Chapter Forty-Two: Xu Yuan's Guidance (Please keep reading!)

After much discussion, Ji Wen had already made up his mind.

Ji Yun and Cai Shulan naturally supported him; the family had long been mentally prepared.

The Imperial Academy was not a place open to just anyone. If one could seize fortune there, ascending to high rank was not out of reach.

“And what about you?”

Having finished discussing Ji Wen’s plans, Ji Yun turned his gaze to Ji Wu and took the opportunity to encourage him: “Your younger brother is about to head to the capital for further studies. In three years’ time, he may very well obtain an official post. You must not grow complacent.”

“My brother is certainly gifted for study. But I have no interest in lowly positions—if I am to be an official, it should be a high one, so I needn’t bow to others’ whims.”

Ji Wu grinned; the two brothers had always gotten along well. Even when they were mischievous as children, their wrongdoings were committed together.

Now that they were grown, they could no longer cause trouble as they did in childhood; each had his own path to pursue.

As for Ji Wu, he was destined to roam the martial world; with his temperament, sitting day after day poring over the classics was utterly impossible.

One brother would walk the path of the wandering hero, the other the path of officialdom. In this way, they complemented each other well.

“I gather from Ji Wen’s words that the current times may not be so favorable.”

Xu Yuan, who had been mostly silent, suddenly interjected.

“What is your advice, Master Xu?” Ji Yun quickly inquired.

Xu Yuan replied, “Though the Ji Family Escort Agency’s business continues to grow, on the whole, the situation is likely in decline, is it not?”

“What you say is true, Master Xu.” Ji Yun immediately nodded. “Aside from our own agency, several with whom we once had ties are on the verge of closing down.

Lacking strength, they cannot secure good business. To take on lucrative jobs, they must hire more men—yet hiring more men is a heavy expense...”

An escort agency relied on martial strength, but it was still a business.

Not every expert was as undemanding as Xiong Ba, content with board and lodging alone.

Moreover, finding a master like Xiong Ba was an extraordinary challenge.

Craving manpower meant paying higher wages; higher wages required larger assignments, which easily drew the attention of ill-intentioned people.

After all, goods entrusted to an escort agency were surely more valuable than those merchants transported themselves—if bandits made a big enough haul, they might live off it for years.

Tea, cloth, honey, syrup, even ironware and the like...

Wealth stirs men’s hearts; as long as the profit is great enough, even the toughest jobs attract takers.

Should disaster strike on the road, the agency would bear the full cost.

To earn such profits, one must shoulder considerable risk.

As the world gradually fell into disorder, it was plain to see that beyond the refugees, those taking to banditry and highway robbery were growing ever more numerous.

Only last year, Ji Yun was deeply worried; without Xiong Ba’s arrival, this year the Ji Family Escort Agency might well have been among those forced to close.

“In such circumstances, bleak as they are, there is also opportunity,” Xu Yuan said, turning his words toward Ji Wu.

“Please teach me, Master Xu,” Ji Wu responded keenly.

“Since the Ji Family Escort Agency has built a reputation, it should inspire confidence in others. Now that escort work has grown more perilous and travel more treacherous, it stands to reason that most are faring poorly.

Given this, has your agency ever considered seizing the moment to unite these people, to form something together?”

“You mean, like a merchant guild?” Ji Yun picked up the thread, though his face betrayed obvious hesitation.

“No.” Xu Yuan shook his head. “I merely offer a suggestion—the specifics depend on what your agency truly desires.”

“I am dull-witted; please speak plainly, Master Xu,” even Cai Shulan spoke, rare for her at the table.

“If the Ji Family Escort Agency seeks only modest wealth and peace, things are good as they are—you can live as prosperous gentry.

But with the turmoil sweeping the land, securing your own safety is more important than mere profit. One log cannot support a roof; relying solely on your own strength cannot weather the storms outside.

Even with Xiong Ba, should you face overwhelming numbers, your only hope may be self-preservation,” Xu Yuan advised.

At these words, Ji Wu’s expression changed sharply. “Master Xu, do you mean that some great upheaval is imminent?”

“I fear it is more than just possible,”

Xu Yuan continued, “Even if not right away, it will not be long.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Ji Wen, who sat quietly with his head bowed over his food.

Even a boy of fourteen had been stirred to such indignation—one could imagine how far the nation’s policies had deteriorated.

Scholars—or rather, those with the means to pursue study—were themselves beneficiaries of the system, or at least closely entwined with those in power.

This world was governed by the learned.

Though people said the poor are learned and the rich martial, surely no one truly believed that the lowliest peasants could afford to raise sons who did nothing but study?

Even those of humble origin needed some foundation.

To study diligently for ten years—how poor could one truly be?

Now, even most scholars in Xishan Prefecture sensed the gravity of the situation and raised their protests; the pressure on the common people could only be imagined.

Like the cicada sensing the coming autumn before the wind stirs, even visiting the mortal world but one day a year, Xu Yuan could see that the crisis was reaching the brink of collapse.

Perhaps only a single spark was needed to ignite the explosion.

Then, it would be an age of chaos, with the people plunged into misery once more.

Now, the emergence of unnatural phenomena had stirred the greed of countless people, driving an already senescent nation to greater madness.

Yet even without this catalyst, after two hundred years, the Qi Kingdom suffered all the ills of a dynasty’s decline; the only difference was the degree of severity.

The saying goes that those within are blind, while outsiders see clearly.

The Ji Family Escort Agency was still immersed in the dream that business was booming and all was on the rise.

There was nothing wrong with this, but as everyone knows, individual cases should not be mistaken for the general trend.

Without Xiong Ba, the agency would have been among the victims—a reality Ji Yun had known intimately a year before.

Now, with Xu Yuan’s guidance, whether or how the Ji Family Escort Agency would act was up to them.

Though Xu Yuan wished to help those he knew, first they must take steps themselves.

He was not their nursemaid; with his visits to the human world as rare as once a year, he might not be present should disaster truly strike.

In the end, a man must strive for his own survival.