"Don’t worry, I’m terrified of the Demon Sect. By the way, what’s the name of that Upper-Grade Demon Sect master who destroyed the mountain?"
Zhou Chunfeng hesitated for a moment before saying, "Fu Jianqi. He’s an Elder from Demon Transformation Mountain, the new Third-Grade Deputy Minister in the Ministry of Justice, and the junior martial brother of Sect Leader Zhang of Demon Transformation Mountain."
’I feel like I’ve heard that name somewhere before.’ Li Qingxian frowned, thinking.
"The disaster in Luu City was related to him. He was also there when Depu Town was turned into a Dead Demon Land. His Demonic Skill is unfathomable. Don’t provoke people like him," Zhou Chunfeng said.
"No wonder. So that’s the person Liu Shida was talking about. Don’t worry, Uncle Zhou. I’m afraid of dying. I won’t provoke anyone I can’t afford to offend," Li Qingxian said with a small smile.
"Those notes you left on the Scriptures of All Saints in the wardrobe... they were very good." Zhou Chunfeng looked at Li Qingxian intently.
"’Every word from the heart, every sentence from the soul,’" Li Qingxian said frankly.
"What are your thoughts on this incident?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.
Li Qingxian heard this and knew it was the familiar test from an elder. He carefully recalled the course of events, sighed after a long moment, and said, "Life is like a game of chess. One must not be greedy for victory."
"Those are Chief Minister Zhao’s words."
"Hm? Zhao Yishan said that too?"
Zhou Chunfeng nodded, then asked, "What else?"
"At first, the cancer only harms a distant island prefecture. Then, perhaps it only harms a distant prefecture. Later, it might harm a place like Depu Town near the Divine Capital. And now, it has harmed many people around me. When I can see the cancer with my own eyes, it’s already touching my skin, about to seep into my bones," Li Qingxian said.
"Are you saying that human lives are more important than military merits?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.
"Of course. If you don’t get military merits this time, you can fight for them next time. But when a person is gone, they’re gone forever. The death of one person might not seem important, but when a group of people dies, all their possible future generations die with them. Among their descendants, there might have been someone who could achieve even greater military merits, someone who could save more of the Human Race. But because of the military merits of a few, they will never exist in this world."
"Yes... many things can be obtained if you just take your time; it’s just a matter of more or less. But when people are gone, they’re truly gone..." Zhou Chunfeng gazed out the window.
The sky was a brilliant blue, filled with the sounds of birds and the scent of flowers.
"What if you were forced to choose between your teammates and the cancer?" Zhou Chunfeng asked.
Li Qingxian shrugged and said, "I don’t know. I can’t answer that. But perhaps people like you and Zhao Yishan can. Even if your generation can’t solve it, as long as people live on, generation after generation, it will surely be solved. The premise is, they have to be able to live."
Zhou Chunfeng let out a long sigh. After a while, he said, "Rest for a few days. Don’t show off your wealth during this time. But... well, you should get going."
"I understand. Goodbye, Uncle Zhou."
Li Qingxian stood up, grabbed the pastries from the table, then gave Zhou Henn a meaningful look.
Li Qingxian walked out of the Chunfeng Inn and sat down in a nearby pavilion.
After quite a while, Zhou Henn finally came over.
"Uncle Xiaozhou, did you run into trouble?"
"No."
"Then why were you so late?"
"I was trying to figure out what you meant when you gave me that look," Zhou Henn said, his face expressionless.
Li Qingxian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Just now, Uncle Zhou seemed like he wanted to say more but stopped himself. Did something happen?"
Zhou Henn frowned. "Let me think. First, the casualties in the Patrol Bureau are a huge issue. Arranging for the families and the eventual placement of the bodies is also a problem. Then there’s the fact that while we were away from the Divine Capital, Lord Zhou was enraged that you had run into trouble. He went to Jinluan Hall and personally accused the Ministry of Justice of mismanagement, which angered the Minister of the Ministry of Justice so much he almost came to blows. And also..."
Zhou Henn glanced around and sent a private voice transmission: "Lord Zhou feels that the Emperor dispatching the Internal Factory to act as Military Supervisors everywhere isn’t a good thing. Once the Internal Factory’s Military Supervisors are in every department, how are the Outer Officials supposed to do their jobs? The Eunuchs claim they won’t interfere in politics and will only observe, and the Emperor says he will forever be wise, but as long as they are human, problems will arise."
Li Qingxian nodded lightly.
Zhou Henn thought for another moment before saying, "Right, the Patrol Bureau is short on money."
"What’s going on?" Li Qingxian asked.
"The Patrol Bureau is expanding. The troops, supplies, weapons, and so on that it needs are four or five times what the original Divine Capital Bureau required. Part of it is allocated from above, but the problem is, even if the Emperor issues a Holy Decree, the various departments will make excuses and delay. You should understand how that works," Zhou Henn said.
"Everyone understands that. A county magistrate is no match for the official currently in charge," Li Qingxian said.
"They can only allocate funds in batches. Especially the funds from the Ministry of Revenue—it’s not that they don’t want to give it, it’s that the Ministry of Revenue is truly short on money recently. Lord Zhou had no choice but to borrow from the Night Guard Finance Department. The Guard Commander never offends anyone, so he agreed. But the Disciplinary Officer of the Finance Department, Wei Yong, only paid lip service. Yesterday, he sent over five hundred taels of silver. I almost beat him up when I heard. What good is that little bit of money?"
Li Qingxian thought of Madam Wei’s late-night singing in her bedroom and said, "I suppose I must have really offended Wei Yong. Can’t our Patrol Bureau ask the Internal Factory for money? We’re the ones who have to risk our lives, but they won’t give us a single coin."
Zhou Henn shook his head. "The Internal Factory belongs to the Inner Court. All its expenses are allocated by the Inner Treasury Bureau. Those Eunuchs in the Internal Factory are incredibly arrogant. Why do you think they’re so polite to you? It’s because you’re known for being able to bring in money. But taking the Inner Court’s money to support Outer Officials? Even if the Emperor were willing, the ministers would oppose it. It’s impossible."
"’I think there’s more to it than that,’" Li Qingxian said with a frown.
Zhou Henn gave Li Qingxian a surprised look. "Your brain works pretty well. I didn’t see it at the time, but Lord Zhou said that some Imperial Court officials are using this method to resist the expansion of the Internal Factory and the Patrol Bureau. It’s one of the reasons Wei Yong dared to just go through the motions."
Li Qingxian nodded. "That makes sense. It seems the Internal Factory’s monopoly on power and the establishment of the Patrol Bureau have caused a backlash."
Zhou Henn sighed. "The Patrol Bureau’s original funds were all used to expand its forces, so there wasn’t much to begin with. Now, with so many deaths, the pensions have become a huge shortfall. The Night Guard’s pensions are already high. The Finance Department used to pay for them, and it was rare for so many to die at once. Now that we have to pay it ourselves, how can we possibly afford it?"
"Why not just use the silver I got... uh, no, that won’t work." Li Qingxian stopped mid-sentence as he quickly realized the problem.
"What, you want to throw around tens of thousands of taels of silver in the Night Guard to buy people’s loyalty?" Zhou Henn said.
Li Qingxian shook his head. ’Before, when only a few Night Guards died at Deceit Village, it was normal for me to give some of my own silver coins. But the scale is so much larger this time, I can’t use my personal funds. Every transaction has to be completely above board, or it will become an obvious handle for others to grasp.’
Zhou Henn said, "Lord Zhou said that delaying the pensions wouldn’t be a problem in itself. The problem is that too many people died this time. If the Demon Sect and the Ministry of Justice hold a grudge and send people to stir up trouble, and it disrupts the Holy Emperor’s birthday celebration, what do you think the consequences will be?"
Hearing this, Li Qingxian let out a long sigh. "This official life... it really is just one big pitfall after another."
"Who knows how many hidden schemes are involved that even Lord Zhou can’t see clearly? The Holy Emperor’s birthday is only a few days away. Do you think he’s getting any sleep?" Zhou Henn said.
"Is there really no way to transfer my money to the Patrol Bureau? Not even as a temporary loan?" Li Qingxian asked.
Zhou Henn shook his head. "So many eyes are watching right now. At a time like this, we can’t afford a single mistake. Lord Zhou told you not to show off your wealth because he’s afraid you’ll do something rash."