Chapter 955

Hu Le Gaoen had gone to open the clan’s secret treasury and might not return for a long time. Wei Yuan would not wait; the fortress construction task had been pushed to next year, leaving him nothing to do. With nothing else to occupy him, he took the hundred Xu family youths with Foundation Establishment cultivation bases he had brought along and set out eastward to explore the route to Ji Guo.

Among the group were a few special figures: a scholar and more than ten attendants dressed as guards. The scholar had thick eyebrows and large eyes, a stern and upright expression, and was named Liu Yanzhi. It was he who had come to deliver the anti-bandit proclamation on behalf of the Jieyang County Magistrate, bringing only a dozen personal guards.

The outcome was predictable: Wei Yuan immediately ordered them all seized.

Several of the attendants were hardened veterans and reckless ruffians who paid no heed to Wei Yuan, necks stiffened, daring him to kill them, betting he lacked the nerve.

Wei Yuan readily complied, slowly executing several on the spot; the rest ceased their defiance.

Then Wei Yuan starved them for seven days, each man growing so emaciated their eyes glowed green in the dark, yet large basins of delicious food were placed just outside the prison door—smelling of fragrance, their hunger doubled. After seven days, even the most stubborn had lost all spirit.

Then Wei Yuan returned to Qingming, leaving the captives under the watch of several jailers.

Those who had accompanied Wei Yuan to the mountain folk’s land were no ordinary men. These jailers, having absorbed his methods, were equally shrewd. Each day they tossed in only a few steamed buns, averaging two mouthfuls per man. The starving men immediately fought over the food, showing no respect to the scholar, always shoving him into the corner, leaving him with nothing to eat. Though the scholar had reached Foundation Establishment, he refused to compete with servants for food, out of pride—and so he starved.

After three such days, the prisoners had formed deep enmities, watching each other warily, refusing to sleep near one another. The jailers then used a few steamed buns to shatter their unity.

When the fortress was fully prepared and Wei Yuan prepared to enter Ji Guo, he remembered these captives—luckily, none had starved to death. He spoke with the scholar, now barely alive, for half an hour. The scholar refused to yield, steadfastly refusing to guide them, demanding only a swift death.

Wei Yuan was helpless, but not overly concerned. After all, the nine surviving attendants together had provided eleven routes into Ji Guo.

But Zhang Sheng heard of this, spoke a few words to the scholar, and the scholar bowed his head in submission, swearing lifelong loyalty.

Wei Yuan was deeply puzzled. He secretly asked the scholar what Zhang Sheng had said—but the scholar looked down on Wei Yuan from the bottom of his heart and refused to speak, even under threat of death. Wei Yuan could not ask Zhang Sheng directly, so he simply took the scholar along.

This time, Wei Yuan took only a hundred light infantry. Every so often, ten or so men would fly off in all directions to survey terrain, record mountain and river features, usually returning after scouting about a hundred li ahead.

Wei Yuan had long since determined his location using the Tai Chu Palace map. But the map’s records for this region were extremely vague; the Immortals’ main focus had been the northern Liao tribes and southern Wu tribes. With ample time, Wei Yuan prepared in advance, intending to first refine the surrounding maps—this would be key to future military victories.

According to Wei Yuan’s chosen route, entering Ji Guo’s territory should be south of Jieyang, along the upper reaches of the Si River, in Xiangshui County. He chose this location because, from the scholar’s words, Xiangshui County was the rebel stronghold, and beyond it lay Feng Yuanjun.

Wei Yuan planned to first make contact with the rebels, gauge their strength, then determine his strategy—ideally, to engage a small rebel unit in battle.

As for nearby Jieyang County, Wei Yuan decided to delay action. The Jieyang County Magistrate acted in strange, unpredictable ways—he had somehow known of their presence across ten thousand li. According to the scholar Liu Yanzhi, the magistrate had ordered him to travel ten thousand li to deliver the anti-bandit proclamation, yet gave no reason why.

Liu Yanzhi’s elderly father had been a minor official, imprisoned and awaiting execution after autumn. The magistrate had told him: deliver the proclamation, and his father’s sentence would be pardoned. So the scholar came with no hope of survival. He also knew of several other similar groups dispatched to different regions.

After hearing this, Wei Yuan sensed something odd, and decided to wait and respond passively—ignore the Jieyang County Magistrate for now. When the magistrate could no longer bear it, he would reveal his hand.

The journey passed without incident.

Ten days later, Wei Yuan stood before an ancient, weathered stone stele, reading the four large characters inscribed upon it: “Boundary of Ji Guo.” Below was a signature: “Composed by Marquis Xuanwei.”

Beyond this stele lay Ji Guo’s territory. But the stele was not merely worn—it was surrounded by traces of animal droppings, clearly indicating the border defenses had collapsed, even this vital boundary marker left unpatrolled.

Wei Yuan stared for a moment, then said, “Let’s go,” and stepped forward into Ji Guo’s territory.

Within dozens of li of entering Ji Guo stood a county town. But its gates stood wide open, its walls collapsed in places, its watchtowers burned to ash. Vultures circled endlessly above the city; not a single living soul could be seen.

Wei Yuan flew ahead into the city and saw the entire town reduced to ruins, every corner littered with charred corpses, most bearing sword and knife wounds. At the entrance of the county government office lay dozens of bodies, a large banner planted among them, bearing a tiger’s head and a giant “Xu” character. All arms and legs of the corpses had been severed, vanished without trace.

Wei Yuan walked through the city, his face darkening like water.

The city held over thirty thousand corpses—not one survivor. Even those hiding in cellars or woodpiles had been dragged out and killed. Clearly, a powerful cultivator had used his spiritual sense to scour the entire city, leaving no one alive.