Cultivation Nerd (xianxia)

Chapter 109 - Corrupting The Good

While Song Song terrorized the local higher-ups, I observed the technique she was using. It would be interesting to see how this technique developed in the future.

As for what Song Song was doing to the local people in power? There wasn't much I could do without blatantly undermining her authority. Honestly, I didn't want to help these people who had been a pain in the ass. They had treated me as if I were an overbearing tyrant. It had taken literally defeating an army for them to start showing me some respect. Even then, I wasn't sure if it was genuine or just an act.

Now, they had to deal with an actual overbearing person like Song Song.

Also, not having to worry about the leadership part of this whole endeavor was quite nice.

"Lady Song," I addressed her formally. "The governor and two clan leaders have been very helpful. It would save me some face if you would let them off the hook this once. I'm sure they won't forget to get on their knees from now on."

Despite everything, the governor had given me that carpet artifact, and we had fought shoulder to shoulder. The least I could do was ask Song Song to go easy on them. Whether she followed my advice was up to her.

"I'm already being lenient with them, Liu Feng," she said as she withdrew her killing intent. "If this were any other place, I would have had them bow with their foreheads touching the snow. Weaklings, trash, and the incompetent should know their place."

Okay, she wasn't going to follow my advice. Oh well, there were some things I would never be good at, no matter how hard I tried. One of those things is appeasing crazy women.

I shrugged and let her do her thing.

Instead, I approached Speedy, put him on the ground, and patted his head. The little guy glanced at Song Song and seemed intimidated, but I reassured him.

"Just cover your body in Qi, which should stop most of the technique's effects. The technique is nothing special despite how scary it looks," I said.

I hadn't had time to teach Speedy something like that, so he just looked at me confused.

While petting Speedy, I zoned out. What happened next was just Song Song indulging in her usual cruelty. She was testing how much resistance these guys would dare put up against her, which was none.

"Since I am new here, I will partake in the hospitality of Whitewall Town," Song Song said, lowering her killing intent until it completely disappeared. "Do you have a place where I can stay for a few days?"

When the pressure lifted, the Hong Clan Leader stood up, his knees still shaking from being forced to kneel in the snow. Despite his sorry appearance, he had a smile on his face. That same fake smile he always wore.

"Then, Lady Song, the Hong Clan will offer you the best accommodations in the city," the Hong Clan Leader declared boldly.

Usually, I would have been annoyed by his attitude. But right now, I felt sorry for him. He had just picked the worst possible target for that kind of behavior.

I glanced at Song Song. Surprisingly, she only had a slight smile without the malicious intent I expected. However, a certain unreadable glint in her eyes made me uncomfortable. I wasn't even her target.

Poor guy…

"Really? Then let me check your clan compounds and wherever the governor is staying. I will choose whichever building I like," Song Song said with the sweetest smile as if she wasn't planning to kick people out of their own homes.

At least it was the clans, not civilians who might struggle to find a place to sleep. Despite her actions being a bit on the nose, I didn't publicly speak up or challenge her authority.

Even though they were experiencing blatant disrespect, the three town leaders were forced to smile stiffly and nod. The governor looked especially bad, his face pale and covered in sweat, like someone who had seen a ghost.

I followed along as a spectator while Song Song inspected the places she planned to make her temporary home. Though the Clan Leaders were displeased, they didn't dare express their opinions.

With everyone focused on Song Song, I put on a cloak, pulled up my hood, and hung at the back of the group. This was the most fun I'd had in a while, watching the mess unfold like a reality TV show while petting Speedy.

"See, Speedy, always make sure not to pick women who only have beauty to offer. Otherwise, you end up with women like Song Song," I advised the little guy. In response, he rubbed his head against me.

What did that gesture mean? I had no idea, but I got the feeling that Speedy understood. As an honorary father, I could only hope he wouldn't end up picking some crazy turtle for a wife or getting a harem.

I had nothing to worry about with Song Song around, so my mind wandered to weird places.

…

After a bit, Song Song ended up picking the governor's mansion. She claimed it was something simple since she was bored of extravagant compounds. Some servants were forced to stay, but the guards and the governor were booted out.

At least with me there, Song Song didn't literally humiliate them by kicking them out. The governor would probably temporarily settle in the mansion where I used to live, as it was the only place suitable to handle all the guards.

As he walked outside the gates, I picked up the unconscious inner disciple from Speedy's back and handed him to one of the guards. The governor stared at me weirdly when I did that, and even the guards looked bewildered.

"Take care of him until he wakes up; he is an inner sect disciple," I said.

The governor's gaze sharpened when he heard that, and he nodded. "Thanks."

He knew I was doing him a favor by letting him nurse an inner disciple back to health. Now, he could have something resembling a disciple and perhaps gain something from this experience.

"I don't know what you're talking about. I just gave you more work," I shrugged and walked into our new mansion as the previous owner left. Before he did, I gave him a last piece of advice, "Also, whatever grudge you have against Song Song, it's better if you let it go and concentrate on rebuilding the town."

He nodded, but whether he listened to me or not was hard to tell. I stared at his back as he walked away, wondering how the governor's life would end. Would it be with Song Song ripping off his head, or would he develop this town into something better? He seemed like someone who genuinely cared about his people.

Ultimately, this was all I could do for the old man; his fate was now in his hands.

I walked back into the mansion, and the maids greeted me awkwardly. I paid no attention to it and returned their greetings with a polite nod.

I expanded my senses and tried to find which room Song Song was in. Thankfully, with her massive Qi, locating her in one of the guest rooms wasn't hard. The only other significant Qi signature I sensed was Speedy, who was outside in the yard, sleeping and camouflaging into another pile of snow.

As I entered the room, it was a pretty place with red couches and a small dining table. It looked like a modern dining room with a Chinese and old-style touch. Song Song was lying on one of the couches with her legs dangling over the edge, making herself comfortable while biting into an apple.

She glanced at me as I came in, her gaze following me like a hawk as I sat on another couch opposite hers. By now, I was used to her weird behavior, so her staring didn't bother me as much as it should have.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked, mirroring the way Song Song sat on her couch. It was surprisingly comfortable, with soft pillows that felt like my head could sink into them.

An uncomfortable silence followed, with the only sound being Song Song biting into her apple. Finally, she leveled her stare at me, her deep blue eyes appearing colder than ever. "What do you think leaders are?"

Great, answering a question with another question. She had learned some bad habits from me. It was pretty annoying when someone else did this to me, especially since I could roughly guess what was going through her mind when she did this.

Probably, she didn't want to give me a direct answer and was trying to deliver the message differently to avoid hurting my feelings. It was impressive how she was learning, and I even felt a degree of pride, so I let things play out.

If it were anyone else, I might have lied if the answer would have hurt our relationship. But I was always truthful to Song Song.

"Leaders are something the common person can look up to. A leader is someone whose followers know that the person in charge of a large part of their everyday lives still has their best intentions at heart," I answered.

It was a short and perhaps idealistic answer, but that was what I believed a leader should be, and when I was in charge, I tried to play that role to the best of my abilities.

While I had lived in a country where politicians were corrupt in my previous life… well, that was pretty much every country on Earth. So it wasn't like my situation was any special. But even when I came here, the Blazing Sun Sect showed a face of fairness and would punish even powerful disciples who picked on the weaker ones. However, I learned that, at the end of the day, the Blazing Sun Sect's protection went only as far as the cost didn't outweigh the benefits of protecting someone.

Here, corruption was blatant at the deeper levels of power since people had actual power. But in my mind, I knew what an ideal leader should be like.

I turned toward Song Song. During the time we had spent together, she had improved as a leader and as a person-

"Are you retarded, or were you dropped on your head as a child?" she asked while lying down on the couch and nonchalantly biting into a fruit. There was a trace of mock worry on her face.

"What?"

"No, you're too good at arrays and a competent guy in general. But I heard that certain people are hyper-focused and extremely talented in one aspect while being socially inept at the same time."

Did she just call me autistic?

Despite her harsh words, there was a teasing smile on her face, so I knew not to take her words to heart. But as she was about to hurl more insults, I picked up one of the pillows and threw it at her face.

Sadly, she had good instincts, and she easily caught it midair without even looking at the projectile.

She even had the audacity to keep staring at me with mock worry and said, "You must have had a horrible childhood to come up with wild fantasies like that."

I sighed and leaned on the couch, waving her words away. "Yeah, yeah, continue bullying your helpless subordinate."

"Now you just had to go and ruin it," she pouted. "This is more fun when you are annoyed."

No matter what I told her or how she might change in the future, I realized that Song Song just had a shitty personality, and there was nothing I could do about that.

"Despite those people being put in charge here as governors or even smaller clan leaders, they're all under the protection of the Blazing Sun Sect. There is no free meal in this world, and the Blazing Sun Sect doesn't do this just because they're nice. This protection comes with a cost, and that cost is their service to the Blazing Sun Sect," she stated, throwing the apple she finished away, which perfectly landed in a trash can in the corner. "In essence, everyone here is our servant. No matter how they might look at it, or whether they like it or not they're here to serve us, not the other way around."

I understood what she was saying in principle, but that did not mean I agreed with her view. Before I could speak, she continued her explanation.

"A leader is not supposed to sacrifice themselves for the people; he just has to be there to show his power and protect them. But the ones doing the sacrificing should be the servants, and they should try to do anything to please their leader and keep their overlord's protection. After all, the leader's life is much more important than all of their subjects," she explained and stared at me as if waiting for me to challenge her opinion.

Here, when someone was in a leadership position, it usually meant they were a strong cultivator compared to the other people around them. There were many variations of what it meant to be "strong" depending on the region. Either way, this was just a different way of looking at things, and no matter what I said, it would be impossible to convince Song Song otherwise. A part of me understood where she was coming from.

"We have different views on the matter," I shrugged and left it at that.

"No. You're just plain wrong," she refuted. "After all, if you want to be so self-sacrificing, the people you're trying so hard to protect will spit on you and stab you as soon as a stronger cultivator comes around. Why would you want to sacrifice yourself for someone who would do that to you?"

That made me think. Despite how I treated these people, they were from this world. It didn't matter how I looked at things; my views would not change how they would act.

Also, she was speaking in absolutes here. But I was more worried about her next breakthrough than this.

The dangerous glint in Song Song's eyes intensified. By the time I noticed that she had likely read me like a book in that split second of showing weakness, it was too late as she continued talking.

"Do you want to test that out?" She smirked. "We just have to call the three Qi Gathering Cultivators and act like we had a conflict. Then I can order them to beat you to death. Do you think they would refuse my orders and valiantly stand by your side?"

It was a question I knew the answer to...

"Yeah, and even the normal civilians would do the same too, stab you in the back without an ounce of hesitation," Song Song said while stretching on the couch like a cat. "Don't try to be righteous and risk your life for people who don't care about you."

She was... right...

No matter how I thought of Song Song as a crazy maniac even when she was at her best, she was absolutely right. Despite how hard I had fought for this town, all I had earned was a bit of respect. They would probably support me when it came to most other things, but none would go through the danger I did for me as I did for them.

Perhaps, I should abandon the mentality I had in my previous life regarding certain things. Helping people was okay as long as I had the power, but risking my life for people who would stab me in the back without a second thought was just being cruel to myself.

I never looked at it that way before.

Oh well, that was enough philosophical discussions for today. We had more important matters to attend to. When I turned toward Song Song to ask her something, she looked mighty pleased with herself while staring at me. But as soon as she noticed my gaze, she smiled and acted like nothing happened.

Whatever it was, I was no longer in the mood to talk about useless things. “When do you want to try and breakthrough?”

That was the reason she had even bothered coming here after all.

“Tomorrow,” she said. “Even though I didn’t waste much Qi coming here, I want to be in top shape just in case.”

I stared at Song Song and couldn’t help but wonder just how scary she would be when she became a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

 

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