Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 191 - 153: The Imperial Court and Sects (Two-in-One) _2

Chapter 191: Chapter 153: The Imperial Court and Sects (Two-in-One) _2

Ran Qingmo silently sat beside him, took down the screen, and gazed into the pitch-black forest with her ethereal beautiful eyes, murmuring:

"Xu Yuan...."

"Hmm?" Xu Yuan replied with a hint of weariness, without opening his eyes.

Ran Qingmo murmured:

"Your sister is actually quite nice."

Xu Yuan said softly:

"How so?"

Ran Qingmo thought for a moment, then said softly:

"I had heard of her reputation during my travels, and before I descended the mountain, my master said I should learn from her."

Hearing this, Xu Yuan said softly:

"Your master seems to be quite a reasonable person."

With that, he curled up the corners of his lips:

"However, the Sect indeed should hope for more people like her in the Imperial Court."

Ran Qingmo thought about it, but couldn’t figure it out and asked:

"Why?"

"Because with more people like her, my father’s plans would face great difficulty, and everyone would live in peace."

"Hmm...."

Ran Qingmo thought about it and asked, "Isn’t living in peace a good thing?"

"Of course, it’s good."

Xu Yuan slowly opened his eyes: "Nobody wants to fight, including my father and others. Those who truly desire war and enjoy it are all madmen."

Ran Qingmo, upon hearing this topic, her eyes flickered, and she asked quietly:

"But... but why did your father take action against the Sword Sect?"

Xu Yuan looked at her beside him, his expression softened somewhat, and he asked softly:

"Ran Qingmo, what do you think... about the Myriad Manifestation Sect’s massacre?"

Ran Qingmo was silent for a few moments and said very seriously:

"Angry."

Xu Yuan smiled faintly and nodded:

"Yes, angry... As long as one is human, one would feel angry seeing such an event. That was four hundred thousand people..."

Having said that,

Xu Yuan paused for two seconds, his tone suddenly shifting, becoming somewhat complex:

"Four hundred thousand people seem like a lot, but in truth, it’s not much at all. The year before last, when the Demonic Beast tide broke through Ziyue County, over three hundred thousand people died. Did you know about that?"

Ran Qingmo honestly shook her head: "I didn’t know."

Xu Yuan continued to ask:

"The year before that, the Demonic Beast tide breached Chengqing County, killing over five hundred thousand people, and the most severe case was nine years ago when Xichen County was breached, nearly two million people died. You didn’t know about these things either, right?"

"..."

Ran Qingmo didn’t speak, just shook her head.

She had not read the court bulletins or the confidential reports, focusing solely on cultivation.

All her information came from her master.

Xu Yuan sighed:

"Four hundred thousand people are just a drop in the ocean for the entirety of Dayan. Because those events I just mentioned, they are exact numbers.

"Along the ten thousand li border of the Wanxing Mountain Range, the number of casualties each year is too hard to calculate, but it’s at least more than a whole Shengshan County.

"Remember, I’m talking about each year."

"......." Ran Qingmo pursed her red lips.

Xu Yuan showed no sign of stopping, raising his hand and pointing towards the northwest and north, his tone weary:

"Ran Qingmo, Dayan’s borders are not just these ten thousand li of the Wanxing Mountain Range. There’s also the Great Desert in the northwest, the frigid lands to the north, ha... Since the official war with the Northern Barbarians began, over five million people have died there, and besides, on the nearly two hundred thousand li of coastal defenses in the east, the coastal raiders continue to wreak havoc."

"The annual casualties in these places, a Shengshan County is really nothing."

Ran Qingmo’s eyes slightly lowered, her voice soft:

"Xu Yuan... do so many people die every year?"

"Recorded in the Prime Minister’s Mansion internal reports."

Xu Yuan sighed again, his tone lingering:

"Moreover, the casualties along the border are just the tip of the iceberg. The real issue lies within the Dayan Territory itself, aside from those seven or eight prosperous regions. You should have seen what the rest of the places look like, and the reason for this is due to the bloodsucking of various Sects leading to the Imperial Court’s financial deficit, rendering local governments incapable of bearing the expenses for demon eradication."

"Of course, from the standpoint of your Sects, it can also be understood as the Imperial Court’s obstinate ignorance, clinging to power without fulfilling their roles, thereby creating this adverse outcome."

"However, no one wishes to see Dayan weakened. After all, only if Dayan prospers can the Imperial Court, the Sects, and the numerous influential families have even greater authority and power."

"......." Ran Qingmo’s chest heaved slightly.

Xu Yuan’s eyes showed a hint of helplessness as he spoke in a soft voice:

"Ran Qingmo, you should now understand why my father wants to make a move against the Tianyuan Sword Sect, right? It’s not that he wants to target the Tianyuan Sword Sect, but rather all the Sects of the world. Your Tianyuan Sword Sect is simply bearing the brunt of it because it stands at the forefront."

Silence ensued, the outside of the cave was deathly still.

After a long time,

Ran Qingmo finally spoke in a low voice:

"Xu Yuan... are you not afraid that I will tell my master and the others about this?"

Xu Yuan raised his hand and flicked her on the forehead.

Ran Qingmo looked puzzled; the flick was neither painful nor itchy.

"....."

Xu Yuan silently withdrew his stinging finger and cleared his throat:

"Cough, except for the last point, the higher-ups of the Sects are all aware of the matters I’ve spoken of.

"As for the final point, no one believed it before, and now if you say it, even fewer will believe it, especially since the news that you’ve been staying with me has probably already spread throughout all the Sects."

The unmistakable black chariot with its entwined dragon, representing the legitimate lineage of the Prime Minister’s Mansion, had been too conspicuous, and Ran Qingmo’s unique attire of black clothing with an Ink Sword had been particularly distinctive. The disciples might not be aware, but the real high-ups certainly knew of the precious apprentice of the old Sword Sect head.

It was like mud in one’s pants, impossible to wash clean.

Ran Qingmo sat quietly beside Xu Yuan, not speaking. After a while, she seemed to realize something was amiss:

"Xu Yuan, if your father intends to do such a thing, why would your sister come to do the opposite?"

"It’s in her nature."

Xu Yuan glanced towards the direction of the cave and responded without hesitation, "She’s too gentle and kind-hearted, always seeking a solution that avoids death, but where in this world can such good fortune exist? When interests are at stake, who would give way?"

With that, both of them fell silent.

Time quietly flowed.

The voice of the Saint’s Remnant Soul suddenly echoed in Xu Yuan’s heart:

"Xu lad, your father is indeed shrewd."

"In what way?" Xu Yuan asked.

The Saint’s Remnant Soul sighed a bit:

"To be honest, I, the old man, don’t know much about the current state of the world, but with your father being a high-ranking official of the Imperial Court clandestinely working to eliminate the Sects, yet letting your sister travel outside, isn’t that completely releasing deceptive goodwill towards the Sects? Combine this with other political maneuvers, and I guess the Sects probably think your Prime Minister’s Mansion is ready to compromise, right?

"Tsk tsk... to strike with a thunderbolt when the Sects believe they are safe from attack. That’s a clever play."

Hearing these words, Xu Yuan felt slightly surprised.

That Old Man Luo could draw such a conclusion with so little information—it seemed that the millennia he lived were not in vain.

However, Xu Yuan simply said softly:

"Old Man Luo, you are mistaken. This is the path Xu Xinyao chose for herself.

"At most, it’s a fortuitous coincidence. But her actions merely serve to embellish my father’s plan."

Over the past decade or so, the Imperial Court’s decrees targeting the Sects amounted to nothing more than thunder without rain.

Even recently, there were rumors around the jurisdictions near Jiangnan of an order allowing local people to govern their own lands.

Such a thing would have been unthinkable a decade earlier.

After all, Xu Yinhè governed for many years, enduring hardships to expunge the influence of the Sects from local governments across Dayan.

Today, the avenues for Sect disciples to become officials in the court have been almost completely cut off. However, recent decrees from the Imperial Court seem to hint at the possibility of reopening this path.

The list of such deceptive orders is endless.

Compared to these confusing policies, Xu Xinyao’s goodwill towards the Sects could really only be seen as icing on the cake.

As he finished speaking, Xu Yuan suddenly realized that enough time had likely passed, and he should go and properly discipline his younger sister, whose thoughts had gone astray.

Standing up slowly, Xu Yuan turned to Ran Qingmo and spoke in a low voice:

"Ran Qingmo, stay here. I have something to discuss with my fourth sister inside."

Ran Qingmo, still pondering Xu Yuan’s previous words, simply nodded gently:

"Mm... alright, I’ll wait for you here."

Seeing her with a slightly furrowed brow, Xu Yuan reached out and ruffled her hair:

"Don’t overthink it, the conflict between the Sects and the Imperial Court is basically irreconcilable. It can only be broken and then established anew."