Lost of Oblivion: Chapter 33

“WàngJī is a natural upright person, and, as for you, you have a big heart.” said Lán XīChén, “The two of you should work together to solve to this matter.

“And, above all, you should not blame yourself. I don’t think that WàngJī blames himself. Since both of you think that what you have done was the right thing, so be it.”

Lán XīChén smiled, then carried on, “I’m not saying this as the elder brother, but as the head of GūsūLán sect.”

Wèi WúXiàn was extremely moved, he stood up, adjusted his robes, and solemnly bowed, with his left hand turned into a fist, while the right hand rested flat against the fist, and his both arms, halfway, stretched forward, earnestly, he said, “Yes, Zōng-zhǔ*.”

Lán XīChén stood up, held Wèi WúXiàn’s arms, and made him stand upright, “WúXiàn, there’s no need for you to be so courteous. If you want to do something, then do it for GūsūLán.

“It’s true that you have done a lot for GūsūLán so far. And, since you have now joined our clan, it’s not a bad idea to sell talismans and make money for the clan.

“You have a great talent, there’s no need to hide it. And, for this occasion, WàngJī has a surprise for you.”

Wèi WúXiàn didn’t quite understand the reason why Lán XīChén wanted him to make money by selling talismans, still he agreed, “Okay.” then, curious, he asked, “What kind of surprise Lán Zhàn has for me?”

“I can’t tell you what it is, otherwise, that would spoil the surprise.” replied Lán XīChén, “In a few days, WàngJī will reveal it to you.”

Then, both of them carried on playing the Go game. Steadily and calmly, Wèi WúXiàn used Lán WàngJī's game strategy until the end, and managed to defeat Lán XīChén by two pieces.

As Wèi WúXiàn took his leave, Lán XīChén watched him walking towards Jingshi, observing his quick and energetic pace, his broad sleeves waving under the rhythm of his movement. He stared at him with admiration, then, he said to himself, “WàngJī is finally happy.”

Outside the window of his room, the courtyard garden was a blaze of colour in this summertime.

In the garden, the pink hortensias were intertwined with the blue ones. The pale pink blossoms were like saying that the spring had not ended yet, while the blue blossoms were like dreaming of an early summer.

Those hortensias were given to him by an old friend. Back then, they were just two seedlings. Now, they had grown into dense bushes.

Lán XīChén turned his eyes in the direction of LánlíngJīn, and said to himself, “A-Yáo*, this time, I will try your method.”

... ... ...

“GūsūLán has accepted the condition of Wěishàn’s villagers, which is to pay them three times the compensation!”

Although there was no evidence of this acceptance, and GūsūLán hadn’t said anything about it, and also, the villagers were unwilling to comment on the matter, still, this rumour had been spreading like wildfire.

This triple compensation rumour had been not only widely circulating, but it also overshadowed the previous rumours about the villagers being unfairly treated by Yílíng Lǎozǔ and HánGuāng-Jūn.

“What if GūsūLán really intends to pay that huge amount of money, this will mean that those villagers wanted to keep it secret, and eagerly look forward to it.”

Those gossips were now the talk of the town.

“Ever since he has joined GūsūLán sect, Yílíng Lǎozǔ has kept a low profile, and he rarely appears in public.

“But now, for the first time, it has been spreading that he is selling talismans that ward off evil spirits for households, in order to make money.”

“But why would Yílíng Lǎozǔ feel the need of making money? Is he broke?”

Yílíng Lǎozǔ's atrocities of commanding demons and corpses, and killing opponents on the battlefields were just a topic of conversation after dinner for common people. It was as illusory as a legendary story, too far away from their lives.

However, when it came to money, which was the necessity that everyone needed for their daily expenses, their conversation took an interesting turn.

While doubling the compensation represented already many years of savings for most of households, the triple compensation was undoubtedly covetable.

“Why all of a sudden should those villagers get rich?”

Those people who previously sympathised with the villagers, and condemned the evil deeds of Yílíng Lǎozǔ and HánGuāng-Jūn, had now changed their opinion.

Before the triple compensation rumour, people doubted about the validity of the compensation plan that Jiāng Chéng had distributed all over Yúnmèng territory.

After that rumour, however, people began to believe in the copy of the compensation plan that had been given to them.

“Since this compensation plan is really what the authorities have established, and also their village chief has signed it, then it’s true that those villagers want to obtain more money.”

“HánGuāng-Jūn and Yílíng Lǎozǔ happened to pass by and got entangled. The villagers tried to extort money on spot but failed.

“Then, later on, they spread rumours in order to coerce GūsūLán to compensate them. So, GūsūLán agrees to pay three times the compensation.”

“Also, Yílíng Lǎozǔ sets up a stall to sell talismans in order to supplement their income, which is very embarrassing.”

This was the conclusion that some people came up with, and spread it around as what truly happened between those villagers and GūsūLán.

Oulang, a money-lender company, had sneakily contacted the ‘about-to-become-rich’ villagers to offer them loans.

However, it was ridiculous of those villagers to believe that they would receive three times their original compensation money.

Some people, however, doubted about the triple compensation. Besides, GūsūLán hadn’t publicly admitted it yet.

Soon after that rumour, yet another rumour was circulating, saying that Yílíng Lǎozǔ was not good at making talismans, and failed to raise a decent amount of money.

As a result, another version of the compensation plan was issued, in which the villagers agreed to reduce the triple compensation to a double one, since three times the compensation was indeed too high.

And it was decided that GūsūLán would pay half of the compensation, and the authorities would pay the other half, which was the same amount of money that was on the first version of the compensation plan.

And also, GūsūLán would pay the integrity of their part in a lump sum, while the authorities would pay their part over three years by increasing taxes on the lower reaches of Han River.

This was the specific details that was drawn on the new compensation plan.

“What on earth do they have to increase taxes on our areas?”

“Not to mention that Wěishàn’s villagers went to settle themselves in vicinity of the dam that was supposed to be destroyed. This was very selfish of them.”

“Indeed! Moreover, it was a risky location, but still, they refused to move. HánGuāng-Jūn saved their lives by relocating them.”

Over past few years, the residents of the lower reaches of Han River had been experiencing flooding. And each time it happened, they would turn to YúnmèngJiāng sect to get rid of ghouls after floods. And yet, none of them never received any compensation from the authorities.

While these same authorities promised to compensate the Wěishàn’s villagers for their losses by increasing their taxes! This was unacceptable for those residents.

Finally, the authorities broke the silence, and spoke about the Ganlin reservoir being originally built for flood control and water reservoir.

With this reservoir in place, it would be easier to control the flood in the lower reaches of Han River, hence limiting the damages caused by inundations.

Then, they talked about the relocation order being issued every year, and, finally, the villagers accepted to move out.

And these two topics were the only ones the authorities communicated to those people.

... ... ...

As he landed and sheathed his sword, Lán XīChén said inwardly, “A-Yáo, you were right. People can behave very strangely, regarding of what rumour has been spreading. It is not funny at all.”

Waving slightly his folding fan, and with a gentle smile on his face, Niè HuáiSāng greeted him, “XīChén-gē, you’re here.”