Zhao Yan picked up the old clothes on the floor and put them on. After all, he couldn't just wander around bare. The other six kids watched him get beaten without offering any help. When they saw that Zhao Yan seemed fine, they followed the two older kids downstairs.
Once Zhao Yan reached the first floor, he noticed a nun assigning daily tasks. Spotting him coming down from upstairs, she said, "New kid, you're in charge of cleaning the bathroom today. Once you're done, you can come eat." With that, the other kids scattered to their chores. Zhao Yan didn't expect to get such a smelly job on his first day, but he had no complaints; he just wanted to survive.
As he cleaned, he glanced out the window. The other kids had been assigned to care for the garden's fruits and vegetables. The boys were fetching water to water the plants, while the girls were pulling off the yellow leaves and squashing some harmful bugs. Meanwhile, the two kids who had snatched his clothes were now wearing them, bossing the other kids around. The nun, sitting on a stool with her legs crossed, counted the coins the boys had given her, completely ignoring the way the two older kids bullied the others.
After a while, Zhao Yan finally finished his task and decided to show his face to get some rest. He walked into the dining hall and realized he was clearly the last one to arrive. The nun and a few kids were almost done eating. He stood at the top of the stairs and said, "I'm done cleaning."
Hearing him, the nun waved him over. "If you're finished, come eat." She pointed to a spot beside her and resumed her meal.
Zhao Yan glanced at the place she had indicated. There was a wooden bowl with some floating vegetable leaves and a plate with a shriveled piece of bread—bite marks clearly visible on it. Just then, one of the older kids turned and smiled at him. In an instant, Zhao Yan realized that this kid had probably eaten his food, grinning as if to mock him. The nun remained oblivious, showing no reaction to the boy's actions. So Zhao Yan said, "I just ate. I'm a bit tired from working, so I think I'll rest for a while."
The nun nodded, "Alright, go rest. I'll call you if I need something. Your bed is the top bunk at the back." With that, she ignored him.
Zhao Yan turned and headed upstairs, pushing open the door to his room. He found his bed and jumped up. The bed was hard, just a sheet over some wooden planks, but it was still better than sleeping outside. He lay down to rest and soon realized that the pain from his earlier beating had vanished. Curious, he lifted his shirt to check. To his surprise, the bruise on his chest had completely healed. Although he had known about his healing ability from his time in the forest, seeing it happen still amazed him.
Suddenly, the door swung open, and Zhao Yan heard a commotion of footsteps. The kids were returning to the room after eating. Just then, he felt a pair of footsteps approaching closer. Out of nowhere, someone yanked him up from behind, and a second later, he crashed heavily onto the ground, letting out a soft grunt. "Whoa! Look at this guy. The place he got beaten up is all healed! Does he have some kind of recovery magic?"
"Seriously? If he had recovery magic, he wouldn't be sent here. All the people sent here have low magical powers, just like you and me—normal folks. Just watch." With that, one of them kicked Zhao Yan hard in the face, making him feel a wave of numbness. He was shoved back over a meter.
Zhao Yan squinted and stared at the two boys who had attacked him. They were also staring back, wide-eyed. They realized that his face, which had just been kicked, was visibly healing before their eyes. In a few seconds, it was as if nothing had happened. The atmosphere in the room seemed to freeze. The two bullies stood there, dumbfounded, while the other kids, who had been trembling in fear, forgot their terror and just stared at Zhao Yan lying on the floor.
Zhao Yan pushed himself up, glaring at the two boys. If looks could kill, they would have been dead a thousand times over. The older boys, feeling the intensity of his gaze, got annoyed. "What are you staring at? I'll teach you a lesson!" With that, they charged at him again, throwing punches and kicks.
Zhao Yan lay on his bed, fully healed by now. Just then, a trembling voice came from behind him, clearly using a lot of courage to speak. "Hey, do you really have magic?" Zhao Yan turned to see a boy standing beside his bed, fingers crossed nervously, watching him with fear in his eyes. Zhao Yan shook his head. "I don't know what you mean by magic." The boy seemed ready to leave but froze when Zhao Yan called out, "Wait a sec."
The boy shivered and stopped in his tracks. Zhao Yan jumped down and asked, "Those two bullies—do they often pick on you too?"
The boy nodded. "Yeah. They bullied us a lot before you came, but they didn't go as far as they did with you. They just kicked us a few times."
"Why don't you all fight back? You're orphans too. Six of you should have a chance against those two." The boy quickly shushed him, putting a finger to his lips. He peeked outside the door, ensuring no one was around, then closed it and whispered, "Those two aren't orphans. They're actually the nun's kids, living here on purpose with us orphans."
Understanding dawned on Zhao Yan. No wonder the nun turned a blind eye to the bullying; they had a connection. The kids were made to live together while the nun pretended to care for the orphans, profiting from their labor while her own kids enjoyed the perks. These kids did the hardest work, received nothing decent to eat, and had even their meager meals taken away. Zhao Yan thought the nun and her children were appalling for coming up with such a low scheme. "Have you tried to expose them? Doesn't anyone care about this?"
The boy smiled wryly, and in that moment, Zhao Yan felt like he was looking at someone much older. "Even if someone cared, what would it change? We orphans are like less than stray dogs in this world. To survive, we have to rely on adults. There are plenty of people worse off than us. Though our lives are tough, at least we're alive. The nun might ignore the bullying, but compared to losing our lives, that's a small mercy. If the nun were to disappear, we'd be orphans again, and most of us would end up dead." He sighed helplessly.
Zhao Yan frowned, wondering why things were this way. Ever since he arrived in this town, he had sensed something was off but couldn't quite pinpoint it. Now, hearing the boy's words, he began to understand the meaning behind what Da Shi had said about the harshness of life and the necessity of survival. This world felt far from safe; lurking in the shadows, there must be threats to people's lives. So, he asked, "Why do you say that? Is there a danger in the town?"
The boy seemed to recall something terrifying, pausing for a moment before answering, "Isn't the biggest threat to people… other people? The second biggest threat is magical beasts." Taking a deep breath, he continued, "My dad was killed by the guards in the town. He was executed for handing in less food than usual. But it wasn't our fault; crops don't just yield well with human care—weather and soil conditions play a big part. That day, it hadn't rained for a long time, so of course, the harvest was poor. The guards killed my dad over a little less food, and my mom was also killed for confronting them. I was left with just my sister. Though my sister is much older and can take care of the crops, one day she suddenly disappeared and never came back. I know she must've been taken by a demon, and the chances of survival for those taken are slim. Watching the crops wither away, I couldn't do much because I was too small. In the end, a guard brought me here. I'm grateful to that guard; if he hadn't brought me here, I would have starved in some corner or been taken by a demon."
Zhao Yan felt a pang of sympathy. He hadn't realized how chaotic this world was; ordinary people were being killed for failing to pay taxes while also having to live in fear of demons. In a situation like this, not only was it tough to live happily, but simply surviving felt like luck. He pressed on, "Doesn't the government do anything for these ordinary people? If everyone lives in danger, why do they still have to pay taxes?"
The boy chuckled sadly. "If you don't pay taxes or pay less, they can charge you with a crime and execute you. As for safety, I only know that the Adventurers' Guild posts tasks for dealing with demons, but the regular army won't mobilize for a few missing people. So, if there's no bounty out, those who go missing can only fend for themselves."
Zhao Yan could hear the helplessness in the boy's voice. It seemed to create a vicious cycle: when people went missing, it was usually because they'd attracted the attention of the goblins. Families already struggling from a lack of labor couldn't afford to pay a bounty to hunt them down. Moreover, who could afford to care about someone else's troubles when they were barely surviving themselves? In this way, the town turned a blind eye, and the Adventurer's Guild wouldn't take notice unless there was a reward. Consequently, the only outcome was a continued loss of population, with more and more orphans like the boy.
In the end, only a few would survive; most would either starve to death or be killed by monsters.