Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 193 - 154: Ideals (Two-in-One) _2

Chapter 193: Chapter 154: Ideals (Two-in-One) _2

"I know that’s not what you mean."

Xu Yuan leaned his head against the cold stone wall and said, "Actually, I think you should be glad you left early. If you had completed the Formation and then left, you wouldn’t return to Shengshan County, and the Myriad Manifestation Sect would probably require a long time to study and modify your Grand Illusory Fog Formation. It might take several months, or perhaps a year. By that time, I definitely won’t still be here in Shengshan County. If it turns out that way, then Shengshan County would truly be beyond salvation."

He paused, glancing casually toward the direction of Shengshan County:

"Did you learn this Grand Illusory Fog Formation from Jiang He?"

"I figured it out on my own."

"...."

Hearing this, Xu Yuan lifted his hand and patted Xiao Si’s frail shoulder:

"Not bad, very impressive. If the Myriad Manifestation Sect really creates their Ghost Mist, every year during the spring tide, the Demonic Beasts will come charging on their own accord, completely saving the Sect the trouble of capturing nourishment for the Ghost Mist. That’s just too incredible."

As she stood beside him, Xu Xinyao’s hurt was pierced by the sharp words of her third brother. Clasping her shoulders, she trembled slightly:

"I... I just wanted to help them."

Xu Yuan extended a finger and tapped her forehead:

"Your intention to save them is good. You were just taken advantage of this time. I didn’t hit you for that. Father exhausted his life trying to change this world, yet you ended up playing house with a bunch of inferior goods from the Sects, that’s why I hit you earlier."

"It’s not...."

"What?"

Xu Xinyao raised her eyes to look at Xu Yuan, her gentle eyes brimming with determination:

"It’s not playing house. Father’s method will cause the death of many, many people."

Xu Yuan sighed, "Can’t you stop being so naive? How many people can you save by traveling the world? A million? The most you can do in a lifetime is ten million, but right now in Dayan, how many people die unnatural deaths every year? I believe you should have seen it, right? As long as you want to know, Father would not stop you from understanding. Xiao Si, you’re not foolish; on the contrary, you’re quite smart, and I believe you should be able to see what’s causing the current situation."

Xu Xinyao sniffled, "I’m trying to change these things."

Xu Yuan glanced at her:

"With your version of playing house?"

"It’s not playing house!"

"....."

After a brief silence,

Xu Yuan rubbed his cheek and let out a long breath, "Fine, it’s not playing house. You think Father’s way doesn’t work, so tell me, what is your way?"

Her chest heaved slightly as Xu Xinyao spoke quickly in a low voice:

"I have been to many places. The Daying Continent is peaceful..."

"Daying Continent?"

Xu Yuan murmured, interrupting before asking:

"Do you want to implement the model of the Daying Continent throughout all of Dayan?"

Xu Xinyao nodded:

"Pretty much, but it won’t be a complete copy."

Laughing at her response, Xu Yuan said:

"Judging from the matter of Shengshan County, your methods of helping the people aren’t bad, knowing to bind interests rather than naively relying on the goodwill in the hearts of Sect members. But why do you start having wild and whimsical ideas when it comes to matters like these?

"The reason Daying Continent can enjoy peace and calm is largely due to the annual tributes from the Tian Master’s Sect, which give the local officials sufficient silver to eliminate Demonic Beasts and carry out other activities beneficial to the livelihood of the people. This prosperity is entirely dependent on a single thought from the Sects."

Shaking her head, Xu Xinyao replied:

"Big brother, as you’ve seen earlier, those who follow me are the offspring of high-ranking members of the Sects. Throughout our travels, they’ve all harbored good intentions. As long as our Prime Minister’s Mansion supports them to rise to power, it can greatly resolve the current situation. Plus, it doesn’t have to be the only way. We can also replicate what’s happening in Jiangnan, tightly binding the interests of the Sects and the locals."

"......"

After listening intently, Xu Yuan, slightly contemplative, lifted two fingers:

"Two problems."

"You may ask, third brother." Xu Xinyao nodded slightly.

Xu Yuan withdrew one finger:

"First, I won’t doubt your judgment of character, but have you considered that people can change?"

Confidently, Xu Xinyao responded:

"They are all my hand-picked choices. I know their temperaments very well after such a long time together. Even if they have to harm their own interests, they would still do things along the way that we find meaningful. The dozen or so who returned to their Sects in secret are also seeking others like us."

Seeing the light in her beautiful eyes, Xu Yuan’s gaze was tinged with complexity:

"Then let me change the question. Did you ever think that I would change so much?"

"...."

Xu Xinyao’s beautiful eyes flickered with hesitation as she said softly:

"I... thought about it."

Xu Yuan said in a low voice:

"It’s not just that you thought about it; you were hoping for it, right?"

"...."

Silence.

Xu Yuan sighed and continued meticulously:

"Little Fourth, even if we don’t use me as an example, it still wouldn’t work.

"Right now you might indeed be full of passion, wanting to change some things, but what about later?

"Just because it doesn’t change now doesn’t mean it won’t change later. Given the current situation in the world, your plan would have to last at least ten years, twenty years, or even fifty years. This time is much too long. So many wise monarchs in history were diligent in their early reigns, but ended up indulging in pleasure-seeking in their later years.

"Reality is far more complex than what I’ve said; many things can’t be clarified in just a sentence or two.

"Even if everything goes smoothly, when those you speak of truly gain power, can you stay by their side to influence them forever? Decades of separation from one another, family members, friends, disciples—they all will constantly affect their decisions. How can you be sure that after several decades, they will still be the people you know now?"

"....."

Xu Xinyao fell into a long silence before she rebutted in a low voice:

"What about Father then? Hasn’t Father remained unchanged?"

Xu Yuan shook his head:

"It’s true that Father has strived for the land of Dayan with unwavering dedication for decades, but the reasons supporting him to continue doing these things now might be entirely different from his original intentions decades ago.

"Mother likely died because of this, and perhaps my older brother as well, and this is just within our family. The friends and subordinates that Father has made throughout his life who have died are even more numerous; these are the reasons for him to carry on with this affair."

As he spoke, Xu Yuan held up a second finger:

"As for your idea of binding the interests of the common people and the Sects like in Jiangnan..."

He sighed and continued:

"Indeed, that area is very safe and prosperous, but do you know? This prosperity comes at the cost of the exhaustion of the Imperial Court. The local government offices in Jiangnan are nearly hollowed out by these Sects, and they’re almost turning into the Sects’ strongholds. The ones who attacked me before were related to the Tianyu Sect from Jiangnan. And the result? Even though Father knew this, he only found a group of scapegoats with opposing political views to kill for show, one of the reasons being that the Imperial Court’s reach is nearly insufficient to extend there."

After these words, there was a long silence.

In the dimly lit corridor, Xu Yuan looked at the girl beside him:

"Do you still insist on what you believe in now?"

The clouds of her hair parted, and the three thousand black strands fell in front of her chest. Xu Xinyao said softly:

"But if I don’t try, how would I know it won’t work?"

"......"

Xu Yuan took a deep breath, his gaze growing slightly colder:

"Xu Xinyao, I’ve spoken quite euphemistically about many things..."

"Big brother, I understand, but....."

"You understand nothing!"

Xu Yuan interrupted sternly:

"One must pursue ideals realistically,

"Do you think that the Sects are like our Prime Minister’s Mansion? Father issues an order and the people below begin to act. These Sects are not dictatorships; they are interwoven with various longstanding family powers. Under the Sects, there are the respected families, and within these families, there are the main and collateral branches, and even further divided, the main branch might have internal strife among different houses. If you want to establish a dictatorship, you would have to climb up and clear them all out, and if you’re not careful, you could easily provoke a backlash. Who do you think has such means?

"In terms of just means, amongst the people I know now, likely only Father has them, but do you think any of those ’friends’ of yours are like Father?"

"If you don’t believe me, just take our Prime Minister’s Mansion as an example. Our family’s situation is simple; Mother’s collateral relatives have already been dealt with by Father and can’t cause trouble, and my older brother has also passed away. Now there’s only you, me, and Xu Changge left. If you remove me, it’s just you and Xu Changge. Do you think you could wrestle with Xu Changge?!"

In Xu Xinyao’s eyes, a trace of mist formed: "Big brother, I had no intention to fight....."

In the dark passageway, Xu Yuan exhaled a deep breath, looked into her eyes, and said slowly:

"Xu Xinyao,

"Though you haven’t said much, I roughly understand your thoughts.

"You can continue to pursue your ideals in your own way, and you can also continue to do what you think is right.

"But if you dare to commit an act of betrayal against our family because of these pursuits of yours, Xu Changge may be unwilling to lay a hand on you, but I will not hesitate."