"Hmm? Why do you need this special inner division?" Hao Yu asked.
They had been talking a lot regarding the Dragon City. While Hao Yu gave a lot of unexpected suggestions, he had also learned a lot from Leng Xiu.
"You should know that we're having a huge trade with the cultivators. With that amount of money, it's easy to embezzle a portion of it, and no one will know. That happened during the previous magistrate. After taking over, I immediately created this division. They only had one job." Leng Xiu raised a single finger. "They're going to audit all the departments and administrators to avoid embezzlement."
"But won't it be a problem if they lie to you? I mean, becoming their accomplices?"
"I know. For the time being, those people are my highly trusted subordinates. I can assure you that they are clean. Fortunately, my power is still strong as a magistrate, so there is no one that can sneak in some of their men into this division. But I don't know if this will continue once I leave the city."
"Certainly." Hao Yu nodded with a serious expression.
"That's why I'm going to open the Dragon City. This way, there would be a lot of people. With even more people going back and forth in the city, if they notice that the city's embezzlement is too much, the rumors will spread. And when it reaches the royal court…"
Hao Yu understood what he was aiming for. He couldn't certainly say that the royal court was clean. In fact, it was even hotter at that place, considering he had seen a lot of corruption and bribes. But if one of their top cities were known to be extremely corrupt, the royal court would have no choice but to send forth their people to handle the problem personally. Even if they were bribed, they still had to fix the problems, so the Dragon City wouldn't reach its rock bottom state.
"I see. Not allowing it to reach that state even when leaving…" Hao Yu nodded in agreement. "Thank you for the insight, Sir."
"No, no. I should be the one thanking you. You have a lot of suggestions which I can actually implement… as expected of the Wise's disciple."
"I'm just a brat who doesn't know the world." Hao Yu shook his head helplessly. It looked humble at first, but Leng Xiu noticed something was off. However, he didn't intend to pursue it.
"In any case, give me all your questions. I'll answer them to the best of my abilities."
"Yes, Sir. How about this…" Hao Yu pointed at a certain word on the document.
Hao Yu and Leng Xiu continued talking about the Dragon City for a whole week in their carriage.
It was never boring to talk since Leng Xiu could provide all kinds of answers, showing his competence. Hao Yu also asked a lot of detailed questions, which piqued Leng Xiu's interest.
Fortunately, their journey was smooth. After a long journey, they could finally see the massive wall standing on the horizon.
"Oh? Is that the city?" Hao Yu took a peek from the carriage. The wall was at least twice the size of the one in Fengyun City. If normal soldiers were to attack it, it wouldn't fall easily. However, they were talking about cultivators north of their city, even this wall couldn't last for a long time.
"Indeed." Leng Xiu nodded with a smile. Even though he was aware of the false prosperity, he was still proud that other people were impressed by the Dragon City.
Surprisingly, when they entered the city, they were greeted by a bustling atmosphere. A lot of people were rushing back and forth. Kids running around, wives buying food, husbands working.
Despite knowing its false prosperity, Hao Yu noticed that the people still lived happily.
"Do they know about the city's situation?" Hao Yu asked with a concerned tone.
"Unfortunately, they don't. And I want them to be like that until I resolve the issue. This way, the smiles on their faces don't need to disappear." Leng Xiu shook his head with a solemn expression. His tone carried the heavy weight on his shoulders.
"I see." Hao Yu also noticed something. Even though the city looked like they had a lot of money and was in good condition, Hao Yu actually found more beggars in the city.
They were holding a bowl while asking for people's kindness.
"Hmm?" Hao Yu couldn't help but furrow his eyebrows when he saw a beggar actually going to a dark alley.
When the carriage passed that alley, it turned out the beggar was actually giving some money to the kids inside. The kids were wearing ragged clothes like the beggar and looked very thin as though they hadn't eaten for a few days.
"…" Hao Yu looked pained when he saw those people. Even though he prioritized killing cultivators, it didn't change the fact that he was an official. He was still holding on to the fundamental role of an official, which was to make the common people's lives better.
Finding Hao Yu's concerned face, Leng Xiu said with a sad smile. "Even though I want to help them, it's impossible to do it."
"But isn't the fund…" Hao Yu stopped before shaking his head. "Sorry, never mind."
"Yeah. Of course, I desire to help them. However, there are some who are too lazy to get a job, so they end up begging. Still, there are people who are desperately clinging to their lives…it's just we have no way to differentiate them. If we just feed them with all that money, it will cause a big inflation within the city. If only there is a solution to take care of them…"
"Solution, huh…" Hao Yu sighed. Even Hao Yu couldn't think of a way.
"Still, I wouldn't go so low as to force them out even though they were seen by a lot of people coming into the city. After all, they are still the citizens of the Dragon City."
"…" Hao Yu fell silent. Leng Xiu misunderstood that silence as a pained expression from Hao Yu.
However, the truth was something entirely different. Hao Yu actually thought about something. 'Wait a minute… They were seen by a lot of people coming into the city. Won't the other way around be the same? They have seen people entering the city…second only to the city guard by the gate…'