Chen Changsheng responded calmly, “I think so as well.”

The Yellow-Robed Young Master continued, “Such an immortal sword can’t be meant for me; I’m quite flattered.”

He looked at Chen Changsheng with a teasing smile, showing no sign of panic.

Chen Changsheng took a sip of wine. “I am curious where you get such confidence.”

The Yellow-Robed Young Master stared at Chen Changsheng and laughed. “I’m certain you won’t kill me.”

Those deep eyes fixed on Chen Changsheng felt like they could drag a person into an abyss.

Chen Changsheng seemed lost in thought for a moment.

A faint smile spread across the Yellow-Robed Young Master’s lips.

But unexpectedly, the Green-Robed Gentleman before him suddenly smiled back.

The hand holding the Yellow-Robed Young Master’s wine cup paused slightly.

Then Chen Changsheng raised his hand and lightly waved it past the air. The eerie glint in the other’s eyes instantly faded.

Chen Changsheng stated, “You think such tricks can confuse me? You underestimate people too easily.”

The Yellow-Robed Young Master snapped back to his senses. “As expected of Mr. Chen. Truly remarkable.”

“You know who I am?” Chen Changsheng asked.

The Yellow-Robed Young Master replied, “The Dragon Clan’s fortune stagnated for centuries. Yet Mr. Chen’s words about the ‘Dragon Scripture’ boosted it by twenty percent. A matter of such significance, I know something of it.”

“An unexpectedly well-informed demon,” Chen Changsheng remarked.

Hearing this, the Yellow-Robed Young Master sighed silently, unsure how to respond to Chen Changsheng’s teasing.

He chose to speak directly. “Sir, your cultivation runs deep. Roaming the mortal world, you must clearly discern good from evil. I wish to seek your view.”

Chen Changsheng said, “Speak.”

The Yellow-Robed Young Master continued, “War after war plagues the land. Great Jing suffers defeat after defeat, now like an arrow at the end of its flight. The court forcibly recruits over a hundred thousand men for the army, sending them to the frontier. Though it temporarily alleviates danger, the losses are devastating.”

“Donglin Quarter has barely fifty households. Excluding the old, weak, sick and disabled, twenty-three able-bodied men were all drafted into the army. Alas, upon reaching the Frontier Pass, they were ambushed by the Northern Desert forces. Not a single one of those twenty-three returned alive. Their bones still lie scattered on the battleground sands.”

“I ask you, sir, what crime did these twenty-three men of Donglin Quarter commit?”

Chen Changsheng looked at him, silent.

The Yellow-Robed Young Master straightened up. “Now I have gathered a group of minor demons, shapeshifted into those twenty-three dead men, and brought them here. Seeing their sons and grandsons return safely relieved the people of the Civic District. Their long-held anxieties lifted; they are no longer shedding tears every day.”

“I have these demons serve as dutiful sons to parents, performing filial duties. Periodically, I take a small amount of essence qi from these families to nourish myself. I restore some essence qi once fully replenished before consuming a bit again, never harming their lives directly.”

“Though oblivious to the truth, the people here would surely grieve far more painfully if they knew their children were truly dead. Endless heartache and sorrow could shorten their remaining years.”

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The Yellow-Robed Young Master placed his wine cup down and looked at Chen Changsheng.

“Mr. Chen, do you believe I am performing a good deed or an evil one?”

Chen Changsheng gazed into those eyes, seeing not the slightest ripple in them, and spoke.

“In the marketplace, merchants buy goods with silver; that’s the law of trade. But forced buying and selling – how can that be considered lawful?”

“Where is law in troubled times? Was the Human Emperor, sitting high in his palace, lawful when he drafted hundreds of thousands?”

The Yellow-Robed Young Master argued: “Moreover, is good simply good, and evil simply evil? Does breaking rules automatically equal evil?” Truly, wars render many old rules meaningless.

Chen Changsheng inwardly lamented the sorrows of the world. Finishing his wine, he then spoke.

“The Human Emperor’s edict forcibly drafting soldiers, while unjust, aimed to prevent a greater evil. Should Great Jing fall and be overrun by two nations, the world would suffer unimaginable hardship. That would truly bring no peace to the people.”

Chen Changsheng paused before adding: “As for good and evil…”

“You are indeed capable. For one fleeting moment, even I felt my mind waver.”

The Yellow-Robed Young Master smiled warmly. “You flatter me, Mr. Chen.”

“You cannot claim righteousness for good deeds, nor are you truly wicked by taking lives.”

Chen Changsheng’s tone shifted swiftly. “But don’t forget who killed the Donglin Quarter’s City God and those Yin Attendants and Ghost Deities.”

“What if I did kill them? Does sir intend to kill me now?” The Yellow-Robed Young Master asked with a calm smile.

Chen Changsheng turned his head, and the Rain-Listening Sword pivoted with him. A sharp glint flashed, threads of sword qi swirling around the blade.

The Yellow-Robed Young Master pressed on. “Kill me now, and the twenty-odd families of Donglin Quarter truly lose their sons forever. Who knows how many would collapse weeping before the Gate of Death?”

Chen Changsheng’s eyes remained still as an ancient well. “If you grasp reason so well, why resort to this path for cultivation? Absorbing human essence qi does nourish your demonic power, but persisting this way, you will never reach greatness.”

For demons, human essence qi is potent nourishment, yet such cultivation ultimately violates natural order. Demons invoking Heaven’s Retribution cannot attain the Dao.

“I wish to ask sir, how high must one climb to be called high?”

The Yellow-Robed Young Master continued, “The mighty cultivators and Great Demons of this world have never seen the peak. The Fox Sovereign of Yuan Mountain cultivated for a thousand years yet gained only eight tails. Among countless heavenly cultivators, who truly witnessed a True Immortal?”

“If a shortcut exists today, why endure arduous cultivation?”

“Moreover.”

“A gentleman seeks riches, yet by proper means. I have my means. I gave these people the chance to see their sons and grandsons again. I spared them the anguish collapsing at their doors. I merely borrowed a trickle of essence qi; restoring it takes mere days. What harm is truly done?”

Chen Changsheng finally understood how a demon feeding on human essence qi could rationalize it so righteously.

He wasn’t bewildered. Upon careful thought, the demon’s logic held a kernel of reason.

Yet, could such actions be called right?

Clearly not.

Even if seemingly reasonable, the demon’s starting point was utterly wrong.

Seeing Chen Changsheng silent, the Yellow-Robed Young Master abruptly said, “Mr. Chen truly is different.”

Chen Changsheng looked at him. “How exactly different?”

“The moment sir entered these grounds, I sensed you differed from those celestial Immortals. Otherwise, why would I dare seat you, much less speak this long? Others might have drawn swords immediately to slay a demon. But Mr. Chen listened seriously, even contemplated my words, never assuming I sought to bewilder you.”

He raised his cup. “They say Immortals lack feeling; yet sir is an Immortal with heart.”

He admired this gentleman, for Mr. Chen had genuinely listened to him.

“You speak reasonably.”

Yet as Chen Changsheng spoke, he raised his hand. The Rain-Listening Sword dropped firmly into his grip.

The Yellow-Robed Young Master paused. “Sir, what do you mean by this?”

Chen Changsheng gripped the sword. “Mr. Chen cares not whether it’s judged good or evil. Your foundation is rooted in darkness. Exploiting human frailty cannot change this truth.”

The Yellow-Robed Young Master frowned fleetingly before releasing it.

“Very well.”

“Crossing swords with sir… It could be interesting.”