Intelligence

Li Xiangping looked down at the fawning Ahui La before him, his gaze falling upon the man's thick neck as he mused inwardly: *This fellow still has some use, yet he is slippery and disloyal, and the Shanyue under his command are untamed and unruly. Misusing them could easily backfire on our own clan.* Ahui La looked up at Li Xiangping. Feeling the man's gaze sweeping over his neck, a chill ran down his spine as though thorns were pressed against his back. His mind raced, desperately searching for a way out, and he cried in lamentation, "Great King! We were only driven eastward after being slaughtered and hounded by Jianixi. We sought nothing more than a place to survive! Please spare our lives, Great King! In less than ten years, Jianixi will inevitably push east. We can still be of use to you, Great King..." Li Xiangping chuckled and waved his hand. Li Xuanxuan and Li Qiuyang stepped forward to pin Ahui La down. Li Xiangping turned and gave his orders: "Return the plundered goods to each household and march these Shanyue captives down. As for you..." "Take him to Mount Lijing first." Watching Li Xiangping and Li Tongya walk forward side by side, Chen Erniu clicked his tongue and shook his head behind the crowd. Glancing at Chen Sanshui, who followed behind him with his head hung low, he cursed under his breath: "It was bad enough that I was kept thoroughly in line by Li Mutian, but what kind of sons did we each raise? This fool can't even compare... can't even compare to Li Yesheng's boy, Li Xiewen! At least Li Xiewen has had the sense to work diligently at Lidaokou these past few years!" At the thought of Li Mutian, Chen Erniu's mood sank instantly. He looked toward the distant Mount Lijing with a complicated expression, murmuring to himself, "Why hasn't that old wolf died yet? Did he swallow some immortal elixir? Sitting quietly up on that mountain for over a decade, keeping everyone on edge the whole time." *** "Speak." Li Xiangping sat in the seat of honor. Beside him stood Li Tongya with sword in hand, his eyes fixed intently on Ahui La. Li Xiangping looked at Ahui La, who now knelt meekly below, and took a sip of hot tea, asking with an easy smile, "What kind of man is this Jianixi?" Drenched in sweat, Ahui La looked up at Li Xiangping and froze in a daze. Only when Li Tongya frowned, and Li Xuanxuan behind him struck his skull hard with the hilt of his blade, did Ahui La shudder and come to his senses. Hanging his head, he stammered: "Jianixi... Jianixi is a man like a great king." Inwardly, Ahui La was deeply shaken, thinking to himself: *Though these two look different, their bearing and presence are identical. Both possess the mien of a tiger surveying its prey, an eagle eyeing its mark.* Before Ahui La could ponder further, the back of his head took another blow. He looked up resentfully, only to see Li Xuanxuan's face flushed red as he gritted his teeth and snapped, "How can a mere Shanyue chieftain ever compare to my uncle!" Li Xiangping frowned and waved his hand, his voice deepening. "Enough of this nonsense. How many men does he command? What is his strength? And how many shamans serve beneath him?" Ahui La hastily kowtowed and offered a servile smile. "When we were driven from our ancestral lands in the Northern Foothills, Jianixi had already unified more than a dozen tribes. He likely commands three to four thousand troops. Jianixi himself has reached the Qi Refinement realm, and two human shamans who have consumed heaven-and-earth spirit qi serve him. As for tribal warriors and shamans at the Embryonic Breathing realm, there are over a dozen." "Four thousand troops, three Qi Refinement cultivators, and over a dozen at the Embryonic Breathing realm." Li Xiangping exchanged a glance with Li Tongya, both seeing the gravity in each other's eyes. The Li clan had rested and rebuilt for many years, yet the combined fighting men of the four villages under their rule barely reached ten thousand. At most, they could maintain a clan army of just over a thousand, and in times of war, they could scrape together only another thousand or two ill-prepared village braves. *Rather than dealing with this Jianixi, we would be better off facing Ji Dengqi.* Li Xiangping sighed inwardly, though his face remained entirely composed. He gently set down his teacup and asked in a low voice, "You Shanyue hunt and gather for a living. Do you understand farming?" Ahui La blinked in surprise, then answered hesitantly, "A... a little. We grow some herbs and local cotton." "Very well then." Li Xiangping stroked his chin and said quietly, "Your remaining five to six hundred tribesmen will be broken up and distributed among the villages to serve as tenant farmers and hunters. Those with trades can work as tanners and carpenters to make an honest living. Fortunately, your earlier raid caused few casualties, so the villagers will not hold deep grudges against you. Behave yourselves, and do not stir up any trouble!" Ahui La nodded frantically from the ground, stammering in reply, "My people originally lived peacefully in our strongholds, hunting for a living. If our homes had not been destroyed and our tribe shattered, we would never have marched east to plunder. I will surely instruct them properly..." "As for you, Ahui La, you will start by cultivating spirit rice at the foot of Mount Lijing." Li Xiangping rose gently and smiled. "I will arrange for someone to teach you to read and care for the spirit rice. After all, a laborer at the fourth level of Embryonic Breathing would be a pity to kill in vain." *** At Qingchi Peak. Si Yuanbai knelt quietly before a stone gate etched with intricate spirit patterns. His lips were pressed tight, his expression complicated as he gazed upon the formation before him. "Patriarch, please rescind your command!" His clear voice echoed through the immortal cavern for a time before gradually fading into the wind. "Yuanbai, why must you do this..." A sigh sounded, followed by a heavy, aged voice that similarly echoed through the cavern. Si Yuanbai closed his eyes, looking somewhat weary. He parted his lips and spoke again, "I beg the Patriarch... rescind your command!" Seeing that the person behind the stone wall remained silent, a resolute look entered Si Yuanbai's eyes, and he said in a low voice, "My Qingsui Peak will not go to Nanjiang." "Nonsense!" A thunderous roar detonated beside Si Yuanbai's ears, sending blood streaming from both his ears. Si Yuanbai smiled coldly and continued: "Do you think I do not know what you are planning? You want nothing more than to feed Jing'er to them to fill their vacancies! Perhaps the great cauldrons of those demon kings in Nanjiang are already boiling hot, and the terms—how many mortals are to be handed over, and how many treasures and spirit items Nanjiang will offer in return—have already been settled!" "Si Yuanbai! How dare you!" The immense pressure of the Purple Palace realm surged forth, causing Si Yuanbai to cough up a mouthful of blood. He wiped his lips with bitter resentment, gritting his teeth as he spoke: "Back then, when Yuxie was dispatched by your hands, you claimed it was to assemble the twelve strands of Taiyin moon essence! I pleaded bitterly for a hundred and fifty-six days, and you said he would be the last. To think I actually believed you lot..." "Silence!" Struck heavily out of thin air, Si Yuanbai crashed hard against the stone wall. He spat out another mouthful of blood and burst into laughter. "Qingchi Immortal Sect! What a Qingchi Immortal Sect!" "What a great immortal sect!" With his long hair disheveled, entirely contrary to his usual gentle, refined bearing, Si Yuanbai rose to his feet with bloodshot eyes. A surging, ceaseless torrent of dharmic powers spiraled up around his body. "Si Yuanbai, your mind has fallen to an inner demon; we will not hold it against you." The heavy, aged voice from before spoke again, forcefully suppressing Si Yuanbai, and murmured gently: "Seal his cultivation and escort him to the pagoda."