Chapter 73: Don’t die, I Spent too much Money on all of you

Yu Liang had the healers arrive by the next day.

There were five of them in total, all medical cultivators hired through the Alchemist Guild. Getting them to come on such short notice had cost him a considerable amount, especially since several of them had been pulled away from their regular work.

Yu Liang didn’t particularly care.

The warehouse was filled with injured people, and leaving them in that condition wasn’t an option.

As soon as the healers arrived, they began setting up temporary treatment areas. Tables were cleared, medicines were brought out, and the injured were separated according to the seriousness of their conditions.

At first, nobody understood what was happening.

The slaves simply watched.

Some stood against the walls. Others remained seated on the ground, keeping their distance from the healers. A few looked toward Yu Liang repeatedly, clearly waiting for someone to explain what the purpose of all this was.

After all, slaves weren’t usually treated by professional medical cultivators.

Especially not this many at once.

"Bring the people with serious injuries first," Yu Liang told one of the healers.

The middle aged man glanced around the warehouse.

"All of them?"

Yu Liang looked at him.

The healer immediately understood. "...Right. All of them."

Then treatment began.

One of the first people examined was the rabbit-kin girl Yu Liang had spoken to earlier after arriving.

He had learned her name was Yue Ling.

She sat quietly on one of the chairs, her hands resting tightly on her knees. Even now, she seemed nervous about making eye contact with anyone.

The female healer examining her placed two fingers against her wrist and slowly sent spiritual energy through her body.

Yue Ling flinched.

"Relax," the healer said calmly. "I’m checking your meridians."

Yue Ling nodded, though she clearly wasn’t relaxed.

The healer continued examining her for several minutes before finally withdrawing her spiritual energy. "The damage is serious, but it isn’t permanent."

Yue Ling slowly raised her head.

The healer looked through the notes she had written.

"Several of your meridians are damaged, and there are signs that they’ve been left untreated for a long time. But with proper medicine and regular treatment, they can recover."

"R-Recover?" Yue Ling asked quietly.

"Yes."

"Completely?"

The healer hesitated for a moment."If everything goes well, you should be able to cultivate normally again. It’ll take time, though. Don’t expect it to happen overnight."

Yue Ling stared at her.

For several seconds, she didn’t say anything.

Then tears slowly began falling from her eyes.

The healer looked slightly uncomfortable. "Hey miss, don’t cry. I didn’t say anything bad."

Yue Ling quickly wiped her face. "I-I’m sorry."

"You don’t need to apologize." The healer sighed and handed her a cloth. "Just take the pills and elixir when you’re told to. I think that should be enough."

Yue Ling held the cloth tightly in her hands and nodded.

Yu Liang watched from a short distance away before moving elsewhere.

The warehouse was gradually becoming louder though not loud enough to be lively, but people had started speaking to one another and he can hear everyone clearly even if there voices were low, mostly questions.

"What is happening?"

"Why were they being treated?"

"What did that New Master actually want from them?"

Yu Liang didn’t answer every question himself.

He knew that even if he explained his intentions, most of them wouldn’t believe him yet.

Words were cheap for people who had spent years being treated like property, being told that they were safe probably wouldn’t mean much.

He would rather let them see what happens next.

While walking through the warehouse, Yu Liang eventually noticed Yan Ruo sitting by herself near one of the walls.

Unlike Yue Ling and many of the others, Yan Ruo didn’t appear particularly confused.

She was simply watching the healers, the other slaves, and occasionally, him.

Yu Liang stopped in front of her. "You haven’t been treated yet?"

Yan Ruo looked up at him. "No."

Yu Liang glanced toward one of the treatment areas. "You should probably go."

"I will."

"But not yet?"

"No."

He looked at her for a moment before sitting down nearby.

Yan Ruo’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Yu Liang raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing."

"You’ve been staring at me for like hour."

"I’ve been observing."

"That’s basically staring miss but with a better excuse."

For the first time, her expression changed slightly, It wasn’t quite a smile but something near that.

Yan Ruo looked toward the treatment area again. "I’m trying to understand what you’re doing."

"Easy. Treating injured people."

".....You know that’s not what I mean."

Yu Liang leaned back slightly. "Then what do you think I’m doing?"

Yan Ruo was quiet for a moment."That depends."

"On?"

"Whether you’re being honest."

Yu Liang nodded. "Fair enough."

She studied him carefully. "You bought all of us from a slave market. Then you hired medical cultivators and started treating injuries that have nothing to do with your immediate needs."

"How can you say I don’t have immediate needs? But let me tell you, some of those injuries would make it difficult for them to do their jobs."

Yan Ruo looked at him. "And Yue Ling?"

Yu Liang paused.

Yan Ruo continued. "Her low cultivation base has nothing to do with guarding your restaurant."

Yu Liang scratched his cheek and smiled awkwardly. "Alright. That one... doesn’t have a business explanation."

"So you admit it?"

"Admit what?" Yu Liang asked in confusion.

"That you’re doing this because you want to help."

Yu Liang stared at her for a moment. Had she hit her head somewhere? Couldn’t she clearly see what I’m doing here with those eyes of hers? Still, he held back the comment. Saying something stupid now would probably make her think he had some strange tendencies.

"Partly," he finally said.

"Partly?"

"I’m not going to pretend like I’m some kind of great person who only acts out of kindness. I am doing it because I need capable people around me."

"Any other reason?" She asked.

Yu Liang looked around the warehouse.

The people here had spent years being ordered around. Some had probably forgotten what it felt like to make simple decisions for themselves.

"It may sound simple but it’s just that I don’t see the point in treating people badly when I don’t have to."

Yu Liang continued. "If I need people to protect my restaurant and the people working for me, then I’d rather prefer they actually want to do the job. Having fifty people around who hate me doesn’t sound particularly useful."

"So you’re hoping they’ll become loyal?"

"No, no, miss, you see I’m just hoping they’ll eventually trust me."

Yan Ruo gave him a doubtful look."Trust takes time."

"I know."

"Some of these people may never trust you."

"I know that too."

"And the consciousness seals don’t guarantee loyalty."

Yu Liang looked at her. "They do, it stop direct betrayal."

She gave him a look which clearly meant seeing an idiot. "There are many ways to harm someone without directly attacking them. Someone can withhold information. Someone can make mistakes intentionally. Someone can lead an enemy toward you without technically betraying you."

"I know."

Yan Ruo watched him carefully. "You really are aware of all this?"

"Of course I am."

"Then... why take the risk?"

Yu Liang was quiet for a moment. Then he shrugged. "Because the alternative is worse."

Yan Ruo frowned. "What alternative?"

"Keeping everyone scared." He continued. "They’d follow orders because they had no choice. They will do just bare minimum required to survive. The moment they found a way out, they will probably disappear."

Yan Ruo didn’t deny it.

"And honestly," Yu Liang continued, "I can’t blame them."

For the first time, Yan Ruo didn’t immediately respond.

Yu Liang stood up. "Anyway miss, there’s medicine available for Nascent Soul cultivators. The healers said they were waiting for permission before using it because it’s expensive."

Yan Ruo looked at him. "And?"

Now it was Yu Liang’s turn to give her a look like someone who had just said something incredibly stupid. "And you should use it."

"You’re giving it to me?"

"I didn’t spend all that money on medicine just to let it sit in a box and admire it."

Yu Liang began walking away before stopping. "Oh, and Yan Ruo?"

"Yes?"

"Try not to die anytime soon as I spent way too much money on all of you guys and I’d hate to see my investment disappear before it even starts working."

This time, Yan Ruo actually smiled.

It was small, but Yu Liang noticed it.