Could it be that I am the cruel villain?
Chapter 322 - 211: I Knew Nothing Good Would Come from Working with You

"Personally make a trip to the State City and report the situation of Shuipang County and the surrounding county towns to the local governor, requesting that the governor promptly dispatch people to handle it."

"Or obtain his written order; considering the standing of Purple Cloud Palace, they should approve. Most of the Royal Family usually clear things in advance; typically, when Sect Disciples descend from the mountain to slay demons, they are given convenience."

"Before this, we need to keep an eye on them, and simply prevent the demon monk from harming people. The journey isn’t far; traveling back and forth overnight, it will take at most two days. What do you all think?"

Expectedly.

Jiang Feng was calm as usual. Having known Yan Fengchun for so long, he understood the Young Prince like the back of his hand, including his personality, so nothing came as a surprise.

Lu Luo visibly froze for a moment, her expression somewhat odd, since in her view, this was definitely not the best choice given Yan Fengchun’s knowledge and insight...

"Ah, I see."

Having realized this, she looked at Jiang Feng, the two exchanged glances, and wisely neither spoke, neither agreeing nor objecting.

"I think it’s inappropriate; Brother Yan acts too hesitantly. By the time you bring the governor here, I fear there will hardly be any survivors left in this town. If you ask me, we should ’act first and report later’, kill them and then it’s done."

As expected, Wang Yong cast a dissenting vote.

Furrowing his brows, you could see the stark differences in perspective and personality from here; Wang Yong was a typical radical.

He believed that as a Sect Disciple, slaying demons and eliminating those who abetted tyranny was their duty. With the night full of dreams, the sooner those villains are punished, the more the safety of the local populace is ensured; better to wrongly kill than let go, that was his principle in handling affairs.

Moreover, none of the County Magistrates and local high officials were clean, influenced by Jin Shan or not, it was because you local officials failed to discern people, and even if you aren’t executed for accountability, you’ll likely spend your life in prison.

Whether to leave it to the officials or to act himself, there was not much difference, just needing to clarify the situation with local officials afterwards. If I, a cultivator, need to account for the mood of officials to slay demons, what is the point of my cultivation?

But Yan Fengchun was different, don’t forget his identity.

Because of his royal background, he was a typical conservative, a rightful scion of the Royal Family, where following "rules" was deemed more important than life itself.

His family was the very setter of these "rules"; is there any need for a rule that even oneself cannot adhere to?

Of course not.

His principle was to fulfill his duties without overstepping, but not to ignore the plight of the local populace. Thus, one should choose to personally visit the State City, meet the governor, clarify all evidence and situation, and let the local officials handle it.

Yan Fengchun didn’t think he had the right to take lives casually, especially when there was no clear evidence at hand, even if there was an abetting to tyranny, it shouldn’t be their role to kill these commoners.

As one who cultivates, following rules is necessary; being from the Royal Family, he grew up ingrained with this idea, and as the Young Prince, he had dealt with many cultivators who recklessly took lives because of their decent cultivation.

Thus, he was extremely averse to this.

"No, the true nature of the matter remains unknown; it is too rash to judge and take lives based only on one side of the story. How different would that be from those demons?"

"That’s why innocent people have been killed; how many have died in these past six months? Moreover, it’s not just Shuipang County that’s been afflicted, several nearby cities have been plagued, and if you don’t eradicate them completely, these officials will continue to invite demons afterward!"

"As I said, we cannot reach a definitive conclusion on this matter yet..."

The two argued incessantly about this.

It wasn’t that they had a bad relationship; being personally invited by Yan Fengchun to join this demon-slaying mission, both their capabilities and moral character were surely adequate, but their ideologies indeed clashed.

However, while the two were disputing, Jiang Feng and Lu Luo, somehow, had already taken two small stools and found a sunny spot to sit right down.

Even Lu Luo, yawning lazily, propped her cheek with her hand, clearly enjoying the show. The two continued to argue without resolution, while this couple, disguised as husband and wife, also started their intermittent conversation.

"The two youngsters are still arguing, so, does our Young Master Jiang not plan to give them any pointers?"

Leaning back and twisting his neck, there was a slight pain. Rather than dealing with murder and arson, handling cases involving many people caused the most headaches for these cultivators.

He shook his head helplessly.

"What qualifications or capabilities do I have to interfere in their matters? Don’t forget, we’re only enforcers. This task was obtained by Yan Fengchun through his capabilities and connections. How to proceed is for him to decide."

"Huh?" Suddenly straightening his spine, he stared at Jiang Feng with an expression as if seeing a demon, unbelievably asking, "Have you changed your nature? With your temperament, you’re not planning to meddle?"

"You’re not planning to fan the flames? To instigate conflict between the two? To make them, as fellow disciples, turn on each other? And then by the way stir up conflicts between Lan Zhu and Zhu Ming’s peaks?"

"In the end, causing both Peak Masters to fight fiercely, leading the whole sect into catastrophe..."

Shaking her head, Lu Luo was just enjoying the chaos without worrying about it getting out of control, especially since from her tone you couldn’t tell if she was joking or serious.

The comment almost choked Jiang Feng, but he patiently explained, "I refrain from interfering because I know the outcome."

"Don’t mind their current arguing, but in the end, I can assure you it’ll be up to Yan Fengchun."

Her expression showed some surprise, as normally the elder would be the decisive one at times like this, but she didn’t speak, her eyes showing keen interest.

"I understand that boy’s character well, he’s principled, upright, careful, and scrupulous, especially as he is a descendant of the Royal Family. In his eyes, the law and rules are paramount; just put yourself in his place, and you can understand why he would be so opposed."

"From our cultivators’ perspective, naturally, we act for our own convenience, but don’t forget, after we deal with the Evil Spirits, it’s always the local authorities who have to clean up after us."

"Once or twice could be fine, but repeated occurrences inevitably lead to annoyance. In the wilderness, no one minds, but if it happens within a city, even with legitimate reasons, the negative impacts could provoke widespread panic among the citizens."

Listening and nodding, Jiang Feng usually played and joked, but once serious, he was indeed very reliable. Then she casually asked back: "What do you think Yan Fengchun will ultimately do?"

"Let me think..."

Rubbing his chin, they almost simultaneously voiced similar ideas.

"Acting separately, one responsible for monitoring the mountain entrance, using Arrays to prevent locals from mistakenly entering the Golden Light Longevity Temple, ensuring others’ safety."

"One responsible for heading to the State City to contact the governor to clarify matters, and then decide how to deal with these local officials, at most taking two days for a round trip."

"The other two will monitor Shuipang County and the nearby State City to prevent other locals from being misled. If those officers still attempt to lead people into the mountains to die, then they have a legitimate reason."

"In a clear and unheeded situation, directly executing them at the mountain base won’t cause an uprising."

"And if I’m not mistaken, the one responsible for guarding at the mountain base should be..."

"Mr. Jiang! Mr. Jiang!" Before he could finish, Yan Fengchun approached him.

Nearby, the disagreement between the two had been resolved, Wang Yong looked somewhat helpless but appeared to have been persuaded. Yan Fengchun greeted them with clasped hands, looking quite polite.

"Both of you, I have thought this through clearly. I am going now to the State City. I know the local governor, and my family also has some connections. It is most appropriate for me to go."

As expected.

"Wang might handle and aid in securing the city along with... Lu Luo, I’ve inquired about the nearby State Cities, all lie along this mountain range, if you two could guard one south and one north, it would prevent other villains from harming the local people."

Quite reasonable.

Lu Luo certainly needs to be separated from Wang Yong, the farther the better. After all, someone just had their life force sucked out nearly half to death; if not separated, there is fear they might fight.

"Mr. Jiang, the task of guarding the Golden Light Longevity Temple, I’ll leave to you."

"...I knew going out on tasks with you, kid, would be no good ending."