Chapter Fourteen: The Responsibility One Must Bear

“Before we discuss any deal, I need to understand the whole story,” he said. “Who is that person?”

“Shen Fang, the governor of Zhang Wei.”

Chen Xuan checked on his phone and found that the position roughly corresponded to the mayor of a directly governed city. Meanwhile, Liu Shuyue was directly assigned by the sect as an aide to the king, effectively a deputy national-level figure, with status likely above Shen Fang’s.

“He doesn’t listen to you?”

“He doesn’t need to listen to me, because I never intended to interfere with politics in the first place. At that time, I thought this way I could keep my integrity and not lose my original intention through power. The price, however, was that I had no power.”

Liu Shuyue sipped her coffee, grimacing at the bitterness as usual, but quickly took another large gulp, as if the bitterness had become easier for her to endure. She spoke naturally, without a hint of regret.

In other words, Liu Shuyue was not bothered by her lack of power.

“I just don’t understand… why people cannot learn any lessons from history,” she murmured, staring at her coffee.

It seemed a lot had happened in these five years.

“It’s alright. You can tell me slowly… This shop exists to resolve the confusion and troubles in people’s hearts.”

“I want to explain slowly,” Liu Shuyue shook her head slightly, “but time waits for no one… Every moment of delay could mean more deaths. So I’ll be brief.”

With that, she finished her coffee in one gulp.

Strange… I remember this drink as mostly bitter, but now it seems more sweet than bitter.

Even this young merchant’s face… didn’t look so mercenary anymore.

Had her standards simply lowered?

She paused briefly, then said seriously, “There’s been a great disaster in the western part of Qingzhou. You probably don’t know it, but the city we are in—Zhang Wei—is in Qingzhou. This disaster was caused by a monster called ‘Dark Plague.’ It withers rice fields and destroys all fruit. It’s my duty to slay demons, so I rushed here to eliminate it. But the disaster that has already occurred won’t disappear just because the monster is dead. Because it happened near harvest season, the consequences are especially severe. More than three hundred thousand people have been affected.”

“I came from the west, and all along the way, I saw countless refugees… In such a situation, survival is only possible by fleeing to towns less affected.”

At this point, Liu Shuyue’s expression darkened, as if recalling some unpleasant memory.

“An actual famine…”

Chen Xuan knew that among these refugees, there were certainly no wealthy landowners or government beneficiaries, who would have ample grain reserves or could afford to buy at high prices.

When famine comes, it is the ordinary people with no grain or money who truly suffer—they have no resilience and cannot endure the soaring food prices for long, so fleeing is almost the only option.

The problem was that Governor Shen refused to let these refugees into the city, and also refused to disperse them to other towns.

His only current response was to distribute relief porridge outside the city gates.

Such rations might suffice for a thousand people, but for six or seven thousand, it was negligible—especially as more refugees were sure to arrive.

Liu Shuyue’s proposals were quite “progressive”: first, issuing official bonds; second, implementing work-for-relief programs.

The bonds would be bought by the gentry and wealthy households, and the funds and grain raised would be used for relief, easing the government’s financial burden. The work-for-relief system would prevent people from receiving free handouts and could be used to strengthen construction in Zhang Wei city. As long as relief funds and grain arrived from other regions, the problem would be solved.

Hearing this, Chen Xuan couldn’t help but smile knowingly.

Both suggestions clearly came from Liu Shuyue’s extensive knowledge of history and experience with disasters. This combination was nearly the optimal solution.

“So the argument I overheard earlier was about your proposal?”

“Yes, and he rejected it,” Liu Shuyue sighed. “I can guess what he’s thinking… As long as the king doesn’t issue orders, he follows regulations. Doing extra is risky and may lead to mistakes. Besides, grain prices haven’t peaked yet, and the refugees still have some money. Taking grain from wealthy households to fund relief would antagonize them—why bother?”

“So he told me that relief dispatches have been sent urgently over 800 miles to the royal capital, and other towns are gathering supplies to support here. There’s no need for extra measures. My job is to soothe the people to prevent panic from rapid price increases.”

Chen Xuan heard her sneer for the first time.

“I'm afraid to Governor Shen, those refugees outside are no longer ‘people.’ There are six or seven thousand now, but what about when it’s ten thousand, twenty thousand, or hundreds of thousands? This isn’t the first time famine has struck Qingzhou. History records riots where starving people seized cities and plundered. Isn’t he afraid of a repeat?”

“Because he really has a ‘bull’,” she said.

“What kind of metaphor is that…” Liu Shuyue’s face turned solemn. “I can’t let things continue… Many will die. I must admit, meeting you was a stroke of luck. I want to exchange for an ability—one that can solve the current problem.”

Chen Xuan nodded but didn’t answer immediately.

“I know this request is extremely unreasonable. Only the Lotus Cloud Sect could properly handle this, but they won’t interfere in the mortal world. If there’s any other chance for aid, this shop is the only place I can think of.”

She stood up, clasped her fists in salute. “In exchange, I will offer a top-tier ability!”

Seeing he remained silent for a long time, Liu Shuyue’s eyes lowered. “I was presumptuous. Such an extraordinary ability probably doesn’t exist—”

“Who says it doesn’t?” Chen Xuan interrupted suddenly. “As long as the customer has a need, this shop can satisfy it.”

Her eyes brightened.

“But first, I need to ask you some questions…” He gestured for her to sit again. “If I recall correctly, sect disciples aren’t responsible for disaster relief. A monster-caused disaster isn’t your fault, so even if you ignore the refugees, no one would blame you. Relief is the government’s duty, and if you intervene, you will face many obstacles. This might contradict your principle of avoiding politics. Are you sure you need to take this step?”

Liu Shuyue studied him for a long moment, then shook her head and spoke gravely, “Not long ago, I thought the same.”

“Not long ago?”

“When I cut off the Dark Plague’s head, it was about last week. The monster was dead, and my task accomplished… I should have moved on to other towns to handle the next problem. After all, there are many places with monsters, and only sect disciples are skilled at dealing with such trouble.”

Chen Xuan nodded in agreement; this was the Lotus Cloud Sect’s way—the officials handle relief, but few can slay demons.

As the saying goes, each has their specialty, and Liu Shuyue certainly understood this.

“But on my way back to Zhang Wei, I saw something that changed my mind.”

“What did you see?” Chen Xuan asked curiously.

She closed her eyes, recalling the scene. “I passed a ruined temple in a wasteland and saw smoke rising from its roof. Even from a hundred paces away, I could smell the aroma of stewed meat. There’s no village or town nearby, nor is it a hunting ground—where could the meat come from? I could only think of one possibility… someone had crossed the line and become a cannibal.”

“So I drew my sword and entered the temple. Once people sink to the point of preying on human lives, they can no longer be considered ordinary refugees.”

Chen Xuan was silent.

He had thought the famine wasn’t that severe yet, since grain prices hadn’t peaked and Zhang Wei wasn’t at the disaster’s core. But now he realized that while central Qingzhou remained stable, the western region must be far worse.

“In the end, I did see a band of vicious robbers, no different from the bandits in the mountains or forests. They divided stolen goods and chopped their victims to throw into the pot. The only difference was these bandits were skinny children, the oldest no more than thirteen or fourteen.”

“Children?” Chen Xuan frowned. “Could they really do that?”

“Ordinary people couldn’t fight back, so their targets were clear— their own parents,” Liu Shuyue’s voice grew heavy. “Patricide and matricide are forbidden by heaven and earth. Facing such beasts, I showed no mercy. But when I moved to eliminate them, one girl rushed out, yelling about what crime they had committed. Were they supposed to obediently die and become their parents’ food?”

She opened her eyes, staring at Chen Xuan as if lost in thought. “Later I realized their parents had already treated them as lifesaving food—whether sold to others or eaten themselves, they were just food. But some adults didn’t expect the food would bite back.”

“So, did you spare them in the end?”

“No, I killed them all,” Liu Shuyue replied. “Among the remains of the dead were other children of the same age. They were killed because they refused to harm their own parents. If I let them go, wouldn’t that be the greatest injustice to those unwilling to join the criminals? Besides, these monsters have tasted power; they will only become worse, sliding deeper into hell. It made me wonder—what’s the difference between them and the monsters?”

“On the surface, they’re the same… both eat humans and worsen the world’s collapse. But before the famine, they were ordinary people. So this is my answer…”

Liu Shuyue paused. “If I stood by and did nothing, before the disaster eased, many would follow that path—from human to monster. Then I would have no choice but to slay them one by one. But if I could resolve the famine, couldn’t I achieve the same goal of slaying demons without unnecessary bloodshed?”

“That’s why I chose to stay in Zhang Wei, even if it contradicts my former principles. But I’m certain this is still slaying demons—it’s the duty of a sect disciple.”