"I agree with the Sage."

As those five words echoed through the hall, everyone quieted down, shifting their gazes between me and the Priest.

"And. Why. Is. That?" The Chieftain slowly and meticulously enunciated every word.

The Priest paused to think for a moment. "The Sage’s words hold merit. Why keep the rot in the city, when giving it a way out is much easier and more beneficial for the city’s well-being? If they do not wish to embrace the goddess's embrace, then I have no reason to petition them to stay here."

The Chieftain started to turn a darker shade of red, "So you are agreeing to reward those who have done us wrong?"

The Priest shook his head, "Not at all. Those who have truly wronged us are already set up to be punished. If you really need to think of this in terms of punishment, think of it as us exiling the problematic refugees."

The Chieftain started glaring, alternating his gaze between the two of us. Right when I thought he was about to explode, he managed to regain his composure. "Fine.” He said tersely, “We will not resort to harsh measures against the refugees; but if this tragedy transpires again, I will hold both of you personally responsible."

He walked out of the hall, not even bothering to dismiss the council meeting. The elders looked at each other, unsure of how to proceed. After several moments of panic, it was decided that this would be the end of the meeting. The Chieftain's reaction couldn't mean anything good. After a bit of thought, I decided I couldn't do much about the Chieftain right now. I had more important things to focus on right now, like thanking the Priest personally. In my haste to thank him, I reached out my hand to shake his before remembering that they didn't have such a thing here, and awkwardly pulled it back.

"Thank you, Priest Xuan Shan, for sticking up not only for me but for the people who wouldn't have been able to defend themselves. You have no idea how much this means to me." I said, giving him a proper bow. Not one of the half bows I usually do for formality sake, but an honest bow of gratitude. I didn't want to be part of a dystopian dictatorship so soon, or ever.

"You have no reason to thank me. I was just doing what I believe is best for the city; I do not want to see further bloodshed in our streets. Neither do I want to see wives waiting by the door for husbands who will never return, or children left wondering where their fathers have gone." His face was heavy with emotion. His words resonated deeply with me, and I could feel that he truly meant every word. Perhaps he would've backed me up even without the deal.

I wanted to ask him something important, but I hesitated, unsure of how to bring it up. The Plague was coming and it was almost always fatal to the old and the infants. The young adults would still stand a chance, as was evident based on the demographic of the refugees. I found it odd that it had never been brought up in the meetings. "Priest… Would you be willing to leave the city?" As the words left my mouth, the conversations that had filled the room after the Chieftain’s exit began to die down.

The Priest froze, before bursting into a hearty chuckle. I frowned, confused. Why would he react in such a manner? A man with such ideals doesn't deserve to die a dog's death at the mercy of something they could not even see or protect themselves from. "I would take that as an insult if my daughter hadn’t already told me so much about you."

I shifted uncomfortably. Why would she talk about me outside our designated learning time? Despite my discomfort, the Priest continued, "We might consider assigning some elders and citizens to guide the children south, to give them a better chance of survival. But for the most part, the elders have agreed with you. It is too risky to go south and hope for the best. It would be best to ride out the Plague you suggested in this location, with plenty of food and medicine at hand to help."

By this time, all of the conversations had ended around us, the elders listening to the Priest's speech. "But we cannot leave this city to fend for itself without the guidance of the elders. If you asked any of these elders around you to leave, most would be insulted by your suggestion and some might find great amusement in it. It is our prerogative and duty to ensure that the city's people will survive, and we will all die for the city. For the people, if we have to."

I found it hard to agree with their mindset; I understood dying for your people, but this was something that could kill everyone, regardless of status. But looking at the faces of the elders around me, I knew the Priest wasn't lying. Whether it be the faces of the old, with their white hair and sagging skin, or those of the younger elders, who hadn’t even received their first white hair. All of them looked at me with the same conviction. The conviction to keep this city alive; to keep it thriving. Whether it be for the city itself, for the families that called it their home, or even perhaps their ancestors.

I didn't know what to say, so I simply nodded and bowed deeply to show my respect for their decision. Silence followed me out of the hall as I was left to stew in my own thoughts. I could see the fierce determination in their eyes, and I respected that. I even yearned to have that amount of connection to something, to the point that I would lay down my life for it. Lost in my thoughts, I bumped into someone.

"Ope, I'm sorry. I was distracted." I quickly apologized, before realizing who it was I bumped into.

In front of me stood Lian, rubbing her forehead. "What’s got you so caught up in your thoughts that you didn’t even see me?" She asked, sounding more offended than hurt.

"I'm sorry. I just talked with your father about something, and it gave me a lot to think about." I answered, pulling myself from my thoughts and back to reality.

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

She looked at me wide-eyed, "What did the two of you talk about?"

I thought about how to answer, but I didn't feel like I could give an appropriate answer, "Ah, nothing much."

Her eyes turned into slits at the lackadaisical response. To prevent things from turning too awkward, I attempted to change the subject, "Did you hear about the incident?"

She glared at me before deciding she was more curious about the meeting. "Yeah, I don't know all the details, but I heard the refugees attacked and killed some of the guards."

I nodded. "Indeed they did. We have found the culprits and have obtained enough evidence to convict them."

She tilted her head, "What kind of evidence did you get?"

"We were able to get one of the perpetrators to confess about all of their plans. I was worried that we were starving the refugees, and they still might be. I’m intending to check on that. The perpetrators were planning to sack the storage and leave the city."

She gasped at that, but then curiosity crossed her eyes. "How did you guys manage to get a confession? What kind of torture did you have to inflict on the man to make him confess everything like that?"

I shook my head, "It wasn't torture."

"Then how did the council do it?" she asked.

Thinking back at the mixed reactions I got from the elders, I decided to throw the problem at someone else. "Ask your father."

She pouted, but seeing how I wasn't about to answer the question, she gave up and raised a stick. It was the stick we discussed making, with a sharp edge at one side.

"How did you get that? Didn't the assistant tell you not to leave the building?" I asked, worry creeping into my voice. Some criminals were still running around in the streets, the ones that were a part of the fight. They could hold her hostage if they got their hands on her.

"Oh, relax. I didn't leave the building. I used my flint knife to cut into one of the walls and make this," she replied proudly.

I raised my eyebrow, "You cut into the sacred building… to make a stick you could've easily gotten if you had simply waited for me to get back?"

Her eyes guiltily shifted away from mine, "Weelll, if you put it like that, it does sound kinda bad. But that room needs renovation anyway! So it's fine."

I sighed, and we both made our way into the room. Once we were in, she proudly held her stick and started printing on the clay tablet. "See? your idea was genius! The letters come out much smoother and smaller. We can save so much room now!"

I nodded with a smile on my face. At least something was going well. I'd need to introduce math soon, but decided to give them time to master the alphabet first before I started worrying about that. I de-stressed from the whole thing, trying not to think about the public execution that was bound to happen soon. Lian must have noticed something was off as she kept giving me odd looks, but I continued working on the tablets, writing various things.

Eventually, when Cai Lin came into the room, I knew that the time was upon me. He bowed to me before saying, "Your presence has been requested in the town square." I nodded, finishing the sentence I was writing before getting to my feet. It was an early form of a diary, and I was writing in English about what I felt at that moment.

Finding no more reason to delay, I stood up and headed out with Cai Lin, with Lian closely trailing behind us. As soon as we reached the town square, I noticed the thieves we had interrogated, including some I hadn't seen before; likely apprehended thanks to the names Tao divulged during our interrogation. They were now tied to hastily erected posts, preventing any chance of escape.. As I scanned the line of prisoners, I didn't see Tao. I let out a sigh of relief, knowing that the young man, who had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time, would be spared, thanks to my promise.

Lian continued to trail behind me, almost excitedly as she looked at the prisoners, a menacing glint in her eyes. I stood among the other elders, observing both the forming crowd and the prisoners. A wide array of emotions was present in the crowd, from anger and outrage to fear and anxiety. I turned my eyes to look at the prisoners, many of whom wore looks of resignation. Their shoulders sagged, and their eyes were downcast as if they had already accepted their fate. Observing the guards, I noticed a troubling detail; none of them were armed with heavy-duty execution weapons. They carried only spears with them. A grim thought crossed my mind: Were they going to stab them in the hearts for the execution? I spotted Jia, who still carried the same cocky attitude he had before, his head held high as he stared down anyone who dared look at him.

I took a closer look at the slimy man who had so blatantly tried to blame the Chieftain. Even though he still held his smile, I noticed it was more nervous than the confident one he had in the meeting room. Seeing me, he spoke up with a glimmer of hope appearing in his voice: "Sage! Sage! This has to be a mistake! We never killed anyone; we were simply trying to get food for our family. You can't blame us for that!"

Seeing how I wasn't interested in responding, the guards walked up to him and punched his stomach with full force. He doubled over, coughing and wheezing as he struggled to get air back into his lungs. Panic finally started to set in his eyes as he realized I wouldn't be bailing him out. "Yo-" He coughed, "You can't do this! Sage! Aren't you merciful and wise!? Why are you letting these mortals decide my fate! You can't do this! I’ve been set up!" The guard punched him again, this time much harder, as I swear I heard something crack. The guard proceeded to take out a rag and gagged the man.

The Chieftain stepped in front of the prisoners and began his speech. "Today we have gathered to judge these murderers and thieves. They tried to loot our stores, leaving us with nothing to feed ourselves on and leaving this city to run like cowards! In the process, they murdered our fellow brothers who had wives and children, who had a future to look forward to!" The crowd grew increasingly agitated, with some even demanding death before the speech was even finished.

"These people have been judged and found guilty! They were found guilty of attempted robbery! Murder! The slandering of the Chieftain and lying to the Sage! All of these crimes are unforgivable! For these actions, the punishment will be stoning!"

My face drained of all color as the realization of what was happening sank in. The Chieftain moved aside, and the crowd immediately began picking up stones from the ground. They hurled the rocks, striking some of the prisoners and knocking them out instantly, while most others weren't so lucky and were left conscious to experience the pain of every blow. Jia's bravado crumbled as he started to cry out in pain. The slimy man groaned through the gag, clearly in immense pain.

My arms started to clam up, and a wave of nausea hit me. This was the world I was in now; I had to face this and see what was happening. A hand broke me from my torment as it gripped mine and squeezed. I looked back to see Lian looking at me worriedly. She gave me a weak smile, and I couldn’t give one back.

I wasn't going to eat for a while.