Chapter 465: The Rise of the Spirit Tribe

Chapter 465: The Rise of the Spirit Tribe

Shi Wuding quickly assessed the situation and realized that it was impossible to capture Lei Zhentang or Wang Daozhong before the enemy forces surrounded him. Even a quick kill was now out of reach.

He made a swift decision to retreat, but not before casting a fierce, murderous glare at Wang Daozhong, as if he wanted to bite a piece of flesh out of him.

Zhao Changhe, as calm as a breeze, thought to himself, Old Wang is the one taking the blame. If you want to bite, bite him. What does that have to do with me?

Ahead, Lei Zhentang clutched his sword-inflicted wound, struggling painfully forward, “Thank you, Wang—”

Before he could finish speaking, “Wang Daozhong” struck again, viciously plunging his sword into the other side of Lei Zhentang’s torso. “I have OCD; let me make you look symmetrical. No need to thank me.”

With the Black Hmong staring in stunned disbelief, Wang Daozhong fled in the opposite direction from where Shi Wuding had retreated.

The Black Hmong warriors approached their tribal chief, “Chief, who should we pursue? Chief? Hey, what the hell! Quickly, help the chief!”

Zhao Changhe did want to kill Lei Zhentang, but he was unsure how the Tome of Troubled Times would report it. Would it credit Wang Daozhong or Zhao Changhe? Normally, Vermilion Bird and Black Tortoise were recorded under their aliases, and even Snow Owl and Frost Hawk were listed as aliases. But Wang Daozhong was a real name already on the ranking. What if it ended up revealing his real identity? That would ruin everything.

After some hesitation, he decided to injure but not kill. In any case, a severely wounded Lei Zhentang would not be causing much trouble anymore.

Everyone here already hated Old Wang to the bone. If he wanted to live, he would do best to never enter Miaojiang in his lifetime.

* * *

The Black Hmong’s rebellion fell apart before it even began, with their chief gravely wounded. Whatever power struggles or internal conflicts arose after that were unknown to outsiders.

What could be seen was that the original agreement among the Five-Tribe Council to “expel but not kill” the Xia people was not being strictly followed—at least not within the Black Hmong’s territory. There, they used “resistance” as an excuse for widespread slaughter. And with the Black Hmong in chaos, no one was there to enforce rules or even oversee the situation.

In a broader sense, however, the expulsion of the Xia people had indeed begun, including in the territories of the White and Yao tribes. Xia people, whether merchants or long-term residents who had lived there for generations, were being driven out. That was the better outcome. Some groups with deep-seated hatred for the Xia were outright killing them, thinking, Who cares? The law won’t hold us accountable. The Five-Tribe Council won’t really come after us.

In no time, the Xia people of Miaojiang found themselves in deep despair, with many families torn apart or destroyed.

Desperate, many Xia people began changing into local clothing, fleeing to places where their familiar faces wouldn’t be recognized. They sought new places to live, but where could they go? With the entire region united in their expulsion, they had nowhere to hide. Wherever they went, they would still be discovered and driven out.

As for leaving Miaojiang altogether? For families with elderly and children, the arduous journey alone—one that even strong, healthy men struggled with—would likely claim lives.

Just when they thought there was no way out, a rumor quickly spread across the region surrounding Erhai through Li Sian’s trade caravans, and from there, it began to reach more distant places...

Among the Five-Tribe Council, the Spirit Tribe had spoken in favor of the Xia people and was willing to shelter them. Anyone who came and claimed to be part of Spirit Tribe, followed their rules, and obeyed the leadership of their saintess, would be accepted. Thus, near Xizhou Town, many Xia people had gathered to form a new settlement called Taoyuan Town. For the Xia people of Miaojiang, Taoyuan really did become the Land of Peach Blossoms, a land of peace and happiness, free from the disaster of war.

The Black Hmong were too preoccupied to intervene. And while the White and Yao tribes hated the Xia, they were not so heartless as to stop Sisi from protecting them.

Before anyone realized it, the Spirit Tribe had grown from a few hundred people to several thousand and quickly surpassed ten thousand, with more and more Xia people trekking in from distant regions.

These days, Sisi was so busy that she did not even have time to spar verbally with Zhao Changhe anymore, and Zhao Changhe had largely stayed out of these matters. He was not good at handling such matters, and any involvement on his part would have been pointless.

His attention was focused on something else: After falling out with Lei Zhentang, where had Shi Wuding gone, and what was he planning?

On the surface, it seemed like the Sword Hut posed less of a threat than Lei Zhentang’s faction, but Zhao Changhe was not about to underestimate the swordsman ranked sixth on the Ranking of Earth.

He did not believe that Shi Wuding had moved his entire faction to Miaojiang just to collaborate with the Black Hmong. Why would they make such an effort for that? Even if it was because he wanted to practice the sword slave technique and feared being discovered, there was no need to relocate the entire sect. A few disciples practicing the technique could have moved to Miaojiang, leaving the rest elsewhere.

There had to be other reasons for the relocation, with cooperation being just one aspect. Aligning with the Black Hmong was likely just one part of a larger plan, so when they fell out, it did not make much of a difference.

In his previous interactions with them, Zhao Changhe had not seen a large number of the Sword Hut’s disciples, which suggested they had already established themselves elsewhere in Miaojiang.

Taking advantage of the rapid expansion of the Spirit Tribe’s power strength and the increasing number of skilled fighters at his disposal, Zhao Changhe organized a group of Xia martial artists to search for white-robed swordsmen.

While Sisi was gradually stabilizing internal affairs, Zhao Changhe finally received news about Shi Wuding.

“Protector Si, a few days ago, refugees from Lijiang reported seeing a large number of white-robed swordsmen around Jade Dragon Snow Mountain[1].”

Zhao Changhe, who was sparring with Yue Hongling, sheathed his sword. The two exchanged a glance, and Zhao Changhe said, “They’re definitely plotting something. If we don’t get to the bottom of this, the damage they could cause might not be any less than the Black Hmong’s rebellion.”

Yue Hongling asked, “But we’re no match for Shi Wuding... What’s your plan? Getting Sisi to raise an army and head to the snow mountain doesn’t seem realistic.”

“It’s not realistic, but we’ll still need Sisi’s help.”

“...Is that why you went to see her a few days ago, even when she was under heaps of work?”

Zhao Changhe coughed awkwardly. “I went to see her on official business...”

“And what business was that?”

“She wronged a certain senior in the past. Though the senior was gracious and forgave her, she still feels too ashamed to return. Now that she’s saved so many Xia people, while the senior might not care about this sort of thing, it’s a good opportunity for her to offer up something as a gesture of apology. I suggested she send an envoy to apologize and ask for a small favor in return.”

Yue Hongling gave him a sidelong glance for a moment. “You two sure have a lot of secrets...”

“What do you mean? Actually, that senior has already arrived. Lately, he’s been in town, happily drinking.”

“Which senior? There aren’t many people who can take on Shi Wuding...”

“I have a feeling Shi Wuding’s luck is about to run out... Especially since he’s been sneaking around, seemingly after some treasure. It just so happens that this particular senior has a keen interest in things like that.”

1. Jade Dragon Snow Mountain, also known as Yulong Snow Mountain, is a mountain massif or small mountain range in Yulong Naxi Autonomous County, Lijiang, in Yunnan province, China. ☜