Chapter 143: White Elephant God

As the woman spoke, her face was filled with despair.

Li Lin turned and asked, “Shi Zhenhou, are you aware of this?”

Xie Shuyou shook his head.

Li Lin looked again at the woman and asked, “Why has your southern land turned to desert?”

The woman first shook her head, then her expression twisted into madness: “This is surely the Great King Mo’s punishment upon us—for we failed to offer him enough blood sacrifice, failed to bring him enough Han skulls. He was displeased, abandoned us, turned our land to sand, cut off our water, left us without food… hahaha, this is divine retribution.”

Li Lin shook his head: “Take her back and lock her up.”

Two soldiers came forward and dragged the woman back into the room, locking her inside.

Li Lin moved away from these small houses, and only then did he feel the air grow noticeably fresher.

“Li Xianwei, what shall we do with these four hundred people?”

“Execute them under wartime military law!”

Xie Shuyou hissed.

Li Lin glanced at him, expression cold.

Xie Shuyou immediately realized his mistake and straightened his posture: “I leave all specifics to your orders, Li Xianwei.”

“Women under thirty-five and over fifteen—keep them. After confirming no plague, send them back to Jincheng to serve in the Laundry Bureau.”

“Girls under fourteen or infant girls—send them to the slave traders’ market.”

“Boys over six, adult men, and the elderly—all executed. Boys under six—also sent to the slave traders’ market.” Li Lin looked at Xie Shuyou: “Any further questions?”

Xie Shuyou shook his head vigorously: “None.”

“Then go carry it out.”

“Yes!” Xie Shuyou replied respectfully.

He felt a chilling aura of killing intent radiating from Li Lin.

Li Lin turned to the several Dudou he had brought from Yulin County and said: “Take your men outside, find a flat patch of ground, and dig a large pit.”

The Dudou, seeing Li Lin’s cold expression, felt fear and immediately saluted, not daring to delay.

Soon, the five hundred local militia arrived outside to dig the pit, while over a hundred soldiers from the garrison dragged the men and elderly slated for execution outdoors.

All were starving; though aware of their doom, they could not resist.

Of course… many did not resist at all.

Because they saw their own children under five—tiny, helpless—might yet live.

So they willingly followed the soldiers out.

Soon, nearly everyone in the garrison had been led outside.

Only four remained inside the garrison.

Li Lin, Bai Zhiwei, Zhao Hao, and Su Huafang!

“Go,” Li Lin smiled. “I’ll stay here and watch.”

Bai Zhiwei and Zhao Hao pulled Su Huafang toward the secret passage.

Of the four hundred southern barbarians, fewer than two hundred were to be executed.

The rest would live.

And all of them were women.

They locked themselves inside their rooms, not daring to step out—or even glance outside.

Over an hour later, the five hundred militia had finished digging a massive pit.

The southern barbarians were pushed to the pit’s edge, ordered to kneel, then beheaded with a single stroke, their bodies kicked into the pit.

It sounded cruel… yet in truth, it was merciful.

At least they were not tortured.

When the southern barbarians invaded Da Qi, their deeds were worse than beasts.

All were recorded in the annals.

Li Lin watched from the city wall, expression utterly cold.

Not long after, Bai Zhiwei and the others emerged from the secret passage, having secretly hidden their bundles outside, then returned to the garrison.

By evening, the pit had been refilled, and both the militia and garrison soldiers had returned.

“Report, Xianwei: the military order has been carried out.”

Li Lin nodded.

At that moment, a military clerk approached and placed a record before Li Lin.

Li Lin studied it, confirmed there were no errors, then gestured—someone brought forth the Xianwei’s official seal.

Li Lin stamped the document and signed his name.

This record would be passed upward through layers of review, eventually archived in the Jingcheng Records Bureau.

Li Lin gazed at the distant forest and suddenly asked: “When autumn deepens, will the trees in those hills turn yellow?”

“No.”

“What a pity,” Li Lin sighed. “If only I could burn them all.”

Xie Shuyou stared at Li Lin in surprise—he thought the man handsome, his face pale and refined, yet his actions were the opposite.

Dark.

“So the reason you sent me here was for this,” Li Lin sighed. “The northern barbarians have gone mad, attacking our northern frontier. Now the southern barbarians would rather die than stay—yet they still flee through these hills. What has happened around Da Qi? Why do disasters strike both north and south simultaneously? It makes no sense.”

Xie Shuyou was a soldier—he understood nothing, and could only listen.

After a moment’s thought, Li Lin said: “Shi Zhenhou, if you ever capture more southern barbarians in the future, interrogate them thoroughly. Find out exactly what has happened in the south—if their land has turned to desert, why.”

Xie Shuyou nodded vigorously.

Li Lin descended the wall and addressed the several Dudou from Yulin County: “Arrange for everyone to rest tonight—eat well, drink well. Tomorrow we return to the county, but we’ll bring back over two hundred women.”

Everyone laughed.

One bold local militia member asked: “Xianwei, I’ll forfeit my pay this month—can I pick one of these women to take home?”

Everyone laughed again.

Li Lin shook his head: “Don’t joke. Wait until they enter the Laundry Bureau or the Slave Trader’s Market—then think about it. If you act rashly now and get caught, I won’t be punished, but you’ll be stripped to the bone.”

The militia burst into laughter.

They were only asking, after all.

Many among them were bachelors.

They could never afford the bride price for a proper Han woman.

But these southern barbarian women? For less than a tenth of the price, they could buy one.

The militia set up camp within the garrison, lit fires, and cooked meals.

Li Lin sat idly on a chair, watching the scenery.

Not long after, Xie Shuyou approached and said: “Xianwei, I heard you come from a noble family—you understand far more than we coarse men.”

“Not noble. Just common.”

Xie Shuyou did not believe him.

Could a common family raise a youth so refined, so luminous?

“What exactly has happened among the southern barbarians? Can you guess?”

Li Lin shook his head: “I don’t know.”

“But I’ve heard rumors,” Xie Shuyou suddenly said, voice hushed.

“What rumors?”

“The southern barbarians’ god is dead.”

“Hmm?”

There were spirits. There were cultivators. Naturally, there were gods.

“Someone saw the southern barbarians’ god die?” Li Lin was curious: “What did their god look like?”

“A white elephant.”

“A huge white elephant! As tall as a small mountain,” Xie Shuyou said. “I heard many in Tang’s army got pieces of the White Elephant God’s flesh!”

(End of Chapter)