Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Chapter 1053: The Easiest Story

The dense forest outside Oakhaven provided a quiet sanctuary as Li Yu walked away from the town with Borum and Faen following closely behind him. The afternoon sun cast long shadows through the swaying branches while the sounds of the wilderness slowly replaced the lingering echoes of the recent battle. Li Yu needed to prepare for his upcoming journey into the Kingdom of Solaria and he knew walking into a foreign capital guarded by a Sovereign expert required proper backing. While he felt he could escape from one, fighting and beating one was a completely different story.

He found a serene clearing near a bubbling stream and instructed his two companions to rest. Li Yu then reached into his robes and retrieved his communication token. He channeled a steady stream of his Qi into the smooth jade surface to establish a direct connection with his cousin.

The token hummed with a vibrant light before the familiar and robust voice of the Zhan Clan heir echoed from the artifact.

"Li Yu," Zhan Chen answered with a relaxed tone. "It is good to hear from you. Have you found another treasure or did you kick a hornet nest again?"

"It leans closer to the hornet nest this time," Li Yu replied with a warm chuckle. "I am currently dealing with a rather complicated situation involving a kingdom. The hostile faction is protected by a Sovereign level expert who is said to be their royal ancestor. I plan to march into their capital soon and I wanted to see if you were available to accompany me. Bringing a Sovereign of my own seems like a wise precaution. Perhaps you would like to stretch a bit and help your weak and helpless cousin?"

"I am not doing anything too important right now," Zhan Chen laughed out loud and then agreed without any hesitation. "I was just observing a local sect tournament but the martial displays are rather lacking. Tell me where you are and I will come meet you."

Li Yu provided the location of the forest outside Oakhaven and severed the connection. He spent the rest of the evening meditating by the stream and preparing his mind for the upcoming confrontations. The next day quickly arrived with a bright and clear sky.

The space near the edge of their camp rippled with energy as Zhan Chen arrived and he naturally projected the heavy and imposing aura of a Sovereign expert, he wasn’t even trying to hide it. He carried himself with the confidence of a warrior who conquered every obstacle with his own two fists. Zhan Chen smiled broadly and offered a respectful nod to the towering earth golem and the agile deer kin woman standing near the trees.

"You are always enjoying the company of others I see." Zhan Chen said to Li Yu as he greeted his two companions before turning his attention back to his younger cousin. "You always seem to find the most interesting trouble to get into as well. Lead the way and tell me what we are facing today."

“Restrain your aura a bit, don’t reveal yourself so openly just yet.” Li Yu chuckled while leading the way.

The group left the forest and began their journey toward the distant borders of the Solaria Kingdom. As they walked along the winding dirt roads, Li Yu explained the sequence of events that unfolded over the past few days that led to this. He detailed his reunion with Queen Morrigan and the ambush orchestrated by Prince Darian. He then described the dramatic arrival of Princess Lena and the resulting assassination of the vile noble in broad daylight.

"The Kingdom of Lunaris is currently taking the blame for the execution to protect the mercenaries and in part me as well." Li Yu concluded his thorough explanation. "But it did not sit right with me to just walk away and let them shoulder the political burden alone. I also want to see if the Solaria Kingdom is truly righteous like their public image claims or if they are rotten beneath the surface for myself. If they are corrupt, we will dismantle their foundation and that is why I called for your help."

Zhan Chen listened to the entire story while keeping a steady pace down the road. He let out a loud laugh and slapped Li Yu on the shoulder.

"You are thinking too much about the intricate politics of it all," Zhan Chen said with a bright grin. "That is not the Zhan way. We will simply go there and see if there are truly bad things happening behind their walls. If we find deep corruption, we will root it out from this realm with our own hands. It is as simple as that, why worry about the burdens that others are taking on themselves."

The older cousin crossed his arms and looked toward the horizon. "This realm will soon host a permanent base of operations for both the Zhan Clan and the Li Clan. While our families are not the saviors of everyone in the cosmos, we certainly intend to root out many of the big and evil organizations operating within this realm to ensure a stable environment for its people and our people sent here to work, trade and gather resources."

Li Yu pondered those words as they navigated a rocky incline. He understood the pragmatic approach of the Zhan Clan but a philosophical question lingered in his mind.

"Our clans will root out the things they view as evil from their own specific standpoint," Li Yu noted while stepping over a fallen log. "But what happens if there are terrible things occurring here that our clan simply does not view as bad or evil due to differing values?"

"Then of course we would not do anything about it," Zhan Chen answered plainly. "What else can a person do in that situation? If you do not have personal conviction toward a cause and if you do not truly see an action as wrong in your own heart, would you ever find the motivation to go out and destroy it? That is the natural way of the world, cousin. We follow our hearts and our martial instincts while of course using our brains to verify the facts."

Li Yu nodded slowly as the simplicity of that statement resonated with him. He agreed with his cousin because that was pretty much how he had been operating since he embarked on the cultivation path. He did what he felt was right and what he was motivated to do. Li Yu had also understood his own limits and didn’t try to save everyone either.

"You are right, it is impossible to keep fighting for things you do not genuinely believe in," Li Yu added to the conversation. "If I see something bad that I personally despise, I will eliminate it. But if I do not think a situation is inherently evil, I rarely spend the energy to intervene. It requires too much effort to fight battles for someone else's morality. I had thought perhaps the Zhan Clan did things differently out of consideration for politics, relationships and other factors that weigh down such a large group but I was wrong."

Zhan Chen chuckled and offered a knowing look. "It seems like you already mostly thought like a true Zhan warrior long before you ever learned you carried our bloodline. Do not overthink these moral complexities too much as they can make your head hurt. Follow your heart and own instincts as those can always be trusted. Hesitation and endless pondering will only serve to slow your fists in the middle of a battle."

The two cousins shared a loud laugh that echoed through the quiet valley as they continued their travels with a renewed sense of camaraderie. Li Yu had long begun to view Zhan Chen as a reliable older brother who offered wisdom and it was nice that they got a chance to spend more time casually together.

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As they journeyed further North and stopped at various trading posts along the neutral plains, they began to hear the spreading rumors regarding the events in Oakhaven. The merchants and traveling cultivators whispered that the sixth prince of Solaria was dead. The news traveled fast and the Kingdom of Lunaris had already made a public declaration claiming full responsibility for the killing.

The royal court of Lunaris announced they executed the prince because he attempted to enslave a sworn sister of the crowned princess. They framed the assassination as a righteous defense of honor and friendship.

Listening to the gossip in a crowded tavern, Li Yu developed an even higher opinion of Princess Lena. She proved herself to be fiercely loyal to her friends and she actively protected them while willingly bearing the heavy burdens that came with her royal title. Her decisive actions made him truly want to help her and ultimately secure a safe future for Morrigan as well.

He leaned back in his wooden chair and finally realized that Morrigan actually possessed a streak of good luck hidden beneath her tragedies. She had randomly stumbled across an injured woman in the wilderness and her good nature prompted her to save the stranger.

That simple act of kindness and her own personality allowed them to become close friends and eventually brought the same royal princess to her rescue when she needed it the most. The flow of karma was unpredictable but it generally rewarded those who planted good seeds.

A day later, the group of four officially crossed the borders and entered the Kingdom of Solaria. They traveled about halfway toward the sprawling capital city and gathered more intelligence along the way.

The information network within the local towns revealed a tense political climate within the kingdom now. The Solaria Kingdom was currently putting the Lunaris royal court under an intense amount of diplomatic pressure. They were publicly demanding that blood must be paid for the loss of their beloved prince.

The Solaria officials declared that the accusations of slavery and corruption were vile falsehoods and they insisted the deceased prince was a kind and generous soul, like how the rest of the royal family is seen. Li Yu walked through a bustling market square and scoffed at the spreading propaganda.

"There is no way the ruling family of this kingdom did not know how their prince was truly behaving," Li Yu said to his cousin as they inspected a stall selling spiritual herbs. "He was far too vile and direct to truly hide his actions. He operated right out in the open."

Zhan Chen examined a vibrant red root and agreed with the assessment. "Being a designated heir myself, I understand very well that large organizations have their eyes fixed on everything. I receive detailed reports and intelligence briefings every single day regarding what is happening within our territories and beyond."

The Sovereign expert set the herb down and looked at the grand banners hanging from the nearby buildings.

"For a royal prince to somehow hide an extensive history of kidnapping and extortion right under their noses means one of two things," Zhan Chen explained with a serious tone. "Either they had zero intelligence operatives watching him, which is impossible for a functioning kingdom or they were intentionally turning a blind eye to his cruel hobbies. Either way you look at it, the king knew exactly what the prince was all about."

Li Yu observed the local citizens walking through the market and had been keeping a close eye on them throughout their time within the kingdom. The people within the Solaria Kingdom seemed genuinely happy and prosperous. Children laughed as they chased each other through the alleys while merchants smiled and traded goods without fear. Everyone lived their normal lives with a sense of peaceful security.

"It is strange though," Li Yu commented while gesturing toward the cheerful crowd. "If the royal family is truly corrupt enough to ignore such heinous crimes, how can the common people look so content? The kingdom feels stable on the surface."

Zhan Chen motioned for the group to leave the crowded market and walk down a quieter side street. He decided it was time to mentor his younger cousin on the darker realities of governance a bit more.

"You must remember that peaceful prosperity can easily exist on the surface while terrible things lay hidden just underneath," Zhan Chen warned as he constructed a barrier of isolation for them just in case. "A kingdom with sufficient power can cover up a crime and erase all traces of the truth with frightening efficiency. You have usually operated alone so you don’t understand or see these things as I have."

The older warrior paused to let the words sink in before providing a chilling example.

"Imagine a high ranking general who goes mad and slaughters an entire remote town," Zhan Chen proposed the dark scenario. "A powerful ruling family could easily cover up that massacre to preserve their pristine reputation. They would deploy hidden operatives to find all the distant relatives of the deceased townspeople and secretly kill them off in the shadows. They would forge documents, rumors and more claiming those relatives moved away for better opportunities."

Li Yu listened with wide eyes as the Sovereign laid out the grim mechanics of a conspiracy in such a grand event.

"Then the kingdom would quietly move loyal citizens or paid actors into the empty town and have them live there as new citizens taking over the roles of the previous one." Zhan Chen continued his explanation. "Or they might choose an even easier path. They could simply level the ruined town into the dirt and claim the land was claimed for a new military base. They would come up with fabricated stories about where the original inhabitants were relocated and still go through what I said earlier about relatives and family. Then they can station a few heavily armed guards there instead of filling in the whole town, that would be even less work."

The older cousin placed a hand on Li Yu's shoulder and offered a stern look. "You must be cautious of everything you see in these established empires or any group, clan and sect because at a high level of authority, everything can be manipulated. I say this for your own good, cousin. Since you have generally been on your own, you are too naive when it comes to these things."

This lesson sent a chill down Li Yu's spine. He had fought terrifying beasts and powerful cultivators but he had never really thought that political conspiracies could run that deep or operate on such a grand scale. He had known that things were covered up all the time, perhaps a person goes missing or a family. But to be able to easily cover an entire town or towns with ease was not something he even thought of.

"But if an established town just went missing or was suddenly replaced by a military base, surely someone would figure it out," Li Yu argued while trying to find a flaw in the grim logic, still not being able to wrap his head around the logistics and scale of it. "Traveling merchants that visited the town before or old friends would notice the discrepancies."

Zhan Chen shook his head slowly and revealed a depressing truth about human, no, the nature of living beings.

"People inherently like to believe the easiest overall story for themselves," Zhan Chen explained with a touch of sadness in his voice. "It is much easier for a passing merchant to believe that the kingdom just wanted a new military base and the people were fairly compensated and relocated. It is comfortable to accept that narrative rather than to believe the town was violently destroyed and the beloved king is covering up a massacre."

He gestured toward the distant capital city looming on the horizon.

"One line of thought allows the people to just believe the lie and go on with their safe lives because they remain unaffected by the tragedy," Zhan Chen elaborated. "The other line of thought requires them to dig deeper to find the ugly truth. That path requires risking their own lives, living in constant terror of their rulers and going against the established natural order. For the vast majority of people and weak cultivators living in the shadow of the kingdom, it is much easier to just believe the lie they are told as it affects them the least or is to their benefit."

Li Yu nodded his head slowly as he processed the wisdom and knowledge his cousin was teaching him. He truly didn’t understand this side or have seen this side of large organizations before. His instincts would tell him something was wrong but it never provided any details. It was a universal truth that people would readily believe whatever narrative was best or easiest for their own survival. The illusion of safety was a powerful drug that kept empires stable.

The logic was cold but undeniably accurate since it was coming from Zhan Chen. Being heir to one of the strongest clans, he must understand these things well. His respect for Zhan Chen and also Li Mei went up greatly, that they had to eventually shoulder such burdens and were surely already being made aware of such things.

"I understand now," Li Yu said with a heavy sigh. "Thank you, Zhan Chen, for teaching me. I will not let the peaceful surface of this kingdom blind me to the rot hiding within."