Daily life of a teacher in the martial arts department

Yes, long-term use of benzodiazepines not only shortens lifespan but also causes the body to age exceptionally quickly, potentially leading to various diseases in the later stages of aging. Of course, to put it bluntly, most people who use this stuff don't live that long. Therefore, these side effects are rarely seen, and even when they do, they are often considered exceptions.

This problem was discovered, and the scholars excitedly published it in the newspaper, which indeed caused a huge uproar... and then what?

Then everything stopped, and everyone continued to inhale as usual, without any reaction.

why?

Like cigarettes, like alcohol, like betel nuts...

The ability of this "miracle drug" to boost morale is real. Hard workers who take it only need to sleep five hours a day and wake up the next day full of energy. They can work from morning till night and make a fortune. The boss is so happy that he buys a new car. If you were the boss, would you tell them that taking this is bad?

If you tell them, "Stop using this stuff, you won't live to seventy," they'll probably be even more anxious than you. "Everyone else uses this, they work several hours more a day than me, how are they going to get paid for those extra hours?"

If I don't take it, what will happen to all this pain and exhaustion?

Competition is a timeless issue, even in the lowest-level manual labor. Although everyone's pay isn't actually that much more, the boss will always choose those who earn more. Those unfortunate people with no survival skills other than physical labor are forced into this competition; they have no other choice.

Thus, with the tacit approval of capitalists, this "miracle drug" persisted, just like cigarettes, alcohol, and betel nuts.

Why doesn't the government ban Shenxiansan (a type of herbal remedy)? Isn't this thing similar to narcotics?

There are many reasons for this. The first is taxation. Such a large amount of tax, if it is banned, who will pay it?

Secondly, there's the target audience... This stuff is for the poor and underprivileged, and nobody cares about them. Especially when you warn them it's bad, they'll be even more anxious than you are. This is a social problem, not something that can be solved by banning a miracle drug.

Thirdly, this stuff is actually much less harmful than tobacco and alcohol, and less addictive than betel nut. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to various conflicts, but Shenxiansan (a type of herbal remedy) does not.

Most importantly, it enhances productivity. Although those who use this stuff don't have much of an old age to speak of, at least they have contributed their youthful productivity... and that's more than enough.

It's important to understand that most users of this "miracle drug" are manual laborers at the bottom of society. To capitalists, their old age is of little value; who cares about these minor side effects?

Of course, the most important point is that this thing will not affect the rule.

Wouldn't that solve the problem?

Capitalists use this to buy new cars and houses, the government collects taxes to the point of exhaustion, and it also allows the working class to contribute extraordinary productivity. It even gives them the energy to reproduce at night. Such a good business, and you just ban it?

Until six months ago... did you think that capitalists or the government had a change of heart and banned this thing on their own initiative?

no.

Someone discovered that someone had used wave-like particles as raw materials to create something new, which we'll tentatively call "Immortal Powder No. 2".

This new stuff is terrifying; it's a real drug, incredibly addictive, with immediate and severe harm to the body. It can also cause hallucinations and make people aggressive.

This is incredible! What's more, the recipe for this stuff is so simple!

It's so simple that anyone with a little chemistry knowledge can make some basic ingredients, and then browse through supermarkets and traditional Chinese medicine shops. Although the required materials are a bit numerous, they are all extremely common items, and you don't even need much specialized equipment to easily make "Miracle Powder No. 2".

Even more outrageous is that... wave-seeking has special properties, and anyone with a bit of skill can extract wave-seeking from anything that contains it!

All the materials for Divine Powder No. 2 can be replaced, but only Wave Seeking is unique.

There was absolutely nothing that could be done; it was completely out of control. All countries had no choice but to immediately ban all trade in Bo Xun, forcibly seize all Bo Xun, empty all Bo Xun farms overnight, and recall everything containing Bo Xun from the market. Subsequently, a series of laws were enacted. Anything involving Bo Xun was subject to a minimum sentence of fifteen years.

Starting with fifteen years, what does that mean?

The maximum sentence for a single crime is 15 years in prison, which is the maximum you can get.

Everyone knows that stuff is bad, but no one can do anything about it. If anyone wants to make "miracle powder" disappear from the world, it can only be that extremely small middle-class group. Because capitalists are the beneficiaries, a community of shared interests, and they fight amongst themselves. But they won't help the poor rebel against themselves; the poor... unfortunately. If you want "miracle powder" to disappear, they're even more eager than the capitalists.

People in power despise you, those you want to help ignore your good intentions, your friends and family don't understand you, and the country and government don't care about you.

Everyone once believed that unless a better alternative emerged, the "Divine Powder" was invincible; no one anticipated that the appearance of "Divine Powder II" would cross the line for various nations, leading to Bo Xun's exit from the stage of history in such a manner.

Chapter Forty-One: True Madness

Nocturne carried the food box and headed deeper into the earth.

This is a special prison of the Seven Luminaries Empire, used to detain some rather special criminals... Note that it is 'criminals' not 'prisoners'.

A prisoner is not necessarily a criminal, and not all criminals are prisoners.

Prisoners are those serving sentences, while criminals are those who hinder the progress of history.

Nocturne took the food box and went downstairs. Although it was dark down there, it wasn't damp. The living conditions were relatively harsh, but not torturous.

This was her first time here, thanks to the boss. She had been worried that the place would be dark, damp, and infested with rats, so she specially wore a clean and neat set of casual clothes. It seems she had worried too much.

She carried the food box, the smile that had been on her face vanished at some point. She had come here to investigate the secret behind the fear, and her target was, of course, Mu Huai Ren.

The lights were dim, and the criminals were imprisoned behind the thick iron doors.

There are three underground levels, and the sins of the sinners become more and more serious the deeper they go.

Mu Huai-ren is on the second floor near the door.

He was the commander-in-chief, but he deserted on the eve of the great battle. This would normally be a crime punishable by the third level of punishment, but fear... is too special.

The empire assigned him three hundred men, while he faced an enemy army of seventy thousand.

These three hundred men could barely be considered elite troops, but let alone deal with an army of seventy thousand fully armed men with alchemical equipment, even seven hundred would be in trouble.

These three hundred men were less for fighting the enemy and more for helping Mu Huai-ren's army march quickly and avoid unexpected encounters along the way. For example, enemy scouts—it would be truly disastrous if one of them were killed in single combat. Of course, a darker interpretation... is that they were there to keep an eye on Mu Huai-ren and force him to use fear.

Without a doubt, although the Empire did not say it explicitly, it was actually telling Mu Huai-ren... to use fear.

Your wife and children are in the capital. You used fear to help the empire overcome its difficulties. Your family's title will be promoted another level, guaranteeing your Mu family wealth for at least three generations.

But Mu Huai-ren ultimately did not use fear; instead, he escaped.

Once he left, the remaining three hundred men naturally couldn't possibly go head-to-head with an army of seventy thousand; that would be tantamount to suicide.

The huge gap in numbers and equipment renders any tactics and strategies meaningless. Tactics are just a pipe dream. With overwhelming superiority in equipment, numbers, and combat power, any attempt to fight is suicidal. Even if Zhang Liao and Gan Ning lead three hundred Zhao Yuns, plus a night raid, a navy, and the enemy leader is Sun Quan, and you have a young lord on your side, all these buffs are useless. One cannon shot from them and you're gone.

In this situation, they have no choice but to remain in their useful positions.

The three hundred men were fine; in that situation, retreat was the only option. But Mu Huai-ren was a much bigger problem. Even without using fear, if he had simply said, "I'm scared, I value my life," it would have been fine. But he inexplicably deserted in the face of battle, making him a real deserter. So much so that when he later lost his fear and returned to the empire, he was immediately thrown into prison.

But Nocturne discovered many suspicious points... As long as it's even remotely related to fear, the matter becomes shrouded in countless doubts.

There are approximately four events related to fear.

In the earliest time, the Mu family ancestor found fear, the Mu family ancestor used fear for the first time, Mu Nandong's grandfather used fear for the second time, and there was the Mu Huai Ren incident more than 20 years ago.

In this context... when did the reputation of fear first emerge?

The answer lies in the intelligence gathered from various sources after the Mu family ancestor first used fear. It was eventually concluded that the Mu family ancestor had signed a pact with a progenitor race several years prior.

This seems easy to explain; a trump card like fear must be carefully guarded and not revealed. Therefore, the Mu family ancestors kept this secret for a long time.

But this is actually a bit unreasonable.

The Seven Luminaries Empire has only been established for a little over 170 years. When the Mu family ancestor first used Fear, the Seven Luminaries Empire had not been established for long and was weak. The cost of using Fear was so high, it was equivalent to a nuclear weapon. So, for a country that is still developing, is such a weapon, which is similar to a nuclear weapon, most deterrent when it is used, or when it is placed on the negotiating table?

At that time, other countries took advantage of the fact that the Seven Luminaries Empire was newly established, weak, and lacked resources, which is why they chose to attack it. But if they had made their fears public, would they still have done it?

Of course, if one insists that I intend to keep this secret and use it in a life-or-death situation, that's a plausible explanation. But Nocturne discovered more than just this one illogical point.

That was Mu Huai-ren's performance.

What do you think he's after?

Tell me, what exactly is he after?

He deserted in the face of battle, ruining his lifelong reputation. Afterwards, he even let go of his fear. And to make matters worse, he actually returned to the empire to accept punishment. And then... he went mad.

There are countless illogical points here. As an imperial soldier and a commander-in-chief, Mu Huai-ren had the right to retreat if he didn't want to fight. But for him to run away alone is absurd, but what's even more absurd is that he let go of his fear.

There is absolutely no reason to believe that this one incident was caused by fear.

Therefore, people believed that Mu Huai-ren was bewitched by fear. Therefore, he was afraid of death and chose to run away. Therefore, he released his fear. Therefore, he voluntarily returned to the empire and then went mad.

Since there was no other reason to blame, it made perfect sense to place all the blame on fear, which possessed the ability to conjure psychic powers. After all, its name is fear, so maybe it was fear that drove Mu Huai-ren mad.

Or perhaps it's the Joker, but essentially they're the same—it's all about deus ex machina.

Some people think it's unreasonable, but they lack the drive to act and can't come up with a solution. However, not everyone is just watching.

So Nocturne has come here today.

Mu Nandong felt that the problem stemmed from fear, and his drive to act was terrifyingly high. However, facing the Primordial Alien Race, all his efforts so far might be worthless.

Nocturne, however, felt that the problem lay with Mu Huai-ren.

She stopped in her tracks.

There was an iron gate with a gap at the bottom for delivering food; otherwise, there was no sign of air raids, not even a peephole.

Nocturne gently knocked on the door.

no respond.

"Mr. Mu, are you there? The woman is Mu Nandong's friend. I regret to inform you of this unfortunate news, but Mr. Mu... has died."

The nocturne was filled with sorrow and lamentation, yet there was still no response from inside the door.

Nocturne, seemingly oblivious, continued, "Not long ago, Teacher Mu went to the Snow Mountain Inn in the Ice Lemon Saint Lotus Alexandria Mountains, hoping to capture a Snow Fox there to study the bloodline of the ancestral alien race. However, he encountered villains there and was ambushed and killed... The principal heard his last words, but he was too ashamed to come and see him, so the woman relayed the message."

The nocturne's sound abruptly shifted, becoming low, hoarse, and indifferent.

"He asked, 'Why did you run away back then? Do you know how difficult it was for you, a widow and her children?'"

..

..

There was not a sound from inside the door.

Nocturne sighed and handed the lunchbox inside.

"Mr. Mu...please accept my condolences. I'm afraid no one will come to visit you in the future."

Nocturne stood up, making a crisp sound with her shoes on the ground, but Mu Huai-ren did not call out to her.

Perhaps, he really has gone mad.

Chapter 42 Visiting the Yorozuya

"Thank life for all the hardships it has given you, because it is those hardships that have shaped you."

Mu Nandong closed the book expressionlessly. The author probably thought that this sentence would be a stroke of genius to perfectly conclude the book, but in fact, the opposite was true.

He picked up his pen and wrote his critical words in the book.