91: Chapter 90 Different Choices 91: Chapter 90 Different Choices After applying the medicinal paste, Hou Niao came to know all his senior brothers in the town government in this manner.
Yao He suddenly became talkative, and Hou Niao knew it wasn’t because he felt relaxed after the medicine had been applied, but because his slap had hit right where Yao He itched.
It was a very strange pattern…
Yinling was a town with very little presence economically speaking for the entire province; yet, it was a special place for those who viewed danger as a tribulation.
“In Yinling, a total of fifteen Quanzhen disciples are stationed, including two from the Bridge Connection Realm, five from the Grain Avoidance Realm, and eight from the Essence Building Realm; we are here solely to eliminate demons and ghosts.
Civil affairs are left to the influence of clans, this is the grand strategy within our sect, and also a choice made out of necessity.”
Hou Niao nodded, “I’ve noticed that the people here do not revere us as much as they do in other places.”
In Yao He’s room, this senior brother poured him a cup of the local liquor, “Try this local brew, food supplies are not a problem here, and transportation is rather difficult.
Since food cannot be preserved long-term, the only option is to make liquor.
The various fine wines brewed by the Fang Family’s Castle are famous here, and even people from other towns often come to buy them.
You must admit, transporting this is much easier than transporting food.”
Hou Niao said with a smile, “I heard the demons and ghosts of Yinling also like to drink liquor?”
Yao He shrugged helplessly with a wry smile, “No helping it, it’s the local specialty.
After a few hundred years, Yinling has gained another nickname, ‘Liquor Tomb’.”
Yao He himself was a drinker, pouring and drinking his own liquor, “The strength allocation in various towns under Tianfeng Plain is very thoughtful and not a haphazard decision made on a whim; for example, in a chaotic place like Yinling, they do not station a Tongxuan uncle, the highest being Bridge Connection, but in the neighboring town Miao Gao, there is a Tongxuan uncle.
Do you know why that is?”
Hou Niao thought for a moment, “Is it to nurture demons for strength?”
Yao He laughed and pointed at him, “That’s a pretty good idea, similar to what the senior experts of the Quanzhen Sect think.
Leaving a few places in a large province as training grounds for the newcomers, and then arranging stronger forces around to balance the power, is an exquisite method for a power to maintain its survival.
However, on the Jinxiu Continent, such an idea is too idealistic and somewhat taken for granted.”
Seeing Hou Niao’s puzzled look, Yao He poured himself another cup.
“The premise of doing this is that humans have complete control!
If not, it becomes a joke; like in Yinling, the Jin City Quanzhen branch also doesn’t have the strength to sweep through in one go, resulting in just borrowing the strategies of the seniors from the sect, letting things slide by and getting by.
To put it bluntly, it’s just decay.”
Hou Niao was at a loss for words.
He felt that it wasn’t just the Quanzhen Sect that had decayed; the Anhe Daoist Sect was the same.
Back in his hometown of Guangchuan Continent, with water demons rampant, wasn’t the sect also primarily conciliatory, stepping back to compromise?
“Over time, Yinling has become a place of exile and punishment, no longer the bustling place where ambitious people once flocked.
Now, the people who come here are of mixed identities, with various motives, and it’s a place filled with both fish and dragons.
The two Bridge Connection brothers, one serves as the Town Government Envoy, stationed at the Fang Family’s Castle overseeing the entire territory; the other serves as Patrol Envoy, patrolling and protecting over a hundred villages and fortresses in Yinling, each with their own responsibilities, supporting each other.”
Hou Niao then asked, “This method is not bad, but I fear there are no better options in a place like Yinling where clan influence is strong, right?”
Yao He hummed, “The method is certainly good, but it also requires a resolute determination to enforce it!
If everyone slacks off, with those above ignoring the issues and those below going through the motions, even the best methods are wasted.
Just like the current situation in Yinling, the cozy relationship between the Town Government and the Patrol envoys no longer exists.
Everyone is doing their own thing; they’ve become complete strangers…”
Now the Town Government Envoy simply prefers to reside in the Fang Family’s Castle, focusing on his own cultivation, rarely venturing out, and viewing the civilian affairs of Yinling as a burden.
As a result, the few occasions he takes action end in outcomes like we see now,
You’ve seen it yourself, the people lying here all belong to the Town Government Envoy’s lineage, including the Envoy himself—a total of seven people.
Having grown accustomed to living like lords within the fortress, for reasons unknown, they suddenly decided to go out and flex their might, and well…”
Hou Niao fell silent, “Neglecting the battlefield for too long, is this an excess born from cultivating too much vigor and storing too much energy, resulting in overflow?”
He swirled the now-empty wine bottle and pulled out another from his gourd, “The other group is the Patrol faction, also known as the Venerable Respect Sect; they don’t stick to fortresses or seek comfort.
They spend most of their term patrolling within Yinling, hunting Soul Ghosts and demons, protecting small settlements.
Most of them, during their three-year term, don’t even return to the Fang Family’s Castle once as a definitive statement!
The high danger and mortality rates associated with the positions in Yinling actually refer to this Patrol faction,
They are the true Guardians of Yinling, incomparable to the waste staying behind in the castle.”
Hou Niao shrewdly caught the implication in his words, “Elder Yao, were you also on Patrol?
Then why have you come back here?”
Yao He drank a big gulp of wine, “You think I wanted to come back?
The Town Government faction has made a fool of themselves this time, every one of them wounded, their combat power non-existent, with the Fang Family’s Castle left vulnerable, and unusual creatures outside becoming restless… Guo, the Town Government Envoy, worried about a major upheaval, so he sought help from the Patrol envoys, calling back all Quanzhen patrollers to support the Fang Family’s Castle.
Since I was close by, I didn’t expect to return and end up on this medicine-applying errand.
Hou Niao couldn’t help but remind him, “Elder brother, the one who is unlucky is me!”
Yao He chuckled, “You’re a novice, so bear with it.
But within these two or three days, when everyone has dealt with their current issues, they’ll likely return.
By then, with Elder Xiang in charge of the coordination, you certainly won’t be as stifled as these good-for-nothings.”
The two talked at length, and Hou Niao finally gained a general understanding of the situation in Yinling.
Yet, there were two points he felt were crucial and had to be clarified,
“Elder Yao, do the people of the Fang Family’s Castle feel some… resistance or dissatisfaction towards our Quanzhen Sect?
Has this been the case for a long time, or is it something recent?”
Yao He sighed and offered a wry smile, “You’ve been to the Fang Family’s Castle; you should have a sense of the people’s temperaments here, right?
To survive in such chaotic times, they must possess extraordinary qualities; their clan is tenacious and warlike, naturally not as servile as ordinary mortals elsewhere.
But to say they bear malice towards the Quanzhen Sect, that’s not true; it’s just that something recent has happened, which has further lowered the Quanzhen cultivators in the eyes of the Fang Family’s Castle…”
Yao He seemed hesitant to continue but decided to speak truthfully after pondering a moment, “Junior brother is not an outsider.
You’ll be here for three more years, and some things you can’t be kept in the dark about.
It’s better to know sooner rather than later, to avoid confusion down the line.
That Qian Chong, he had a penchant for indulging in pleasures, seldom seen eliminating demons, yet he never shied away from dirty, clandestine actions, taking advantage of his identity as a disciple of the Quanzhen Sect; he gathered some naive young girls in the Fang Family’s Castle for his own amusement and pleasure, and with this, he connected with all kinds of unsavory characters…
Not long ago, he was caught red-handed by the people of the Fang Family’s Castle, which led to a public outcry.
Consequently, we Quanzhen disciples have all lost face here… Given the prestige of the Quanzhen Sect, they dared not do anything to Qian Chong, but the relationship has turned quite awkward.
So that slap you delivered was very satisfying.
Just for that, you are my brother!”