Duckweed Marsh was probably drying up for real.
Was it because the sect demanded eight portions of qi every eight years? Jiang Che thought it possible, but there was probably more to it than that.
The qi sent to the sect could not be short. But if that was already the limit, where had the portion in Cao Jian's hands come from?
Was that the only portion he had?
Probably not.
He had been in Pingli for almost ten years, had he not? Who knew how many portions he had gotten hold of?
The local lineages, represented by the Zhao Household, had been squeezed by Cao Jian until they came out to use Jiang Che's position as Inspector to blow the whole thing open on him. But were they truly innocent?
Did they really not have even a wisp left in their hands?
Cao Jian would get extra Spirit Essence to turn a profit. Would the various lineages, who harvested qi directly from Duckweed Marsh, not do the same?
Then, returning to the central question, who exactly had caused Duckweed Marsh to dry up?
Was it the sect, which demanded eight portions of qi every eight years?
Was it the successive stewards who used the outer sect's authority to squeeze the locals?
Was it the local lineages, who harvested extra qi beyond what they handed over?
Not one of them was any good!
None of them had clean hands!
That might sound irresponsible, but it was the truth.
The local powers, whether outer sect stewards or qi-harvesting lineages, all had ample incentive to keep the lid on things even as Duckweed Marsh dried up by the day.
If the matter blew up and reached the sect, what would the sect do? A strict investigation into illicit harvesting and a firm