Free Web NovelChapter 235: Chapter 235: Does a Perfect World Really Exist?
In truth, not many people had been here. Just the inspectors that Beast God City sent to the various cities each year. The four regional Hall Masters had only been in their posts for a year, and of them, only Ao Yi had come by recently.
But he hadn’t stayed. When Master Zhu had led him here, Ao Yi saw how luxurious the courtyard home was—it put even the Beast God Hall to shame—and made an excuse not to stay.
He did, however, accept the gold, silver, and jewels that Master Zhu had offered as a sign of respect, only to deposit it all into the treasury upon his return.
Ao Yi had mentioned it in passing to Yu An, but at the time, he’d only said that Master Zhu had given him some gifts. Yu An’s mind hadn’t gone to gold, silver, and jewels at all; she’d assumed it was local products or the like and told him to deal with it as he saw fit.
Thanks to the Beast God’s "brainwashing," Yu An’s perception was that the Endless Land was a perfect world, a veritable paradise.
None of the vices of the outside world existed here. Of course, the Beast God hadn’t intentionally brainwashed her—He simply believed it to be true Himself.
Seeing this courtyard home, and the several chests of gold, silver, and jewels inside, Yu An finally understood why Ao Yi’s expression had been so unnatural when he’d told her about it.
Yu An closed the door, her face darkening.
’Based on Master Zhu’s stipend, even if he used his title as a branch Hall Master to conduct some business, he could never afford such a trove of treasure.’
’Besides, the Beast God Hall has always been incorruptible and devoted to public service, never tolerating the slightest blemish. How could a branch Hall Master like this exist under its authority!’
After calling Ao Yi in for questioning, Yu An learned that the world beyond the Divine Mountain was no longer the one the Beast God had first established.
The Beast God had been determined to build a perfect world, but perfection is, and always has been, an illusion.
Even if it had been perfect at its inception, after so much time, the population of the Endless Land had slowly grown. With all sorts of people gathered together, this so-called perfect world was no longer perfect.
Even if the Beast God had wiped the memories of the first people He brought to the Endless Land to make them "perfect," their descendants would inevitably include both the good and the bad.
Once the population of the Endless Land grew, the Beast God established the Beast God Hall. He did not personally investigate whether the populace met His "perfect" standards, nor did He have the time or energy for such an inspection.
As a result, the Beast God Hall only ever reported good news, never the bad. Thus, even a god like Him had His eyes and ears covered.
Seeing the dark look on Yu An’s face, Ao Yi decided to stop holding back. "Hall Master, to be honest, when the other three Hall Masters and I first took our posts, we also believed the Endless Land was a beautiful place, but..."
"But it took less than half a year for our pre-appointment fantasies to be shattered. This place is no different from the outside world the Beast God described."
The Beast God claimed the outside world was exceptionally chaotic, and that He had brought people of virtuous character here to build a perfect world for them.
Yu An had only just left the Divine Mountain, but she was bound to encounter these things sooner or later. Ao Yi knew he couldn’t hide the truth, nor was it something he could control. He might as well lay everything bare before Yu An and let her decide.
As the number one person beneath the Beast God, only Yu An could decide whether to launch a thorough purge and restore the perfect world to its original state.
Yu An fell silent.
She flipped through the book in her hands. It recorded the beautiful state of the Endless Land when the Beast God first established it.
’But human nature is complex and ever-changing. How could a world like that last for long?’
"Forget it," Yu An sighed. "A world like that was never meant to exist. Even if we spent all our manpower and resources to restore its former perfection, it would only be a temporary illusion."
"I don’t even know how the Beast God managed it in the beginning. Even if He brought only good people to the Endless Land, you can’t guarantee they’d all stay good forever, can you?"
Yu An was filled with emotion, mostly disbelief. After thinking it over and over, she could only attribute it to the fact that the Beast God was a god. What is impossible for mortals might just be possible for a deity.
This was Ao Yi’s second time in Qi Yuan City. He hadn’t known before just how wealthy Master Zhu was. Yu An ordered him to investigate the source of the man’s fortune.
’If his wealth was acquired legitimately, then there was nothing more to be said. Everyone loves money. If Master Zhu had the ability to earn it, who cares how much he made?’
’But if it was ill-gotten, or worse, extorted from the common people, then she was determined to launch a full investigation.’
’A perfect world doesn’t exist. As the Hall Master of the Beast God Hall, she would fulfill the duties of her office and do everything she could to help the common people live better lives.’
In truth, life in the Endless Land was quite good. No one went hungry or without warm clothes, and beggars were nonexistent.
The Endless Land enjoyed favorable weather and was free of natural disasters. All the wild animals were small. As for beasts like wolves and tigers, people only ever saw what they looked like when Beastmen from the Wolf Clan or Tiger Clan assumed their animal forms.
As long as you weren’t lazy, you could live a good life simply by clearing a plot of land or hunting in the forests.
「The next morning」, Yu An had Master Zhu take her to investigate the homes of the other missing townspeople and the locations where they’d disappeared.
Noticing Ao Yi’s absence, Master Zhu casually asked about him, but Yu An just fobbed him off with a vague excuse.
They spent the entire morning going from place to place with his men, but without exception, they came up empty-handed. free𝑤ebnovel.com
Master Zhu sighed repeatedly, the corners of his mouth breaking out in stress sores. To Yu An, he looked for all the world like a good Hall Master who loved his people as his own.
Hearing her praise, Master Zhu became flustered. "It is this subordinate’s duty; of course I must do my utmost. As long as the culprit remains at large, this subordinate cannot know a moment’s peace!"
He thought Yu An was being sarcastic, praising his supposed efforts when he hadn’t actually turned up a single clue.
’Beast God above, I really haven’t been slacking off! I’ve been working myself to the bone looking for clues. It’s not that I think the missing people are all that important, I just want Qi Yuan City to go back to being peaceful.’
’All this commotion has attracted bigwigs from Beast Emperor City... how am I supposed to... line my pockets now?’
The people nearby assumed Yu An felt Master Zhu had failed in his duties and was using sarcasm to reprimand him, so they rushed to speak in his defense.
They spoke of how incredibly hard he had been working, sometimes even forgetting to eat.
He had people patrolling around the clock and would sometimes lead the patrols himself, terrified that another citizen might disappear.
Yu An couldn’t help but laugh. "Everyone, please rest assured, I wasn’t being sarcastic. Though I have only known Master Zhu for a short time, I can see that he is a responsible and meticulous person."
"Even the ’local products’ sent to my residence were meticulously selected, weren’t they?"
Indeed. On top of the gold, silver, and jewels, there had been a thin layer of actual local products.
Master Zhu was overjoyed. He thought Yu An was praising him because of his tribute, and he immediately perked up.
’My dream is to enter the main temple of the Beast God Hall,’ he thought. ’The amount of gold, silver, and jewels I sent yesterday was just a test. If this new Hall Master turned out to be incorruptible, I’d just have to endure a lecture, and that would be the end of it.’
’But if she’s greedy, I’ll just double the tribute. Then how could I possibly worry about not being promoted?’
’Then again, who in this world isn’t greedy?’
With this in mind, he seized the opportunity. "Hall Master, you were weary from your travels yesterday, so this subordinate took the liberty of arranging a welcome banquet for you today. If you would be so kind..."
Yu An smiled. "Since Master Zhu has already made preparations, it would be rude of me to refuse."
Master Zhu was ecstatic. "Hall Master, this way, please!"
