Jing Yi looked at Peng Mu in a daze. This Tai Chen should be one of the three men who died recently. In other words, he was one of the victims of the demon. To think that Peng Mu would talk about it just like that … He really didn’t know what to think of that.

When Peng Mu looked up at Jing Yi and saw his stunned expression, he couldn’t help but soften his voice. "Don’t worry about it. Normally, the work in the field is very safe. We rarely have any accidents happening here. You don’t have to worry."

Jing Yi uncomfortably shifted on his seat. They rarely had accidents here? Then how come three people had turned up dead in such a short time that it would even bring the demon hunters over? Was he really trying to treat him as a fool? As if he wouldn’t hear about this sooner or later!

Without Jing Yi prompting him to, Peng Mu sighed and continued to explain. "To be honest, recently, there were quite a few cases where something happened in the fields. In fact, three people turned up dead in the last few months. That isn’t normal at all."

"That … That does sound really serious. Then that Tai Chen …"

Peng Mu sighed once again. "Yes, Tai Chen … Among the three of them, he was definitely the one I was closest to. I still can’t believe that he is dead. And, you know, I feel guilty about what happened before that. I can’t help but think that if I had reacted in a better way, if I had stopped the others from taunting him like that, then maybe he would still be alive. That’s all I can think about."

Jing Yi nodded, not quite sure what to say. If he understood right … "You mean you feel guilty because you think that your actions had some kind of influence on the fact that he died? Like, if you hadn’t done something, then he might still be alive?"

Peng Mu hesitated for a moment but then nodded. "Yes, that’s precisely it. You see, Tai Chen drowned in the river close by. Normally, it’s not dangerous there but it had rained heavily a few days before that so the waters stood higher than usual.

"That is still something you can deal with if you have a clear mind but he was agitated after what had happened. I’m afraid that because of that, he might’ve slipped and then not been able to save himself in time. So, if I had diffused his anger before that or maybe followed him, then he might still be alive. I just can’t help but think about that again and again. I know it won’t change anything anymore. He is already gone. But … I still feel guilty about it."

Once again, Jing Yi was left in a daze as to what he should say. From what Peng Mu had said, it wasn’t his fault at all. But that were his feelings. Even if he said it, nothing would change about that, right? And then there was still the fact that another two people had died and that may be Peng Mu’s story wasn’t the truth at all.

Still, for the time being, he should treat what Peng Mu said as the real story. Thinking of it like that, the answer was pretty clear-cut. "Well, I wasn’t there but I think that it’s not your fault.

"You see, this was an ongoing problem with him, right? He would make mistakes but then get angry if he was called out on it. That isn’t the way he should behave. Sure, you could indulge him but that doesn’t make it any less wrong. If he had been able to keep his temper in check better or if maybe he had learned his lesson before that, then he might still be alive. But that’s not on you. He didn’t want to change, did he? So, how can you be held responsible for it?"

Peng Mu sighed and nodded. "I know. Looking at it that way, it is definitely not my fault. I mean, it wasn’t even there. I was still working in the field. What could I have done? But I was still his friend. I’m not quite sure if it isn’t just normal behavior to wonder if I couldn’t have done anything more."

Jing Yi nodded as well. That was a sentiment he could understand. If something happened to his friends … He would also want to help. But sometimes, that just wasn’t possible. And then you needed to live with reality. "I don’t think that he would’ve blamed you for what happened. Maybe you should really just try to let it go.

"Continue to live your life and if you see something like this happen again, then you can keep a close eye on it. Make sure that the ones who come after him won’t suffer the same fate. Isn’t that a good idea? At the very least, you might be able to save somebody in the future. That’s better than being distressed about what happened in the past, isn’t it?"

"You’re right about that. Yes, I should try to do something more productive than this." It was easier said than done and he knew that he was far from just letting it go since it had only happened recently but he felt like humoring this child a bit. After all, he had put in so much effort coming up with this. "Anyway, I’ll definitely keep an eye on it in the future. Thank you."

Jing Yi smiled happily and shook his head. "Don’t mention it. You also helped me when talking about things. It’s only right that I try to help you out as well. It’s just a pity that I can’t do anything more for you."

Peng Mu smiled and also shook his head. "You’re thinking too much. Just doing your work here is already more than enough. And it’s nice spending some time with you. We seldom get to see new people if the old ones don’t leave. And that really happens rarely."

"Well, it should be different now, shouldn’t it? There are another two people who came with me. We were probably all sent to … well, replace the ones who …" He couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud but Peng Mu nodded.

"That’s right. We lost three people and the shock was pretty big so they didn’t send anybody else yet. We were able to do our work when we stretched ourselves a bit. Now, they’ve sent three people over. It’s quite good. It will be easier to do all the tasks now. I just hope that nothing else will happen. It really seems like a streak of bad luck."