Stranger Danger

Why was that? Because the Nanjiang Pacification Army had suffered tremendous losses in the Battle of Nanjiang Royal Court. Intentionally or not, the interference of the Meng Clan remnants had indirectly bought the surviving tribes and forces of Nanjiang just enough time to save themselves from total annihilation.

After that, forces from all sides intervened to prevent Chu from effectively conquering Nanjiang. Combined with the fact that the One Hundred Thousand Mountains of Nanjiang was exceeding treacherous, Chu’s hope of suppressing and annihilating dwindled to almost zero, at least in the short term.

Long story short, Chu managed to deal the Nanjiang tribes a severe blow, but they ultimately failed to end the southern threat once and for all or master the One Hundred Thousand Mountains of Nanjiang.

Therefore, both the ancestral worship ceremony and the creation of a new prefecture were simply measures they were forced to adopt before they had already made all those bombastic statements earlier.

Not only that, on the day of the ancestral worship ceremony, several Nanjiang champions had slipped into the capital city and attempted to assassinate the Chu Emperor. Although the assassination attempt ultimately ended in failure, it inevitably cast a shadow over what was already an imperfect ceremony.

In conclusion, Chu’s attempt to rescue their reputation and grow their strength through the Nanjiang war had ultimately ended in failure.

If this was all Chu had suffered, it still would have been okay. However, the Heavens’ Eye was also heavily damaged and drained all because of the Chu Emperor’s whim. The loss of the Will of the Empire aside, the Strange Artifact could no longer supervise the realm or intimidate the evils. As a result, Stranger sightings and attacks had increase dramatically at those backwater places where the manpower was low, and the defenses were weak. Countless heretics and bad characters had also crawled out of their hidey-holes to throw the jianghu into chaos as well.

It signified the end of the peace and prosperity Chu had enjoyed up until this point.

Long story short, the order of the smaller settlements such as the villages and counties had decreased significantly. Only the big cities and important counties and commanderies remained unaffected.

In fact, that might have been an understatement. On his way over, Ye Qing had witnessed many backwater villages and towns that were either harassed by evils, annihilated by Strangers, or massacred by bandits. It was terrible to say the least.

What Long Qing was experiencing was anything but unique. In fact, there were countless other settlements that were suffering worse fates than Long Qing.

Worse, Ye Qing knew that this was just the beginning. As time passed, the situation was only going to worsen.

“Uuu… mama… mama…”

“Ah Yang! Ah Yang! Please, honorable priests, please forgive my daughter! She’s still young and ignorant. Her blasphemy of the Great Golden Millet Celestial was a complete accident. Please have mercy and let her live! Please!”

On the streets, a woman was kneeling on the ground and kowtowing to a group of Golden Millet disciples.

The Golden Millet disciples were holding a struggling, wailing girl who looked to be seven or eight years old at most.

It was a simple incident. The little girl had accidentally knocked over an effigy of the Great Golden Millet Celestial while she was playing. So, the Golden Millet disciples intended to punish her.

The Golden Millet disciples belonged to a mysterious sect that had suddenly appeared in Long Qing as of late called the “Golden Millet Sect”. A few months ago, countless citizens of Long Qing had suddenly begun to suffer from insomnia. No, they weren’t suffering from nightmares or startled awake by some unknown phenomena or something. They just couldn’t sleep no matter how tired they were. They could close their eyes the entire night and not sleep a wink the entire night.

Because of the insomnia, the citizens of Long Qing could not obtain the proper amount of rest and began falling apart bit by bit. Some died from sheer exhaustion, and some committed suicide because they could not stand the suffering.

Of course, the local government and the Pacification Bureau tried to solve the issue, but forget finding a solution, they couldn’t even identify what was causing the insomnia in the first place. It was anomalous to put it mildly.

It was at this moment the Golden Millet Sect appeared and claimed that all those who prayed to the Great Golden Millet Celestial and worshiped the Golden Millet sect would be able to obtain a good night’s sleep. They would be free from illnesses and tribulations as well.

At first, most people did not believe them. However, the few who did and began worshiping the Great Golden Millet Celestial discover that the insomnia that tormented them was gone, and they could finally fall asleep once more.

As a result, the Golden Millet Sect and Great Golden Millet Celestial took root in Long Qing in no time at all. Countless citizens joined the Golden Millet Sect, and they eventually became so strong that not even the local government could stop them.

Right now, it was no exaggeration to say that Long Qing was completely controlled by the Golden Millet Sect.

The people’s hearts weren’t made of stone, but as much as they pitied the woman and her daughter, they were afraid of the insomnia that damned near killed them months ago even more. So, they turned a blind eye to their fate.

“Get lost! The sin of blaspheming against the Great Golden Millet Celestial is unforgivable!”

A Golden Millet disciple kicked the woman away and said coldly, “And only death can cleanse one such sinner of their sin!”

All Golden Millet disciples were warriors, so the kick flung the woman several meters away and caused her to throw up blood.

“Don’t hit my mama, you bad people! Bad people!”

The girl screamed at the sight of her mother’s injuries and bit the Golden Millet disciple holding her in the hand.

“Argh… you little shit!”

Caught off guard and in pain, the Golden Millet disciple threw the girl to the ground and growled, “It’s bad enough to blasphemed against the Great Golden Millet Celestial, but you dare to disrespect a priest as well? You must be burned as an example to all who dares to defy us!”

Without hesitation, the Golden Millet disciple summoned a fireball in his hand and threw it at the girl.

“Cease your atrocity at once, heretic!”

Right before the girl would be burned into a crisp, a sweet cry cut through the air. At the same time, a throwing knife flew toward the fireball at high speed.

Fire had no form or substance, but for some reason, the throwing knife was able to nail it to the ground like it had a tangible form. The fire slowly extinguished.

“Who dares to stop me?!”

“I do.”

A woman descended from the air and stood protectively in front of the young girl and her mother, eyes glaring at the group of Golden Millet disciples.

The woman looked to be about twenty years old. She was beautiful and heroic-looking. She seemed completely unafraid despite being outnumbered many times to one.

“I am the chief protector serving under the Great Golden Millet Celestial, Nine Word Trueman. Dare you reveal your name, interloper?” the leader of the group said loudly while staring at the woman.

“Why not? I am Tan Jinyan of the Throwing Knife Sect,” she responded just as loudly.

“Do you know your sin, Tan Jinyan?” Nine Word Trueman said threateningly.

“What sin have I committed?” Tan Jinyan asked.

“You have blasphemed against the Great Golden Millet Celestial and obstructed this protector from conducting his business. Your sin is unforgivable!” Nine Word Trueman said harshly, “Kneel and submit to your judgment now, or the Great Golden Millet Celestial will turn you into ash!”

Tan Jinyan scoffed. “Hmph! Impotent threats of a heretic. Come at me then. I wanna see what your so-called Great Golden Millet Celestial can do.”

“Stubborn woman!” Nine Word Trueman fumed. “All disciples, capture the woman who blasphemed against the Great Golden Millet Celestial so we may burn her on a stake!”

“At once.”

The Golden Millet disciples behind Nine Word Trueman immediately rushed toward Tan Jinyan with a battle cry.

“The two of you should leave.”

Tan Jinyan raised her foot and gently lifted the young girl into the woman’s arms, smiling.

“Thank you, warrioress! Thank you!”

The woman kowtowed to Tan Jinyan while hugging her daughter tightly.

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