The Kindhearted Cannot Command Armies, the Righteous Cannot Manage Money, and the Benevolent Cannot Hold Office!

"Master, Senior Brother, what... what do you mean?"

"Senior Brother, you didn't go to Ping'an County to commend Chen Fan. You wanted to see whether he'd fallen into demonic cultivation. If he really had, you... would have killed him?"

Lu Xuenning looked at Zuo Qianqiu and Wang Teng, her expression dark, and spoke.

"Junior Sister, I won't act against Chen Fan unless there's no other choice. Even if he shows signs of falling into demonic cultivation, I'll only cripple his martial arts and keep him under control."

"If he's already fallen into demonic cultivation, and there's no turning back, then I'll have no choice but to strike him down. The Blood Demon disaster must never happen again!"

"Thankfully, everything is still all right for now!"

Wang Teng spoke, feeling somewhat guilty.

He'd gone to Ping'an County with a secret order from his master. His intentions hadn't been pure: he'd been prepared to act against one of their own, a man who had served the people. He'd felt utterly helpless.

But his master's orders couldn't be disobeyed, and the Blood Demon disaster must never happen again!

"So you brought Chen Fan to Longyuan Prefecture because you wanted to keep him under your watch? If he falls into demonic cultivation, you'll act against him immediately?"

Lu Xuenning asked, still unwilling to give up.

"Yes!"

"That was exactly what I had in mind!"

"For the sake of peace in Longyuan Prefecture, I have no choice!"

Zuo Qianqiu stopped trying to deny or make excuses. He simply nodded, looking at Lu Xuenning with calm eyes and not the slightest trace of shame. His conscience was clear.

His little disciple was wonderful in every way, and gifted, too. The only problem was that she was too kindhearted!

As the old saying went: the kindhearted cannot command armies, the righteous cannot manage money, the benevolent cannot hold office, and the sentimental cannot get things done!

As the man in charge of the thousand Jinyiwei troops at the Longyuan Prefecture Jinyiwei Commander's Office, Zuo Qianqiu bore the heavy responsibility of protecting the people of Longyuan Prefecture and guarding Purple Mountain. Naturally, he had to consider the greater good!

"Have you ever thought about how we could save Chen Fan, keep him from falling into demonic cultivation, and perhaps even help him resume his broken path of martial arts?"

Lu Xuenning asked gravely.

"I have."

"But it's difficult."

"Throughout history, I've never heard of anyone cultivating the Blood Sha Skill without being affected by the Blood Sha, nor of anyone recovering after mistakenly cultivating it. Unless he's willing to dissipate his cultivation and cripple himself."

"I heard that the Blood Sha Sect used to deal with Blood Sha corroding martial artists' minds and bringing them to the brink of demonic cultivation this way."

"If he's willing to do that, then he can have permanent control over the Longyuan Prefecture Jinyiwei Commander's Office's logistics. As long as I'm alive, he'll always be the Longyuan Prefecture Jinyiwei Deputy Commander. So long as he doesn't go too far, I can turn a blind eye to a little skimming, bribery, and abuse of his position."

Zuo Qianqiu looked at Lu Xuenning, hoping she'd pass his meaning on to Chen Fan.

Chen Fan had cultivated the Blood Sha Skill to great perfection and opened Thirty-six Spirit Apertures. To Zuo Qianqiu, that was far too dangerous. This wasn't a matter of whether to report it or not. If he filed a report, the old fogeys at the Yun Prefecture Myriad Household Office would certainly take extreme measures.

Lu Xuenning was still thinking far too simply. In the eyes of the Jinyiwei higher-ups, merit was merit, and fault was fault.

Chen Fan had indeed earned merit, but cultivating the Blood Sha Skill was wrong. If Zuo Qianqiu reported the matter, the Yun Prefecture Myriad Household Office would certainly send people to seize Chen Fan and cripple his martial arts. They definitely wouldn't take the gentler approach Zuo Qianqiu had in mind and try to persuade Chen Fan to dissipate his cultivation on his own.

Chen Fan was like a ticking time bomb. No one knew when he might explode. If they could take precautions in advance and have him dissipate his cultivation, then everyone would be better off.

If word got out that Chen Fan had cultivated the Blood Sha Skill and reached the Yun Prefecture Myriad Household Office, things would get even more complicated.

Never underestimate the Jinyiwei's covert guards. They were incredibly skilled at gathering intelligence—not only at collecting information about Demonic Creatures, but also at investigating matters within their own ranks.

For now, he'd sealed off the news of Chen Fan cultivating the Blood Sha Skill. In Longyuan Prefecture City, only the two disciples before him and Zuo Qianqiu himself knew.

But there was no such thing as a wall without cracks. Sometimes, no matter how carefully he tried to cover things up, there was nothing he could do.

"Chen Fan is in the Deputy Commander's Separate Courtyard at the Commander's Office. If you want to talk to him, go yourself!"

"If it weren't for Chen Fan, I'd have died in Ping'an County long ago, and so would the tens of thousands of people there. I just can't bring myself to play the villain!"

"Please forgive me, Master, Senior Brother!"

Lu Xuenning clasped her hands in a salute, then turned and left without hesitation.

"Alas!"

"That girl is wonderful in every way, but she's just too kind!"

Zuo Qianqiu raised a hand and watched Lu Xuenning's departing figure, speaking with a sigh.

"Junior Sister is still young. Once she's been through more, she'll understand Master's position."

"Sometimes it isn't a matter of right or wrong. It's a choice between sacrificing a tiny few and protecting the vast majority."

"For the sake of more people living in peace, someone has to make a sacrifice."

Wang Teng chimed in.

To be honest, he had a good impression of Chen Fan. But if Chen Fan fell into demonic cultivation, Wang Teng would kill him without a second thought.

One moment's hesitation on his part might cost countless lives. He'd been through that before, so he'd learned his lesson and carved the greater good into his very bones.

"As the incoming Deputy Commander, Chen Fan should meet me, the Commander of the Longyuan Prefecture Jinyiwei Commander's Office."

After thinking it over, Zuo Qianqiu decided he should meet Chen Fan in person before deciding what to do next.

"Shall I bring Chen Fan over?"

Wang Teng asked.

"Forget it. I'll go myself."

Zuo Qianqiu replied.

As a sixth-rank Commander, he outranked Chen Fan, who was a Subordinate Sixth Rank Deputy Commander, by only half a rank. Chen Fan had only just arrived, so it wasn't as though there were strict rules about who should visit whom.

But that half-rank difference was like a gulf between heaven and earth. Zuo Qianqiu commanded the Jinyiwei Commander's Office, overseeing ten Jinyiwei squads and a personal guard of two hundred men.

Chen Fan, by contrast, could command a hundred-man squad only with Zuo Qianqiu's permission.

Chen Fan was examining his own secluded little courtyard, which stood entirely on its own.

There were only four courtyards like this at the Longyuan Prefecture Jinyiwei Commander's Office. The largest belonged to Zuo Qianqiu, though he also had a residence in Longyuan Prefecture City beside the Prefect's Office. That showed just how powerful and influential he was in Longyuan Prefecture.

So his courtyard had been divided into several rooms, usually for his disciples to live in. The other three courtyards, all of the same size, were the residences of the Jinyiwei Deputy Commanders.

Longyuan Prefecture had three Jinyiwei Deputy Commanders: Wang Teng, Wu Yuan, and Zhao Mu.

Wang Teng was Zuo Qianqiu's Senior Disciple, Wu Yuan was his trusted subordinate, and Zhao Mu was the Deputy Commander in charge of logistics. He was already over a hundred and twenty years old.

A Spirit Aperture Realm martial artist could live two or three hundred years, barring unforeseen circumstances. But Zhao Mu was an exception. He'd fought too fiercely on the front lines when he was young, and his body was riddled with hidden injuries. At a hundred and twenty, he already looked shockingly old.

He felt he had perhaps another ten years to live, so he'd decided to retire and return to his hometown.

He'd taken money from Cao De and recommended him for the post of Jinyiwei Deputy Commander, hoping Cao De would take over from him. Now that Cao De had gotten into trouble, Zhao Mu had hurriedly resigned and slunk away.

If this matter were thoroughly investigated, Zhao Mu would likely be in serious trouble.

But Zuo Qianqiu remembered how Zhao Mu had rendered great service to the Jinyiwei and how few years he had left to live. So he approved the resignation papers outright, letting him land safely.

Still, because of this, Zuo Qianqiu had gained leverage over him. That was why he later overruled everyone's objections and appointed Chen Fan to fill Zhao Mu's vacancy.