Then she turned her head and saw Sisi's half-dead, lifeless appearance. She smiled helplessly and quickly comforted her, "Sisi, they are not two or three-year-old children anymore. They are easy to take care of. It's not as difficult as you think. Besides, you still have Baixue to keep you company. What are you afraid of? If we really can't handle it, we'll remove you. Can you feel more at ease now?"
"Master, do I have any other choice? Since I don't, then I'll just have to obey your orders." Sisi sighed and said helplessly, like a walking corpse.
Then Gu Changqing looked at the group of children and said loudly, "Anyone among you who wants to go home, stand on the left. Those who are homeless or don't want to go home, stand on the right. I'll give you some time to think it over before you make a decision."
Afterwards, Gu Changqing went to chat with Jiang Qingcheng.
A moment later, Gu Changqing was surprised to find that no one was standing on the left. This puzzled him. Didn't any of them want to go home? That shouldn't be the case.
Gu Changqing wasn't the only one who thought this way; Jiang Qingcheng and Sisi shared the same sentiment. They couldn't understand why.
Gu Changqing stopped thinking about it and asked directly, "Are you all sure you're not going home?"
The children didn't speak, they just nodded silently.
"Can anyone tell me why this is?" Gu Changqing couldn't help but ask.
A boy's voice came from the crowd: "It's not that we don't want to go home, it's that we can't find our way home anymore. We've been sold and resold countless times, and we've long forgotten our parents and the way home."
"Yes, even if we remember, we don't want to go home anymore, because I'm just an unwanted person in that family. Even if I go back, I'm afraid I still won't escape the fate of being sold. What happiness could there be in going back to such a family?"
“My parents are lazy, gamblers, and alcoholics. I often go hungry and am frequently beaten by them. I can’t eat or sleep well, and I have nightmares every day. It’s better not to go home. The harm I suffered from my parents was no less than what I experienced here.”
…………
The children, like a floodgate opened, poured out their tragic stories.
Gu Changqing didn't seem to feel anything, because he had seen this kind of thing many times in his previous life and was used to it.
On the contrary, Jiang Qingcheng and Sisi were shocked and incredulous when they heard about these things. Then they were angry and furious, and finally they cried their eyes out with snot running down their faces.
They are too naive, having never seen the dangers of the outside world, and naturally do not know that such things can happen. It is simply shocking. In their world, parents dote on their children and protect them in every way, as if they are afraid of dropping them or melting them in their mouths. They wish they could give their children the best of everything in the world.
They couldn't believe that there were such parents in the world; they were truly despicable.
After the children finished sharing their experiences, Jiang Qingcheng, Sisi, and Xiaocaomei were already in tears.
Gu Changqing was also somewhat moved at this moment, but on the surface he still maintained a calm and composed demeanor and said lightly, "In that case, come back with me. At least here you can be well-fed and clothed, and have no worries about food and clothing."
"What do we need to do? We'll definitely do our best," a little boy asked.
"I haven't thought about it yet. Let's talk about it when I've thought it through," Gu Changqing said sincerely after a moment's thought.
"Husband, it seems our shopping trip is off. How about we take the children back to the sect first?" Jiang Qingcheng suggested with a faint smile.
"Alright, let's go back first then." Gu Changqing smiled slightly and agreed with Jiang Qingcheng's suggestion.
Immediately afterwards, Gu Changqing and his group took the children and flew back to the sect.
Along the way, the children were very excited and curious, looking here and there with great interest.
____________________
Not long after, Gu Changqing and his group returned to Qingyun Sect.
The large group of children behind him attracted the attention of the Qingyun Sect disciples, who stopped to watch and began to discuss them curiously.
"Where did Chief Gu get so many kids? Could they be our future junior brothers and sisters?"
"What are these kids doing here at our Qingyun Sect? Is Senior Brother Gu going to take on disciples?"
"Are these the children that Senior Brother Gu took in? They all look so dirty."
...
Immediately, the disciples within the sect were all talking about it, and the news quickly spread throughout the entire Qingyun Sect.
When Gu Changqing arrived at the sect's main hall, Elder Liu was calmly sipping flower tea.
Gu Changqing walked directly up to Elder Liu and said bluntly, "Elder Liu, when are you going to repay the treasure you owe me? If you haven't grown up yet, I've already thought about it for you."
"Alright, alright, Chief Gu, just tell me what you want. As long as I have it, I'll give it to you with both hands." Elder Liu agreed readily with a big smile.
"I don't need any treasures. Just give me a decent place, quickly, preferably one I can move into right now," Gu Changqing said with a slight smile, quite bluntly.
"That's easy. You can choose any of the houses under my name. There are four in total, in all four directions, choose whichever you like." With that, Elder Liu took out four sets of keys.
"I didn't expect Elder Liu to have so many houses. Well then, I won't stand on ceremony." With that, Gu Changqing casually picked up two sets of keys.
"Chief Gu, you..." Elder Liu hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.
He thought to himself, "Didn't we agree on one house? Why did he give me two sets of keys? Sigh, I miscalculated. I shouldn't have believed him."
Gu Changqing smiled slightly and said directly, "One house was mortgaged with my treasure, and the other house is for the overdue interest generated by the treasure. It's your fault for not giving me the treasure sooner."
"Well, never mind, since Chief Gu has taken a liking to it, let him take it. But I'm curious, why does Chief Gu need so many houses all of a sudden? Is there something wrong?" Elder Liu said, somewhat puzzled.
"Of course we'll be staying here. Elder Liu, aren't you just asking a question you already know the answer to?" Gu Changqing smiled slightly and said directly.
“Alright, I won’t force you if you don’t want to say, but even if you don’t say it, I can guess that it must be related to the group of children behind you, right?” Elder Liu smiled and guessed.
"Elder Liu truly has a keen eye; you guessed it right away. Indeed, it's exactly what we were preparing for them," Gu Changqing said with a faint smile, making no attempt to hide his feelings.
Since Elder Liu had guessed it, Gu Changqing no longer needed to hide it.
"May I ask, Chief Gu, where did these children come from?" Elder Liu couldn't help but ask curiously.
"I found it," Gu Changqing said.
"Elder Liu, if there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now," Gu Changqing said calmly with a slight smile.
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