Chapter 20: Crooked-Mouth Magic God

Master Laurie mysteriously dropped the line, "Just remembered something I need to research," and ducked into his tent, leaving the Lord and the others standing there, staring at each other in bewilderment. No one knew what on earth this eccentric old man was playing at.

However, with the zombie-controlling experiment officially declared a failure, Xiahou Yan now exuded an irritable, highly volatile aura that made it clear everyone should keep their distance. As Alice hesitated over how to comfort the Lord, the worldly-wise Mayor Joel had already stepped up, attempting to divert his attention.

"My Lord, if you have a moment, could you help me take inventory of the camp’s personnel and supplies?" Mayor Joel asked sincerely. "After surviving the zombie horde and setting up camp yesterday, we haven’t had a chance to confirm our exact losses."

In truth, Mayor Joel had stayed up all night to finish the inventory himself. He just felt it would be best to give the moody Lord something to do at the moment.

"...Alright." Xiahou Yan was well aware of Old Joel’s true intentions, but upon reflection, he did want to know the camp’s current situation, so he reluctantly nodded.

Mayor Joel offered an understanding smile and led the Lord toward the center of the camp. Alice and the maid Anjie, who was holding a lunchbox, exchanged glances and closely followed them.

"As you can see, our caravan currently has around five hundred people. This includes thirteen guards, sixteen craftsmen, eighteen chefs and servants from Eagle’s Rest Castle, twenty merchants, three scholars, and two doctors. The remaining four hundred or so are primarily the more dependable and capable tenant farmers and artisans selected from the original Igor Territory before our departure," Mayor Joel explained as they walked, pointing at the various tents scattered around the camp. "According to His Majesty the Emperor’s decree, our migration fleet from the Igor Territory was only allowed to take a maximum of two thousand people for the construction of the new territory. Because of this, when we set out from Eagle’s Rest Castle, we split into two groups, dividing the two thousand travelers into two separate fleets of one thousand each that departed one after the other. As you can see, our fleet of one thousand has already lost nearly half its members on this journey."

"We lost that many?" Xiahou Yan was a little surprised. He glanced back at the maid behind him. "I recall Anjie telling me we only lost a little over a hundred people to the zombie horde."

"Miss Randall only told you the confirmed losses at the time," Mayor Joel said, shaking his head heavily. "There are also members who were separated from the caravan during the chaos, and the chances of us regrouping with them are slim. If we count the missing as casualties, the total death toll caused by yesterday’s zombie attack would easily exceed two hundred."

The group of four walked past the bonfire in the center of the camp. They saw that the guards had already finished their lunch and were sitting by the roadside, wiping their sabers. Xiahou Yan nodded to them in greeting while listening to Mayor Joel count on his fingers.

"Aside from the casualties caused by the zombie horde, the rest of our losses occurred before we entered the infected zone. While passing through the Duchy of Cromwell, quite a few people accepted invitations to settle there. We also suffered casualties during a few bandit attacks, combined with diseases, exhaustion, and those who got lost in the thick fog when we mistakenly wandered into the infected zone. Altogether, that’s what brings our total losses to around five hundred."

Although Mayor Joel was recounting vibrant human lives, hearing them reduced to mere statistics gave off an unreal, illusory feeling. Xiahou Yan pondered for a moment before asking, "So there was another caravan of a thousand people that departed from Eagle’s Rest Castle, right? How are they doing now?"

"Unfortunately, we haven’t received any news from them," Mayor Joel said with a shrug. "Unlike us, who cut straight across the border, that group traveled south along the Western Coast of the Empire. Even though it’s a longer and slower route, it’s much safer. Given that your elder sister Miss Caterina, Knight Commander Cousins, and Master Laurie’s apprentice Wilson are with that group, I’m inclined to believe they haven’t suffered anywhere near the losses we have."

Catherine Igor... Xiahou Yan tried hard to recall memories of his biological sister, but he couldn’t remember much about her. Eliot Igor had been sent to Academy City at a very young age. His impressions of his own parents were vague enough, let alone this sister whom he had barely met.

In fact, when Eliot rushed back from Academy City to Eagle’s Rest Castle to inherit the title, Catherine Igor had remained in the Imperial Capital to handle their father’s funeral arrangements. By the time she arrived at Eagle’s Rest Castle and joined the second migration caravan, Eliot’s fleet had already departed. This meant the siblings had missed each other once again; it had been well over ten years since they last saw each other.

But on second thought, Xiahou Yan realized how absurd it was to be worrying about such family trivialities while still trapped in the infected zone. Finding a way to lead these five hundred people out intact—or at least survive a few more days—was his top priority.

"When you were in Academy City, Miss Caterina used to talk about you often," Mayor Joel said, suddenly locking eyes with the Lord. "At every New Year’s banquet, even though you couldn’t come home, Miss Caterina and Madam Anna would always set an extra chair and a set of cutlery just for you."

"Uh... so?" As a Transmigrator, Xiahou Yan felt absolutely zero warmth from this familial affection.

"Lord Eliot, Miss Caterina is likely waiting with great anticipation to see you in the new territory. If she learns that you died in the infected zone, she would be devastated." Mayor Joel clasped his chubby hands behind his back and said, seemingly casually, "I heard from Mr. Tom Lawrence that you have a special ability to make zombies retreat. So I was thinking, why don’t you leave the infected zone on your own?"

Xiahou Yan couldn’t help but smile bitterly, wondering why these people still hadn’t given up on convincing him to run away.

"My Lord." Seeing no response from the Lord, Mayor Joel finally got straight to the point. "You have the ability to repel zombies; you can completely leave on your own. You could even bring a few attendants with you. You could take Master Laurie, Captain Alice, the guards... You could even bring Miss Anjie. Do you really have the heart to watch such a young, beautiful girl be torn to pieces by the zombies’ fangs?"

Xiahou Yan couldn’t help but look back at Anjie. The young maid, however, simply kept her head deeply bowed while clutching the lunchbox, avoiding his gaze.

"These past few days, your constant persuasion has reminded me of a concept called the ’Trolley Problem’..." Xiahou Yan shook his head with a wry smile. "Sometimes life is just helpless like that. It often forces you into a corner, making you choose between killing four hundred people or killing five hundred people..."

Although he didn’t understand the strange term the Lord used, Mayor Joel answered earnestly, "My Lord, I’m more inclined to believe it’s a choice between saving a hundred people and saving no one at all."

Xiahou Yan stopped in his tracks and gazed out at the camp. A peasant couple sat in front of their tent. Their child, holding a paper pinwheel, ran past them with a joyful laugh, skipping away like a sprightly little deer.

"Mayor Joel, I’ve actually been wondering..." Xiahou Yan licked his lips and said slowly. "What exactly did they do wrong?"

"Excuse me?" Mayor Joel, feeling like he hadn’t quite understood the Lord’s words, asked in confusion.

"I mean... what did these tenant farmers do wrong? What did the guards who died in the zombie horde do wrong? And what did the tens of thousands of citizens back in Duke Igor’s Domain do wrong when they were forced to watch control of their homeland change hands?" Xiahou Yan said softly. "I don’t know who was right or wrong when His Majesty the Emperor executed my father. I don’t know which brilliant politician came up with this absurd territorial migration—politics, perhaps politics will always be such a tangled mess. But these ordinary people, forced to leave their homes, shedding their blood, tears, and sweat on the road, in the zombie horde, and under horses’ hooves—what did they do wrong? Why must they be the casualties of a farce played by the nobility?"

Mayor Joel opened his mouth, and after a long silence, sighed softly. "My Lord, sometimes... these things just happen."

"So, whether it’s out of compensation or atonement, I want to do more for them." Xiahou Yan gently kicked the dirt with the toe of his boot, then looked up. "Mayor Joel, you were right about one thing—I do have the ability to protect those around me. Therefore, I will set out tomorrow. Using the zombies’ fear of me, I will do my best to escort a few of the girls out of the infected zone first. Then, I will cross back through the infected zone and escort another group out. It’s not a clever plan. Perhaps the camp’s food will run out before I can finish making all the trips. Or maybe my ability to drive away the zombies will suddenly fail, and we will all die in the infected zone. But I insist on doing something. For these innocent people."

Mayor Joel nodded reluctantly. The Lord’s plan was still marginally better than sitting in the infected zone waiting to die.

Xiahou Yan sighed softly, looking down at a hardy weed growing from the dirt. "Sometimes, life is just about finding peace of mind..."

However, before the Lord could finish his philosophical musings, a piercing, hysterical burst of laughter erupted from not too far behind them.

The group of four quickly turned around, staring dumbfounded as Master Laurie burst out of his tent, lifting his robes and tap-dancing wildly. Upon seeing the Lord, the master spun in place and let out another bout of unhinged, arrogant laughter, looking even more triumphant than a villain whose evil scheme had finally succeeded.

"Did you..." Xiahou Yan asked hesitantly, "...find your Yellow Book?"

"My Lord!" Master Laurie pointed right at the Lord’s nose with a wicked, lopsided grin. "You owe me your life this time!"