Those who have undergone the rat transformation want to use rumors to destroy the public trust in Mingjiang Prefecture.
He, Zhou Xuan, intends to stabilize the public trust. Being at the center of the rumors, he must beco the spokesperson himself— I, Zhou Xuan, am upright and honorable, unafraid of people’s gossip.
Along the way, he ran into so familiar townsfolk and would stop to chat casually.
"Sir, there’s so chaos tonight; many people are slandering you."
"It’s just rumors. In Mingjiang Prefecture, there are so killers who are half-rat, half-human. These people don’t want our Mingjiang Prefecture to be well; naturally, they want to sar . Of course, there are also so not-so-smart people who believe whatever others say. They’re very foolish."
"Those people are truly vile, consuming your food and drink, yet spreading those malicious rumors about you. I just heard soone spouting nonsense, and I slapped him right away."
"Exactly, biting the hand that feeds them, harming the Sir—I can’t tolerate this at all."
The citizens rallying around Zhou Xuan grew more and more nurous.
But Zhou Xuan gestured with his hands for them to quiet down and sincerely said, "Everyone, your trust in , Zhou Xuan, I truly feel it. But there’s one thing I must clarify: are those rumors really hurting ?"
"I was originally from Ping Shui Prefecture, where my family’s business isn’t very large, but life was prosperous. If I wanted to be at odds with these rumors, I could easily roam a thousand miles by day and return to the Zhou Family’s Troupe to continue my life as a young master."
"I can leave, but can you? If Ping Shui Prefecture learns of the grievances I suffer, will they continue to supply grain and dicine to Mingjiang Prefecture? I doubt it. Moreover, Yellow Field Prefecture is rife with water bandits. Last ti, Jingchuan Prefecture planned to plunder the people of Mingjiang Prefecture. All three prefectures have beco forbidden lands for everyone. Where can you go?"
"Without grain, money, or a place to go, how long can you hold on... In the end, when Mingjiang Prefecture is plagued with rampant banditry and famine, and people resort to eating each other, would it still be far from you?"
The crowd fell into deep thought.
Zhou Xuan continued, "Do you still rember after the Xianhuo disaster, lining up in the square at the train station, waiting for to distribute grain? Do you still recall the hunger of that day?"
The crowd finally woke up to the realization.
Imdiately, soone shouted, "Indeed, the Sir is right. He’s soone with heaven-reaching abilities. Why would he need to stay in this ruined city of Mingjiang Prefecture? But us, without the Sir, what are we even!"
"Many of us here are frail. Without the Sir, who can last even two days?"
"Those who spread rumors aren’t harming the Sir; they’re harming us."
"Damn it, I’ll go inform my husband right now. If he sees anyone spreading rumors again, beat them to death... They may not want to live, but I still do."
Zhou Xuan was very content with his speech. He nodded and added, "Everyone, hold your anger a bit and listen to . People, when deceived by others, it can’t be helped. Admit mistakes and correct them; this is a virtue second to none. When you encounter those who spread rumors and incite trouble, it’s still essential to focus on educating them...
...If they still refuse to listen, then you can beat them to death, but first use reason, then force."
"Additionally, regarding those who have undergone the rat transformation, I suspect there are reasons behind it too. When you disperse, please help , Zhou Xuan, spread the word. Inform the families of those who’ve undergone the transformation to voluntarily surrender to the God Traveling Departnt. I will carefully investigate the reasons and will not just kill indiscriminately,
but if they dare to flee, then that’s knowing their mistake yet repeating it. For the stability of Mingjiang Prefecture today and its future prosperity, I, Zhou Xuan, will have no choice but to kill them without rcy."
"Alas, the Sir is still too rciful. If it were us, there’d be no investigation. Just hit them to death with a stick."
"Exactly, no need for investigation, just club them to death. If the Sir can’t bring himself to do it, leave it to us."
Once the crowd realized that the "rumors" were actually harming their interests rather than really affecting Zhou Xuan, they regarded those "rat-people" and "fire-starters" as mortal enemies, wishing to beat them to death on the spot.
As the saying goes, "Blocking soone’s financial path is like killing their parents," whereas if you block soone’s path to survival, the hatred is even stronger than "killing their parents."
"Clear rewards and punishnts constitute order. I, Zhou Xuan, am not a bloodthirsty person. Fellow villagers, please go and help spread the word... Let those with rat features co forward sooner."
With Zhou Xuan’s urging, the indignant crowd finally dispersed.
...
The arrests by the Bone Elder Association and the City God were proceeding thodically.
anwhile, Zhou Xuan’s speech also had great effect,
as those townsfolk, after leaving, carried Zhou Xuan’s exact words to every corner of Hui Feng dical College in the morning when the sky started to lighten.
The vast majority of the townsfolk were searching everywhere for those who had undergone the rat transformation. In their eyes, these damn freaks were pushing them towards the dead ends of "starving and freezing to death."
And those inciting trouble had all reined themselves in, not because they had changed their ways, but out of fear that if they continued with conspiracy theories against Zhou Xuan, they might suddenly get hit on the head and die without knowing why.
Those who had undergone the rat transformation had already beco public enemy outlaws,
and outlaws never want to sit and wait for death.
So rat-transford individuals were already quietly gathering, planning to break through Mingjiang Prefecture.
Families like Wang Xinyi’s, however, found themselves in a dilemma.
...
Wang Xinyi is a carpenter, and in the disaster of Xianhuo, he lost a leg. Now, carrying his daughter Xiao Jue, he’s hiding in the woods, afraid to go out.
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