I Refused To Be Reincarnated-Chapter 704: Adam’s Verdict

A"From what I understood, the witch brews potions using mana-reinforced organs. That’s all I know, but I guess it’s enough to clarify the fate that awaits them."

As Hu’s words echoed, Adam’s glare intensified. His voice grew deep, judgmental, and reverberated against the tunnel’s walls, although he only whispered them. "And knowing this, you eat, drink, smoke, and skip to brothels. You whistle in dark glee when you shake the coins earned from selling clueless children. You chirp in a honeyed voice that you’re just a replaceable tool—one among many."

Mana erupted into two swirling streams from his eyes. Hu and the captain of the guards instantly dropped to their knees, clawing at their necks for air while gasping. Their faces instantly turned red, then purple. Saliva drooled from their lips, and their eyes darted to Adam in a silent, horrified plea.

To which he answered with a snort.

"How long have you enjoyed the respect of your men, the way they called you boss, and the sect’s protection?" He smirked as disgustingly as they had. "A willing tool is as guilty as its wielder in my book. Fret not, successful boss Hu, for your employers and colleagues will follow you before you can miss them in whatever rotten pit you end up in." freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

He swung his hand. Two mana threads, too thin to be noticed in the dark, shot from his fingers. Following the movement of his hand, they swiped at the duo’s neck.

A strange sensation made them shudder for a split second before it faded. Then, to their relief, the pressure that had pinned them to their knees vanished.

They sprang to their feet, hands blurring to their weapons. However, before they could fully stand, their visions began to sink.

Shocked, they tried to shift their heads... No answer from their necks—only a splashing noise and a heavy scent of fresh blood. They only realised what had happened once their heads rebounded on the cold ground, showing them their beheaded bodies falling in a rain of blood.

And Adam’s penetrating glare. Though they hated the idea of dying, just looking into the young man’s eyes froze their souls. He could have done worse. They knew it. Against all logic, the clean, painless death brought them a sense of relief as their eyes turned glassy and darkness devoured their thoughts.

Eyes wide, breath ragged, the chained children’s eyes darted between their dead captors and their murderer. Joy and deeper horror melded in their trembling limbs. Would they meet the same end? At least, they wouldn’t have to resent their parents and suffer from starvation and abuse in this unfair world.

As they lowered their faces, Adam’s voice made them frown. Why did it sound gentle, like when their mothers called them for dinner?

"Approach, kids."

They didn’t, and he kneeled to gaze at them at eye level. "I’ll help you settle in a new place, where hunger and bad adults don’t exist. I know it’s hard, but you must find the courage to trust me first."

He waved his hand behind him, and space rippled to reveal Wei and Qing’s scrunched noses and pale faces.

"Or someone who went through much worse ordeals than you did." He nudged Qing forward, offering her an encouraging nod reflected in her wide pink eyes.

She bit her quivering lip, a steely glint flashing in her eyes as she watched some younger kids shudder in the shadows. She had thought she was the most miserable person before Adam rescued her. And yet... more souls needed to be saved.

Clapping her hands to draw attention, her voice cracked with genuine emotion. "Please, everyone. Listen to me. I was sold to the Witch of the West last year, but this man killed her and saved me!"

"The witch died?!" Stunned gasps echoed as she continued.

"Look at me! Not only did he cure me from her experiments, but he turned me into a beauty. If you don’t trust him, trust me. I swear you’ll be alright."

Hesitant movements came from the shadows before a boy approached the torch. He gazed at Adam’s robes, lips quivering and tears trailing down his cheeks. "We’re pigs on their way to the slaughterhouse, creatures worse than cattle—that’s how Hu called us."

He gripped his ragged pants, his knuckles white on the dirty fabric. "Because we’re mage’s descendants. Everyone knows cultivators hate them. So why would he help us?"

Qing stomped the ground and pursed her lips. But Adam raised his palm to calm her—to calm them all.

Sky blue mana danced between his fingers, one moment a serpent, the next a deer with long antlers. It became books and lanterns, before fire and lightning crackled as he smiled.

"Because we’re the same." He watched the kids stir as his mana faded. "Let me clarify a few points. I’m not taking you with me by force. If you want to return to your parents, I can help you. But..." He clicked his tongue. "What stops them from selling you a second time? Or you can join our young lady Qing to a land of peace, where your heritage will mean something."

He pointed his finger at the boy’s chest. "Not to others, not as materials—to yourselves." Butterflies made of mana flew from his arms, illuminating twenty awed children. "You can learn magic. You can live instead of survive."

The boy’s foot unconsciously moved. Before he noticed it, he was in front of Qing and Adam, who reached for him.

He closed his eyes, the others watching with bated breath.

CRACK

At the noise of shattered metal, he snapped his eyes open, only to see the rusted chains that had bound him for months shattered in Adam’s hands. "Free..."

He collapsed into hopeful sobbing as the others rushed at Adam, screaming they wanted freedom, too.

And just like that, he had helped the twenty children. They smiled at him, hope replacing despair as a mischievous grin curved his lips. "Would you like to visit the Verdant Peak Sect before I introduce you to your new homes? I promise you’ll enjoy the sight."

The children’s eyes narrowed before the boy asked. "Will you kill them?"

"I’ll lay ruin to everything their elders have." Adam nodded. "Don’t you like the idea?"

The boy clenched his jaw. "I want to see them die. That’s what they deserve!"

The other children joined him, raising their emaciated limbs. "They deserve more than death!"

Adam nodded. "They do. But we’re not like them. You’ll have to learn to move on, even if it’s hard. Hate is an insidious poison. The longer you nurture it, the more you turn into someone else."

He waved his hand, twisting space around everyone to turn them invisible. "You’ll learn with your new teachers soon enough. For now, we have bad guys to purge."

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AN: 2 more Chapters later, so 3 today. No Chapter tomorrow.

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