While the children continued talking about beasts, Tao’s face suddenly fell.

“Will it be very bad if we stop using the new cultivation methods here? I hate that they’re forbidden in Goldcrest territory…” His voice dropped to a whisper, eyes darting nervously toward the door as if patrollers might materialize at the mere mention of ‘forbidden’ techniques.

“You stopped today’s cultivation?” Ren asked.

The casual conversation had suddenly veered into more serious territory.

Tao and Li exchanged nervous glances.

“Technically the day isn’t over yet, but yes,” Li admitted in a low voice. “We use them freely at school since it’s on the other side of the new border… but not here.”

“Master Huang told us not to bring any notes home,” added Tao, leaning closer as if sharing a dangerous secret. “He says he doesn’t know what the patrols might be using to detect if we’re using them.”

The fear in his voice reflected the reality of their new divided world, where even children’s cultivation methods had become political battlegrounds.

Ren nodded thoughtfully, his expression serious as he considered their predicament. “Your teacher was right… I don’t think those patrol idiots can distinguish whether you used the method or not, unless you bring written notes. But don’t be afraid either, the cultivation method itself doesn’t leave visible traces to ordinary eyes.”

His reassurance carried the confidence of someone who knew precisely what he was talking about.

“Really?” asked Li, visibly relieved.

“Of course,” Ren confirmed. “You should do your cultivation today. If you don’t have crystals, I can get you some from my parents who’ve gathered quite a few… The method for plants is quite simple, after all. You just need to properly process the mana that falls in the rain, expose it to the sun for a specific number of hours, and seal the energy at the appropriate moments, so I can replenish some for you later.”

The technical details flowed naturally, his explanation precise and confident. The children looked at him with amazement, their eyes widening at his casual expertise.

“How do you know the exact details of the new cultivation for plants?” asked Tao, his brow furrowing with suspicion. “You have a completely different beast.”

Ren shrugged, trying to appear casual. “I know it. At the academy, we have access to information about all types of beasts.”

“Well, we don’t need crystals… We already have some processed ones saved,” commented Li, changing the subject from his friend’s probing question. “But we stopped cultivation today for fear the patrols would discover it.”

“It’s not good to interrupt the process once started,” Ren warned with seriousness. “I’d recommend resuming it as soon as possible, right now if you can. One lost day can affect the entire sequence… I insist they won’t discover you.”

The explanation seemed to momentarily satisfy the children, though Tao continued looking at him with certain suspicion.

Yang and Wei had finished digging a considerably larger hole than the improvised previous hiding place. The earth walls had been reinforced with stone manipulation, creating a surprisingly stable structure. The unconscious patrollers lay at the bottom, securely bound with multiple restraints.

“The hole is ready,” announced Yang, wiping his hands with a cloth. “Deep and with enough air for us to survive a while even when sealed.”

Ren went down and illuminated the work area with his mushrooms, and it was then that he truly noticed the state of his parents in the clearer light of the storehouse. After all the rushed events of today, a relaxed look showed him what he had unconsciously ignored…

They were considerably thinner than he remembered, their clothes hanging from their bodies in a way that suggested significant weight loss.

“When was the last time you ate properly?” asked Ren, concern evident in his voice.

Reed exchanged a look with Fern before responding. “We’ve been rationing,” he finally admitted. “The difficulty in getting food in this area has increased considerably since the division.”

“Yang,” Ren called immediately, turning to the massive tamer with urgency, “could we take out some of the provisions?”

Yang nodded, approaching his backpack to extract several sealed packages. “We have emergency rations. They’re not gourmet, but they have good nutrients.”

“Unfortunately, we can’t cook them to show off your parents’ talent that you’ve told us so much about,” commented Lin, helping distribute the packages. Her usually stern face softened as she handed food to Reed and Fern. “But they’ll serve to recover energy for now.”

Ren took several additional rations. “Could we give some to my friends too? And bring something to Mr. Chen?”

His generosity was instinctive, the wealth he had accumulated was meaningless if it couldn’t help those around him.

“Of course, everything is at your disposal,” responded Wei, nodding.

While distributing the food, Ren approached his backpack and extracted a considerably heavy bag.

“I want to give this to Mr. Chen,” he declared, showing the bag. “Ten thousand in small crystals.” His voice carried the casual confidence of someone for whom such sums had become commonplace.

He opened it, revealing piles of small crystals, and also took out one the size of a fist that shone with the unmistakable bronze glow.

His parents exchanged looks of astonishment.

“Ren,” Fern began cautiously, “the change in small crystals is fine, but the bronze sphere… that’s an enormous amount for these areas.”

“That bronze crystal will be difficult to exchange around here without attracting attention,” added Reed, his expression mirroring his wife’s. “People might come asking questions about where such wealth came from.”

“They’ve helped us a lot,” insisted Ren, his determination unwavering. “And if I can, I’ll do everything possible to take us all to the other side of the border, including them.”

Wei observed the scene with a thoughtful expression. Ren’s innocence was touching but also inefficient. The boy seemed to believe that money could solve all problems, when reality was much more complex. It wasn’t just the Chen family who suffered, but all poor people trapped near the new border, unable to abandon their properties.

So many lives couldn’t be changed simply with crystals… There weren’t enough to go around.

But Wei kept silent. There was no reason to break Ren’s illusion for now, especially knowing that real change would come precisely from the boy’s relative kindness… not from the crystals, but from the knowledge the young man was sharing with the world at a very reasonable price. His cultivation methods were already transforming lives on a larger scale than any monetary donation could achieve.

A weak groan interrupted his thoughts. The patrollers were waking up.

Lin and Yang immediately approached them, their expressions hardening. “Time for the interrogation,” Lin murmured, her panther briefly surfacing beneath her skin as she prepared to extract information from their prisoners.

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