When various snakes, insects, rats, and ants, as well as some unknown smoke, slowly appeared below the Jiangbei city gate, the soldiers of Jiangbei immediately became somewhat agitated.
Some wounded soldiers were sent back to the city for treatment. Although they were not seriously injured, the losses still appeared to be considerable.
Upon receiving the battle report, a ruthless glint flashed in the eyes of the Miao King, who said to the barbarian king's eldest son beside him:
"Your Highness, I will personally take action later. When Jiangbei City is in chaos, you can then wipe it out in one fell swoop and capture Shen Muzhi to avenge your father."
The eldest prince and the barbarian king shared a deep bond. After learning that the barbarian king had died at the hands of Shen Muzhi and his wife, the eldest prince wished he could immediately destroy Jiangbei.
Therefore, when the Miao King approached him, he did not hesitate at all and immediately agreed to cooperate with him.
After all, the barbarian tribe and the Miao tribe had been allies for many years, sharing both prosperity and adversity, so he trusted the Miao tribe quite a bit.
After hearing the Miao King's words, he nodded in agreement, confidently stating:
"King Miao, please make your move. Today I will take Shen Muzhi's head, and his woman. I will throw her into my barbarian camp and make her serve my barbarian soldiers until she dies."
Upon hearing this, the Miao King neither agreed nor disagreed, but nodded slightly before leading his left and right protectors to take their leave.
After the Miao King left, he took his left and right protectors to the place that had been prepared beforehand and solemnly gave the instructions:
"You all stand guard outside the door. No one is allowed to come in and disturb us without my permission."
"yes."
After the two men withdrew, the Miao King walked to the large black cauldron in the center of the tent. The cauldron contained red blood, which was fresh blood from living people that the Miao King had prepared in advance.
Immediately afterwards, she forcefully tore off her large left sleeve.
The moment the sleeve came off, what came into view was an arm covered with heads of all sorts of snakes, insects, rats, and ants.
At first glance, that arm could no longer be called an arm.
The heads of those snakes, insects, rats, and ants were extremely ugly and disgusting. They had already merged with the Miao King's arm and were now wriggling towards the black cauldron with their mouths open, looking extremely hungry and thirsty.
The Miao Queen was already used to this scene. Far from feeling disgusted or horrified, she gently stroked each of the repulsive heads, her voice soothing:
"Don't worry, there's plenty of fresh blood today; it will feed you."
As she spoke, she reached her arm into the black cauldron. The next moment, various gurgling swallowing sounds came from inside the cauldron, and at the same time, the Miao King's face showed an extremely enjoyable expression.
Soon, a crimson mist, carrying a strong stench of blood, began to spread outwards from the black cauldron.
The spread was extremely fast, the color fading as it went further, until it disappeared completely. But the stench of blood carried by the wind further and further away, stirring up bloodlust in the eyes of poisonous insects and beasts wherever it went, and they quickly headed towards Jiangbei City.
Meanwhile, the people in Jiangbei City were not flustered by the war at all; on the contrary, they were in the mood to drink tea and comment.
The storyteller in the teahouse spoke louder and louder, recounting the various achievements of Shen Muzhi and the Jiangbei soldiers.
At the same time, he didn't forget to talk about the general's wife, this extraordinary woman, praising her endlessly. Outsiders would suspect that someone from the general's mansion had secretly given him a lot of money.
A person in the audience asked in confusion:
"A few days ago, a nobleman from the General's Mansion ordered us to imprison all the beasts in our household in one place. I wonder what his intention is."
This man's question was one that others also wanted to ask. The storyteller naturally didn't know the answer, but his job didn't allow him to directly say he didn't know. So, with a quick glance, he replied:
"The general's intentions are beyond our comprehension. They are probably related to the Miao demons. We will obey orders and cooperate well."
“What you say makes sense.”
One person agrees, and many others follow suit.
At that moment, another voice in the crowd asked:
"By the way, sir, I've heard that we in Jiangbei have mastered the art of Gu poison, and it seems that some Miao demons have already submitted to us. Aren't you afraid that the Miao demons will cause trouble?"
As soon as the man said this, the once bustling teahouse immediately fell silent, and everyone seemed to be waiting for an answer.
The storyteller remained completely calm. He first stroked his beard with an air of mystery, then replied with composure:
"The Miao people are called demons because they possess the Gu poison technique, which ordinary people cannot understand or master, and use this technique to do evil and harm people everywhere. But in reality, they are just ordinary people born of parents, and they don't have any special abilities."
Before this Miao king ascended the throne, the Miao people lived a peaceful and uncontested life. When people occasionally visited, they were treated with respect, and some difficult-to-treat illnesses could be cured in the Miao community.
Therefore, the Miao people are not at fault; the fault lies with the ambition of those in power. But things are different now. Chaos breeds heroes. Our General Shen can make one Miao person submit, and he can bring the entire Miao people under his control. He is the only one fit to rule this chaotic world.”
The storyteller spoke with great passion, but the listeners were somewhat stunned. The image of the Miao people as evil sorcerers was too deeply ingrained in their minds, and they could not immediately change their attitude.
But there were plenty of people in the crowd who responded:
“What you say makes sense, sir. General Shen is the future ruler of the world. With such a remarkable woman as his wife as his wise and capable assistant, conquering the Miao people will be a piece of cake.”
"Yes, General Shen loves the people like his own children, and his wife has saved refugees from dire straits. We trust them."
"Yes, trust them."
With someone taking the lead, the rest followed naturally, and this dialogue was spreading rapidly across various regions.
Yan Xiao was standing on the city wall watching the situation unfold. When he felt the time was right, he gave Shen Muzhi a look.
Shen Muzhi looked at Yan Xiao with obvious worry in his eyes, and his steps were hesitant.
Yan Xiao preferred the clean and decisive Shen Muzhi, and seeing him like this, she glared at him and said:
"If you're really worried about me, then get this over with quickly, instead of dawdling around here."
As she spoke, her tone shifted, and she said with feigned seriousness:
"Don't worry, if I can't hold on any longer, I'll stop and run away immediately, so you should worry more about yourself."
Shen Muzhi wasn't angry at these words; instead, he smiled with pleasure.
"Okay, I'll feel at ease if you say that. Always put yourself first, understand?"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but reach out and pat Yanxiao's head. This time, Yanxiao didn't slap his hand away as usual, but just stood there and let him stroke her gently.
Shen Muzhi didn't linger, gently stroking the area twice before immediately withdrawing his hand, his expression turning serious.
"I'm leaving."
After he finished speaking, he gave Yan Xiao a deep look before leading Wei Wuxiu away.
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