Moral Benchmark - Chapter 3

Chapter 3

In the end, he didn’t adopt my plan. Though for the milder cases, he did listen to me and use it.

Trade mental health for years of life, and you can live beautifully to seventy-six.

If they didn’t need me, then I would go back to worshiping Buddha.

After a full week of devout Buddhist practice, I felt my entire being had been elevated. I had even become compassionate.

I was just wondering which Buddhist scripture to read today when a soldier suddenly came in and said my lord had summoned me to the front hall for discussion.

Cursing under my breath, I set down my Buddhist book. When they need me, I’m their precious little darling; when they don’t, it’s “shut up and stay quiet.” Forget it. I’ll go. After all, money is hard to earn, and shit… shit is something I haven’t had to eat yet.

With that thought, I went.

When everyone saw me arrive, their eyes were filled with both expectation and fear.

“May I ask why my lord has called for me today?” I knelt meekly and bowed to him.

Give him a few bows and he really starts thinking he’s the boss.

Seeing me like this, Jiang Ming’s gaze softened a little. “Rise, my dear minister. It seems your recent Buddhist practice has borne considerable fruit!”

“Yes. I am extremely kind now!” I said, then stood and walked over to sit near my place.

“My dear minister, I called you here to discuss an important matter. In yesterday’s battle, the enemy poisoned their arrows, causing heavy casualties among our troops. However, our army has no poison of its own. Do you have a way to make some?” Jiang Ming looked at me, his eyes tense, as if he had mustered a great deal of courage just to ask.

I thought for only a brief moment before saying, “You have corpses, right?”

Hearing that, he unconsciously shifted his backside backward and asked, “Will this plan affect my reputation?”

I rolled my eyes at him. “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask.”

At that, understanding dawned in Jiang Ming’s eyes. Then he slowly said, “Then don’t say it.”

I fell silent.

Distrust. This was obvious distrust.

“My lord, this plan can make your name go down in history!” I looked at him and patiently explained.

At that, a gleam flashed through Jiang Ming’s eyes, as if he felt comforted. “Please speak, my dear minister.”

I was just about to open my mouth when one of the strategists below, a man who revered Confucian teachings, seemed to think of something and suddenly blurted, “As a good name, or as an infamous one?”

Hearing that, my fists slowly clenched. I glared at him and forced out through gritted teeth, “Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask.”

Jiang Ming blinked at my words, an ominous feeling rising in his heart. But there was still a trace of hope in his eyes. “My dear minister, tell us your method first.”

I shot that Confucian scholar a warning look, then sat back down and looked at Jiang Ming. “You have corpses, right?”

“Yes.” Jiang Ming nodded.

I continued, “And you have excrement, right?”

“Yes.” Jiang Ming nodded again, blankly.

I smiled. “Then this is easy. Mince the corpses and leave them under the sun until they rot and give off a stench. Then pour feces into the mixture and stir it evenly. After that, smear it on the arrows. Corpse toxins combined with bacteria will make a deadly poison!”

As soon as I said that, the air around us seemed to freeze.

After a long while, Jiang Ming’s probing gaze landed on me. His tone was extremely strange. “My dear minister, aren’t you afraid of shortening your lifespan?”

“I am doing this in service of my lord. Naturally, any lost years will be counted against you.” I looked at him with a gentle smile, appearing especially kind and amiable.

The moment I said that, a Confucian scholar stepped forward, pointed at me, and said in a somewhat angry tone, “Jia Yue, do you know what the most important thing is in being human?”

“Heat control,” I answered without thinking.

“You…” The Confucian scholar clutched his chest, as if he couldn’t catch his breath, and fainted on the spot.

I blinked, feeling a little innocent.

Wasn’t he the one who asked?

I wasn’t wrong, either. Besides, I never said we should cook people into rations. Wasn’t he the one who brought up making humans?

“Minister Jia, you may withdraw for now,” Jiang Ming said, rubbing his forehead, his tone carrying a hint of helplessness.

I looked at the Confucian scholar foaming at the mouth on the floor, then turned and left. Before I went, I did not forget to add, “I did nothing wrong.”

I really did nothing wrong.

He was the one who said it. Where was the justice?

I refused to accept this. He was clearly more brutal than me.

I walked out, but I was afraid they would gossip about me behind my back, so I deliberately found a corner and hid there to eavesdrop.

“The Confucian school is relatively mild in what it teaches. This is the army. Is it not inappropriate for you to employ so many Confucian scholars?” A strategist looked at the Confucian scholar foaming at the mouth on the floor and stepped forward with some disdain.

Hearing this, Jiang Ming merely raised his brow slightly, his expression unchanged. “I don’t use them for strategy. I mainly use them to keep Jia Yue in check.”

Me: …

The one who suggested making humans into food was a Confucian scholar. I hadn’t even said anything. They were much more brutal than me, and he was using them to keep me in check? Was that reliable?

I curled my lip, turned around, and left unhappily.

So annoying. Tomorrow, I’m resigning.

Every day, I get targeted by my boss and treated with hostility by my coworkers. I don’t want this damn job at all anymore.