Chapter 504: Chapter 500: Distinction

October 13th

The once lively and full-of-spirit face of Cui Dayou was now showing signs of exhaustion. The past thirteen days of relentless journey had left him almost utterly drained. Meanwhile, Tang Luo and the four formidable warriors of the Fierce Realm looked as energetic as ever, especially after returning to the territory of Xiling, even the typically unexpressive Du Sha had a hint of a smile in his eyes.

The journey that was initially planned to last at least twenty days had only taken them thirteen days due to their non-stop traveling day and night. Tang Luo, very pleased with this, said to Cui Dayou, “Much of the smoothness of our journey is due to your meticulous planning. Since we are back in the territory of Xihng, your task is now successfully completed. You can return to North Mountain to report back. Along the way, there are two other things you can help me with.”

As soon as the word ‘task’ was brought up, Cui Dayou drew strength from his fatigue and responded, “Please give your instructions, Minister Luo.”

“Don’t worry; these are just two simple tasks.” Tang Luo chuckled and continued, “The first task is to deliver the beast imprint of the Explosive Flame Deer to my younger brother at North Mountain Academy on my behalf. The second task is to find someone to inform Shopkeeper Hua to head to Red Cloud Mountain’s main peak, a land of the Du Clan.”

At the start of the year, Tang Luo had given up sleeping, and thus a continuous thirteen-day journey hadn’t been a problem for him. He could rest at any moment by meditating on the back of the Sky-piercing Beast, restoring all his energy. However, Cui Dayou, being just a merchant shopkeeper, hadn’t gone through this level of rigorous training. Despite the ever-faithful shopkeeper forcing his eyes to stay open, Tang Luo had noticed that Cui Dayou’s mental state was nearing its limit. As a result, he decided to let him return and rest.

As you command,” Cui Dayou replied, secretly relieved. To be honest, he now felt as if his head was about to burst from his overwhelming fatigue, and his eyelids felt as heavy as a ton. He wouldn’t refuse if Tang Luo were to give him another task, but he felt unsure whether he could carry it out properly.

The fact that he only had two simple errands to run, both of which happened to be on the way back, made him feel euphoric. As soon as he thought of lying on his own big bed again, his spirit immediately lifted, counteracting the fatigue. Tang Luo nodded and said, “Then, Shopkeeper Cui, we part ways here.”

The six people who entered the territory of Xiling then split up at the border, with one light going northwards while the remaining five headed eastwards.

Not long after, Tang Luo’s team was already near the boundary of Red Cloud Mountain, and the smile on the face of the prodigiously gifted man suddenly vanished, casting a cold atmosphere over the group.

The four martial artists of the Du clan exchanged glances. On the side, Du Ting quietly asked, “Tian Jiao, what’s the matter?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Tang Luo said, poker-faced.

He had thought that returning seven days earlier than expected would allow him to smoothly take over the task of disaster relief, but with his exceptional sense of hearing, he could hear the loud noise coming from Red Cloud Mountain even while being several miles away. Amongst the chaotic information, he could pick up the grumbling voices of the people. Some people were even directly yelling at the Xiling scholars in charge of the disaster relief by name.

It was mostly about pocketing donations and withholding relief supplies. The response from the people in charge of the disaster relief was even more violent. The two sides were in confrontation, and the conflict had nearly erupted at every food distribution spot located in the middle of Red Cloud Mountain.

For such a situation to arise after only thirteen days, to be honest, Tang Luo wasn’t satisfied with Sun Jinfang’s performance. However, he was also well aware that Sun Jinfang wouldn’t pocket the relief materials, nor would he embezzle funds.

It was a simple matter of principle. For someone like Sun Jinfang, an infamous physician of the Fierce Realm who had no children of his own, if he were to truly covet a small portion of the food, he would simply need to join a powerful family. He could then have abundant spiritual food every day along with a life of luxury.

Not only did this apply to Sun Jinfang, but it was also true for the other scholars in Xihng. So, would such a group really fight with the desperate people over bread? Tang Luo found it hard to believe.

While he could guarantee that Sun Jinfang and the group of scholars wouldn’t partake in such behavior, he couldn’t ensure that the scholars responsible for distributing the food from each noble family wouldn’t. After all, every family has a few foolish relatives. If such a thing were to occur, Tang Luo wouldn’t be surprised.

However, the constant grumbling from the people indicated that the disaster relief food was being reduced, and this was not a decision made by one or two disaster relief spots. Almost all relief spots had similar upheavals, which was quite intriguing.

While Tang Luo was pondering, his group drew closer to the main peak. The four martial artists of the Du clan, who were unaware of the reason, could also hear the clamoring of the disgruntled people. The color drained from Du Sha’s face, while the other three elders of the Du clan displayed a “we knew this would happen” look.

Ha, I knew it!” Du Ting said with an air of satisfaction, “This Sun Jinfang is merely a doctor with no prior experience in disaster relief. Plus, he’s a soft-hearted person. Although ten million catties of grains might seem a lot, if the starving people were allowed their fill every time, they would constantly’ demand food and continue eating until they are full. If we didn’t come back early, I’m afraid the people of Red Cloud Mountain would start to clash with those fools calling themselves scholars.”

“Exactly.” Du Wei chimed in, “Some peasants, after being praised a few times, start to think they’re capable of governing a city. If Tian Jiao had given the job of disaster relief to me, I would have managed it perfectly. Even if Tian Jiao came back ten days later, I would not have allowed Red Cloud Mountain to plunge into chaos.”

“What’s the point of saying all this now?” Du Ling said, noting the verbal exchanges between his older brothers and Tang Luo’s indifferent expression. He added, “The most important thing now is to calm down the people’s resentment. If they start a conflict in the middle of the mountain and leave the Du clan’s land in a mess, then we are in serious trouble.”

Actually, the three of them were somewhat critical of Tang Luo for entrusting the disaster relief work entirely to Sun Jinfang because they felt from the bottom of their hearts that Sun Jinfang didn’t have the ability to distribute relief supplies. From the start, they had been waiting to see him fail. They weren’t gloating at his misfortune.

They were simply adhering to a very straightforward principle: if having a reputation was enough to manage a city well, then what’s the point of the political and governing experience they, as a powerful family, have acquired and refined over the years? However, Tang Luo was young and vigorous back then. Even the Xiao family had given in and handed over ten million catties of grain as rent; they didn’t dare to resist.

However, seeing the results now, they wanted to shine and draw attention to their presence. They wanted Tang Luo to realize that trusting them was better than trusting strangers by many magnitudes.

The Sky-piercing Beast that was rushing towards Red Cloud Peak suddenly stopped. Tang Luo looked back at the three men and asked Du Wei, “If I were to hand over this matter to you, how would you use the ten million catties of grain to last for thirty days?”

The three men looked at each other. Du Wei’s face lit up, stroking his long beard leisurely as he replied, “In response to Tian Jiao, my disaster relief method is quite simple. The disaster victims and the livestock are similar. Dogs cannot be fed until they’re too full. Hence, giving two taels of grain per person per day should be enough to sustain life. Ten million catties of grain will be enough to feed more than a hundred thousand people for over a month. Don’t you think so, Tian Jiao?”

Upon hearing Elder’s strategy, Du Sha shuddered but couldn’t object due to his lower seniority. He only lowered his head and said nothing.

However, Tang Luo simply looked deep into Du Wei’ eyes and replied, “I see.” Then, he shifted his gaze to the other two and instructed, “You all go back to the Du clan’s land without showing yourselves. I will handle this..”