Dawnless Sovereign-Chapter 73: Starlights Wisdom

"I can already envision what's going to happen next," Starlight said in a defeated manner. "Administrator Fang is going to sing the praises of our Unmatched Escort Agency to the entire world, and we'll become famous overnight! You won't even have to go reporting any people from the main church anymore because everyone will be coming to us.

“If you don't kill them, then they'll kill us, but if you kill them, then our status as traitors of the main church will be set in stone! There's no way out! I haven't even done anything, yet I'm going to be forced into a situation where I either become a traitor or die! You want me to think of a plan? How?! Am I some omnipotent god?!"

Starlight was pacing back and forth like an agitated beast as he continued, "You can all go back to your clans and be just fine! Hold on, no, all of you are screwed even if you go back! All of you have already been busted for reporting other people from the main church, so none of you are going to be let off the hook!"

Everyone's expressions soured even further at this revelation.

"That doesn't even have anything to do with me! I don't care if you live or die! Even if you die, you only have yourselves to blame, but what have I done to deserve this?! I've been a demonic church member for all these years, and I've been detested and hunted by countless people, but I've never felt like a victim!

“All of you have provided me with a new and unprecedented experience! You've shown me what it feels like to be a victim! Thank you, everyone! You've truly broadened my horizons!"

Everyone hung their heads even lower in shame, and Zhao Wushang and Zheng Yunqi felt like the only thing they could do now for even an ounce of redemption was to put an end to their own lives.

Starlight was right. None of this had anything to do with him, his branch helm or the One Heart Church.

They had acted entirely out of their own selfish interest, retaliating against the people who had wronged them, but in doing so, they had caused a terrible mess that had implicated even Starlight!

"I just wanted to run my branch helm in peace... How am I going to answer to Pope Yin now?" Starlight moaned in a dejected manner.

All of a sudden, everyone was struck by a pang of sympathy for Starlight.

He had worked for so many years to become a helmsmaster, yet all of that hard work was now going to be squandered because of them.

Zheng Yunqi cleared his throat, then said, "Helmsmaster, we screwed up, and we're willing to take full accountability, but what's happened has already happened, and what we need to do now is come up with a solution. Even if we cut off our own heads and offer them up to your now, it's not going to solve anything."

Starlight was glowering at him like a defeated wolf.

"Come up with a solution? How? My head's a complete scrambled mess! I can't think of anything right now!"

Everyone: "......"

After a long silence, Starlight rose to his feet, then stormed out of the hall.

The sound of splashing water could be heard outside as Starlight began washing his hair with cold water.

The thought of washing one's hair with cold water in such freezing weather had everyone shuddering as if they were also having cold water splashed onto their heads.

Shortly thereafter, Starlight returned, his hair still dripping wet.

"You should all go and wash up as well to get yourselves as awake and alert as possible. Zheng Yunqi is right. What's done has already been done, and we can't just run and hide, so we need to all come together to brainstorm some ideas."

Everyone immediately did as they were told, rushing outside to wash their hair.

Starlight's regained composure had come as a massive relief to everyone.

What they were most afraid of was that Starlight would kill them all in a fit of rage. Clearly, he was still furious, but he had managed to suppress those emotions.

A short while later, everyone returned, their hair still varying from states of slightly damp to dripping wet.

Washing one's hair with cold water on a winter's day truly was a stimulating experience, and everyone was feeling completely reinvigorated.

To everyone's surprise, Starlight was looking very calm and benevolent as he sat down onto his throne before inviting everyone else to also take a seat.

Everyone duly obliged, but this uncharacteristically mellow display from Starlight had them all feeling rather uneasy.

"What's happened has already happened, and killing you won't do me any good," Starlight said in a defeated manner. "In fact, there's a chance that one of you could come up with a good solution to this problem, and in that case, killing you all would be actively detrimental to me. Hence, let's all sit down and think up some ideas."

Everyone hung their heads in shame as they sat in their chairs.

"For starters, let's think about the consequences that are likely to arise from this situation," Starlight began. "Right now, the problem that we're facing is that Administrator Fang wants to promote our escort agency as a positive role model. Never have I imagined that I would ever become a positive role model for the Hall of Protectionists! It still feels like a dream!"

Everyone's faces were contorted into a peculiar mix of amusement and concern at this absurd notion.

"The problem is that we're going to have to face the collective wrath of all of our people who were sent down to the White Cloud Prefecture," Zheng Yunqi said in a grim manner. "They're not going to be able to contend with the Hall of Protectionists on their territory, so they're going to target us instead.

“In their eyes, we're an ally of the Protectionists, so their objective will be to eliminate us. In this situation, even if Helmsmaster Liu of the Night Demon Church and the others vouch for us, it's not going to do us any good. Additionally, we're almost certainly going to be facing far more hostility during our escort assignments, and that's inevitably going to result in increased casualties.

“To make matters even worse, you, Helmsmaster, will have to explain to your higher-ups in the One Heart Church how your branch helm has been deemed a traitorous entity to the main church. At the same time, our clans will also suffer for their ties to us, perceived traitors of the main church."

Zheng Yunqi had clearly already considered the potential consequences of the situation very thoroughly, and all of the aforementioned consequences were very likely to eventuate.

"The most damning piece of evidence against us is that our reports have already led to the deaths of fifteen people. Even if we try to tell everyone that we only made those reports in retaliation against the people who reported us first, no one will believe us. Even though some of us were reported, none of us were killed, yet all fifteen of the people that we've reported have met their demise! There's simply no explaining that!"

Everyone nodded in agreement with Zheng Yunqi's assessment of the situation.

From there, Zheng Yunqi rattled off a long list of potential consequences, and with each word that he spoke, everyone's hearts sank further and further.

If the situation were to unfold in accordance with Zheng Yunqi's projections, then there simply seemed to be no way out.

"Furthermore, the people sent after us will only increase in cultivation base over time, so we won't be able to hold them off forever. That's all I can think of for now, Helmsmaster," Zheng Yunqi concluded.

"You've only thought of the potential consequences?" Starlight asked in an exasperated voice. "You haven't thought of any solutions at all?!"

Zheng Yunqi lowered his head in shame.

It wasn't that he hadn't tried to think of any solutions, he was simply unable to think of anything.

"What should we do, Helmsmaster?"

All of them were extremely young and inexperienced, so they could only rely on Starlight to come up with something.

Starlight rose to his feet with a grim expression as he began pacing back and forth with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Regardless of what we do, our own people will come after us, and battles against them will be unavoidable."

Everyone nodded with solemn expressions.

"Some of them must be killed," Starlight continued. "However, it's not all doom and gloom. We need to look at the bright side to all of this."

"The bright side?"