Chapter 11- The Demon Called Money

“I have trained as a herb boy. I have worked as a hospital orderly for a few months, learned a bit of diagnostic medicine, some basic medical theory, and as much first aid as I could in the time allowed. I have manuals on these subjects that I read very, very carefully.”

“Why are you telling me?” Hong Liren looked like she was doubting Tian’s mental health, which he felt was pretty rich coming from her.

“I’m not actually a doctor.”

“Nobody thinks you are. Did… did you think we thought that…”

“I can do first aid. I have first aid supplies and training. I study medical knowledge, but I am not a doctor. My job is to keep people alive until we can get them to a doctor. We are headed away from the doctors. And nobody seems to have a problem with this.”

“Of course they don’t. It isn’t actually a problem.” She blinked uncomprehendingly at Tian. He blinked uncomprehendingly straight back.

“I have nine bodies in my ring that prove it is a problem.”

“Go to Hell!”

“How do I understand this, Sister? How?”

“Because it’s their job! It’s my job, and your job and all our jobs. Everyone here is a volunteer. It’s not even a mandatory mission. I know you had to convince your seniors to let you take this mission. You don’t think other people have their reasons to be here? We do. We all do.”

“Ambushing merchants.”

“Commerce raiding.”

“I don’t know what that is.” Tian shrugged.

“It’s what Sister Rou called the mission.” Tian looked puzzled. “Sister Rou is the senior I have been traveling with. She was taking this mission anyway, and a senior on the Disciplinary Squad asked her to look out for me.”

Tian tried not to mind that none of the doctors had done the same for him, and failed.

“Alright, but I still don’t know what it means.”

“Commerce equals trade. Trade equals money. Money equals resources. No resources means you die. So no commerce equals death.”

“No it-”

“YES, JUNGLE RAT, IT DOES!” Hong exploded. “Do you have any idea what it costs to run your temple? Or my convent? And we are a rounding error on the balance sheet compared to even a single city block in the Inner Court. Everything costs money!”

“Doesn’t mean you die without stuff,” Tian muttered, being stubborn for the sake of it. “You know I can tell when you are just repeating something you heard, right?”

“You are the absolute last person in this entire wasteland who gets to make fun of me for that. The sand lice can complain before you, you parrot!”

“The commerce raiding is to make them poor and us rich, so they starve and we get stronger.” Tian decided to be, despite all available evidence, the bigger person. He couldn’t expect politeness from a girl even Brother Fu thought was a hooligan.

“Yes. Like the Martial Uncle said. Knocking out one convoy won’t do much at all. But if we keep doing it, eventually, Black Iron Gorge can’t fight anymore.”

Tian nodded. “That’s why the Monastery is here. I know why I’m here, and I can guess why you are here, but-”

“Money. The answer is money. The answer is always going to be money. Even for you- the reason your good brother died was money. Maybe he didn’t think it was, but it was. It’s why your seniors let you go on the mission. It’s cheaper to fix people out in the field with a Level Five orderly than a Level Nine actual doctor, never mind a Heavenly Person. And it’s cheaper to let you risk your life chasing vengeance than to try and cure your heart demon with pills. Money is why everything happens.” Hong’s hands were jerking around and her breathing was heavy. “Getting money and keeping it.”

Tian grunted. “Everyone would rather die than give up on the money.”

“Birds die for food, men for gold. Do you want me to say that it’s wrong?” She threw up her hands. “Fine. It’s wrong. It’s also how the world is, and if you don’t adapt, you die. So do you want to slit your own throat, or should I just stab you?”

He wanted to make a crack, but Hong was clearly hanging on to her temper with rapidly weakening fingers.

“Alright, it’s money and it’s how the world is. But why?” He flicked his eyes upwards.

“Money.”

“I’m being serious.”

“I am too. Do the math. You did learn your numbers in the jungle, didn’t you?”