Elder Yi looked at Huo Yuhao again and said, "Yuhao, it's good that you think this way, but what's more important is that you hold fast to your convictions. In the days ahead, you'll face countless choices and trade-offs. When that time comes, I hope you can make the choice you believe is right between the convictions you hold to and practical benefits."
Perhaps realizing that he had led the topic astray, Elder Yi gave a few slightly awkward coughs, then returned to their earlier subject.
Elder Yi said, "Yuhao, I know you're hesitating over killing these workers. I also know that some of the people here are innocent in certain respects. But Yuhao, you must understand: although silence is most people's choice when faced with things, silence isn't a justification for tolerating evil deeds. It should instead be a refusal to cooperate, a powerless form of resistance."
"Although they did this to make a living, they still chose to keep working here after learning about this. In their hearts, they had already silently cloaked these evil deeds in some rationalization. Whether it was for money or for their livelihood, reality couldn't be changed. Though they weren't the source of the evil, they had already helped it spread. Just like the two of us, they cannot wash away the evil that once occurred through us."
"It's like a river. People always think its source is what matters, but without those countless tributaries flowing into it, how could the river become a raging torrent? The source matters, and the tributaries matter too. Neither can be left out. This doesn't apply only to evil; the same holds true for good. Something on this scale could never have been created overnight, by one person and a single thought."
Finally, Elder Yi said, "Although