Let Me Explain, Fairy
Chapter 753 - 472: The Way

Chapter 753: Chapter 472: The Way

Xu Yuan felt somewhat relieved that Xu Xinyao had learned this information within the Prime Minister’s Mansion and had posed this question to him.

Now the question was, how should he rectify his fourth sister’s understanding?

His fourth sister wasn’t wrong; the Prime Minister’s Mansion truly was the instigator of everything.

The situation in the Northern Frontier was a trap set by the Emperor alongside their father, and the Sects were merely retaliating defensively.

With the Imperial Court already unsheathing its sword, one couldn’t expect the Sects to just sit and await their doom, could they?

And the battlefield, it was a human hell where no moral bindings applied.

Upon this reflection, Xu Yuan sighed softly.

He felt that his old dad had set him up.

The documents he had shown to Xu Xinyao were part of it, and as a father, as well as a Prime Minister who plotted the fate of the land, he should have known that Xu Xinyao’s current mental state was very unstable.

His father’s decision to not settle this matter was a clear indication that he was leaving this pit for him, the Third Young Master, to resolve.

Looking at the girl with drooping eyelids, Xu Yuan took a breath and said in a gentle tone,

"Xinyao, look up at me."

Xu Xinyao, having absorbed the information, had already identified their family as the culprits behind everything in the Northern Frontier, something that her character, nurtured from childhood, could not accept.

In such a moment, eye contact was critical, perhaps even more so than words.

In silence,

Xu Xinyao obediently lifted her eyes, the beauty in her gaze shimmering with an elusive watery light.

During their gaze, Xu Yuan posed his first question,

"Do you think our family is the criminal behind the war?"

"Is it not so?" Xu Xinyao bit the corner of her lip.

"Heh..."

Xu Yuan revealed a helpless smile on his lips, his voice low,

"When demands for interests cannot be obtained through negotiation, that’s when force will be brought to the forefront.

"Xinyao,

"What do you think our family hopes to gain from this war?"

Without any hesitation, Xu Xinyao’s hands, clenching her thigh, tightened once more,

"The industries of the Northern Border Sects,

"If I’m not mistaken, under father’s orders, the Black Kirin Army’s directive to safeguard those production facilities would far outweigh protecting the countless common people suffering under the war, right?"

"You’re not wrong, it is indeed so."

Xu Yuan didn’t deny it because his fourth sister’s conjecture was indeed the fact.

As opposed to the Sects’ utmost efforts to wreak havoc, the orders issued from within the Prime Minister’s study did include commands to help the disaster victims, but only under the premise of securing the Sects’ industries first.

The life of man, or rather the lives of ordinary people, was far less significant than the facilities cultivated by the Northern Border Sects over hundreds of years.

Dayan was not short of people; even if all the populace in the Northern Frontier perished, The Imperial Court could use their well-connected official road network to relocate people from other regions, but if those facilities were damaged, it would require hundreds of years to rebuild.

Even more so, Xu Yuan harbored a dark supposition in his heart.

He didn’t want to think this way, but surely the aides of the Prime Minister’s Mansion and the Imperial Family had considered similar malicious plans.

Now, with the Barbarian Tribes of the Extreme Black Lands nearly extinct, the Three Prefectures of the Northern Frontier had become a "safe" area without external threats.

After all Northern Frontier battles had ended, if they moved a large number of people from the Sects’ dominated provinces under the name of the Imperial Court to fill the emptiness in the Northern Frontier, it would be possible to weaken the Sects’ war potential in the upcoming conflicts to some extent.

However, Xu Yuan could not reveal these things to the fourth sister before him.

If she knew, she might just turn dark right then and there.

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Yuan continued,

"So, what does our family want with those industries?"

"...."

That question, Xu Xinyao didn’t answer.

But seeing the girl’s trembling body growing more intense, Xu Yuan knew she already had an answer in her heart.

He spoke softly and hauntingly,

"What you’re thinking is correct, the Three Prefectures of the Northern Frontier need to be fashioned into a great rear area for the upcoming war."

Xu Xinyao’s breath hitched.

She had her suspicions, but could not accept them.

She didn’t understand, couldn’t fathom why her father insisted on waging war, on causing countless lives to suffer and perish.

With a hint of sobbing in her voice, Xu Xinyao looked into Xu Yuan’s calm eyes and cautiously asked,

"Brother... can you... can you try to persuade father?"

"I cannot, and I do not wish to."

Xu Yuan’s voice was soft, but in the silent chamber, it rang in Xu Xinyao’s ears like thunder.

Xu Yuan looked at the girl before him, seeing her clear and appealing eyes gradually become hollow and lifeless.

This look, Xu Yuan vaguely remembered.

In the Cangyuan Chronicles, the fourth sister’s portrait during her dark transformation had exactly this appearance.

Yet his words were not over, Xu Yuan continued calmly,

"Xinyao, why do you think father wants to start a war?"

Xu Xinyao’s expression shifted slightly, she bit her teeth, her voice was light but sounded strained to the point of exhaustion,

"Couldn’t... couldn’t it work to use peaceful means?"

"Bang!"

Xu Yuan suddenly slapped the mahogany desk in front of Xu Xinyao.

A palm print appeared directly on the solid mahogany.

He looked at her and asked,

"When we were in Shengshan County, I should have already discussed this matter with you, haven’t you yet realized this point after that experience?"

The girl seemed startled, shrinking her neck a little, yet her eyes remained defiant.

After a stare-off that lasted several breaths, Xu Yuan suddenly sighed, lifted his hand to rub his forehead, and then chuckled lightly.

Dropping his hand, Xu Yuan’s lips curled into a smile as he humorously asked,

"Neither the Sects nor the Imperial Court will back down, and you’ve seen the demonic calamities and human disasters throughout the land on your travels. Since you think your father is wrong, then how do you think this should be solved?"

The question was sharp, but Xu Xinyao remained unshaken, looking at Xu Yuan with stirring eyes and a firm voice,

"That’s why... that’s why I want to create the Soul Nourishing Ring!"

"....." Xu Yuan.

Xu Yuan was stunned by her words.

For a moment, he couldn’t see the connection between the Soul Nourishing Ring and the world’s demonic calamities and human disasters.

But immediately, his past life’s way of thinking provided an answer.

Energy.

The Soul Nourishing Ring represented a new kind of energy, an invention that could even change the landscape of Dayan.

The martial academies that spread throughout the land had already expanded Dayan’s national strength, and if the technology of the Soul Nourishing Ring matured, all aspects of Dayan’s national strength would leap forward again. By then, the demonic calamities and human disasters could be resolved.

Thinking this, Xu Yuan’s gaze softened slightly as he looked at Xu Xinyao.

It seemed this younger sister had truly found a path different from that of their father, the Prime Minister.

Seeing Xu Yuan’s silence, Xu Xinyao lowered her eyelids and slowly said,

"Brother... when I first traveled the world, Xinyao indeed set out to befriend those offspring of the Sects, attempting to unite their strength to change Dayan."

As she said this, a self-deprecating smile appeared on the girl’s flawless, fair face,

"At first, I thought I was right because those friends were genuinely good people,

"Honorable, kind-hearted, and hating evil as if it were their enemy. I couldn’t believe that they would ultimately turn into selfish wrongdoers.

"But after Shengshan County, I carefully thought about the words you said to me at that time and conducted some tests on those friends.

"And then Xinyao found that, indeed, your words were not wrong....

"Even if they themselves don’t want to become that way, their elders and their positions will force them to do such things.

"Xinyao was too naive....

"People can’t withstand temptation, and they truly do change....

"So, the path I initially insisted on was a dead end, everything in this world revolves around interests, and the vast majority of people also only act for the sake of benefits."

"......"

Xu Yuan listened intently and said nothing.

A sense of relief arose in his heart as he realized that his younger sister’s departure without a word wasn’t out of sheer stubbornness but to verify whether the path she insisted on was correct.

"Brother,

"When I obtained the results of those tests, I was truly lost. I didn’t know what to do next, nor did I know how to help those desperate people."

As she spoke, Xu Xinyao raised her gaze to the window, where the dark clouds had scattered to reveal the full moon hanging in the sky,

"The Formations I’ve learned can save many people, perhaps millions, even tens of millions... but compared to the entirety of Dayan, these people are still too few!

"Even if I spent my whole life, I couldn’t lay out Formations in every corner of Dayan. Not to mention, except for people like the Myriad Manifestation Sect with their ulterior motives, there would be few willing to finance and support me in this endeavor."

"That’s why I bid farewell to those friends, ended my travels, and returned to Di’an, to the Geometry Institute."

"Since interests dictate the immutable law of this world, then I want to use my own method to create something to solve all this."

"...."

The conversation dropped into silence.

Xu Yuan’s calm gaze became complex.

Prejudice indeed was a towering mountain.

In his mind, his younger sister had always been the saintly figure from the Cangyuan Chronicles, who might betray the Prime Minister’s Mansion for the sake of all living beings. But now, he suddenly realized how wrong and far off that preconceived notion was.

She had always been reflecting on herself and seeking a path different from their father’s.

He felt a twinge of shame and clenched his fists slightly tighter.

Xu Xinyao had always been practicing her beliefs and striving to achieve everything she wanted, whereas he had just been going with the flow.

In this matter, the Prime Minister’s Mansion’s fourth young miss was much stronger than him, the Third Young Master.

Xu Yuan opened his mouth but found he had nothing to say.

Because whatever he said would deeply hurt his younger sister.

In Xu Yuan’s complex gaze, the girl lowered her head to look at her own slender and tender palm, her tone firm,

"Brother, Xinyao feels that this is probably the true purpose of the knowledge I’ve learned over these years.

"Even if this thing will be used by the military, even if it will kill countless people on the battlefield, it’s an unavoidable affair.

"After all, even if I don’t let you use it, Master would secretly do it anyway,

"Wouldn’t he?"

As she said this, Xu Xinyao looked again at her silent third brother and suddenly curved her eyes into a smile, her eyes glistening with unshed tears as she held back a sob,

"Brother,

"For this matter... just this one, would you... be willing to help Xinyao?"