Mu Lin got off the car and started walking upstairs carrying the food. This time, unlike last time, he did not try to lighten his steps but walked normally, like any other person, all the way to the third floor. As soon as he entered the stairwell, he saw several older children armed with wooden sticks, standing ready and waiting. The younger children were tightly gathered behind them.
Seeing the children’s defensive posture, Mu Lin was momentarily stunned. Then he quickly realized the situation: this area was a poor suburb of London, and small-time hooligans often caused trouble here. When the children heard someone approaching, they probably thought it was another gang of troublemakers, so they had prepared themselves in advance. Judging from the scene, the children’s living environment was truly worrying.
When the children saw Mu Lin, dressed neatly in Western clothes, standing there with a pile of food, they were also momentarily taken aback. However, upon seeing that he was a white man, they did not lower their sticks but instead looked at Mu Lin with suspicion and caution.
Mu Lin noticed the children’s intense and longing gazes at the food in his hands, yet they still held their sticks tightly, maintaining their defensive stance. He realized that it was his current white appearance that made the children uneasy. Still, he hadn’t expected the children to have such strong distrust toward white people.
Seeing the children’s wary expressions, Mu Lin had no choice but to smile and speak first, “Hello kids, I’m here on behalf of your Uncle Zhao. I’ve brought you some food and clothes.”
Hearing Mu Lin speaking fluent Chinese and seeing his gentle smile, the children were stunned. In their short lives, they had never seen a white person who spoke Chinese so well or was so polite to them. Slowly, some of the children lowered their sticks, while others remained hesitant, their eyes still fixed on the items Mu Lin was holding.
“Which Uncle Zhao are you talking about?” One of the older children, seemingly the leader, finally asked bravely.
“Of course, it’s Uncle Zhao from the restaurant ‘Jia Tian Xia’!” Mu Lin replied with a smile. At the time, he hadn’t intended to eat there; he had simply noticed that many people went in and out of the restaurant and assumed the food must be good. He didn’t realize that the people were actually supporting Uncle Zhao’s good deeds in their own small ways.
Hearing Mu Lin correctly mention the name of Uncle Zhao’s restaurant, the children finally lowered all their sticks. The tension on their faces melted into bright smiles. They finally believed that Mu Lin had indeed been sent by Uncle Zhao to bring them food.
Although the children’s eyes were filled with excitement and their smiles were bright, Mu Lin knew it was all for the food he carried. With his current white appearance, he couldn’t possibly earn the children’s trust. Even though their gazes were eager and they hadn’t eaten enough for lunch, they didn’t rush forward in chaos. Instead, they all turned their eyes toward the child who had asked the questions earlier.
“Uncle, are you really here to bring us food?” The same leader asked again.
“Hehe! Sorry, I was too lost in my thoughts. Sorry, kids! Come here, take this food first and eat. Uncle will go downstairs to bring you some bedding and clothes.” Mu Lin smiled apologetically at the children, put down the food, and turned to go downstairs.
When Mu Lin reached the bottom floor, he quickly retrieved some bedding and clothes from his ring and went back upstairs. What he saw on the third floor surprised him. The food he had brought was enough for all the children to eat their fill, but now, the younger children each had a portion and were eating happily. The older children, however, had not touched the food Mu Lin had brought. Instead, they stood at the stairwell, guarding him.
Seeing the children’s actions, Mu Lin felt a wave of emotion. He assumed the older children were helping him and hadn’t had time to eat their share yet. After handing over the items he carried, Mu Lin used his spiritual sense to scan the area and found that the food he had brought, apart from what had been given to the younger children, had not been distributed but was instead stored in their food storage room.
Seeing this, Mu Lin was deeply moved by the children’s maturity and also felt a pang of sadness for their difficult situation. He suppressed his emotional reaction and called over the child who seemed to be the leader.
“Kid, come here. Uncle has a question for you.”
“Uncle, what’s your name? Can you tell me?” Mu Lin asked gently.
“Uncle, my name is Luo Qi. What do you need to ask me?” Luo Qi replied respectfully, without any flattery.
Mu Lin carefully observed the child in front of him. Although malnutrition had left him slightly hunched, his bones were well-proportioned, and his muscles coordinated well when he walked. From the way he had handled things earlier, his reflexes were also quite sharp. He was a promising candidate for martial arts training.
Moreover, this child had the courage to lead so many others and live alone in such a place. As their leader, he must possess a sharp mind, the ability to endure hunger, and the wisdom to store the food for future use. His fairness and his calm, respectful attitude when speaking to an adult like Mu Lin showed that he had a strong and determined character.
Such a child, if given an opportunity, would surely achieve great things. Unfortunately, due to long-term malnutrition, most of his meridians were already blocked. But for Mu Lin, that wasn’t a problem. The only question was whether the child could endure the pain of having his meridians opened. And whether he would be willing to learn martial arts from him.
During his time here, Mu Lin often felt his own forces were insufficient. Although the clinic had a group of traditional Chinese acupuncturists from China, they were ordinary people who couldn’t help him with many things. This had led Mu Lin to consider taking a disciple. On one hand, he wanted to ensure that his sect’s cultivation techniques wouldn’t be lost because of him and leave more strong seeds for the Chinese people. On the other hand, it would also increase his own strength. Although Mu Lin had thought through so many things, it had only taken a moment.
“Uncle just wants to ask, can you tell me how old you are? Also, doesn’t the government here have orphanages? Why hasn’t anyone sent you there? With your age and current situation, you shouldn’t be living in such a place!” Mu Lin finally voiced his concerns.
“Uncle, I’m already eleven years old. But can I ask you first, how come you can speak Chinese? If you answer that, I’ll tell you everything!” Luo Qi answered calmly, looking at Mu Lin with steady eyes.
This is the second chapter. I hope I haven’t kept everyone waiting. Also, thank you to the user “Qiang Shou Huo” for creating a group for this book. The group number is 51058931. Readers who enjoy this book are welcome to join. If circumstances permit, I will be available for discussions with everyone from 9 PM to 10 PM daily. Thank you all, and wish you a happy New Year!
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage