Chapter 52: Men Like Stray Dogs

On the way back, none of the three chose to take the shortest route.

Instead, they all tacitly turned and walked down a much longer path.

Perhaps by going this way now, they would only see littered grounds, scattered crowds, and children hidden behind the scenes.

Perhaps even if they saw something, they would be powerless to help, adding only to their own distress.

Yet, unable to completely resign themselves to it, the three silently shared a mutual understanding and took this detour.

When they returned to the vicinity of the juggling stalls, the deafening sounds of gongs and drums had completely died away.

After giving a few modest tips, the onlookers had dispersed in satisfaction.

The minor episode along the way had been forgotten by everyone.

Only the three kind-hearted children kept it etched in their memories.

All that remained at the scene were the young acrobat children hastily packing up their props.

Once the patrons had departed, the bearded troupe leader did not rest, nor did he eat, and certainly offered no praise for the children's hard work.

Instead, he ordered the exhausted little ones to line up in a secluded corner of the street.

Trembling with fear, the children stared at their master, rubbing their palms together without daring to make a sound.

The troupe leader raised the long whip in his hand and cracked it heavily through the empty air. The explosive sound struck the children's hearts, making them shiver even more violently.

The younger ones were so frightened that muddy tears rolled down their cheeks, but they did not dare to raise a hand to wipe them away.

The troupe leader and the long whip in his hand seemed to be their ultimate nightmare.

The troupe leader swept his cold gaze over the circle, and upon seeing the cowering postures of the children, a sneer finally touched his lips.

Then, pointing his whip into the distance, he caused the little girl hiding in the furthest corner to instinctively take a step back.

He cursed, "Little wretch, why didn't you hide even further away?"

"Go on, a bit further, and you won't even need to eat today! You'll save me some food!"

"Freeloader, how do you plan to compensate me for the bowl you broke?"

With that, a ferocious smile twisted the bearded man's face as he stepped forward and lashed out with his whip.

The whistling tip of the whip landed mercilessly on the little girl, instantly leaving a bloody welt.

The surrounding children scrambled backward in terror, fearing they would be implicated or accidentally struck.

Yet the little girl did not dare to cry out, nor even to raise her head to look at her master. She could only curl her body as tightly as possible, presenting her back to the whip in the hope of enduring less pain.

Through years of relentless beatings, they had learned all too well where the blows hurt the most and where they hurt the least.

After a succession of lashes, the little girl was curled up into a tight, miserable ball.

Watching the tragic plight of their companion, none of the other children dared to utter a single sound.

Indeed, under the shock of such irresistible violence, their submission and loyalty to the troupe leader deepened another notch.

When Chen Ping and his companions arrived at the scene, this was the exact spectacle that met their eyes.

Chen Ping had long since convinced himself not to meddle in matters beyond his capabilities.

Yet, seeing the multiplying bloody marks on the little girl's body and the fading light in the eyes of the other children,

his heart twisted with a sharp, wrenching pain, and a towering surge of stifled rage refused to be suppressed.

He simply could not bear to watch human beings treated worse than stray dogs.

Ye Chongwen also clenched his fists, ready to rush forward and stop the troupe leader, but He Qingxuan grabbed him tightly.

Faced with the anger of Chen Ping and Ye Chongwen, He Qingxuan explained with a helpless sigh, "Don't be impulsive. Impulsiveness won't solve anything; it will only make matters worse."

Seeing Ye Chongwen struggle even more fiercely, He Qingxuan quickly elaborated, "When I was in Jiangxia, I once encountered a juggling troupe much like this one."

"I was your age then, and I wanted to rescue those children too, but an uncle stopped me."

"According to him, these children who enter juggling troupes are either orphans or have been sold to the troupe leader by their parents. In reality, they are the master's slaves. Even if you rescue them, they will simply be sold into slavery elsewhere and serve a new master to scrape by a living."

Chen Ping was stunned. This differed greatly from what he had been taught in the academy, and he began to wonder if he had missed something in his studies.

He Qingxuan naturally knew what was shocking Chen Ping.

According to the textbooks, the Dayu Dynasty boasted enlightened social customs and strictly prohibited the ownership of slaves.

Even servants in wealthy households signed formal contracts with their masters, stipulating wages and terms of service. Beatings and abuse were forbidden, and life-and-death contracts were illegal.

Chen Ping had assumed the Dayu Dynasty was doing quite well in this regard.

He Qingxuan gently shook his head, and under the gaze of Ye Chongwen and Chen Ping, he said calmly, "To trust a book completely is worse than having no books at all. What is written is not necessarily accurate, and may even be entirely contrary to the truth."

"While the laws of the Dayu Dynasty indeed recognize no slaves, the practice of keeping slaves among the common people has never ceased."

"As the saying goes, 'If the people do not accuse, the officials do not investigate.' How many slaves are ever in a position to take their masters to court? Even if they manage to file a complaint, the yamen would likely handle it with cold indifference. Which official is willing to uphold justice for a slave? If the accusation fails, a brutal beating awaits them upon their return."

Such logic was not complicated, and Chen Ping, possessing the life experience of his past incarnation, understood it instantly.

The greatest beneficiaries of the slave system were the officials and nobles themselves; why would they invite trouble upon themselves?

A rigorous crackdown would only make them targets of public ire, and offending powerful families for the sake of a minor political achievement was hardly worth the cost.

Under the troupe leader's whip, the little girl had fallen entirely silent; not even her breathing or sobbing could be heard.

Whether she had fainted or slipped into an even more terrifying state was impossible to tell.

Suddenly, Chen Ping noticed that behind the trembling, head-bowed children, a pair of eyes filled with burning hatred was fixed on the troupe leader, gleaming like unsheathed swords.

It was a boy, looking not much older than the little girl, with the same sallow, emaciated complexion.

Yet those eyes were entirely unlike those of his numb companions. The leaping flames within them declared that though he lived beneath the feet of others, his spirit remained unbroken.

At this sight, Chen Ping's heart ached with a deeper sorrow, and his feet carried him forward of their own accord.

He Qingxuan was still holding Ye Chongwen back and failed to notice Chen Ping.

He had assumed Chen Ping was level-headed enough not to act as impulsively as Ye Chongwen.

Who could have guessed that Chen Ping would be the first to charge forward?

With large strides, Chen Ping stepped directly between the troupe leader and the little girl, shielding her with his small body.

The troupe leader had just raised his whip to strike again, but seeing the sudden intrusion, he jerked his hand back. The lash struck the grassy ground beside them, narrowly missing Chen Ping.

Bits of grass flew into the air, and a bitter scent drifted across the breeze.

Just as he opened his mouth to scold the intruder, the long gown Chen Ping wore and the scholarly aura about him stopped the troupe leader dead in his tracks.

At this age, children from ordinary families were expected to work at home, wearing short tunics for farm labor. To wear a spotless long gown meant this child certainly did not perform manual labor. Add to that his refined temperament and disdainful poise—

This was a young scholar!

Although the troupe leader did not know Chen Ping's background, he knew well that families who could afford to send their children to study were usually not people an itinerant troupe leader could afford to offend.

By the time He Qingxuan and Ye Chongwen hurried over, the troupe leader's posture had already cringed into a hunched bow.

Neither of the two newcomers flaunted luxury; their clothes were modest, and their words and actions lacked arrogance.

Yet the worldly-wise troupe leader could still discern the effortless air of nobility emanating from them.

This aura of wealth was not borrowed from external objects, but steeped into their bones over a long time.

For all that the troupe leader looked flashy—his decent outfit costing at least half a year's revenue—he merely looked respectable on the surface.

His vulgar nature was already carved deep into his marrow.

Sweating profusely, the troupe leader stood trembling just like the little children.

He cast a sidelong glance at Chen Ping, who stood blocking his path, and asked cautiously, "May I... may I ask what instructions these young masters have?"

This question left Chen Ping at a loss for how to respond.

He certainly wanted to rescue the punished little girl, but he had no idea how to go about it.

After all, buying and keeping slaves was a socially tacit practice, which was why the man dared to act so arrogantly in broad daylight.

The troupe leader could easily tell everyone that these children were purchased property.

He could beat them or curse them however he pleased; as long as no one died, it was none of outsiders' business.

He only held back because he was unsure of the identities of the young gentlemen before him.

Just as Chen Ping racked his brain for an answer,

the boy, whose anger had long reached its boiling point, suddenly let out a hoarse roar and lunged straight at the troupe leader.

"I'm going to kill you, you beast!"

"No one is allowed to hurt my sister!"