I Really Do Have a Cow

You people who play at tactics are all heartless.

Le Yu exhaled. "Then what should we do? Give up on establishing a White Night branch?"

"How could we give up the chance to gather progressive people just because of a few moles? That would be like cutting off your toes to avoid sandworms." Yin Yinyin shook his head. "Establishing a White Night branch is dangerous, but as long as we expose the mole, we can avoid the danger."

"You know who the mole is?"

"If I knew, I wouldn't be meeting you tonight, and tomorrow you'd be hearing the news that a certain disciple of 'Meteor' had died."

Le Yu looked thoughtfully at Yin Yinyin. He guessed that, besides being his contact, Yin Yinyin was probably also responsible for carrying out White Night's assassinations. With the Hidden Sword Combat Arts and the element of surprise, there were few people in Star Engraving Prefecture who could withstand him.

"Do you have any suspects in mind?" Le Yu suddenly recalled a method of catching moles he had seen before. "Should we use the name of the White Night Organization to give each suspect a meeting place at a different time and location, then see which meeting place is visited by an agent from the Statistics Department? That would mean the corresponding suspect was the real mole?"

"...?"

A huge question mark appeared over Yin Yinyin's head. "I don't know where you heard that method, but it has no value to us whatsoever. First, we don't know how many moles there are. Second, the mole's goal is to infiltrate the White Night Organization. Before he has obtained the complete membership list, he absolutely won't make any other moves."

"However, one thing can be confirmed: the mole should be among those few disciples of 'Meteor.'"

"Why?"

"After 'Meteor' died, only the few disciples who inherited his mantle could gather new members in his name." Yin Yinyin glanced at Le Yu. "Actually, you count as one of them too. You could indeed gather the new members—but they'd certainly be happy to beat you into a pulp to commemorate 'Meteor's' spirit in heaven."

Le Yu was too lazy to respond to Yin Yinyin's cold joke. He thought for a moment. "And Mr. Lin's disciples have happened to be released now. Since they were once arrested by the Statistics Department, their backgrounds and records are beyond reproach... Naturally, responsibility for the White Night branch will fall to one of them."

"But couldn't White Night refuse to let them join the branch and find someone else—for example, send you to establish it?"

Yin Yinyin spun the pen in his hand and shook his head. "White Night has no reason to refuse. Just because of your and my conjectures, are we supposed to suspect their loyalty without any evidence? That doesn't conform to White Night's internal regulations. Not only can White Night not refuse, it must also entrust them with carrying on 'Meteor's' legacy, to demonstrate White Night's respect for the fallen."

"Just for this meaningless attitude, we're going to sacrifice all of White Night's efforts in Star Engraving Prefecture?" Le Yu found it difficult to understand. "Isn't that sacrificing the greater for the lesser?"

"Oh? Sacrificing the greater for the lesser?"

Yin Yinyin looked at Le Yu and suddenly broke into a brilliant smile.

It was hard to imagine what it felt like for Le Yu to see a corpse's face break into a smile. At any rate, he had goosebumps all over.

Yin Yinyin spoke unhurriedly. "Then according to what you mean, now that 'Meteor' is dead, we shouldn't let his relatives and disciples inherit his will. We should even treat them as moles, as suspects who have betrayed the organization?"

Le Yu was momentarily speechless. "That's not what I meant..."

"Your 'sacrificing the greater for the lesser' means exactly that. You think 'Meteor's' family and disciples are a minor matter, while the White Night branch is the major matter, correct?" Yin Yinyin cut off Le Yu's explanation. "So we should wrong them a little and temporarily keep them from joining the White Night branch. Surely they can understand our difficulties... That's what you think, isn't it?"

Le Yu said nothing. He faintly sensed that... this White Night Organization didn't seem to be an ordinary rebel organization.

"But what will they think?" Yin Yinyin became sarcastic again. "'Ah, Teacher Lin sacrificed so much for White Night, and now White Night suspects us.' Meteor, do you know why this world became like this? Because too many people hope that those who possess the 'lesser' can 'understand' their 'greater.'"

"The Radiant Court hoped that the people of the Skyline District would understand its governance policies, so the Skyline District's governor was killed, and the entire district descended into chaos."

"Ding Yi certainly hoped that the people of Star Engraving Prefecture would understand his ambitious ideals. The result was that your Statistics Department ran rampant and persecuted progressive people."

"Everyone thinks they're the sun in the sky, and that all starlight must make way for them, so—"

Yin Yinyin spread his hands. "We starlight are forced to plot the overthrow of their radiance in this basement."

Le Yu spaced out slightly and gave a bitter laugh. "Do I really have a cow...?"

Yin Yinyin raised an eyebrow. "Are you quoting some insulting idiom?"

"It's a joke. There was a rec... a special envoy who asked a farmer: If you dug up a treasure, would you be willing to donate it to the state? The farmer said yes. The special envoy was very pleased and then asked: If you had a cow, would you be willing to donate it to the state? This time, the farmer said no."

Yin Yinyin became curious as well. "Why?"

Le Yu said, "Because I really do have a cow."

Yin Yinyin was silent for a moment, then his lips curled up slightly. "That's an interesting joke, and its central idea matches what I said earlier. Your ability to make connections is quite good."

A little excitement rose in Le Yu's heart, but he immediately felt that something was off. Why did that sound like a teacher praising an elementary school student?

"In short, phrases like 'put the greater good first,' 'sacrifice the greater for the lesser,' and 'make compromises for the greater good' don't conform to White Night's principles."

Yin Yinyin said, "Grievances breed resentment, resentment leads to hostility, and hostility sparks war... If we can wrong a small group of people for the greater good today, tomorrow someone will wrong us for the greater good."

"Meteor, I hear your younger sister is at the age of sixteen. If I said that, for the greater good, your sister had to do something she was unwilling to do, could you accept that?"

"No." Le Yu answered instantly.

"So stop saying things that sacrifice others for the sake of generosity. We can sacrifice, and we can endure grievances, but we cannot be sacrificed or be wronged." Yin Yinyin raised a hand and gently brushed aside his white bangs. "Humans cannot understand one another, but they can respect one another."

Yin Yinyin recited solemnly, "'This world was born in profound darkness, yet we carry light in our hearts. We do not illuminate all things, but shine alone upon ourselves. Thus, we are White Night.'"

Le Yu's expression was complicated. "What a naïve political ideal."

"If no one forced others to understand them, and everyone respected others, then we could welcome a beautiful world in which everyone understood one another." Yin Yinyin opened his notebook. "That is White Night's ultimate pursuit. No one needs to wrong themselves, and no one needs to consider the greater good, yet society can still function harmoniously."

Le Yu couldn't help shaking his head. "With such a childish ideal, can White Night really succeed?"

"Even if White Night fails, that can only prove the incompetence of us White Night Walkers. It doesn't mean the ideal is wrong." Yin Yinyin spun the pen between his fingers. "Precisely because the ideal is so dreamlike, the road toward it is naturally filled with thorns."

Le Yu clicked his tongue. "It sounds better than it would in practice, but what about the mole?"

"Well said. That's exactly why I wanted to meet you." Yin Yinyin pointed the tip of his pen at Le Yu. "I have a plan that can expose the mole. However, carrying it out will be somewhat difficult, and it's also very dangerous, so I need your help."

Le Yu nodded. "All right. What can I help with?"

"It's actually not very difficult." Yin Yinyin spread his hands. "You just have to suffer a little."

Le Yu immediately sensed trouble. "What kind of suffering?"

"It's really nothing much." Yin Yinyin paused. "You might die."

"Damn it, didn't you just say White Night wouldn't require its members to sacrifice their own interests!?"

"White Night indeed won't require its members to sacrifice their own interests. But you can sacrifice them voluntarily. That's common sense. You're welcome."