Otherworld Advance Team
Chapter 1577 - 1570: Universal Values

Chapter 1577: Chapter 1570: Universal Values

However, after this incident, Cheng Ziang also realized that something was off about Ah Si.

For instance, how did she manage to approach those two people silently from behind and then take the child away without anyone noticing? When Ah Si appeared behind those two, did they really not notice her at all?

But considering Ah Si’s identity, Cheng Ziang felt it made sense. After all, she is the daughter of a hunter and naturally knows how to approach her prey without a sound.

The daughter of a hunter... the daughter of a merchant... wait, why did I accept this narrative so readily; in the end, what exactly do I want to remember?

Thinking of this, Cheng Ziang couldn’t help but hold his head, feeling annoyed about the chaos in his brain.

"Right, what do you plan to do with this child? Are you going to trade him for money?" Ah Si said, looking down at the helpless child of the Demon Clan.

"How could I? That would be trafficking in persons, I certainly wouldn’t commit a crime," Cheng Ziang said as a matter of course.

"A crime? It’s not necessarily a crime," Ah Si shrugged and said.

"It is a crime to me," Cheng Ziang said.

"Fine then," Ah Si nodded in agreement.

Cheng Ziang knelt down to observe the child closely. This was a child with the appearance of the Qingqiu Clan, with fluffy fox ears. He seemed to be a little boy, around the age of six or seven, and was quite adorable.

Cheng Ziang noticed that the boy was dressed appropriately, not in any luxurious fabric, but certainly not the coarse hemp of a beggar or vagrant. Presumably, he must come from a relatively decent household, not one raised on the streets from a young age.

From earlier till now, the little boy had been crying nonstop, his round cheeks already turned into a tear-streaked mess. When facing Cheng Ziang, even though he kept covering his mouth to keep from making noise, Cheng Ziang could still feel his fear of him.

"Okay, no more crying, nobody here will hurt you again," Cheng Ziang said while he reached out to wipe the tears off his face, but this seemed to make the boy tremble even more.

"Hey, your mask is scaring him," Ah Si pointed at her own face and said with a bitter smile.

Hearing her words, Cheng Ziang paused for a moment and then realized his error, so without hesitation, he took off his mask and hung it at his waist, tenderly looking at the small boy.

Perhaps it was because he saw Cheng Ziang’s true face, although the little boy was still frightened, the crying had significantly subsided, and he just kept sniffling.

"What’s your name?" Cheng Ziang tried to emulate Luo’er’s demeanor, asking gently.

Perhaps moved by his tender comfort, the little boy finally stopped sobbing and looked up at Cheng Ziang with red, swollen eyes. After a long hiccup, he cautiously uttered a single syllable: "Yang..."

"Yang, is that your name? What’s your surname then?" Cheng Ziang tilted his head, asking with curiosity.

For according to the information they currently possessed, even commoners mostly had two-syllable names; such a rare single-syllable name was quite unusual. This instinctively reminded him of that guy named Xuan, so he subconsciously assumed that this little fellow must have a surname.

Perhaps because he asked something that shouldn’t be asked, the little boy shook his head like a rattle, stubbornly refusing to speak again.

"Okay then, how about I call you Ah Yang?" Cheng Ziang thought of Ah Si’s name and asked.

"Mhm! Mhm!" This time the little boy’s response was much more positive, nodding incessantly.

"You must be hungry, shall we go have something to eat?" Cheng Ziang said, gesturing toward the direction of the campfire.

"Mhm! Mhm!" Ah Yang blinked eagerly, nodding vigorously, apparently very hungry.

"Let’s go," Cheng Ziang said, standing up and leading Ah Yang by the hand.

He noticed the red marks on Ah Yang’s wrist from being bound, so he dared not grab his wrist, instead reaching out a finger for the boy to hold onto.

"You’re so gentle with him..." Ah Si watched Cheng Ziang, saying faintly.

Cheng Ziang couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, but he always felt there was a hint of sourness in her tone.

"Shouldn’t I be?" Cheng Ziang blinked, asking nonchalantly.

"He is of the Demon Clan," Ah Si said.

"What’s wrong with being from the Demon Clan?" Cheng Ziang asked.

"You, you don’t discriminate against people from the Demon Clan?" Ah Si asked, blinking.

"Why should we discriminate? He is a person first and foremost, and a child second. That’s enough. Why should we reject him just because he’s from the Demon Clan?" Cheng Ziang asked, puzzled.

"Are all of you so benevolent?" Ah Si asked tentatively.

"It’s not so much about benevolence, but rather a common universal value," Cheng Ziang said matter-of-factly.

"It’s kind of hard to understand," Ah Si confessed.

"I never expect you guys to understand," Cheng Ziang said with a shrug, not taking it to heart.

"No, if it’s..." Ah Si started, blinking with a hint of shyness, "I, I can understand..."

"Really..." Cheng Ziang paused for a moment, taken aback.

"You, you don’t have to thank me. I just, I feel that I did what I should have done. I just hope that you won’t forget me when the time comes..." Ah Si lowered her head, too shy to meet Cheng Ziang’s gaze, showing a bashful expression.

"Why do you always emphasize that I might forget you? Have we met before?" Cheng Ziang asked, frowning.

"Have you thought of something?" Ah Si raised her eyebrows, full of hope.

"Nothing..." Cheng Ziang pondered for a moment, then helplessly shook his head again.

"Sigh, after all... how could you possibly break it..." Ah Si said, lowering her head and biting her lip.

"Break what?" Cheng Ziang pressed.

"No, it’s nothing," Ah Si waved her hand, then as though remembering something urgent, hurriedly said, "We better go. If I remember correctly, the meat is still on the fire, and it would be a disaster if it got burnt."

"Then let’s hurry," Cheng Ziang nodded, not pursuing the matter further.

The pair hurried back to the campfire. By now, the sky was completely dark, but fortunately, they arrived in time; the meat was not entirely burnt.

After some handling, both Cheng Ziang and Ah Yang received their fragrant portions of roasted meat. Although Ah Yang was young, he wolfed down the meat. Cheng Ziang had to stop eating for a while to help him finish the meal.

"Ah Yang, why were you captured? Where are your parents?" Cheng Ziang asked patiently after the meal.

"I, I went out looking for daddy... but they were capturing everyone... I..." Ah Yang was young and so his speech was still halting; it was evident that his language system was not yet mature.

"Who is your father?" Cheng Ziang inquired.

"No, I can’t say, I mustn’t tell others, otherwise, daddy will be in danger..." It seemed like a taboo; Ah Yang quickly covered his mouth and vigorously shook his head.

"Okay, okay, then let’s not talk about it. Don’t your mom and dad worry about you going out like this?" Cheng Ziang continued to ask.

"I, I want to go home, but I can’t find the way back..." As Ah Yang spoke, he sniffled, looking forlorn.

"Is your home in Rainbow Government, or Fengyu? West Outer Heaven?" Cheng Ziang probed.

"Right here, right here..." Ah Yang blinked but shook his head.

"It appears he’s a local from Hua State," Cheng Ziang murmured to himself, nodding.

In their conversation, Cheng Ziang noticed a detail. Probably because his language system was still not perfected, Ah Yang couldn’t express many things in the Kyushu language, so he used the Demon Clan language instead. This indicated that for a long stretch of time, he was educated bilingually.

This was a rare phenomenon because according to the observations of the Advance Team, it seemed that once people from the Demon Clan entered Kyushu, they would mostly forget their native language and switch to speaking the Kyushu language.

Starting from Fengyu, the more northward you go, the more apparent this situation becomes, especially after entering Kyushu.

Cheng Ziang couldn’t be certain that those born in Kyushu of the Demon Clan wouldn’t speak the Demon Clan language, but it definitely wouldn’t be with the frequency that Ah Yang did. If Ah Yang were a descendant of slaves, in theory, he shouldn’t be learning the Demon Clan language. This indicated that in his home, it was possible to communicate using both the Kyushu and Demon Clan languages.

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