After finishing his work for the day, Jiang Bai returned to the mountain.
The palace lights on the mountain lit up one by one, and Li Kejun, unusually, did not invite her to have dinner together today.
"Has His Highness not returned yet today?"
"No, it seems they went out of the tribe on business."
He leaves the village one day every month, and no one knows what he does there.
After finishing his meal, Jiang Bai went to find the Grand Elder.
The Grand Elder is the most prestigious person in the clan besides Li Kejun, and has been assisting Jiang Bai's father since his lifetime.
He was very happy to learn that Jiang Bai had returned and sought her out several times.
However, although the elder now enjoys high prestige, his power has been usurped by Li Kejun. The people of the clan fear him, but he does not have much authority to manage clan affairs.
Jiang Bai no longer aspires to any power; all she can rely on is her status and the support of the people.
"Does Your Excellency have any important business with this old man?"
"It's nothing major. I just came to ask the Grand Elder about the reasons why our clan is isolated from the outside world."
Jiang Bai revealed her purpose, knowing full well that isolation from the world was more detrimental than beneficial to the current Wu Clan.
The elder was puzzled as to why she asked this question, but he still explained it to her carefully.
“A hundred years ago, our clan lived a normal life in the world just like everyone else. Then one day, the martial arts world was in turmoil, and countless heroes died tragically in bizarre ways. Our clan’s Gu technique is very different from other sects. Some people put this dirty potion on our clan’s head. Our clansmen had no way to defend themselves and could only retreat step by step.”
"Later, those people refused to give up and insisted on seeking justice from my clan. More and more people gathered outside my clan's gate. Later, my clan suffered heavy casualties. My ancestors led the remnants to escape and found a place protected by poisonous miasma, which is now the Wu clan. Only then were they able to escape the calamity of extermination."
"Later, we learned that the deaths of those heroes a hundred years ago were a conspiracy. Someone framed our clan in order to gather a group of martial arts masters to kill our clan and seize our clan's treasure. Ironically, our clan had no treasure at all, just some Gu worms that were useless to outsiders."
Although the Grand Elder had not witnessed the calamity a hundred years ago, he still felt angry and indignant when he spoke of it now.
"Those cowards in the martial arts world are insatiable! Shameless and despicable!"
They were willing to slaughter their entire clan just for some fictitious treasure.
Jiang Bai frowned: "The Wu Clan has a grudge against the entire martial arts world; too many people are coveting the treasure."
Over the past century, although the Wu tribe has had the poisonous miasma forest as a barrier, it has still been invaded several times.
"Has the Grand Elder considered resolving this situation? Our clan's most precious treasures are nothing more than some Gu worms, which are not something that cannot be shown to others. The world is misled by rumors and is eyeing our clan covetously. Unfortunately for our clan, this mountain is closed off and isolated. To put it nicely, it is a paradise far removed from the world; to put it bluntly, it is a barren and imprisoned place, like a beast trapped in a cage."
Jiang Bai had observed this place. Apart from the poisonous miasma forest that was useful to the Wu tribe, the rest of the land was extremely barren, and the tribespeople lived in poverty. Many of them had never even seen the outside world.
The Grand Elder was shocked: "What does Your Majesty mean by this? Leaving the clan is an ancestral prohibition. Unless there is a lack of food and clothing, no one in our clan may leave!"
Jiang Bai nodded to indicate that he understood: "The ban was set by people. It is clear that the mountains have reached a dead end. Most of the tribespeople rely on buying food and clothing from outside, but the budget is not enough. I have already seen many people who have no food to eat."
Without disconnecting from the outside world, one cannot engage in monetary transactions with the outside world; every time one goes out, one can only use money, and one can hardly earn any money.
When resources were plentiful in the mountains, wild animals could provide sustenance. Now, the land is so barren that it's difficult to harvest anything, and wild animals have almost become extinct. People can only exchange the gold and silver treasures they left behind for food from the outside world.
If this goes on for too long, their money and food will be exhausted. How will the Wu tribe survive?
"This mountain is not a paradise, but a swamp that swallows people up without us even realizing it, and eventually we will be swallowed up."
Jiang Bai knew that such a paradise was hard to find, and that if the Wu Clan did not change, they would be destroyed sooner or later.
The Grand Elder stroked his long beard, his eyes filled with conflict: "What the Holy Maiden said is not without reason, but how should we solve this? The outside world is already extremely wary of our race. Apart from a few greedy people, no one is willing to associate with us."
Jiang Bai shook his head: "Elder, don't be discouraged. There will be people who are willing to associate with our clan."
"Does Your Excellency already have a solution?"
This matter had actually troubled the Wu tribe for a long time before Jiang Bai arrived, but none of them had found a way to live in harmony with the outside world.
"I dare to mention this to the Grand Elder because I have already come up with a solution. To defend against outsiders, our clan's most commonly used and best-used method is poisonous insects. Poisonous insects are good at fighting, which has left the outside world with the impression that we are bloodthirsty and terrifying. But Elder, please don't forget what our clan has always advocated worshipping."
"Is it... a healing curse?"
"That's right, medical Gu, medical Gu saves lives, poisonous Gu harms lives. When our ancestors created Gu techniques, it was originally for the purpose of saving lives. Medical Gu should be the foundation of our clan's existence. Now that poisonous Gu makes the world fear us, why don't we revive medical Gu, heal the world, and make the world trust our Wu clan again!"
The elder looked troubled: "Does Your Majesty know how unpredictable people's hearts are? Our clan has taken this step today, but we don't know when we will be able to reach success. Gaining the trust of so many people is not so simple."
"Of course I know that. Has the Elder heard of the story of the Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains?"
The elder's expression froze, then he shook his head: "I don't know."
Jiang Bai sighed and said, "It's like an old man who had two mountains in front of his house. He planned to move these two mountains that were blocking his way, but his life was limited. So he said that his descendants would work hard to move the mountains, and one day, the mountains would be moved. Now we can't change the world's impression of our witch clan overnight, but as long as we persevere, we can do it one day."
"Now we just need to remove the ancestral rule that clansmen cannot easily leave the clan, and send out the first batch of people to practice medicine and save lives, and find out the real situation."
"Alright, let's do as the Holy Maiden says." The Grand Elder still had some trust in Jiang Bai. She had been getting close to the people these past few days, so it seemed she already had a suitable plan.
Jiang Bai persuaded the Grand Elder, and then explained his plans to him in detail.
She already possessed medical skills, so she planned to lead a group of Wu tribesmen out of the tribe as pioneers.
The first person we need to bring is Yuan Mo. He learned his Gu technique from her father and is the best Gu master in the clan. With him around, many things will be much easier to handle.
However, Li Kejun probably won't allow him and her to leave the clan.
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