Chapter 1387: Are You Right? (Part 2) [Requesting Monthly Tickets]

"Running errands and delivering messages for others."

Wu Xian observed the furnishings in the courtyard without making a sound.

At first glance, it looks very simple, but upon closer inspection, every inch of land is incredibly valuable.

From the outside to the inside, from the beams to the tea table, every piece of stone and wood used was precious. Without deliberate carving or polishing, the overall structure retained its original, rustic charm. Wu Xian cursed inwardly, thinking how the old man knew how to enjoy life, wondering where he got his money from.

Could Wei Lou possibly miss this subtle change in his expression?

"I am, after all, an elder who single-handedly built up the Eternal Life Sect, and I still have some resources. Even if it's not enough, would Shen Youli mistreat me?" Wei Lou had a clear understanding of his and his nephew's destructive power and value. Even though he was still a prisoner in the labor camp, Shen Tang would still have to beg him to behave and not cause trouble everywhere, so how could he make him suffer financial difficulties?

"Your retirement life is quite comfortable."

"You'll have to ask your lord about that."

Local officials would visit and extend their regards to the family during all four seasons and eight festivals.

Whether it was a prefect or a county magistrate, they were always very diligent and hospitable whenever they came. They not only brought rice, flour, cooking oil, cloth, and money, but also cleaned his house thoroughly and prepared a feast before he left. One has to admit, weren't they even more filial and considerate than one's own children?

At first, Wei Lou looked down on this kind of flattery.

However, the misunderstandings from the neighbors could not be overcome.

The common people all believed that these officials were descendants of Wei Lou and his nephew.

Seeing that they had become high-ranking officials and still served their elders so diligently, who wouldn't be envious? Perhaps they wanted to use Wei Lou's connections to get close to the officials, so they were very enthusiastic towards Wei Lou and his nephew—saying things like, "Your son/daughter is so successful, so filial, so considerate, unlike my [unclear]"—extending their own feelings to others, which elderly person doesn't like to hear flattery?

Happiness is something that comes from comparison.

Wei Lou understood the thoughts of these common people perfectly. At first, he didn't explain because he was too lazy to explain. Later, he didn't explain because he wanted to watch the show. Now he still doesn't explain—more or less because these people's praise can indeed make the old man happy.

When he was in a good mood, he was happy to engage with the local officials who took turns visiting him throughout the year, and these officials were all flattered. Most of them did not know the identities of Wei Lou and his nephew; they only knew that these two were troublesome figures whom even the higher-ups had to appease.

Successfully appeasing Wei Lou and his nephew will improve their performance in the Ministry of Personnel's assessment, making it a win-win situation.

Any reasonable request will be met if we have the authority to make the decision.

Fortunately, Wei Lou's needs were not difficult.

It was nothing more than which road nearby was difficult to walk on, which house had a collapsed roof that no one was repairing, which elderly vegetable vendor without children had their stall taken away by a bully, which elderly person was being extorted... After a while, the officials began to realize what was going on.

Therefore, the local government made "treating the elderly well and respecting parents" a key focus of its publicity campaign, encouraging young people to care for their parents. At the same time, it conducted in-depth surveys in the community, registering all the elderly people and giving special attention to the elderly who were still without anyone to take care of them.

In addition, many other benefits are offered.

The elderly usually prepare their funeral clothes and coffins in advance, and the government also covers all the costs for impoverished elderly people. If an elderly person dies peacefully at home, the government will arrange for their body to be buried, and the burial plots are also standardized. Every year during the Qingming and Zhongyuan Festivals, the government will arrange for a unified incense offering.

In other words, the government provides for their afterlife.

Even if you have no children, you don't need to worry about not having enough descendants to carry on the family line.

Upon hearing this news, the elderly people cried out, "You are a just and upright official!"

They wish they could petition together to create a "people's umbrella" for their local officials!

Over time, these elderly people gradually realized that all of this was related to Wei Lou and his nephew. They were extremely grateful to the two uncles and nephews, showering them with flattering words and emotional support.

When they have free time, a group of elderly men and women gather nearby to bask in the sun, knit, play chess, and chat about everyday matters. No matter what their topic starts with, they always end with "Old Wei's children are so filial, he's really lucky."

Wei Lou used his literary skills to heat the tea, and then reached out his hand.

"Where is my letter?"

They really have no sense of propriety.

Wei Lou didn't invite Wu Xian to sit down, so he had to take the initiative himself.

Remove the sealing wax and take the letter paper.

Wei Lou initially thought the letter was written to him by his nephew Wei Cheng, but upon seeing the handwriting, he realized it was from Shen Jun.

Over the years, he had almost no contact with Shen Tang, and any messages he had were relayed through his nephew Wei Cheng—he still harbored some resentment towards her. It wasn't that Wei Lou didn't admire Shen Tang, but rather that admitting to admiring her would make him feel ashamed.

Why did you send this letter today? Does it mean the situation has worsened?

Shen Youli had no choice but to humble herself and beg for help?

He immediately dismissed the idea.

The place where he is now living in seclusion was originally in the Gao Kingdom. Geographically speaking, it is not in the heartland of the Kang Kingdom's vigorous economic development in recent years, but rather closer to the border counties. Any disturbance outside would greatly affect the people, but during Wei Lou's recent trips to the market, the prices of daily necessities have remained almost unchanged.

After reading it quickly, Wei Lou's face was visibly somber.

"Is everything in the letter true?"

Wu Xian told the truth: "I haven't read the letter."

Who knows what was written in the letter?

Wei Lou suppressed the urge to scold the "brute."

He was a scholar with a literary mind, and could not be expected to be intelligent like these brave warriors: "The central branch of the society secretly practices the evil art of immortality."

Wu Xian nodded vigorously: "It's true."

She added an infuriating remark: "However, what I know was told to me by Shen Jun, so asking me is pointless."

If you ask him, he can only say it's true.

Wei Lou: "..."

Wu Xian whispered, "Can humans really live forever?"

Wei Lou sneered, "What kind of daydream are you having?"

Even if they didn't exist, he would kill them with his life! The people in the central branch are really good at hiding things. They were so focused on Shen Youli before that they overlooked these monsters: "Qin Shaoyou is a complete waste. Is his brain reversed? These monsters are right under his nose, and he's only focused on his lover. He deserves to be fooled to death!"

"Qin Shaoyou?"

"A fool who was tricked into dying by a sudden enlightenment."

For the first time, Wei Lou felt it was a good thing the other party died young. If he had lived until now, wouldn't he have been furious? Qin Shaoyou had been suppressed in the Central Continent for many years, his body unable to leave, but his avatar could always travel around. How could he have missed discovering the branch's mess all these years?

Were they so busy enjoying the handsome men and beautiful women that the Qi Kingdom was offering as tribute?

Wu Xian: "..."

Wei Lou crumpled the letter into a ball with one hand and threw it into the brazier.

Wu Xian cautiously probed, "What do you mean, sir?"

Wei Lou readily agreed, "I'll take care of this matter."

It wasn't because of Shen Youli, but because the depraved behavior of the Central Branch had crossed his bottom line. Anyone who crossed his bottom line, let alone these monsters, even his former master, could not be forgiven. He would naturally hold these idiots in the Central Branch hostage for the same reason he had targeted Shen Tang back then.

but--

"Before setting off, I still have some entanglements to resolve."

Wu Xian breathed a sigh of relief: "Of course."

He had expected to face difficulties from Wei Lou, and hadn't even finished rehearsing his response. Wei Lou's initiative to step forward was exactly what he wanted, saving him a lot of trouble. Wu Xian thought the "entanglement" Wei Lou mentioned was something serious, but to his surprise, he simply brought a box of gold and silver to the local government office, and the officials who received the news were terrified.

Wei Lou didn't bother to pay attention to the other party's thoughts.

He threw the box of gold and silver away.

"I'm going out tomorrow. These are for the local elderly folks. Don't mistreat them. I want an exact account book when I get back, detailing everything in here and how much has been spent. Anyone who dares to embezzle even a penny they shouldn't will lose their head, even Shen Youli can't save them!" He said this, leaving the bewildered and trembling officials behind.

The subordinate official asked curiously, "Young man? A descendant of Elder Wei?"

The official glanced sideways at his unintelligent subordinate.

Uncle Wei and his nephew have lived in this area for many years, and their family has never had any descendants. The "younger generation" the other person mentioned naturally refers to the group of elderly people he gets along well with. The elderly are his precious treasures. Indeed, what kind of atmosphere doesn't everyone like?

In fact, Wei Lou's move was completely unnecessary.

Even without his instructions, the officials dared not slack off.

The subordinate official was even more puzzled and said, "Old Wei looks much younger than those old people, so why does he call them 'youngsters'?"

The oldest of those elderly men and women was over eighty years old.

Is Old Wei not over a hundred years old?

"Listen more, observe more, ask less, and do your job."

The subordinate official, feeling rebuffed, slunk away to attend to his work.

Despite being an older scholar, Wei Lou was more decisive and efficient than many young military generals. He arranged everything, met Wu Xian at the appointed time, and used his spiritual powers to travel at breakneck speed, barely touching the ground. His return journey took even less time than Wu Xian's arrival.

Wei Lou was very dissatisfied with Wu Xian's panting and said sarcastically, "Has Shen Youli been raising you like a pig all these years?"

Even pigs can run faster than Wu Xian.

Wu Xian: "..."

Although he has neglected his martial arts skills in recent years and is indeed not as brave as he was in his youth, he is not as incompetent as Wei Lou said, is he? Why does the old man curse so filthyly? He has a thousand grievances in his heart, but dares not utter them.

Wei Lou let out a sneer, his meaning clear without a word.

Upon entering the city, Wu Xian clearly sensed a difference in atmosphere compared to when he set out. Pedestrians hurried along the streets, and soldiers appeared wary. He rode straight to the imperial palace. Wei Lou glanced at the sky in that direction and said calmly, "Shen Jun is not here."

The scent of Shen Tang still lingers in the city.

But one thing is certain: the person has already left.

As expected, the palace was deserted, with only a few palace servants and guards remaining. Not only the palace, but the troops stationed outside the city had also broken camp and disappeared without a trace. Wu Xian wanted to curse at this sight; why didn't they even send someone to inform him before moving on?

That would be unfair to Shen Tang; she had people with her.

Wu Xian learned the whole story from the other side—it all started when Xun Ding led his troops to pay the ransom and bring back the prisoners. As everyone knows, the warring parties agree on a time and place to exchange ransom prisoners, during which the fighting is suspended.

The war will resume once the transaction is completed.

Anyone with a modicum of self-respect wouldn't take advantage of someone in a vulnerable situation.

Leave a way out for others, so you can meet again in the future. If you go too far, you never know when the boomerang might come back to haunt you. This gentleman's agreement has lasted as long as the chaos of the times, and no one has dared to be the first to break it.

But then, a "warrior" was born.

Xun Ding arrived a day ahead of schedule with his troops and ransom money.

On the enemy's side, the leading general had a ferocious face, with a black cloth covering his right eye and several crisscrossing brown scars on his left cheek, resembling centipedes crawling across it, making him someone to be afraid to look at for long. He rode a bull with a single horn, its body covered in thick, impenetrable armor, moving like a small island, its massive size exuding an overwhelming sense of oppression.

In contrast, Xun Ding was rather naive.

The enemy general had an extremely loud voice; one person could create a deafening roar. He asked, "Why is it someone with no hair on their face?"

Xun Ding did not respond to the other party's provocation. For certain reasons, young officials in Kang State did not have the habit of growing beards, and this trend influenced the common people as well. Another reason why Xun Ding did not grow a beard was that his daughter, A Dou, did not like it.

A Dou liked pretty colors.

The beard clearly did not meet her aesthetic standards.

Xun Ding gave his deputy a wink, too lazy to spare any extra glances for the enemy general, and simply signaled for the trade to begin.

In chaotic times, the rule is to hand over the person and pay the ransom in return.

Grain is more precious than money. Among the many conditions the enemy offered, one was that 70% of the ransom must be exchanged for grain—this was one of the main reasons Luan Xin agreed to a 30% premium. Seventy percent of the gold, silver, copper, and iron circulating within Kang Kingdom comes from the three provinces of Wuzhou, Beizhou, and Mozhou; other regions are poor in production. The southwestern continent has only recently been annexed, and the situation within its borders still requires specialized personnel to survey and investigate.

The whole country was so poor that all they had left was food.

The remaining 30% was supplemented with tea, salt, and other ingredients.

These are all things that the Ministry of Revenue can gather in a short period of time.

Xun Ding asked, "Where are our men?"

The enemy general replied: "Don't worry, most of them are alive."

A few died on their way there.

We've all survived chaotic times, so we should understand.

Food was precious; there wasn't enough to supply even their own troops, let alone spare for the prisoners of war. It was a miracle they weren't turned into human meat to stave off hunger. Therefore, no matter which warlord they fought against, becoming a prisoner of war rarely ended well. Before being redeemed, prisoners faced not only arduous physical labor and constant beatings and torture, but also hunger due to a lack of necessities. They died of starvation, disease, exhaustion… silently and without fanfare.

Xun Ding ordered someone to check on the prisoners.

They were all ragged, emaciated, and their eyes were green with hunger. In this cold weather, they had only tattered strips of cloth barely covering their vital parts, and they didn't even have straw sandals. They had walked like this, their soles blistered and bleeding.

It should be noted that the soldiers guarding the several enclaves were not treated as well as the soldiers of the Kang State's direct lineage, but they were not mistreated. They received two sets of winter clothes a year, thick and warm shoes and socks, and their daily food and supplies were not reduced.

These things in front of me—

Xun Ding was furious, but he could only suppress his anger.

The enemy general sent a messenger with a message.

After the people have finished their inspection, it's their turn to inspect the ransom.

Each soldier inspecting the grain had a sampler, and they would poke one or two holes in each bag of grain. The grain that came out was all fine.

The salt blocks and tea cakes are of good quality.

【It's okay, no problem.】

The prisoners moved slowly, even being pushed and shoved, they couldn't keep up with the supply wagons being pushed from the opposite side. The former hadn't even covered half the distance, while the latter only had a quarter of the way left. The enemy general, timing it perfectly, glanced at the opposite side, raised his hand with a cold smile, and then lowered it again: "Eliminate them all."

_(:3」∠)_

I got my hair done today, and my butt hurts from sitting so long.

My hairstyle is so bad I'd want to call the police. How dare they charge me so much money?

(End of this chapter)