Tome of Troubled Times

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.

Miaojiang was vast—large enough to form a sizable nation of its own—and the Dali region and the area surrounding Erhai were merely a small core of this expanse. Though the overall population was sparse, the 20% that Xia people made up, normally scattered across the region and almost invisible, became a significant force once they gathered together.

Some of the more astute tribal chiefs realized that this was an excellent opportunity to absorb and strengthen their power, but they’d long since missed their chance; the Xia people now only trusted the Spirit Tribe. No one dared to entrust their families to any other group, and as a result, Pan Wan and others found it difficult to attract immigrants and could only watch helplessly as they fled to Taoyuan. In fact, forget about attracting Xia people coming in from oher territories; even some of those within their own territories fled.

Although the other tribes had not oppressed them, once the initial expulsion began, the Xia people no longer trusted anyone else.

Dao Qingfeng, Pan Wan, and the others exchanged worried glances, all feeling a deep sense of anxiety about the situation. None of them could predict who would emerge as the most powerful tribe in Miaojiang once this storm passed... and by now, they realized they had no power to stop this growing tide.

The momentum was like a flood—unstoppable.

Ironically, they had started this momentum themselves. If they had not initiated the expulsions, none of this would have happened. They had unwittingly created a terrifying new force.

“There’s no need to panic just yet,” Pan Wan said to the worried Dao Qingfeng. “The Spirit Tribe will still have to find a way to feed and support so many people.”

Miaojiang was not like the Central Plains. While there were fertile fields, much of the land remained undeveloped, with vast forests, poisonous miasma, and most of the area being grazing lands. Furthermore, this was not the farming season, so it was too late to start clearing land. Many of the Xia people who had settled in the area were merchants, artisans, or martial arts instructors—most of them were not capable of producing food. Reasonably speaking, with such a massive surge in population, the Spirit Tribe could not sustain themselves.

Meanwhile, Lei Ao of the Black Hmong sneered when he heard the news. “That little girl knows nothing. Other than having a pretty face... and some nice feet, she’s got no brains. I’ll just wait and see how her so-called Taoyuan falls into chaos and turns against her.”

However, to everyone’s astonishment, by the time the fifth month came around, Taoyuan showed no signs of disorder at all despite the growing population.

Sisi even amassed wealth, and she began organizing people to clear new land for agriculture. It seemed like by the following year, they could be completely self-sufficient.

With the addition of Xia artisans, they even started producing their own weapons and armor.

The other tribes were left dumbfounded and sent spies to gather information. What they found was even more baffling: Sisi had somehow produced vast amounts of grain, seemingly out of thin air.

The grain was not being handed out for free, though. The Xia people, most of whom had money, were buying it at the standard market price, which made Sisi incredibly wealthy. It was absolutely unthinkable how complete stability was still maintained in the region.

And where was this grain coming from?

Of course, it was from the Ancient Spirit Tribe’s secret realm, Sisi’s own hidden resource. The secret realm was not fully open to the outside world, but it had never been against trading. While the output of a single secret realm was not that vast, conducting trade was a natural strategy. Inside the secret realm, the weather was always favorable, and there had never been any natural disasters. Although their grain reserves were not unlimited, they could still afford to use a portion for trade, just enough to relieve the immediate crisis.

At the same time, Li Sian’s trade caravan had returned. Jingxiang had stabilized and resumed production, so grain was no longer scarce. There was also a route from Jiangnan leading to this region. The next trade cycle was expected to coincide with the autumn harvest, meaning another large shipment of grain would arrive soon.

Once the newly cleared land was ready, it would not take long before the system became entirely self-sustaining.

This news triggered ripple effects.

Sisi had previously mentioned that she was not just welcoming Xia people, but also others whose tribal affiliations were unclear. Upon hearing of the peace and stability there, they flocked to join, seeking stability. If these people were cultivated well, they could truly see themselves as members of the Spirit Tribe.

While there might be some spies among them, it was clear to the eye that this force was rapidly growing into a major tribal power.

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. ☜