Era of Magic and Martial Arts-Chapter 277 - 261: The Truth of the World Is...

It's hard to find evidence of someone else's crime, but isn't it much simpler to help someone commit murder?

Murder is always simpler than solving a case, there's nothing wrong with that logic.

Zhao Xing exclaimed in horror: "100 prison guards?"

Zhou Hu's face changed dramatically: "Helping Qian Huan kill?"

Lou Duan took in their terrified expressions, looking down at them, his eyes gleaming with cold and sinister light:

"You couldn't take down Qian Huan when I asked you to, you can't find evidence against him when I asked you to. So the only thing left is to help him flip the table, isn't it?"

Zhao Xing originally came to seek Lou Duan's guidance, and now he's indeed received it, but he doesn't feel any joy—only a chilling sensation spreading through him.

If asked to kill 100 prisoners, he might not even blink, but 100 prison guards—what kind of concept is that?

In the whole Second Prison, that's equivalent to 1/4 of the total guards, and in Death Row under his management, it's equivalent to a complete wipe-out of his entire ward.

Zhou Hu also felt his scalp tingle; even though he always took lives recklessly, the number 100 prison guards scared him.

These people aren't cold numbers like the prisoners list, nameless and faceless, whom he could casually mark for the incineration room, treated as trash.

For 100 guards, even if chosen randomly, he should be able to name most of them, even remembering who he's shared meals with and spoken to.

Most importantly, they can't just be casually erased and incinerated without trace—they all have families behind them.

The prison walls can keep prisoners' families at bay, any casual autopsy report can dismiss them, but dead guards' families—any thinking person would know—a wall alone can't hold them back.

Zhou Hu previously wanted to kill a new guard and had to meticulously plot schemes, and now for 100?

Zhou Hu was desperately horrified; he finally realized why he was merely a small Prison Chief, while Lou Duan could comfortably be seated as the third-in-command in the prison system.

The difference here is probably the gap between 1 and 100.

Seeing them speechless, Lou Duan sneered:

"What? Now you can't even smoothly carry out the simplest task of killing?"

Zhao Xing swallowed hard, fearfully:

"No, it's just that I feel like 100 guards might be slightly too many?"

Lou Duan's mouth formed a cold arc, mocking:

"Too many? Perhaps it seems like a lot to you, but trust me, this number is not excessive at all; to those members of parliament in the Executive Government used to reading spreadsheets, it's just a number worthy of a blink."'

Zhao Xing opened his mouth, recalling his usual indifference towards reviewing prisoner death numbers, finding no room to refute.

Lou Duan added, "If you don't wear yourself out till you're covered in wounds as a dog, why would the master pity you? So, if you want the Executive Government to recover the cut-off meat, the sacrifice of 100 guards is inevitable."

Zhou Hu fully understood now; he took a deep breath and asked, "Do you want to pin these 100 guards' deaths on Qian Huan?"

Lou Duan frowned, "Don't frame him, that's too crude. Just learn from Qian Huan, make sure it's clean."

Lou Duan worried that Zhou Hu wouldn't understand, so he explained, "Don't add drama for yourself. As a dog, just master the wagging of the tail, and the master will naturally protect his face."

Zhou Hu hummed to show he got it.

Zhao Xing hesitated, unsure, asked again, "What if the Executive Government sees through our act, then what?"

Lou Duan grinned, showing neat teeth, "The truth doesn't matter, the opinion of one or two smart people never matters, what matters is how the fools see things."

Lou Duan paused, stating the game rules understood by smart minds and baffling fools:

"The world is a huge stage play, a small group of smart people weave lies on stage, performed for the fools below. The Executive Government is no exception, it's not its real face that it wants to maintain, but rather the face it's wearing—[Mask]."

Zhou Hu and Zhao Xing were stunned, feeling an inexplicable shock from the soul.

Zhou Hu breathed heavily, feeling this revelation lit up his life, he rasped: "I'm in, what about you?"

Zhao Xing looked into the fierce light in Zhou Hu's eyes, then at Lou Duan's meaningful gaze, his eyes filled with conflict and a slight discomfort in his conscience: "100 of them."

Zhou Hu's eyes gleamed fiercely, he growled:

"Stop dithering, are you in or not? Station Chief Lou said their sacrifice is worthwhile. If you're uncomfortable, after the matter, ask Qian Huan for more compensation for them."

Zhao Xing did feel uneasy in conscience, but more than that, he had doubts.

He doubted Lou Duan's 'game rules', yet paradoxically, that's why he's suspicious because he actually believes these 'game rules'.

Station Chief Lou mentioned, the world is a play for fools by smart people, so in his eyes, are Zhao Xing and Zhou Hu smart people or fools?

What Lou Duan told us, could it also be an artfully crafted lie?

Unable to find an answer, the main thing was that Zhao Xing realized he probably didn't have an option to refuse or else he'd likely be one of those 100 guards.

Zhao Xing took a deep breath, his face became hard, he said:

"Why would I be worried? It's not us who kills them, their deaths will be pinned on Qian Huan, and they should thank us for claiming their compensation."

Zhou Hu laughed heartily at his words, while Lou Duan also had a smile, he sat back on the sofa, calmly facing them, saying: "Have tea."

The tea had cooled, yet cool tea quenched thirst and soothed the throat better.

Zhou Hu and Zhao Xing started to plan the details fairly, each acknowledging half the numbers.

Throughout, Lou Duan sat quietly listening beside them, never giving a single suggestion or advice, just as he said, murder is the simplest thing, no one needs guidance as it's embedded deep within human genes, an innate instinct.

Two hours later.

Zhou Hu and Zhao Xing left together.

Lou Duan picked up the two delicate porcelain cups, tossing them casually into the trash bin after they departed.

Afterward, he slowly stood up, walking to the tall floor-to-ceiling window, looking down below, with a somewhat enigmatic smile on his face.

He could sense Zhao Xing had doubts, but it didn't matter because he truly didn't lie to them, what he said today were his life insights over decades.

Despite being just a few words, the value and wisdom they carried were irreplaceable.

Lou Duan didn't lie, he just omitted a sentence—smart people don't care about the truth, but they do care about being deceived!

Lou Duan habitually touched his nose bridge, muttering to himself:

"So I made a mistake, it's not 100, it's 102, hehe—, but your sacrifice can save Second Prison, it's worth it."

As Shangguan, the only thing Lou Duan could do was after success, to petition Executive Government for more compensation for Zhou Hu and Zhao Xing.

…

On the other side.

Feng Mu just stepped out of Tian Tao's house, the substantial compensation he brought slightly comforted Tian Tao's family from their grief, Tian Tao's wife held back grief, gratefully held Feng Mu's hand, and sent him off.

"Captain Tian Tao cared a lot for me before, this is the least I can do, you don't need to send me off, hurry back," Feng Mu consoled Tian Tao's wife, his face full of sorrow.

On his retina, subtitles of reward settlement glided slowly…