Chapter 238: 231 Choice

"The Moon God descends!"

Under the setting sun, the white-haired Town Guardian raised his fist and roared.

His emotions were intense, his voice was resonant, and his movements were standard; so abrupt and fierce, they startled countless cold crows in the twilight.

The squad was lined up right in front of the Town Guardian, close enough to see the solemn yet vaguely ferocious expression on his face. Some felt a chill in their hearts, at a loss for what to do, while others were inexplicably stirred.

"The Moon God descends!"

Two of them followed him in shouting; their gestures were similar to the Town Guardian's, yet slightly different, clearly part of a complete ritual, just like believers calling out the name of the Moon God under the leadership of an Incense Master.

This kind of ritual was perfectly normal at the altars of the Holy Moon Sect, but in this remote, desolate valley, it was abrupt and eerie. A portion of the Land Inspection Division men were stunned, another portion were alert and in an uproar, and some were even eager to try it themselves.

"The Moon God descends—Moon God! Moon God! Moon God!"

From one person shouting to three, four or five people behind them followed suit, responding with shouts of their own.

One-fifth of the entire squad had fallen into an inexplicable frenzy; the others looked at each other, restless and uneasy.

"Moon—"

"Bang!"

The clamor stopped abruptly. Several of those shouting for the Moon God seemed to have been struck by a hammer on the head; their bodies toppled backward, falling to the ground unconscious.

The Town Guardian, however, restrained his expression, stopped shouting, and stood where he was, saying leisurely: "What is this? Is there really someone who has truly defected to the Demon Sect?"

The remaining members of the Land Inspection Division let out a breath—thank goodness, thank goodness, the Town Guardian had not truly fallen into the demonic path.

If the Town Guardian were truly a rebel of the Demon Sect, dragging everyone out to this desolate wilderness where heaven wouldn't hear and the earth wouldn't answer, and forcing everyone to join the sect, that would be the end of them.

As their old superior of so many years, suddenly dragging them into the Demon Sect—would they follow or not? If they followed, what would happen to their families?

That's right, everyone who followed the Town Guardian here was a confidant among confidants, having followed him for ten or several decades with unwavering loyalty. If the Town Guardian told them to rebel, many would truly consider it.

Fortunately, the boss wasn't that unreliable; what just happened was mostly... a test? Testing if there were any moles in the squad before the big battle?

And it turned out that among their colleagues, there really were people from the Demon Sect? The kind of lunatics who believed in the Demon Sect?

The faces of those who had just caught their breath were somewhat unable to hold up; everyone recognized these few people. In the past, they had called each other brothers, fought side-by-side, and had... a little bit of friendship. How had they not noticed?

It was still the Town Guardian who was wise, having seen it long ago. If these few traitors had turned against them during today's suppression of the Demon Sect, not to mention the mission failing, everyone's lives would have been hard to guarantee.

The Town Guardian said slowly: "Good, there are many strange talents in the Land Inspection Division, even those who truly believe in this stuff. I thought at most you were just taking some black money and turning a blind eye to troublemakers, just like Lao Zhou, Xiao Tu, and the others..."

The two Land Inspection Division members named were startled and said hurriedly: "That's not the case... this..."

The Town Guardian stood with his hands in his sleeves and said: "Don't be modest. We are all our own brothers here. Look, everyone who followed me here is one of our own. We are in the desolate wilderness, who are you afraid of? I'm not going to do anything to you. So let's speak plainly and lay out all the filth in our hearts and bellies to dry."

The expressions of Lao Zhou, Xiao Tu, and the others relaxed slightly, but they were still somewhat uncomfortable.

The Town Guardian continued: "You don't need to feel ashamed. So what if you took the Demon Sect's money? The Demon Sect's money might not even be the dirtiest. Count them one by one here, who is clean? Shielding, smuggling, bribery, forming cliques, eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling—you're all five-poison complete."

He circled the squad slowly: "Who is to blame for this? Blame me! As the saying goes, if the upper beam is not straight, the lower ones will be crooked. You all saw how I did things back then; as long as the money was enough, I wouldn't care if you rebelled right under my nose. If the money wasn't enough, I'd say you were going to blow down the city wall just by breathing too hard. With an old bastard like me leading the way, didn't I just lead out a group of little bastards like you?"

He seemed to be joking, but apart from one or two people in the squad who had no major issues and twitched their lips, the others only grew more nervous. The cold evening wind blew in from the mountain pass, drilling into their collars, chilling them to the bone.

The Town Guardian continued: "But if you blame it all on me, I feel wronged too. Although I am an old vegetable now, I was young once too. When I was young, my seniors led me just like this. Back then, there was nothing I didn't dare to do, and no money I didn't dare to take. Why? Because I am the Land Inspection Division. The Land Inspection Division is arrogant, it is tough; if you don't submit, I'll kill you."

He suddenly smiled: "But it seems that doesn't work anymore, right? Our Land Inspection Division, after the reorganization and repairs by the Lord, has become a proper department. We have real work to do now."

He pointed at one person and asked: "Xiao Tu, you tell me, is it better for us to do real work, or to be bastards?"

That Xiao Tu was in his thirties, considered relatively young in the squad, and didn't know how to answer for a moment, saying: "This..."

The Town Guardian said: "It's okay, just say what you think. There are no outsiders here, are you still going to hide things from me?"

That Xiao Tu sighed and said: "It is better to do real work."

Half the people in the squad nodded, the other half were bewildered.

The Town Guardian nodded and said: "Well said. It is better to do real work. First, if you are a bastard, you can only be a bastard for a lifetime; if you do real work, you can build a career and have a boundless future. Second, you can live up to your own conscience; when you mention the past to your children in the future, your voice can be louder, and your face will have glory. Third... besides conscience, having a belief is a good thing. Having something to support you means you won't suddenly collapse, want to cry out loud, want to jump from a high place, or feel that living is meaningless..."

He didn't know what emotional chord he had touched, but his tone was somewhat strained.

"It's a pity, when I was young, no one led me to do real work, and I didn't know how to do it. And now, I am already old. In a year or two, I will step down. My life is destined to be that of an old bastard, an old scoundrel. And I did too many rotten things when I was young; I've been pickled for so long that I've become a pickle, black from the inside out. If I were to do real work, that work would be tainted by me."

The Town Guardian suddenly walked to the center in a few steps and said: "But you are still young, not yet pickled through. But many people don't dare to do things because they know they have done too many wrong things in the past and cannot turn back. Some people, before going to sleep at night, don't they regret not being able to control themselves back then? They toss and turn and can't sleep, but when they wake up, they have no other way, and can only break the pot and let it be, muddling through."

Among the crowd, quite a few were sweating profusely; he had hit the mark.

The Town Guardian said: "As the saying goes, the person who tied the bell must untie it. I am the one who led you astray, so I should be the one to fill this hole. Suppressing the Demon Sect is an opportunity. I'll be blunt: after this suppression, I will retire and let Mai Shiyu take over as the Main Envoy of the Land Inspection Division. You know her temper; she doesn't tolerate sand in her eyes. Can you still muddle along like this? It's better to take this suppression as a chance to make a choice."

"For those who don't want to do real work, I have a set of displacement Art Tools to move you thousands of miles away out of thin air. With your skills, as long as you are not in Yunzhou, where can't you seek wealth? I will report you as having died in battle here, with generous compensation, and your families won't have to worry; on the contrary, they will be taken care of. For those who still want to do things and want a proper future, take this Demon Cave as the basin of water for washing your hands of the past, wash yourselves clean, and make a clean break with the past. If anyone digs up the past to point fingers at you in the future, just push it all onto me..."

"Town Guardian!"

"You cannot!"

"Boss, don't be like this!"

The Town Guardian laughed and said: "What is it? Do you think I'm going to die? I'm an old man about to retire, I have no family, and when I retire, I'll go to the south to enjoy life and never return to Yunzhou. Who could catch me? Reputation is worthless to me, it's just right to be a stepping stone for you. You call me boss every other word; can't I even help with this small favor? In the future, you should do your work well and be like good people. Maybe you'll even strive to become a Sword Guest."

Many in the squad, especially the younger ones, couldn't help but feel their hearts stir.

The Town Guardian turned his back, his voice gradually lowering, and said: "Cherish the present. What a great opportunity it is to be in the Land Inspection Division in Yunzhou; don't let it go to waste. It's a pity I was born too early. If I had been born thirty years later, I would also want to be a Sword Guest."

Finally, he pointed at the few sect members on the ground and said with disgust: "As for these few idiots, they took black money and actually became Demon Sect members, just like being a protector and ending up as a hoodlum. They aren't even gang leaders, but voluntarily became someone else's lackeys. Truly stupid and beyond redemption. For the sake of the past, after we finish suppressing the Demon Sect in a moment, throw them onto the battlefield and say they died in battle."

In the dim tunnel, several men and women blocked another door and entered a small room that had been dug out, temporarily letting out a breath.

One of the women said: "Flag Master, we have been exposed. Should we go to the Yiziyueshe to continue lying low, or withdraw to the branch?"

The middle-aged man pondered: "We definitely cannot return to the branch. Not to mention whether it is currently being surrounded and suppressed, how could we have any good outcome if we go back in such a dejected state? You go to the Erhaoyueshe and continue to lurk. Remember, just stay in the room and act as if there is no one there. The room is stocked with food and drink; just make do with your bodily functions. There are less than two days left anyway."

The group agreed, but still looked at the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man used "you all"; what about himself?

The middle-aged man said: "I am going to seek help from that gentleman."

The group paused simultaneously, many frowning. The woman said further: "Flag Master, that person is mysterious and is not of one mind with our Holy Moon Sect..."

The middle-aged man shook his head and said: "I know what I'm doing. No matter what, we cannot do without his help to gain a foothold in Yunzhou. That gentleman is as wise as a demon and observes the finest details; at this time, those of us who are dull-witted need his guidance to clear up our confusion."

The woman could not hide her dissatisfaction and said: "The Incense Master once said that this person has refused to join the sect time and again, and ultimately harbors two hearts..."

Speaking of this, she saw the middle-aged man glaring at her, so she had to shut her mouth.

The middle-aged man said: "No need to say more, let's act separately."

At the same time, Tang Zhao knocked on Zhang Rong's door.

Zhang Rong was very surprised by Tang Zhao's visit, and Tang Zhao said, "Sir, I have gained some insights from studying your secret manual and would like to ask for your guidance."

Zhang Rong asked curiously, "I know nothing about being a Talisman Sword Master, what could I possibly teach you?"

Tang Zhao said, "This method is not that of a Talisman Sword Master, but more like that of a Sword Smith. I want to Ask if you could calculate once more what exactly is inside the Empty-Type Demon Cave?"