In Troubled Times, Good People Aren't Needed

"Why hasn't he come down yet? Nothing happened to him, did it?"

"Yeah, did Er Gou even go up the mountain today? Do any of you know?"

"He should have. I went to check—there was only Xiao Shitou at Er Gou's home!"

"Not necessarily. Maybe he went somewhere else."

"Yeah!"

"Er Gou isn't that kind of person!"

Voices rose one after another. As time passed, the hopeful, nervous, uneasy crowd gradually became restless, and the crowd grew noisy.

That noise seemed to be intensifying by the moment.

All day long, they had waited anxiously.

Hoping to see a miracle.

Even though they knew there was little hope, no one would give up before they reached the moment of true despair.

Under such circumstances, waiting was undoubtedly tormenting, and the agitation in everyone's hearts grew stronger and stronger.

It was not until a figure slowly descended from the mountain amid the evening glow that the commotion abruptly changed.

"Look, someone's coming!"

With that cry, everyone turned to look toward the back mountain.

At his words, joy appeared on everyone's faces. Yet before it could spread, the next moment, when they saw there was only one figure in the forest—only one figure—their hearts all skipped a beat.

"Er Gou, it's Er Gou!"

Someone cried out.

At his shout, the crowd erupted again.

"It's Er Gou!"

"Why is he alone?"

"What's he dragging?"

"A wild boar? It looks like a wild boar?"

"Wasn't he supposed to look for people? Why is he dragging a wild boar?"

"Yeah!"

"Er Gou didn't go hunting again instead of looking for them, did he?"

The crowd boiled over once more.

Amid that uproar, Chen Xuan had already dragged the wild boar down.

As he came down, villagers immediately swarmed around him.

"Er Gou, didn't you go up the mountain to look for people? How did it go? Did you find my man?"

That was relatively mild.

"Er Gou, didn't you promise to look for them? Why did you go hunting again!"

"Er Gou, you can't do this!"

Those were the more anxious ones.

The crowd became even noisier. Listening to the voices and seeing the anger in the villagers' eyes, Chen Xuan could not help but sigh softly.

But he said nothing.

Nor did he answer. Instead, he took the sack down from the cart below.

Only after the sack had been removed and placed before everyone—

Did Chen Xuan finally speak softly.

"Uncle Zhang Shan and the others were probably killed. I couldn't find anything else, only some bones and scraps of clothing that should belong to Uncle Zhang Shan and the others. Take a look yourselves."

His words were quiet.

Yet at that moment, they suppressed every other voice.

Boom.

Like an explosion of thunder, they instantly rang through everyone's minds.

"B-Bones?"

"Er Gou, what did you say?"

"Yeah, Er Gou, you're joking, right?"

Some stammered, while others staggered unsteadily.

Their eyes reddened at once as they stared at Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan remained silent.

But the meaning was already clear.

At last, someone shakily stepped forward and opened the sack.

"Bleurgh!"

The stench of blood hit him in the face, making him vomit immediately.

But he had no time to care about that. He hurriedly began searching through the sack.

"Th-This is my man's clothing!"

"Waaaah!"

A shrill wail echoed beneath the mountain.

That left the others unable to stay calm as well.

Figures hurried forward one after another, followed by waves of despairing, heart-rending cries that echoed at the foot of the mountain.

Chen Xuan could not identify the bones, but he had brought back some of the torn clothes, bows, and short spears scattered on the ground, precisely to confirm their identities.

Looking at the figures crying and wailing together—

Chen Xuan shook his head and dragged the wild boar onward.

He had already done everything that duty and compassion required of him.

As for the rest, he had no intention of getting involved.

Even with his Conceptual Ability, he theoretically had a way to revive them, but why should he?

Yet just as he took a single step, someone blocked his path.

"Er Gou, please, go look again. My man must still be alive. Those bones definitely aren't his."

"Look again. Just look again, and you'll definitely find him."

It was a woman, her eyes bloodshot as she tried to grab Chen Xuan.

"Move."

Chen Xuan stepped back, his eyes instantly turning fierce. Years of hunting had given him an air of murderous aura.

The woman's movements immediately froze.

Fear instinctively appeared on her face, and she subconsciously took a step back.

But as though she had thought of something, the woman still gritted her teeth and prepared to step forward again.

"Did you hear me? Move."

"I don't want to say it a second time."

Seeing her movements, Chen Xuan's voice turned cold, and the murderous aura around him grew thicker still.

In an instant, the woman felt as though she had fallen into an icy abyss. Her foot, which had been about to move forward, stopped as well.

Seeing her frozen in place, Chen Xuan withdrew his coldness and continued onward.

It was not until Chen Xuan had gone far away—

That the woman collapsed onto the ground and began howling her heart out.

"Er Gou, how could he do this!"

"When he was little, I even gave him food to eat! That was his Third Uncle!"

"I-I only asked him to look again!"

The woman cried loudly, and at once, many voices rose from the crowd.

"Yeah, Er Gou has grown capable and flown high now!"

"He doesn't even put us in his eyes anymore. How could he speak to his Third Aunt like that?"

"Yeah, Sanwa's mother only wanted him to look again. With so many bones, maybe someone's still alive!"

"Waaaah!"

"Father of my child!"

The woman's words, the voices from the crowd, and the crying gradually drifted into his ears.

They were faint, but he still caught some of them.

"In troubled times, good people truly aren't suited to survive."

Chen Xuan sighed softly.

He had anticipated such a situation. After all, that was human nature. Even in the peaceful era of his previous life, scenes like this happened often, much less in these troubled times, this era where no one knew if they would live to see tomorrow. People never feared scarcity; they feared unevenness.

Still, knowing was one thing. When it truly happened, it still left him uncomfortable.

Fortunately, he would be leaving soon.

This counted as the last thing he would do for this village.

As for everything else, it had nothing to do with him.

Shaking his head, he headed toward Chen San Ye's place.

—"The Analects: Ji Shi": "Those who possess a state or a household do not worry over scarcity, but over uneven distribution; they do not worry over poverty, but over instability. For where there is equality, there is no poverty; where there is harmony, there is no scarcity; where there is stability, there is no collapse."