"I always feel like they're still going to fight a war," Sui Xiong said.
"Even I can see that they're definitely going to end up fighting. The word 'feel' is a bit redundant." Veye, God of Pleasure, sighed helplessly. "Why do they have to fight this war? They're all wealthy and powerful people, stuffing themselves with food and drink and having fun every day. The wealth before them could last several generations—why risk their fortunes and their lives on this?"
Sui Xiong had wanted to explain that it was driven by interests, but on second thought, Veye had once been a prince of a great nation who had refused even the right of succession just so he could eat, drink, and make merry. Trying to make someone like that understand the doctrine of putting profit above all else was like playing music to a cow. No matter how much breath he wasted, Veye would probably only stare in blank confusion.
So after thinking for a moment, he explained, "Where there are people, there are grudges. Where there are grudges, there is the jianghu. Once you're in the jianghu, your fate is no longer your own. Even if someone doesn't want to fight, if his relatives and friends want to fight, if his superiors and subordinates want to fight, then he can't refuse to go along with the crowd."
"But surely the people who actually bear grudges are still a minority?"
"Hatred gets magnified," said Ogmanding, God of Command and Strategy. "For example, one knight has a grudge against another. Since neither can do anything to the other, they naturally seek helpers. Then they fight a few battles, each side loses a few people, and the hatred spreads to encompass two groups. If those two groups still can't do anything to