Even the Borderlands Have People Too - 2
Gansu lies even farther west than Shaanxi. Shaanxi, with its soil depleted from long years of farming and an economy that's heartbreakingly pitiful aside from its past glories. And positioned even more on the outskirts than that region is Gansu. Of course, fringe areas have their own ways of survival. Gansu is mostly desert, making it a nightmare for farming, but as the starting point of the Silk Road trade route, it enjoyed commercial prosperity. If you can't farm, just trade for food.
That said, with its neighbor Shaanxi having lost its former prosperity, Gansu too saw its Silk Road trade collapse, followed by successive droughts that utterly wrecked its economy. A tragic case of going down with a friend.
"Inspector."
"Yes, sir."
"This is the central hub, right?"
And the moment we arrived at Nanju, Gansu's central city, we could directly witness the dismal reality of the province.
"...It seems so."
Even Jo Wi-cheo hesitated at my question before finally answering. Yeah, the central hub. The place we'd arrived at was Nanju, Gansu's heart, a massive city that had even served as a capital during the Sixteen Kingdoms period. A strategic hub as the Silk Road's starting point and a passage for the Yellow River. Though it had declined over time amid various upheavals—still, as a regional center where farming was at least somewhat feasible, that hadn't changed. So I figured it was fulfilling its urban role just fine.
"Doesn't look like it."
But no. My assumption turned out to be a delusion, and Nanju's state was far from good, even as a polite exaggeration.
Soldiers wandering with weary, exhausted faces; beggars littering every somewhat secluded alley without fail; shops selling goods that looked dubious in quality at best, or simply lacking stock altogether. Horrific. How could anyone call this a central hub? Even Shaanxi, a fellow fallen comrade, didn't look this ravaged.
Did a war break out without me knowing?)
I even thought that far. Had a war erupted in Gansu? Had Nanju briefly been besieged by barbarians? If something that big had happened, it would've reached my ears, but Nanju's plight was so pitiful it made me entertain such notions. To the point where hearing it had suffered war damage would at least make sense.
"Let's secure lodging first."
"Yes, sir."
With that, we moved on after surveying Nanju's panorama. Riding Kki-ing-i and Kki-ong-i made us a perfect target for drawing attention. It wouldn't do to attract excessive interest from the impoverished locals. For now, priority was swiftly finding a place to stay and assessing the situation.
Damn it.
I sighed inwardly. I knew Gansu was a miraculous trinity of fringe region, barbarian border, and economic ruin. I'd braced for getting caught up in some incident here, but I hadn't expected to face such blatant poverty head-on. As a central bureaucrat, it didn't sit right with me.
"I trust you'll demonstrate the Left Vice Inspector General's talents even in Gansu. Do your best."
I ground my teeth recalling Nang-jung Wang's parting words just before leaving the capital. Thinking back, it sounded like he knew about Nanju and Gansu's state.
If you knew, why not tell me sooner?
Nang-jung Wang's ruthlessness made me shiver. Nanju has the Yellow River flowing right through its heart. Thanks to that, we got an S-rank lodging with a prime Yellow River view, but it was no comfort.
What the hell is this?
The intel we'd gathered in Nanju made it impossible to enjoy the view with a clear mind, river or no river. For starters, Nanju had recently hosted what amounted to the world's greatest paupers' convention. Fortunately, it wasn't that the region had permanently devolved into a slum; it was just a temporary mishap. Though the reason for that mishap was utterly baffling.
"A Maek...? Appeared?"
Maek. A beast said to have an elephant's trunk, a bear's body, an ox's tail, a rhinoceros's eyes, and a tiger's claws. Its chimeric form marks it as a creature from legend in my previous life, but in this world where martial arts and spirit beasts are real, it's one of the actual existing spirit beasts. And it boasts an insane diet that includes iron and copper among its staples.
Such a creature had appeared near Nanju.
"Has a Maek ever appeared near human settlements before?"
Confusing. Like other spirit beasts, Maek live in the wilds, far from easy human reach. Sure, iron and copper are part of its diet, but it also eats snakes and bamboo, so it has no need to encounter people. If it really wants metal, it can dig into mines on its own. Yet this Maek had shown up in a human city of its own accord. A wild creature stepping into the mundane world.
"We're speculating it came to the city due to the recent drought drastically reducing its food sources. According to the first witness, it looked gaunt."
Jo Wi-cheo's follow-up finally made it click. Wild animals descending to human areas from the mountains due to food shortages is common. Considering Maek is ultimately an animal, it was plausible. But when that wild animal is a Maek, things change.
Of all things, a taboo spirit beast.
If a starving tiger had appeared, weakened from hunger, hunters from across Nanju would've swarmed for the killing blow. The tiger would've swiftly become a pelt and departed for tiger nirvana, never to hunger again. But Maek is a spirit beast. Not something civilians can touch, and even prestigious sects need official permission to capture one. Even officials require at least third-rank status for capture rights.
Thus, the Maek that appeared in Nanju feasted unchecked, devouring whatever it wanted. Eyes mad with hunger, it chewed through soldiers' gear, slurped up iron and copper from shops, and even made cannons its daily bread. Quiet, peaceful Nanju had been turned upside down by the Maek.
Up to that point, no real problem.
The Nanju folk must've been dumbfounded by the sudden theft of their iron and copper, but public sympathy was strong at first: How hungry must it have been? Even the Pojeongsa, who could authorize spirit beast captures, overlooked the rampage leniently. He even joked it was an auspicious omen, that shops visited by the spirit beast would prosper.
Had it ended there, it'd have been a heartwarming anecdote. But,
"Dammit, it's back again!"
"Aigoo, stop eating already! If you devour everything, we won't have anything left!"
The drought-induced food shortage wasn't resolving overnight, and having found the city—a massive buffet—the Maek visited Nanju repeatedly. Naturally, the locals lost their minds during its gourmet tour, and the sympathetic public opinion shifted rapidly over time. They were the ones facing starvation now, not the spirit beast.
With things that dire, even the reluctant Pojeongsa ordered a Maek capture, but regrettably, the now-revitalized Maek was fierce and swift.
"Even mobilizing the garrison failed to catch it, and requesting Gongdongpa's aid was futile."
A joint operation of officials and a prestigious sect, yet the Maek slipped away effortlessly. The Pojeongsa reportedly clutched his neck in shock, and the Gongdongpa leader unhesitatingly threw his disciples into the fray. Fail now, and Gongdongpa would be branded as "the sect that can't handle a single spirit beast."
Horrific, even for an outsider like me with no ties to Gongdongpa.
"As a result, Gongdongpa disciples are stationed throughout Nanju's alleys, ready to respond the moment the Maek appears."
"...Those weren't beggars, but Gongdongpa disciples?"
"Regrettably, yes."
This time, I was genuinely surprised. I'd thought the beggars everywhere signaled dire straits for Nanju, but they were just disciples camping out. Not due to economic collapse.
That's even sadder.
How had these respectable martial artists ended up like that? They weren't even beggars from the Beggar Clan.
"And sir."
"Yeah?"
"The Pojeongsa requests an audience."
As expected, I rose without hesitation. A manpower-strapped Pojeongsa wouldn't ignore the Left Vice Inspector General and Inspector who'd come knocking on his own door. Especially since that duo were the emperor-certified fixers who resolved issues across the Central Plains.
Hunger woke me up. I popped a Wall-Grain Pill from beside me into my mouth and closed my eyes again. Staying awake would just speed up digestion needlessly.
Life...
Suddenly, my plight felt so wretched I wanted to weep inwardly. It had been over a month since I'd started this homeless life, one I never asked for. Heartbreaking.
How had I, a prime disciple of the great Gongdongpa, ended up like this? I who'd borne the expectations of the leader and elders all on my shoulders.
Were the expectations too much?
I let out a small sigh and opened my eyes again. Emotions surging, sleep wouldn't come even with eyes shut. The Maek's appearance that had Nanju in uproar. Normally, something we martial artists couldn't dare touch, but Gansu's Pojeongsa had personally requested our aid in capturing it. The garrison alone wasn't enough; he needed Gongdongpa's help.
That request brought me here. You can do it, they said. Capture the Maek and ease the people's worries. At first, I was thrilled by the leader and elders' trust. Now, I just wanted to go home, but back then, I was.
Is this a spirit beast or a calamity?
Of course, I understood the Maek's desperation. Facing starvation, what wouldn't catch its eye? Plus, it only devoured iron and copper—never once harmed a human life. The poor thing was just lashing out from hunger.
But its strength is overflowing regardless.
Another sigh escaped. A beast driven to the city by food scarcity, yet it boasted immense power and speed. It effortlessly shook off pursuits by peak and super peak masters, vanishing into forests or caves. When would this standoff end? When could we catch the Maek? At this rate, its habitat's food supply might recover first.
Tears I'd only shed inwardly threatened to flow for real.
I want to go home...
The elder said Nanju was my home for now, but my home was Gongdongpa. The lofty Qongqushan—that was my home. Please, let me return to my home.