Chapter 1384 Debt

Chapter 1384 Debt

Tearmill City was a drab little city full of colorless buildings made with brick and mortar, none of which were aesthetically pleasing to the eye at all. nove(l)bi(n.)com

The roads weren't properly made either, so puddles were all around the roadside, made by people watering the road so that it wouldn't let out dust during the day.

Ning and Tim followed Jasmine as they walked through the city, walking past many small and large buildings.

"Are you guys hungry? I need to get something for the kids from the bakery," she said.

"Tim, get what you want to eat. We'll go meet with the kids and leave later tonight. We should have plenty of time to make it to the Waterford City before sunrise tomorrow."

Tim nodded.

After buying something to eat, they walked through similar-looking roads and alleyways, making their way to a slightly worse part of town with buildings crammed all around.

Jasmine finally pointed to a two-story building up ahead and said, "That's my house. That's where I keep them."

Ning looked around. "This is not a very good part of the town, is it?" he asked.

"No, it's not," Jasmine said. "This is so bad that the cops won't even come to check on us if anything less than a mass brawl broke out."

"And you chose to keep the kids here?" Ning asked.

"I have no other choice," she said.

Ning frowned a bit. "What about all the money you steal? Shouldn't you earn enough from robbing people to have these people live a much better life?' he asked.

Ning shrugged softly. It appeared that the kids did not know about what she really did to earn money here.

Jasmine spent some time with the kids while Ning and Tim waited for them to all do their own thing. A bit later, the kids all went to school and the 3 were all alone.

"So, how can you help them? I'm curious," Jasmine said. "They are good kids, as you saw."

"I did," Ning said. "And I'm very curious about what is going on here. You clearly are a very good thief thanks to your treasure, so how come you live so poorly? What happens to all the money?"

Jasmine took a moment to gather her thoughts and took a deep breath. "I'm in debt. I spend everything I get to pay the debt."

"How much debt? Can we help?" Ning asked.

"52 thousand gold coins," she said.

Tim's eyes went wide in shock. "I'm sorry, what? 52 thousand?" he asked. That was like 52 gold bricks. A person with 10 gold bricks would be considered quite rich. And she owed someone 52 of them?

"That's a lot of money to be in debt for. How come?" Ning asked.

Jasmine shrugged. "Made bad decisions as a child. I was stupid and did what I had to survive back then on the streets after I ran away from the orphanage."

"There's a man that gives out loans for anyone who wants it. But in exchange, he asks for 100 times the loaned amount in return," she said. "Anyone with half a brain would know that is a bad deal. But as a kid with a corner in the alleyway to call home and a stomach that was never full, nothing looked more desirable than that."

"A small amount isn't that bad. A few gold coins and then pay them back a few hundred slowly. They never press you for the coins anyway."

"But because of these kids, I had to get them a house and so I took out around 600 gold coins. It didn't matter that I would have to work my whole life to pay off that debt if it meant these kids got a good life instead."

"I see," Ning said. "And you can't just run away with that money, I presume. There has to be a reason he's so accepting of people not paying him back in time."

"He is," Jasmine said. "That man has one of the most powerful Zurin treasures in the whole planet."