Raising Orphans, Not Assassins

Vol. 1 - Ch. 1 - A Peculiar Orphan Cultivation System

[Father, please put your brain here!]

…

Lin’an Prefecture, Yuhang County.

On the main road, a luxurious carriage sped by, kicking up a cloud of dust. A young man dressed in coarse clothing used his sleeve to cover his nose and mouth, coughing a few times.

“Cough, cough…”

Fanning away the dust with his sleeve, he muttered, “Ancient people, really low class…"

Chen Ye lowered his sleeve and glanced at the grey-blue city wall in the distance, feeling a sense of relief. Finally, he was almost there.

Two days ago, Chen Ye had transmigrated to this parallel world called the Great Wu Dynasty. This world did not belong to any historical dynasty Chen Ye knew of.

Just as his eyes darkened, he activated the standard equipment of a transmigrator —-- the system. However, Chen Ye’s system was somewhat special. It was called the ?Orphan Cultivation System?

As the name implied, the main function of this system was to cultivate orphans.

After Chen Ye adopted orphans, he could earn points through various education activities. These points could be used to draw skills, upgrade the orphanage, and exchange for supplies.

Once he successfully cultivated an orphan to the point where they could survive on their own, the system would reward him with a large amount of money, bonuses to extend lifespan, and special opportunities to draw ?Director skills?.

After acquiring the system, it restored Chen Ye’s body to that of a 20-year-old, gave him the identity of an ordinary commoner, and even gifted him an “Infant Care Centre (Orphanage)” along with the opportunity of a one time ?Director skill? draw.

At first, Chen Ye didn’t think much of it, but when he drew his skill, he was stunned.

?Indestructible Body : Nothing in this world can harm your body?

After rubbing his eyes, Chen Ye realised it was real. This skill meant that neither weapons nor poison could harm him.

He was practically invincible.

Of course, he could still drown, suffocate, or die from appendicitis, but even so, it was incredibly impressive.

Over the past two days, Chen Ye had gained some understanding of this world. The Great Wu Dynasty was not as peaceful as it seemed; the borders were still entangled in war.

On the road, he frequently saw armed warriors with cold eyes and a murderous aura. With this skill, Chen Ye at least didn’t have to worry about being hacked to death. After all, ancient times were pretty chaotic.

“I wonder if this world has sects and martial art masters.” Chen Ye thought as he walked, his heart filled with longing.

As a man, who hasn’t dreamt of wandering the world with a sword like a martial hero?

Due to limited information channels, in the past two days, Chen Ye had only seen armed escorts and passing warriors, but none of the white-clad swordsmen on large horses from wuxia novels.

After resting briefly by the roadside, Chen Ye joined the crowd of labourers heading towards the gates of Yuhang County.

Tall, grey-blue city walls loomed ahead, with soldiers holding bows standing atop, their cold eyes inspecting the people entering the city.

The guards checked Chen Ye briefly before waving him through. He entered Yuhang County, under the jurisdiction of Lin’an Prefecture..

“System, how much further?”

Chen Ye summoned the system interface in his mind. A blue, translucent screen appeared before his eyes.

?Orphan Cultivation System 1.0?

?Note: The system will upgrade once the orphanage reaches a certain scale?

?Host: Chen Ye?

?Age: 20?

?Points: 0?

?Director Skills: Indestructible body?

?Indestructible Body: Nothing in this world can harm your body?

?Current Task: Reach Yuhang Orphanage (location guidance in progress…)?

?Task Reward: Newbie Gift Pack?

Two days ago, Chen Ye transmigrated here. Although the system had gifted him an orphanage, it was located in Yuhang County.

It had taken him a full two days to reach Yuhang County.

Looking at the system’s map, he saw that the location wasn’t far. Chen Ye breathed a sigh of relief and began to survey his surroundings.

Yuhang County, under the jurisdiction of Lin’an Prefecture, was inland and seemed quite peaceful. The streets were bustling with people.

There was a steamer on a small cart on the street and hot white steam rose from it. Chen Ye caught a whiff of the delicious smell and pulled out four copper coins, buying two buns.

When the system gave him his identity, it also provided 100 copper coins.

2 copper coins in Great Wu, had the purchasing power equivalent to 1 yuan in his previous world. After two days of travel, there were not many coins left to spend.

After devouring one bun hungrily,his hunger was somewhat alleviated. Just as he was about to eat the second one, a foul stench wafted over.

“Hmm?”

Chen Ye’s face changed drastically, suddenly the bun in his mouth didn’t taste as good anymore. He turned to see a little boy with dirty clothes, unkempt hair and a runny nose staring longingly at the bun in Chen Ye’s hand.

The boy sniffled as he watched.

Chen Ye took a few steps back; the boy’s clothes were filthy, and even from a distance, the stench was overpowering. Passersby covered their noses and hurried past, unwilling to linger.

The little boy sniffled, his eyes dull and hollow.

Chen Ye took one look and knew he was a beggar, maybe even homeless. In terms of age, he looked probably around ten years old.

Over the past two days, Chen Ye had seen many beggars.

There were numerous wanderers and beggars in ancient times, almost everywhere. After witnessing this, Che Ye finally understood why the Beggar Sect was the largest sect in the world, there were simply too many people.

Thinking about this, Chen Ye had an idea. This kid was probably an orphan. Should he take him to his orphanage?

Chen Ye’s eyes lit up at the thought, but then he met the boy’s gaze. His gaze was so dull and dumb.

Chen Ye quickly calmed down. He rubbed his chin. How could he cultivate such a dimwit to have survival skills? Forget it, it would be too difficult.

During his two day journey, Chen Ye had already made his plan.

Recruit a few clever orphans, cultivate them for a while, and once the system issued rewards, he could just take the money and live a life of leisure. After that, he could enjoy a life of multiple wives and concubines, surrounded by beauties. Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

He could hire a few people to manage the orphanage and exploit the system for all it was worth. Thinking of this, Chen Ye shook his head and turned to leave. One must be smart in life and not do foolish things.

This was advice Chen Ye’s father had left him on his deathbed.

Holding the bun, Chen Ye intended to wait until the stench had dispersed before eating it. After a few steps, he sniffed the air and paused. Turned around and saw the little beggar was still following him.

The little beggar stared longingly at the bun in Chen Ye’s hand, sniffling nonstop. Seeing this, Chen Ye was about to put on a stern face to scare him away.

But then he noticed faint bruises on the boy’s face, limping while he walked, and knew the boy must have been beaten quite a bit.

During these past two days, Chen Ye had seen many beggars, and his heart had been moved. But one as young as this boy, it was his first time seeing.

As a modern person with a normal conscience, he couldn’t help but feel a little uncomfortable. In his previous life, a child this age should have been in primary school.

Chen Ye thought for a moment, sighed, and walked over, placing the bun in the boy’s hand.

“Here you go. Don’t follow me anymore.”

With that, Chen Ye turned and left; meeting by chance, just consider it a good deed.

Following the system’s guidance, he headed towards Yuhang Orphanage. He wondered how big the orphanage was, how many orphans it had, and how much deposit it had.

Chen Ye fantasised as he walked along the stone-paved road, lined with shops and stalls selling all kinds of food and goods.

He looked at the place indicated by the system. It was less than a hundred metres away from the orphanage. It looked like it was located at the corner of the street. The location was a bit remote, but that didn’t matter.

As he was thinking, a faint scent of perfume wafted into Chen Ye’s nose.

“Come have some fun, dear…”

“Sir, I’ve missed you…”

A few coquettish voices came from ahead.

Chen Ye stopped, eyes widening slightly with surprise and uncertainty as he stared at the sign reading “Yihong Brothel”.

He saw several well-dressed men with wobbly legs exiting the brothel, their faces flushed with happiness, clearly reluctant to leave.

On the second floor, a woman in green noticed Chen Ye and threw him a flirtatious gaze. Chen Ye took a deep breath. Given Yuhang County’s prosperity, having brothels was normal.

“Dad, I’m hungry.”

As he was pondering, an innocent voice called out beside him.

Huh? Whose kid is it, calling people dad so randomly?

Chen Ye was about to greet the lady upstairs when he smelled the familiar stench.

He turned slightly and found the source.The snot-nosed little beggar had followed him again, now staring at Chen Ye with wide eyes.

Seeing Chen Ye look at him, the little beggar called out again, “Dad, I’m hungry.”

Hearing this, Chen Ye’s face changed.

The woman who had been throwing him flirtatious glances also turned away, uninterested, and started trying to attract other customers.

”Don’t call me that, or I’ll smack you.” Chen Ye’s face darkened.

Why was this kid still clinging to me?

“Dad, I’m hungry.” The little beggar sniffled and repeated.

Chen Ye’s head ached. Ignoring the boy, he quickened his pace towards the orphanage.

After running several dozen metres, he heard the cold mechanical voice of the system in his ear.

?Ding!?

?Congratulations to the host for reaching “Yuhang Orphanage.”?

?You’ve received a newbie gift pack!?

Chen Ye stopped and stared at the 60-70 square metres-sized small courtyard in front of him, then he looked at Yihong Brothel, which was no more than a hundred metres away.

A sign hanging at the entrance of the small courtyard read “Yuhang Orphanage.”