Chapter 64. Gaoling, Part 2.
The Beifong Estate. Roku.
I was more satisfied than not with the conversation we'd just had. Of course, they didn't believe me right away. Who would blindly trust someone they'd only known for a day? Especially someone spouting "nonsense" about the Great Spirits of Order and Chaos and saving the entire world. If I were Lao, I wouldn't have believed it either.
As he admitted, they wouldn't have even listened past my first few sentences if his grandfather hadn't been fascinated by spirits. Somehow, his grandfather had even visited the Wan Shi Tong Library and met the mysterious owner himself. How could they not believe it when some places were mysteriously unfit for settlement, or when a seemingly peaceful area suddenly saw a string of misfortunes befall its people?
Another point... the Beifong family sponsors the Order of the White Lotus. That means they're aware of the Fire Sages' mysterious affairs.
To keep it brief, he believed in spirits. As for the Great Stand-off between Vat and Rava, he didn't make any bold claims but said that with more concrete evidence, he'd fully support me. He wholeheartedly agreed with my idea to unite the Earth Kingdom.
"A third, or even more, of all the land is essentially yours?" I asked him in shock.
"I wouldn't call it mine," he shook his head, "but they listen to my words," he finished modestly.
Lu, a Beifong orphan, kept his promise and became a wealthy merchant. In his lifetime, he managed to open and maintain three orphanages. With his wife, Wu Mei, another orphanage alumna, they instilled in their children the same values they'd learned in the orphanage. Hearing this, I almost broke into a proud—or maybe foolish—smile. After all, something from my past "lives" still lingered in me, and I was genuinely happy to see how those children's lives had turned out.
As the oldest and most independent, Lu took care of the other children, who grew up to become his pillars of support.
"Our founder created a code of rules that must be followed strictly. One rule states: 'Any orphanage graduate, upon reaching adulthood, can count on a job that provides them with shelter and food!'" he recited with a hint of pride, and he had every reason to be proud.
Apparently, not everyone—or rather, very few—knew the true power of the flying boar, and even I was in the dark, despite having friends in Lao's circle.