I, the Music Master, along with Shang Wenjun, the Witch, consider myself someone who doesn't have my vision clouded by personal gain. Over the years, we've tried to suppress the kidnappers' influence to a single boundary.
"How was that boundary established?" Zhou Xuan asked.
"When our suppression of the kidnappers exceeds a certain point, the gods send veiled warnings through connections, implying that we've reached their bottom line and must immediately stop."
This is the balance the Painter spoke of.
The result of this balance is that most of the regions in Mingjiang Prefecture remain relatively peaceful, but in small pockets, the kidnappers are strikingly rampant.
"No wonder the kidnappers are so brazen in Mingjiang Prefecture; it turns out they have support from above."
