Hou Niao understood now. Among those assigned to Yinling, there really were people of vile character.
This was the cultivation world as it truly was. Not everyone strove to better themselves, brimmed with sunshine, or treated mortals as their foundation; there were still those who muddled through their days and coveted pleasure, and there were bound to be those who committed unchecked evils and did whatever they pleased.
As a place that amounted to punitive exile, Yinling naturally had people like Hou Niao, who had offended someone and suffered retaliation. But it certainly also had people whose crimes were proven and whose punishment was deserved. Naturally, those people had no desire to patrol Yinling, so they ran wild in Fang Family Fort instead.
Qian Chong was probably one such person, with lechery as his defining trait. Before cultivators truly penetrated the mysteries of the Great Dao and entered profound connection, it was also difficult for them to rid themselves entirely of certain ordinary human vices.
That was why the Red Scarf at the fort gate had treated him so rudely back then. Everything had a source; there was no hatred without a cause.
"Also, why did this Town Officer Guo lead the cultivators stationed here outside? What happened to them? Was it an accident or someone's doing? Even if they had no ambition, surely they should still have had a cultivator's basic vigilance?"
Yao He spread his hands. "They won't say. Who knows whether it's because of their pride or something else? Those questions will have to wait until Inspector Xiang returns and speaks with Town Officer Guo... I rarely come back to Fang Family Fort. My last visit was a year ago, and I have no eyes or ears here. These Fang Lineage members certainly won't tell us everything