Chapter 347: Everything Will Pass

"My lord, I truly know nothing at all!"

After struggling for a long time, Scholar Ye still gritted his teeth and did not reveal everything.

If he were a man with no attachments, he would not be so hesitant and would have long since ended it all. But now, he could not be selfish.

"Scholar Ye, I hope you can help me!"

"My lord, you have mistaken me for someone else. I am but a commoner, unable to even save myself; how can I talk of helping you, my lord?"

"My lord, I have an urgent matter at home, so I shall take my leave now. I hope you will understand!"

"Scholar Ye, how much longer do you intend to live like this?"

Seeing Scholar Ye stand up to leave, Shen Yu could not help but call out to stop him. If he only wanted to extract information from him, Shen Yu could easily accomplish it with an Illusion Technique.

But Shen Yu did not just want to ask what he knew; he wanted his cooperation, and he wanted him to mobilize more people to come forward.

Some things are either not done at all, or they must be done thoroughly, rooting out everyone in one fell swoop.

Otherwise, if he were to leave one day and the weeds were not cleared completely, the people here would suffer the most cruel retaliation.

"My lord, I truly know nothing. Please, my lord, do not force me!"

"I am not forcing you; I am doing this for your own good. There are some things I originally did not want to say!"

Stepping forward, Shen Yu looked at the other man quietly. His gaunt face was filled with sorrow, showing none of the high spirits a young man should have.

Reality had long since bent his back, leaving him unable to face himself. Otherwise, he would not have referred to himself as "this lowly one" instead of "student" in front of him.

"Actually, after you left the restaurant, I followed behind you and saw some things."

"Do you know what I encountered after you left your home?"

"I saw your wife being carried to bed by the brute who came to collect the debt!"

"Impossible! My wife would never betray me!" He lifted his head with a ferocious expression; Shen Yu even saw killing intent in his eyes.

Yet this killing intent was not directed at him, which meant that deep down, Scholar Ye actually believed it somewhat.

How could a frail woman resist those brutes? She could only be left to their mercy.

"My lord, you may insult me, but please do not insult my wife!"

"Scholar Ye, of course your wife would not betray you, but what if the other party used you to threaten her?"

"In that situation, no matter how painful it was for her, she had to do it for your sake."

"And this pain, she could not share with anyone else; she could only bear it herself!"

Patting the other man on the shoulder, Shen Yu sighed and said softly, "Just as you are doing these base things now, isn't it precisely because you are worried about your wife?"

"But rest assured, your wife has been saved by me; she is fine!"

"My lord, is this true?" Hearing Shen Yu's words, Scholar Ye seemed to come back to life instantly, and a glimmer of spirit returned to his eyes.

"Of course. How could I sit idly by and watch such a thing happen?"

"However, I can intervene to save her this time, but what about the next time, or the time after that? Scholar Ye, I cannot guard her side and protect her every day!"

Looking at the women around them who clearly wore panicked expressions, Shen Yu said helplessly, "Scholar Ye, do you want your wife to end up like them one day?"

"Must she be dragged out from her home in front of her family, just for money, to serve someone she has never met, whose age, appearance, and even character she knows nothing about?"

"Do you want your wife to live her days in constant anxiety and endless self-reproach?"

"My lord!" Unable to hold back, Scholar Ye let out a shout, took a deep breath, and squeezed his eyes shut.

"You don't need to say any more. I understand; I have always understood! I can tell you everything, and I can give you this life of mine!"

"Whatever you need me to cooperate with, my lord, I will do it without a word, even if it means going through fire and water. I only hope that you can protect my wife well."

"No, I want to ask you, my lord, to take her away from Hechang City and bring her to the Central Plains!"

"You are so afraid? It seems you know something. Very well, I will protect your wife!"

"Thank you, my lord! Thank you, my lord!"

Only then was Scholar Ye willing to speak. However, he first led Shen Yu outside, away from the women in the room.

"My lord, actually I do not know much. In the past, before my family's fortunes declined, I once drank with a classmate and accidentally heard a drunken, wealthy classmate let something slip!"

"He said that the underground banks and brothels in Hechang City are mostly controlled by the Ling Family. They force good women into prostitution and stop at nothing to do evil."

"My lord, you probably do not know how vast the Ling Family's influence is, do you?"

Sighing, Scholar Ye then slowly continued, "The Ling Family's influence is deeply rooted, with connections spread throughout the entire Southern Border, and even within the imperial court."

"Even the local Governor has to cater to their whims. Otherwise, he would not be able to keep his position!"

"The Ling Family? Are you talking about the Ling Family, the noble clan within Hechang City?"

"Exactly! Does my lord know of the Ling Family?"

"What a coincidence!" With a cold smile, Shen Yu said indifferently, "One of the reasons I came here is to wipe them out!"

"However, I am a bit curious. How did a scholar like you end up borrowing money and getting involved with them?"

"My lord, you may not know, but some time ago my family's fortunes declined, and with my wife falling ill, I had no choice but to borrow money!"

"Who would have thought that the more I paid back, the more I owed? It was impossible to pay off. Even if you had enough money, they would never let you finish paying!"

Speaking of this, a bitter expression could not help but appear on Scholar Ye's face.

He was a scholar, and not the kind who only read books blindly; he saw things very clearly, but his heart was unwilling to believe them.

When he first borrowed the money, the interest was not too high, but by the time he had to pay it back, it was completely different.

At that point, they would help you by introducing all sorts of things that violated moral bottom lines, or even illegal activities, and they would give you a glimmer of hope.

They would constantly deceive you, saying that as long as you worked hard, the money would soon be paid off. It was these numbers that supported everyone in gritting their teeth and continuing on.

But they did not know that, in reality, this was a debt that could never be paid off, a sea of suffering from which one could never escape.

No matter how hard they tried, they would always be just a little bit short, just a tiny bit.

Yet this tiny bit was like an uncrossable chasm, one that was fundamentally impossible to bridge.

By the time the borrower realized this, they would likely already be forty or fifty years old, with absolutely no utility left.

Repay the debt; if you cannot repay it, naturally you must repay it in other ways. The fate of these women before us is still considered fortunate; who knows how many people are selling their souls and selling their consciences.

"Scholar Ye, you seem very clear about these things!"

"What if I am clear? For us ordinary people, there is no escaping it!"

With a bitter smile, Scholar Ye shook his head and slowly said, "My Lord, this place is the boundless sea of bitterness, a sea of bitterness with no end!"

"For us, death is even a form of relief. But if you die, your debt must be repaid by your family; the ones who will fall into the sea of bitterness will be them!"

"What can I do? I have no way out; I can only continue to endure. Even if I cannot endure it, I must; I will endure for as long as I can!"

"People like us are just walking corpses; living itself is a form of suffering."

"I understand!" Patting the other person on the shoulder, Shen Yu then said: "Rest assured, everything will pass!"

"This official does not believe it; they can still cover the sky with one hand. Even if they can, this official will still pierce through it for them!"