Wei School's Three Good Students

Chapter 26 The Southern Barbarians in Dire Straits

In Cloudcut Valley, besides the bright lamps, there are also deep ravines and dark abysses where the sun never shines; this is the dungeon.

In this dungeon, occasional screams of agony could be heard. If you looked down the dark stairs, you could see iron chains binding mountain demons, bear wolves, and snake-men, among others, in the abyss.

It can be said that all kinds of alien monsters in the southern border can be found here. These alien monsters are not only chained, but also controlled by a fire talisman on their foreheads!
This fire talisman is very strange; it appears to be burning red, just like the continuous burning of a mosquito coil or cigarette. However, these alien creatures, like humans, are 60-70% water, so how can they ignite like incense?

In this dungeon, all those who are burned are lamp wicks, and when a lamp wick is moved, it becomes brighter. Hmm, light a mosquito coil and blow on it, and it will emit a bright light.

The disciples of the Li Huo Sect who came here to guard the prison were all Daoist children, but no matter how ferocious and fanged the alien monsters of the Southern Frontier were, they all feared these walking Daoist children and the palm-leaf fans in their hands!
With a gentle wave of the palm-leaf fan, all the lamps in the dungeon were illuminated by the breeze.

After being blown about, the many servants who had been lit in the sky lanterns had eyes that were filled with rage, and their bodies and souls were burning with pain! — Oh, to describe it in modern terms, it was like thermite landing on the skin and not having the flesh cut off with a knife in time.

Above Cloud Cutting Valley, the atmosphere of a celestial sect from its time of great renown is still preserved, but beneath those celestial pavilions and towers on the mountain lies an accumulation of countless charred bones.

...Switch to the Wu Family Army's side...

The secrets Wu Fei obtained from the Great Divine Capital revealed that all information about the Li Huo Sect had been kept secret four hundred years ago because of a major "rebellion" case. And the reason for this "rebellion" case? His own clansman only found one piece of information—"the elixir of immortality."

When Wu Fei heard this secret, his only reaction was, "Huh?"

It should be noted that the "Li Huo Sect" was skilled in alchemy and was one of the top five sects in the world. Such a sect could disappear in an instant when it was involved in certain matters concerning the Great Emperor.
Oh, thinking about it, that makes sense. It's been like this for the past hundred years. The Qinghua Sect in the southwest failed to provide enough spiritual tea on time, and as a result, the imperial court recruited many alchemists to refine medicine.

In this world, serving the emperor is like serving a tiger.

…the sighs on the dry bank and the struggles amidst fire and water…

Inside Cloud Cutting Valley, the young third-generation disciple, Jiamude, was carrying a pill furnace as he walked up the steps. Jiamude was very refined, just like a scholar from the Central Plains. As a direct disciple, he was respected by many inner disciples after entering the hall. Jiamude looked at these inner disciples with the same gaze a pig farmer would give to livestock.

These inner disciples, dressed in crimson robes, knelt before Jiamude, their eyes filled with longing as they gazed at the alchemy furnace in his hands. Each of them had a pale, bluish-white face with an unnatural flush, and their fingers were a dark reddish-black. Each carried various containers, some gourds, others small cauldrons.

These containers contain the elixir of immortality that was just picked!
These elixirs of immortality all grow in the outer mountains, in caves filled with miasma and piled high with flesh and blood. Among this flesh and blood, either Ganoderma lucidum or snow lotus are planted. Of course, these elixirs nourished by flesh and blood are no longer called by their original names; the Ganoderma lucidum is called Ghost-faced Ganoderma, and the snow lotus is called Blood Lotus.

These harvested medicinal herbs were restless; every root seemed alive, thirsting for blood and wanting to burrow into human flesh. The inner disciples present were desperately using runes to suppress these "immortal herbs."

Jamud walked to the front of the alchemy furnace and poured the ashes from the furnace into the yin-yang fish-shaped plate in the center of the ground. (This action can be compared to how Indians pour porridge into a serving dish.)
Those inner disciples who had been kneeling before, like starving ghosts, reached out and grabbed the "red and black, seemingly extinguished yet reignited" ashes, stuffing them into their mouths, even if they choked, they still had to shove them down their throats.

Bright flames erupted from the bellies of the inner disciples. After the flames appeared on their stomachs, these inner disciples hurriedly opened the gourds or small cauldrons next to them and stuffed the strange spiritual medicines inside into their mouths. When these strange spiritual medicines tried to insert their tentacles into the inner disciples, all the bloody tentacles were charred and curled up, like squid on an iron plate, and then they were chewed up by the disciples.

With a series of splattering sounds, like pigs devouring swill, all the disciples hurriedly swallowed the elixir of immortality.

After they finished absorbing the energy and the internal flames and the evil energy of the spiritual medicine were balanced, everyone disregarded the blood at the corners of their mouths and sat up straight, adopting the most orthodox Taoist meditation posture to adjust the balance of the two opposing energies in their bodies. While they were calculating with their fingers, they looked no different from the disciples of famous sects who were absorbing spiritual energy to nourish their vital essence.

Why is this so?
These medicinal herbs that rely on flesh and blood to grow can grow a hundred times faster than naturally grown medicinal herbs!
This was one of the ways the Great Yao royal family sought to obtain the elixir of immortality. Consuming this elixir granted eternal life, even if flesh and blood were reduced to bones. However, the side effect was that after consuming it, rationality would gradually disappear, and one would become bloodthirsty.

As an imperial family, one can be ruthless, but not irrational. Therefore, this catastrophic disaster forced the Li Huo Sect to flee from the Central Plains.

However, the Li Huo Sect, having left Da Yao, did not abandon this elixir. Or perhaps, those who forced the Li Huo Sect to refine this elixir of immortality back then did not realize their mistake; for the past thousand years, the Li Huo Sect has been searching for a way to suppress the side effects of the "elixir of immortality."

The chosen method involves refining an external elixir for suppression. This involves borrowing sacred fire from the main altar and storing it in a lantern, then using living beings as fuel to ignite it. The embers enter the body and form a corresponding "yang" element within the cultivator who has taken the elixir of immortality, thus achieving balance.

With the help of the elixir of immortality, there is no threshold for "blood and qi accumulation," and the suppression by the external elixir becomes increasingly important. The current method of external elixir suppression is the "Ember Flow Pill" being taken in the valley, and the lighthouses surrounding the mountains are lit to obtain "ember." The lighthouses consume "the life force of the mountain."

However, "Jinliu Dan" only treats the symptoms. Because as long as the "elixir of immortality" is taken continuously, "Jinliu Dan" can only suppress the symptoms.

The higher the cultivation level, the stronger the suppression required. Right now, the three elders with the strongest cultivation can only hide in the Fire Cave, relying on their proximity to the sacred artifact to suppress their power.

Compared to these inner disciples, Jiamude knew far more secrets! Before escaping, the Li Huo Sect had seventeen elders, but now only three remain.

The third-generation disciples in the sect are replaced every ten years, the second-generation disciples are replaced every hundred years, but the three elders have remained unchanged for a thousand years!

A deeper secret lies in the fact that the three surviving elders of the Li Huo Sect were the heirs of the Great Yao Emperor who had taken the medicine all those years ago. They have always kept their original imperial genealogy—they are the direct descendants. Yet, none of the Great Yao's historical records mention this.

And what about the Li Huo Sect? In the first hundred years after their expulsion, they tried to rebel. All the elders of the Li Huo Sect who were unwilling to rebel disappeared without a trace.

Jamud is now a direct disciple, naturally because he is also a member of the direct line.

…outside of Lingjiang…

Angri rode the Taiyue Luan to the place where his tribe had settled.

Their tribe temporarily settled in the forests of the central Lingjiang River. The crow people used agate knives to cut trees, dried them, inserted the wood into the mud, and then built stilt houses.

Angri arrived at the largest stilt treehouse, where some not-so-good crows climbed up and stood.

Angri hesitated for a moment, then took out black and red pills and gave them to the crow-people. These mutated and suffering crow-people knelt down tremblingly and took the pills. As soon as the pills entered their mouths, the mutated, crooked spikes on their bodies melted away instantly, turning into pus and falling off. The crow-people looked at themselves, now restored to normal, their eyes shining with joy, unaware that blood seeped deep into their feathers.

Angri glanced at the pills and nodded silently. The pills were effective, but they also had side effects. It seemed that even after their return, the Crow People would still be destined to be vassals.

…the dividing line between being a slave and capturing slaves…

In October, after the rainy season, the northern part of Chilian Mountain, which is the first area of ​​Wu Fei's planned southward expansion, was within his territory.

The little sparrow-style tapping begins, with Wu Hanluan as the loving father and Wu Fei as the "little dad".

The hunters of Yongji Pass darted swiftly through the jungle. They wore talismans that allowed them to move with incredible speed and possessed a natural talent for avoiding vegetation, so the branches of the jungle were rapidly retreating behind them.

As these lightly armored sentries ran, they whistled provocatively behind them.

The pursuit quickly reached the main road. On this road, frequently used by merchants from southern Xinjiang after crossing the border, a chilling roar echoed from the jungle on the left. However, as the sentries led the way out, the armored soldiers lying in ambush on the road showed no fear, instead forming orderly ranks. Those responsible for pulling tripwires on the ground did so, while those responsible for throwing punches poked rows of small holes in the lime packets, ensuring they would naturally crack open upon impact, scattering the lime.

As the mountain monsters, running through the jungle, chased after what they perceived as a few "monkeys," they suddenly came to this open space. They saw the monkeys scattering on the road, but also noticed a neatly arranged troop of soldiers standing on the hillside ahead, beating their shields in unison, inviting the mountain monsters to come and have some fun.

The mountain monsters had no brains. Seeing the group of dwarfs on the hillside (the Wu family soldiers were crouching down, making them even less noticeable), they roared and charged up.

After the sentries who had lured the mountain monster returned to their unit, several engineers were busy at work. The soldiers used their iron-soled boots to heavily stomp on the steel crossbars, driving them a foot deep into the ground. The ropes between the steel crossbars, the same color as the soil and stone, became visible as they were pulled.

It's worth mentioning that the meticulous Wu Fei determined during testing that using steel spikes to set up tripwires was much easier to retrieve than scattering barbed wire. While barbed wire would inevitably break off a few pieces, these steel spikes and tripwires could be retrieved piece by piece. Given that the effects were roughly the same, tripwires were used whenever possible when capturing slaves.

At this moment, all these tripwires were deployed six zhang away from the array of halberdiers, meaning that when these giants tripped and fell flat on their faces, their foreheads would just be within the range of the halberds' pecking strikes.

Sure enough, after the mountain monsters rushed up the hillside, they kowtowed one by one in front of the formation before being hooked by the leisurely halberdiers.

After the wooden hammer in the mountain monster's hand fell, it was hooked on the ground by the weapons and struggled to get up, but it was pulled tightly by the flesh hooked by seven or eight long halberds. The battle scene turned into a simple tug-of-war. The mountain monsters, in pain, were very aggrieved. When these little people in front of them were standing, they smashed them one by one, but now that they had fallen, they were bullied and could not get up.

Once the ropes were put on and secured, the mountain monsters were put into the cage.

Two days later, the next caravan would bring doctors to the starving mountain monsters, administer anesthetic, cut open their skulls, attach spirit-taming talismans, and then send them to the mines to dig for minerals.

The profit-driven nature of merchants has led to the development of a sophisticated slave industry in the past two years. The Wu family army is like a great white shark, and the merchants are like guide fish. The guide fish provide the route, the great white shark goes up to tear it apart and solve the problem, and the guide fish digest the profits.

After a fierce battle, the victorious soldiers sat down to eat, awaiting the settlement of their "expenses" for the fight. However, soon after the accounts were tallied, the soldiers who had fought so hard immediately shouted, "Why is it only twenty coins per person? Where are our merit points?!" They were then berated by the military police: "Merit points? You almost lost your grip on the halberd just now, and you want merit points?"

Merit points are tied to the production value of "slaves," a special form of reward. In this small battle, only the ten sentries who went into the jungle to lure monsters could receive 0.03 merit points.

The sentry wondered if his merit points were too low. However, the answer was quickly: "No, they weren't." The reasoning was that if the trolls included small, high-speed pursuing targets like hunting dogs or wolves, the sentry's escape difficulty would increase by a factor of 0.3, but since there were only trolls—large but not agile opponents—the merit points would be less.

As for why the mountain monster's tamed wolves didn't charge alongside it, it was because these dogs had been poisoned by the dog food the hunters had fed them a few days prior. This wasn't actual poisoning, but rather a type of Gu worm given to them by Wu Hanluan. Once the dogs ingested it, the Gu worm remained in their stomachs, and striking a gong would activate it.

Yongji Guan Wufei looked at the sample under his aunt's scalpel: "Eh~ Ee~ (disdain), this Gu worm looks so much like a maggot."

As for the blood price for poisoning the mountain monster and taming the wolf in advance, Wu Fei attributed it to the soldier who proposed the poison and the hunter who carried it out.

Compared to the past when generals relied on impartiality, Wu Fei meticulously defined reward and punishment standards for each rank when calculating blood rewards. —If dissatisfied, soldiers could appeal; they wouldn't receive more, but they wouldn't receive less either.

In the ranks of soldiers, the complaints ceased as they munched on roasted rice cakes. Even the seasoned veterans, upon seeing the clear "pay slip" rules, resigned themselves to their fate.

That said, this expedition was relatively easy. After clearing out all the strongholds that posed a threat to the trade route through battles of all sizes, we were able to get at least two or three strings of cash. If we caused any more trouble, we wouldn't be able to get this travel allowance next time.

After the meal, the soldiers went about their own business, waiting for the caravan to arrive and pick up the goods, while the officers discussed where to raid the next hideout.

……

Looking back at these mountain monsters already in cages, if they had the brains to train hunting dogs, they wouldn't be worth the price of ordinary slaves. They wouldn't be sent to the mines to work in the minerals either.

In Wu Fei's preventative considerations, sending someone with "leadership" potential into the mines would inevitably lead to a riot. Perhaps—it's better to take them in as a lackey!
Therefore, intelligent mountain monsters are treated well, given special training, and never lack food. If they know what's good for them, they might even be released. —This is similar to horse training; once the leader is tamed, the entire herd will follow.

Just as the grasslands cannot be completely enclosed, the various mountain peaks of southern Xinjiang cannot all be conquered. Therefore, if possible, Wu Fei hopes to support some intelligent "friendly tribes" and preserve those tribes that are "capable of dialogue."

In his strategy toward southern Xinjiang, Wu Fei still inherited the "central idea" of his uncle Wu Hanluan: be tolerant of all ethnic groups, but in specific details, those who are close to him will be rewarded, while those who are far away will be dealt with.

Inside the camp, Wu Fei did not, like the soldiers outside, calculate how many slaves he could bring on this expedition and how much GDP he could generate.

After all sorts of slaves were stuffed into cages, Wu Fei asked: How many ethnic groups are there in Southern Xinjiang?

(End of this chapter)