~~~

“Boss, this Xiao Heng apologizes from the bottom of his heart!”

Liu Jin stares blankly at Xiao Heng as the teen literally kneels before him. With how busy everyone has been due to the wedding, it is the first time the two have been alone in quite a few days.

“When I told Boss I would be grateful for the rest of my life, I meant it,” Xiao Heng says, his head still bowed. “I planned on following Boss no matter where he went. However, because things ended up this way, there is no way I can do that now.”

Liu Jin crosses his arms and sighs. “Get up. There is no need for you to apologize. The moment your brother died, you had no option but to stay here.”

The moment Xiao Dong died, Xiao Heng became the heir of this branch. That is all there is to it.

Well, considering how little Xiao Ding cared for his son before Liu Jin fixed him, it could have been possible to convince him to part ways with Xiao Heng as long as his improved condition was kept hidden from him. However, Liu Jin never had any intention of doing something like that. He hadn't helped Xiao Heng to obtain a servant.

Besides, having someone like Xiao Heng around would get tiring pretty quickly. Liu Jin would rather not get praised too much.

“Even so, I was the one who went and asked for Meili's hand, Boss. Back then, I was just thinking I might have a chance with her. The consequences didn't even occur to me until later. If I hadn’t done that, I might have been able to convince Father to let me go with Boss.”

It is highly likely, but Liu Jin is not about to let him know that. Instead he says, “I did not heal you so you could be my servant. I healed you so you could live your life. If your wish is to marry that woman, that’s fine.”

“Boss is kind and merciful as always. Even so, this Xiao Heng still feels he should do something for Boss.”

Faced with Xiao Heng’s earnest face, Liu Jin raises an eyebrow, an idea starts taking form. “Do you really wish to do something for me?”

“Absolutely!”

Liu Jin pretends to think some more and nods. “Very well then. I’ll give you three instructions.” Liu Jin raises his hand and holds up three fingers. “You must follow these instructions until the day we meet again. Do you accept?”

“I accept and will do my utmost to follow Boss’ commands until my dying breath.”

Liu Jin's lips thin. That is quite a bit more than he asked for but whatever.

“Then listen, and listen well. Number one, you took your brother’s bride before his body was even cold. From now on, don’t take another woman from anyone else.”

As soon as he hears Liu Jin's words, Xiao Heng winces and with good reason.

The whole thing had left a bad taste in Liu Jin’s mouth. He might have spoken in favor of Xiao Heng that day, but that did not change what happened. Xiao Heng acted to take his brother’s wife-to-be the second he could. It was not something that had been forced on him. Xiao Heng simply saw a chance to be with the girl he liked and took it.

“Boss is harsh indeed,” Xiao Heng says glumly.

“Do you accept or not?”

“Of course I accept, Boss!”

“Good. Number two, from now on, you must dedicate yourself to the Xiao Sect first. Many people have died to consolidate the Xiao Sect's hold on New Moon Town. If all goes well, one day you will take over for your father. Do not make all that has happened be in vain.”

After all, if nothing good were to come out of this, wouldn’t that just be way too pitiful?

“I won’t let you down, Boss! This Xiao Heng shall dedicate himself to the Xiao Sect first!”

“Number three. Never fully trust your wife. That woman is not sincere at all.”

Here, Xiao Heng scoffs. “Boss, with all due respect, are you serious? How can my wife not be sincere? Did you not see her tears during the audience? Did you not see her wounds? My wife is the most sincere, loving woman I know.”

Liu Jin sighs again. As expected, Xiao Heng has not noticed at all.

“Her wounds were not deep enough.”

Xiao Heng blinks. “What?”

“Her wounds were not deep enough,” Liu Jin repeats. He holds out his arm and taps it gently. “The cuts she showed us were large but not deep. They were not the type of wounds that would get someone killed. Someone who attempted to kill herself, maddened by grief as she was supposed to be, would have made deeper wounds.”

“W-Well, maybe she got scared.”

“If she had gotten scared, Hu Meili would have stopped at the first cut. Instead, she was able to make two large superficial cuts on her person that were never going to seriously threaten her life.”

“That…maybe…”

“Furthermore, the injuries were nowhere near old enough. By my estimate, she made those wounds to herself that very morning.” Liu Jin nods as he speaks, confident in his ability to discern the age of a wound. It is one skill both his father and Old Jiang have drilled into his head.

“What is Boss trying to say?” Xiao Heng looks confused and lost as he asks the question.

“I am saying she made those wounds to herself, so she could present them to the Elders and earn some sympathy for her father. She didn’t try to kill herself out of grief. She made those wounds to get herself and her Clan out of a troublesome situation.”

“B-But if that’s true, why did Boss not say anything then?”

Liu Jin clicks his tongue and scratches the side of his head. “Well, there was no need to.”

“Huh?”

“If someone like me noticed it, do you really think the others didn’t?”

Xiao Nan definitely had. Xiao Ding, to his surprise, caught it as well as had two of the Elders. There had probably been more who had.

“Then why did they not say anything?!”

“You would have to ask your father and the Elders about it,” Liu Jin says, shrugging. “However, my guess is they approved of it.”

“Approved of it?"

“Someone who is willing to go that far is impressive,” Liu Jin admits. “I guess they thought that was enough. You will have to ask your father if you want to know his thoughts. However, that’s exactly why I am telling you now that your wife is someone you must be wary of.”

“I… I see.” Xiao Heng looks crestfallen, like someone just swept the floor from underneath him.

“Do you accept the third instruction?” Liu Jin asks when Xiao Heng does not say anything for a while. Xiao Heng looks up at him and takes a deep breath.

“Yes, Boss. All three instructions, this Xiao Heng accepts them.”

~~~

“In the end, I still can't understand it.”

“Understand what, Little Brother?”

The wedding of Xiao Heng and Hu Meili has come and gone. For Liu Jin and Xiao Nan, New Moon Town is now nothing more than a dot in the background. The road to Eastern Port City stretches out into the horizon.

“Well, Xiao Dong liked Hu Meili. Xiao Heng liked her as well. Apparently, Lun Kai did too.” Liu Jin frowns and waves his hand in a circle. "No matter how much I think about it, I don't get it at all. Just what was it they saw in her?”

Hu Meili is just not that good looking.

“Oh, Little Brother." Xiao Nan smiles and laughs. "There is so much for you to learn about men and women. Listen, when it comes to women, it doesn't matter whether they are beautiful or ugly, smart or dumb, or even virtuous or vicious. All those things are completely meaningless.”

Liu Jin cocks his head to the side. “Then what is it that matters, Elder Brother?”

“Why that’s obvious, Little Brother. The only thing that matters is whether someone wants her or not. The only thing that matters about a woman is just that. How much someone wants a woman and how much that person is willing to do to make her his. That’s all there is to it. Of course, that goes for several other things in life as well. The value of something is simply how much we want it. The reasons are secondary.”

Liu Jin sighs. “That’s a bleak way of looking at things, Elder Brother.”

“Bleak but accurate, Little Brother.”

Liu Jin cannot deny it. Not after seeing how far someone like Lun Shu went to get something he wanted. Truthfully, Liu Jin feels he has seen enough of such things for a lifetime.

“In the end, Xiao Heng desired that girl enough to ask for her hand as soon as his brother’s corpse was buried. That's all that matters this time,” Xiao Nan adds before shrugging. “Well, all things considered, it worked out for the best. He could have chosen a worse bride.”

Liu Jin gives Xiao Nan a blank stare. The teen chuckles in reply.

“Don't look at me like that, Little Brother. I am serious. If nothing else, the girl is clearly not an idiot. That bodes well for the future. Xiao Ding will be able to curb any unwanted tendencies in her. He is at least that capable. By the time he steps down, he and the Elders will have had enough time to mold Xiao Heng into a proper heir. If not, well, another heir can always be chosen. All things considered, this was not a bad outcome for our Xiao Sect.”

Indeed, it isn’t. The death of Xiao Dong is a loss no matter how they looked at it, but they recovered quickly enough. The Xiao Sect now has New Moon Town firmly within its grasp. The resources of the Forest of Deceitful Whispers, including the Tree of Deceitful Whispers, are theirs to control. They have defeated those who sought to harm them and secured their position.

It is their victory.

“Elder Brother,” Liu Jin begins. His gaze drops down. "What we did… was it right?”

Before the Xiao Sect came, the Lun and Hu clans had prospered in New Moon Town for a thousand years. Because the Xiao Sect came, their power weakened. The Hu Clan offered its daughter, and the Lun Clan risked everything and lost.

Would things have been better if the Xiao Sect never set foot in New Moon Town?

Xiao Nan takes a moment before answering.

“Little Brother, I told you this before. Actions made by those with power-”

“Can never be wrong because they are made right by power." It is the first time Liu Jin has ever interrupted Xiao Nan. “I already listened to that. Even so… even so, I do not like it!”

What is so good about power?

What is so great about trampling those in your way?

What is so fun about crushing the weak?

“I would be scared if you did like it, Little Brother," Xiao Nan says. The forest is silent as the two keep walking. Liu Jin's gaze is on the ground while Xiao Nan stares straight ahead. "In fact, it is better if you don’t ever like it."

A falcon flies through the blue skies looking for prey. Before the day ends, its talons will be stained with blood. There is nothing special about it. It is merely the way of things.

"However, always make sure to remember the value of being right is just that. Righteous actions are purchased by power and nothing else. That's why you should never concern yourself too much with being righteous. The moment you do that, you will start coming up with excuses to ease your conscience. You will lie, delude, and rationalize until you become a monster. I have seen it happen many times,” Xiao Nan says, sighing. “It is better to accept we are part of a cruel system. For example, the Tree of Deceitful Whispers was an interesting find, but it is far from being unique. The Xiao Sect controls resources that are many times more amazing than that tree. Compared to some, that tree couldn’t even be called average.”

Liu Jin stares at Xiao Nan. “So in the end… New Moon Town doesn’t matter at all?”

All the people dead. Xiao Dong. Lun Shun. Did they die for nothing?

“Sad, isn’t it?” Xiao Nan smiles, but there’s nothing happy about it. “If our Xiao Sect hadn’t gone into that town, another Sect would have eventually. Even without the interference of any outside power, the problem of the Black Bear Group would have persisted. That problem was created solely by the Lun Clan. Even without anyone else, those two clans would have inevitably bared their fangs at each other.”

He is right. Of course, his Elder Brother is right. Lun Shu would have tried something eventually. Even if the Hu and Lun Clans joined in marriage, that would only have consolidated Lun Shu’s power.

Once he ruled over New Moon Town, would he have set his sights on the world outside?

“However, those things don’t absolve our actions. We consume to avoid being consumed. We have to keep growing because the moment we stop, those who are behind us will swallow us whole,” Xiao Nan says. “The moment our Xiao Sect falters, thousands will flock toward us like vultures. Of that, there is no doubt. The only way to prevent that from happening is to keep growing.”

Xiao Nan looks at Liu Jin with a sad look on his face.

“I did not wish for Little Brother to learn about the world this way. However, it is definitely something Little Brother had to learn eventually. In this world, those who stagnate die. Only those who advance can survive, but to advance, you will have to trample on the happiness of many.”

“I… I really don’t like that,” Liu Jin says, finally lifting his gaze. The sky is too bright and cheery for his tastes, yet he does not look away from it. “If that is the way of the world, I wish no part of it.”

“Then I wish Little Brother all the success in the world.”

“Really?” Liu Jin’s head whips around. “I thought Elder Brother would disapprove and try to convince me otherwise.”

“If I tried to change Little Brother’s mind right now, nothing good would come out of it,” Xiao Nan replies. “Besides, I was not lying just now. I really do wish for Little Brother’s success. However, do not think removing yourself from the world is so easy.”

“I am to be a doctor. I am not expected to fight or crush others,” Liu Jin replies “When we return to Eastern Port City, I will return to my normal routine. If at all, I’d rather not see another wedding in my lifetime.”

Xiao Nan chokes.

Time stops, and Liu Jin almost trips because it is the first time he has seen such a thing happening.

“About that.” Xiao Nan suddenly looks nervous. “This Elder Brother has bad news then. While we were in New Moon Town, I received a letter from the main sect. There is going to be a wedding in Eastern Port City, one that requires Little Brother’s presence.”

Liu Jin blinks. “Whose wedding could that be?”

“Yours.”

~~~