[The Gluttonous Thief]
In the Yao-Capital Soup Kitchen, a commotion broke out. Luo Ye arrived to find his guards pinning down a scrawny, terrified youth of about fourteen. The boy had attempted to steal over a dozen grain pellets.
"I have family! They can't walk, I'm taking it to them!" the boy cried. But when Luo Ye offered to register his home for official aid, the boy panicked, bit the guard's hand, and bolted.
Luo Ye caught him by the collar within seconds. Under the fire-曜's piercing gaze, the boy finally confessed. "I... I lied. I don't have family. I'm just so hungry. Two pellets aren't enough to fill me."
To prove his point, the boy began shoving the pellets into his mouth, one after another, as if terrified they would be snatched away. Three, five, seven... his throat gulped desperately. Luo Ye watched in silence, his brow furrowed. This wasn't just hunger; this was the trauma of starvation.
[A Warm Meal and a Sharp Name]
"Slow down, kid. Grain pellets aren't meant to be swallowed whole," Luo Ye grumbled, but he led the boy to the back kitchen. He ordered warm water and a bowl of thick porridge with greens.
"Is this... free?" the boy asked timidly.
Luo Ye snorted. "Eat. If anyone asks, tell them Luo Ye owes the debt. You need strength to live."
As the boy ate, Luo Ye asked for his name.
"I'm from the West... West Ling City," the boy whispered, his eyes reddening. "The Rift-Raiders burned it all. My mother pushed me into a secret passage. She told me to live."
"What's your name, kid?"
"Ling Dang (凌噹)."
Luo Ye blinked. "Bell? Like the 'ding-dong' kind? Why would your parents give a boy a name like a jingle bell?"
The kitchen staff burst into snickers. The boy's eyes flashed with a cold, sharp light. "Ling as in 'domineering' (盛氣凌人)," he snapped, his voice like a blade.
[The Weight of a Hairpin]
Luo Ye arranged for Ling Dang to work in the kitchen—his logic being that a stomach that large needed to earn its keep. Later that night, in a small storeroom turned bedroom, Luo Ye found Ling Dang clutching a dried, cracked wooden hairpin.
"It belonged to Xiang Zhu, my family's maid," Ling Dang whispered. "She escaped with me. She gave me all her food, saying she wasn't hungry... but one morning, she just didn't wake up. She starved so I could eat. It's my fault. I ate her share."
Luo Ye sat across from him, pushing a cup of tea forward. His voice was no longer loud, but deep and comforting. "Living is not a sin, Ling Dang. The sin would be wasting the life she died to save. She held on so you could grow. So stay here. Eat well, work hard, and live for her."
[The Changing Tides]
Since the battle at the Sanctuary and the departure of Gu Xingyu, the Four Yao had changed. Li Yan remained the steady anchor, but the others had matured. Sang Qi was still sharp-tongued but no longer petty; Luo Ye was still hot-tempered but no longer impulsive. They were no longer just warriors; they were becoming the guardians of the people's hearts.