Chapter 347: Contact Method

Looking at the endless sea of three hundred thousand heads, Little Wei Yuan genuinely felt he'd eaten too much.

At this moment, the temporary enclosed ground housed all the laborers, prisoners, and wounded; around it stood crude barbed wire, with watchtowers built every few zhang, forming a hastily constructed prison.

Inside the prison, the people clearly divided into four groups: laborers, private troops, imperial soldiers, and the wounded, each occupying their own section.

Little Wei Yuan walked through the crowd, his voice echoing throughout the entire compound: "Since you're here, don't imagine you'll ever go back. Thirty thousand troops couldn't take my Qingming—how many do you think it'll take to rescue you? Sixty? A hundred?"

I, as Military Governor, am an imperial official with authority to establish a headquarters and command all military affairs. You're under me now—you're imperial troops, and you won't suffer nearly as badly as you did.

If you want to go back, there's a way. In a few days, when the routes reopen, you can write letters home to arrange ransom payments. If you have no money, no problem—serve ten years here, or five years in the military, and you'll regain your freedom.

Here, Little Wei Yuan flashed a bright, sunny smile: "Once you get to know me, you'll see I'm easygoing, quite reasonable…"

Suddenly, a voice shouted from the crowd: "Who cares what you say! When the Immortal Ancestor comes, he'll crush you with one finger!"

Little Wei Yuan walked over and saw a young man sitting on the ground, his face brimming with arrogance and malice. Seeing Little Wei Yuan approach, he showed no fear, spat on the ground, and said: "I carry the Immortal Ancestor's blood! You dare capture me? I'll kill every last one of you!"

Little Wei Yuan listened patiently, then pressed his spear against the youth's head and activated his Dao power.

With a bang, the young man's head vanished entirely; his headless corpse slowly collapsed into a pool of spurting blood.

Little Wei Yuan smiled at the crowd, revealing a row of dazzling white teeth, and continued: "... I'm quite reasonable. But if you anger me, I can't say what'll happen."

Little Wei Yuan pulled out a round of ammunition, reloaded his weapon, and continued strolling through the camp: "New arrangements and new rules are coming. If you stay here, breaking the rules has only one consequence—this…"

Little Wei Yuan raised his hand and fired, shattering a man's skull.

"Hiding weapons, trying to assassinate me—I have to say, this guy wasn't very smart." Little Wei Yuan reloaded and added: "This is the first time, so I'll explain why I killed him. After this, no more explanations. Maybe someone's wondering—what if one of my men makes a mistake? What if they abuse power for personal revenge? The answer is simple…"

Little Wei Yuan smiled again, showing his white teeth: "As long as you're here, as long as they're mine—no matter what they do, your only response is: endure it."

A man suddenly charged at Little Wei Yuan, shouting: "I'll fight you to the death!"

A gunshot rang out; the headless corpse staggered forward a few steps before collapsing.

"You didn't fight on the battlefield—now you're only thinking of going mad? Too late."

Finally, Little Wei Yuan said: "If you truly can't bear it, leave now."

After Little Wei Yuan left, a large force of fully armed Realm Cultivators stormed the prison, reorganizing the land into blocks of ten thousand each. No one was allowed to leave their assigned block without permission; blocks were separated by barbed wire. To the prisoners' surprise, what was built next wasn't barracks—but latrines!

Though each block had only two latrines, it was something none of them had ever heard of.

Outside the prison, Little Wei Yuan told Xu Yi: "Watch them closely. For the next three days, give each person only half a catty of food per day. After three days, they'll all be docile. But make sure everyone gets their share. Anyone who tries to act superior or become a prison bully—beat them hard."

"Won't beating them up reduce their resale value?" Xu Yi asked.

"Beaten ones sell for more."

From the beginning, Little Wei Yuan never intended to spare those of status or noble blood. The Realm's spoiled elites despised such things, so Little Wei Yuan only sought to extract more ransom. The laborers would likely stay; lower-ranking soldiers from private and imperial armies would mostly remain as well. Officers? Uncertain—most would opt for ransom.

After Little Wei Yuan left, Xu Yi patrolled the prison and naturally noticed many men stirring, waiting for an escape opportunity.

Xu Yi summoned a dozen squad leaders and said: "Strip them all naked!"

The squad leaders froze. One asked: "What about the women?"

"I said ALL!"

The squad leaders immediately carried out the order; chaos erupted throughout the prison.

Moments later, Sun Yu rushed in and saw dozens of thousands of gleaming, naked bodies. Outside the prison, hundreds of women stood in line, crying as they signed blood oaths.

"What's going on?" Sun Yu asked.

Xu Yi replied: "A small trick. Without clothes, they won't survive a day outside the Realm."

The Witch Domain was full of poisons; even an ordinary mosquito was the size of a palm, and one bite left a bloody hole. Without clothing, no ordinary person could survive the insects. "Good idea! So why call me? Are you poisoning their food to paralyze them? Or spreading plague to make them burn for seven days straight?" Sun Yu asked.

"Is there any medicine you can mix into their food to block their spiritual power?" Xu Yi asked.

Sun Yu smiled: "That's simple—there are seven or eight options, each with its own pros and cons…"

Little Wei Yuan had just returned to his residence, preparing to carefully survey the feng shui of his courtyard and plant a Dragon's Blood Tree, when a messenger arrived: "County Magistrate Niu Niu Jinbao and two other magistrates request an audience."

"Niu Niu Jinbao?" Little Wei Yuan had nearly forgotten him.

"Yes, they're waiting in the Guest Town. Niu Magistrate says you personally marked his territory and designated his county seat. By imperial custom, you're his master teacher. It's been nearly half a year, so he's come to report and pay respects."

The messenger looked puzzled; Little Wei Yuan looked equally baffled.

Back when the Western Jin established its headquarters and prefectures, Niu Niu Jinbao had stormed into the Realm, demanding to be County Magistrate of Yong'an. Had he not been lucky, his head would've been gone then.

Back then, Little Wei Yuan still held back, didn't act so wildly. Now? Even a Realm Governor's undergarments get stripped off without a second thought—not even a thread left.

Actually, Xu Xi's incident wasn't Little Wei Yuan's fault. The Governor's undergarments were finer than the wedding robes of ordinary families; it was only natural they got stolen in the chaos.

!.

As for Niu Niu Jinbao, Little Wei Yuan had simply tossed him and the two eastern counties into the west to annoy the Western Jin, making them the frontline against the Witch Clan.

Then Little Wei Yuan forgot about it entirely. Now, after wiping out Xu's thirty-thousand-strong army, these men showed up themselves—not just to pay respects, but to claim him as their master teacher?

Little Wei Yuan was only seventeen; Niu Niu Jinbao was at least thirty-seven.

On the way to the Guest Town, Little Wei Yuan casually asked about their situation.

That day, Niu Niu Jinbao had been casually dumped in a village. Instead of giving up, he set up a county office, traveled to surrounding hamlets, and led people to clear land and farm. When Witch Clan raids came, if the enemy was large, he led people into the mountains; if small, he set ambushes. He even won several minor victories. Now, his county had over seven thousand people and a hundred-man militia.

A wild wasteland had somehow become lively under his rule.

After hearing this, Little Wei Yuan realized the man was crude but shrewd, with real talent. His fortune also seemed strong—he'd survived repeated Witch Clan attacks, kept himself alive, and protected his people.

Arriving at the Guest Town, Little Wei Yuan took his seat and ordered Niu Niu Jinbao and the other two magistrates brought in.

The three entered the main hall, saw Little Wei Yuan, and Niu Niu Jinbao immediately prostrated himself, crying: "Master Teacher, your humble disciple pays homage!"

The bow came so suddenly, Little Wei Yuan was caught off guard; the other two magistrates were stunned too. But they quickly recovered, lunged forward like leaping fish, and knelt down, shouting "Master Teacher!" louder than Niu Niu Jinbao.

Little Wei Yuan had planned to ask about each county's development, but these men ignored him entirely, launching into a flood of flattery.

Even with Little Wei Yuan's thick skin, he began to struggle.

At this moment, Little Wei Yuan's face flushed slightly, his blood flowed faster, his body and mind felt clear, his thoughts unblocked, his Dao power pure, his Primordial Spirit flawless—he fully understood the joy of holding office.

Being flattered by these minor officials for fifteen minutes was better than a full night's meditation. But Little Wei Yuan had too many affairs to attend to, so he had to cut them off, though he felt reluctant to part.

Before leaving, Little Wei Yuan called Cui Yu over and introduced him to Niu Niu Jinbao and the others: "This is General Cui, of the Cui family's main line, also my senior brother. Spend some time with him."

Niu Niu Jinbao and the others bowed deeply in respect!

Cui Yu was utterly confused, shoved into the room by Little Wei Yuan, who then shut the door behind him.

The flesh born from the blood of Qiu Niu True Ancestor was slowly losing vitality. Though it could be preserved for a long time, it needed prompt handling.

Little Wei Yuan summoned Sun Yu and Master Chuhe True Person, cut off a small piece, and gave each a portion to study. Master Chuhe Daoist suddenly said: "I've heard this kind of flesh is highly sought after in the Witch Domain—it can fetch many good things. But giving flesh to the Witch Clan may bring trouble later."

Little Wei Yuan's eyes lit up. The old Daoist's hint was so obvious, it had zero subtlety.

In the Witch Domain, the only person Little Wei Yuan could communicate with was Lord Tianyu. Thinking of him, Little Wei Yuan realized he had no way to contact him. After their last trade, they'd parted ways; Lord Tianyu had no interest in meeting again and didn't mention it.

But this was easy to fix. Little Wei Yuan went to Xincheng, selected five hundred offerings with pure souls and strong Primordial Spirits, and brought them into a hall thick with incense smoke. On the altar already stood a statue of Lord Tianyu.

Little Wei Yuan said: "His name is Lord Tianyu. Though he's a Witch, he's your savior. Show gratitude—worship him well!"

Half a day later, Lord Tianyu arrived.

(End of Chapter)