spoons, bowls, and hurried breathing. Some ate so quickly they nearly choked, as if they were afraid the food would be taken away before they could finish. A few tried to hide their tears as they ate. Others didn’t bother hiding them at all.

For some of them, it seemed like they couldn’t remember the last time they’d been given enough food to eat without having to worry about what came next.

Yu Liang gave them an hour to eat, drink and process. Then he addressed them once again.

"I know most of you have injuries. Broken meridians, damaged cultivation bases, old wounds that never healed properly." He pulled out a large storage bag. "I’m going to start distributing healing resources. Tier Four and Five pills, spirit herbs, formation to gather spiritual energy, medicines and don’t be shy, take whatever you need."

He began pulling out jade bottles and setting them on a table. The sheer quantity made even the Nascent Soul cultivators’ eyes widen.

A Foundation Establishment woman slowly stepped forward. Her left arm hung uselessly at her side, the meridians inside it clearly severed.

She picked up one of the pills and stared at it. Her fingers trembled slightly.

"T-This... this is a Regeneration Pill, isn’t it?"

Yu Liang nodded.

"T-Tier Five..." She swallowed and looked at the pill again. "B-But one of these costs at least five hundred thousand midgrade spiritual stones. I... I could never afford something like this."

She looked at Yu Liang, still seeming unsure if she was actually allowed to keep it.

"Are you really giving these to us?"

"I need you healthy, not worrying about how much these things cost. Take care of yourselves first."

Yu Liang placed another dozen bottles on the table.

"These are Meridian Mending Pastes. These are Bone Marrow Pills, and these are Soul Soothing Incense for mental trauma."

He looked around at them and said once again. "If you need something, just take it. There’s enough for everyone."

The woman stared at him like he had grown a second head.

"Go on," Yu Liang said gently. "Your arm, It can be fixed."

She approached slowly and picked up a bottle of Regeneration Pills with trembling hands.

She stared at the bottle for a few seconds before tears began running down her face. She tried to wipe them away, but that only made her cry harder. Her shoulders shook as she covered her face with her good hand.

"I... I thought I’d never be able to fix it."

Her voice broke.

Yu Liang stayed where he was. He didn’t interrupt or tell her to stop crying. He simply waited until she had calmed down enough to speak again.

Others began approaching one by one then in group. The rabbit-kin girl with the damaged cultivation base. The old Core Formation cultivator with severed meridians. One of the twin Nascent Soul brothers with the corroded spiritual energy.

Yu Liang distributed medicine like he was handing out candy, not resources worth fortunes.

Meihua appeared at his side and said in a voice low. "Do you know how much you’re spending?"

"Yes."

"This is—"

"It’s necessary."

Yu Liang handed a jar of Spirit Cleansing Paste to a fox-kin woman whose tails had been cut off, leaving infected wounds behind.

"If I want them to work for me properly, I can’t just rely on the seals. The seals can stop them from turning against me, but they can’t make them care about what happens to this place."

He glanced at the people around him. "If I want them to stay loyal, they need a reason to trust me."

"You’re gambling a fortune on people who might turn on you the moment they’re strong enough."

"Maybe." Yu Liang’s expression remained calm. "But I don’t think so."

Meihua didn’t reply immediately. She had heard of cases like that before. They were rare, especially with consciousness seals in place, but rare didn’t mean impossible. Even a one percent chance was enough to make her uneasy when Yu Liang was the one taking the risk.

Still, she knew better than to argue with him when he’d already made up his mind.