The tenth day of the twelfth lunar month.
The southern sects' siege of the Miao people had made considerable progress.
Since Li Miao left, several major sects had called for reinforcements from their own gates and rushed to the Miao border.
Initially, they hadn't intended to get serious.
After all, they hadn't died. And revenge, for an individual, might be sincere. But for a force, an organization, without certain benefits, there's often not much motivation to act.
However, the Miao people didn't care about any of that. Seeing a crowd of Han people blocking their doorstep, and having previously schemed against them, they became flustered and afraid.
With a language barrier and existing animosity, there was no basis for a preliminary negotiation before fighting. So, as soon as they met, several people died.
Once blood was shed and there was no channel for communication, things became uncontrollable. It escalated, and now, they were truly fighting with full intent.
Beggar Clan Leader Lao Qifeng also recounted the events in Tai'an City to everyone, omitting the parts concerning Li Miao. If they truly eradicated the Witchcraft lineage, it could be said they were enraged by the events in Tai'an City and acted to eliminate a public menace.
Now, both fame, fortune, and vengeance were present.
Thus, several major sects began to kill without mercy.
Against opponents who live in the mountains and forests, large armies are often ineffective. Selecting a team of elite and strong soldiers, accustomed to traversing mountains and rivers, is most suitable for dealing with such opponents.
And these martial arts sects, whose disciples all possess martial arts and are accustomed to roughing it in the martial world, could be said to be the most suitable for dealing with the Miao people.
Some major sects usually had some dealings with the Miao people, collecting mountain goods and herbs from Miao villages. They also sent messages to the villages they were familiar with, stating that they were only looking for the Miao people's Twelve Sect Branches, and only wanted the culprits, with no hostility towards other Miao people.
Some Miao villages received the message and, seeing that the other side was not the imperial court's forces, no longer desperately resisted.
In just a few days, several major sects attacked outside the villages of the Miao people's Twelve Sect Branches. They didn't rush to act, instead setting up camp on their own.
Currently, several leaders were gathered together, discussing the next steps.
“Gentlemen, should we attack this village or not?”
Lao Qifeng asked.
“Alas… I’m also hesitating about this. This is a hornet's nest. If we don’t kill them all at once and leave a few, we’re bound to get stung later.”
“But, since we’re already here, we can’t just leave like this.”
The Cao Gang Leader also shook his head.
“It's a chicken rib. Flavorless to eat, yet a pity to discard.”
The Emei Sect Leader also agreed.
They hadn't expected things to go so smoothly, that they would actually manage to attack in front of the Twelve Sect Branches' village. According to their previous thoughts, something the imperial court had failed to encircle and suppress several times, they would just put on a show, gain some reputation, and leave.
Who knew that without the Miao people's obstruction, they charged forward blindly for a while, and it was as if they were breaking through bamboo.
An old man sat by the tent, holding a sword and closing his eyes to rest, he was indeed the Emei Sect's top expert. The Gu beasts released by the Miao people in the middle were all dealt with by him.
Now, everyone was a bit stumped.
If they attacked, they feared not killing them all cleanly, leaving a few Witchcraft practitioners behind to target them with Gu, which would bring them great suffering later.
If they didn't attack… they had already come so far.
“The relationship between the Miao people and the Miao people's Twelve Sect Branches is not as close as we previously thought. Seeing that we are not the imperial court's forces, they really are just going through the motions, letting us in.”
Lao Qifeng said.
The Emei Sect Leader snorted coldly.
“Who likes having an ancestor sitting on their head? The Miao King has been dead for hundreds of years. The current Miao people have passed through who knows how many generations, they don't even know the Miao King's name. If not for fear of the imperial court's soldiers wiping them out along the way, the Miao people wouldn't care about them; these Twelve Sect Branches should have died out long ago.”
Lao Qifeng waved his hand: “Are they still not sending anyone out to talk?”
“No.” The Cao Gang Leader spread his hands.
“I sent several shifts of disciples to call out in Miao language, but there’s still no news.”
“Tsk!”
Lao Qifeng rubbed his chin, feeling a bit troubled, and thought to himself.
“Lord Li hasn’t arrived yet? They wouldn’t really make us bear the brunt of this, would they?”
“This Witchcraft matter, without an official present, it’s trouble for us to touch it.”
As he was thinking this, he heard footsteps outside the tent.
“This way, please. All the sect leaders are inside.”
A Beggar Clan disciple lifted the curtain.
Lao Qifeng suddenly looked up and saw Li Miao stepping in.
“Oh, everyone’s here?”
“Have you eaten?”
Li Miao asked with a beaming smile.
Everyone present, however, stood up, their faces showing shock.
Because Li Miao’s attire at this time was very different from when they last met.
He wore a dark black tight-fitting outfit, a bronze sunflower belt, and black patterned boots. He was draped in a large black bear fur cloak, and on his hands, he wore a pair of dark black gloves rolled with gold thread, faintly glowing crimson.
The characteristic of silkworm silk is that it gets stained, and the color only gradually fades over time; it cannot be washed off. Li Miao had killed too many people these past few days, so his gloves had gradually turned black and red.
All that aside… the crucial thing was the waist token Li Miao wore.
There was not a single mistake or flaw in it!
It was the Jinyiwei Commander's waist token.
“This, this, Li Daxia, you…”
The Cao Gang Leader pointed at the waist token, unable to speak coherently.
“Oh, this.”
Li Miao suddenly understood, picked up the waist token, and shook it.
“I forgot to bring it before. I just found it in my luggage a few days ago, so I put it on.”
“Didn’t scare you all, did I?”
Several people shook their heads one after another.
“No, no.”
“What are you talking about… Lord Li roams the martial world, and for us to be acquainted with His Lordship, we are honored.”
Li Miao smiled.
This was still when the news of Bu Lei’s death could not yet be made public. Otherwise, if he had taken out the Lord Commissioner’s waist token, these few people would probably have been trembling and almost run away.
“Since our last parting, I didn’t expect you all to have handled things so efficiently, already reaching the base of the Twelve Sect Branches’ village.”
Li Miao walked over to the main seat and sat down on his own.
“What’s the plan now?”
The few people exchanged glances secretly, their minds racing, but they were helpless for a moment.
What could they do?
Even if they were being used as pawns by the imperial court, they had already fought all the way here. Feuds had been formed, and the task was completed. It was better to cooperate honestly with the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) and perhaps gain some benefits from the official side in the future.
The several sect leaders were all intelligent people, and in an instant, they understood the pros and cons.
Without the slightest hesitation, the Emei Sect Leader made a choice that was entirely instinctive.
“Your Lordship, look!”
He pulled out a map, squeezed the Cao Gang Leader aside, and walked to Li Miao's table to spread it out.
“Here, here, is the entrance to the village. We sent people to scout it; there’s a great Witchcraft master guarding it with Gu beasts, only a top expert can break through.”
“Here is where they draw water. We've already sent people to guard the upstream, and we can cut off their water source at any time. We just don't know if there are any wells inside the village.”
“Here, we sent the bodies of the mountain-moving disciples back and invited a few grave robbers over. They explored everywhere, and only here is there a secret passage. If the village is breached, they will definitely retreat from here.”
The remaining sect leaders also reacted one after another, secretly cursing the Emei Sect Leader for being shameless, while simultaneously crowding around.
“Your Lordship, I have a few disciples who speak Miao and know some of their situation!”
“Your Lordship, I have some mechanisms from the Divine Mechanism Sect, most suitable for siege warfare!”
“Your Lordship…”