Chapter 1711 - 1710 Bei Yun’s Confusion
Bei Yun hadn’t been gone for long. Not long after, he returned, entered Qiao Xiaomai’s tent, and pulled up a chair, seating himself across from her.
"There’s actually something I don’t understand," he began, "If there’s going to be a war, then people are bound to die. If people are bound to die, does it really matter how they die? In the end, death is death. I just don’t understand why you’re so resistant to it."
"Don’t you think it’s simpler this way? It spares those ordinary soldiers from heading into battle, from losing limbs or becoming maimed. With poison, they can die quickly and painlessly."
"It’s a swift and decisive method. The armies on both sides won’t have to drag this out for long. It’s either them or us, and the outcome will be resolved quickly. Why do you find it so objectionable?"
Bei Yun truly couldn’t understand. He gazed into Qiao Xiaomai’s eyes, his expression full of confusion and pleading. He hoped she could help him make sense of it.
Qiao Xiaomai stared at him from about a meter away, the corners of her mouth curving into a mocking smile. "Someone like you—an animal—how could you possibly understand the thoughts of someone like me, someone with a conscience?"
"I can’t understand unless you tell me, can I? You already know my parents died when I was very young, and no one ever taught me about these things. A lot of truths I only understand if someone tells me," he said.
These words struck a chord in Qiao Xiaomai—they were, indeed, the truth. So she spoke. "On the battlefield, soldiers from both sides fighting and killing each other isn’t uncommon. Casualties are a normal occurrence. But now, you’re directly using poison, and it could even lead to a plague. Your methods cause tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands of deaths in one blow. These means are too cruel, too inhumane. I’ve never heard of nor seen anything like it."