When the Official Registrar got closer, he realized that it was the Priestess lying on the ground. His face turned pale, filled with anger and fear. After some time, he regained his composure and looked at Pei Zi Yun, "Priestess Jin Zhu led a thousand men to attack the stronghold, and ended up in such a state. Should I address you as High Priest, or Young Chieftain?"
The Official Registrar's tone was calm, as he gritted his teeth and laughed. His voice was cold and filled with disbelief.
The actions of the strongholds did not escape the attention of the officials, who sent men to intervene. In a single night, thousands of warriors were defeated, and even the Priestess was killed.
Pei Zi Yun had no choice but to raise the level of danger he was in.
"Official Registrar, you're worrying too much. It's a peaceful time now, and I am the Top Scorer of Ying Prefecture. Why would I become the High Priest of the Southern Kingdom? Unless your excellency wishes for me to remain here?"
Pei Zi Yun said plainly, his eyes gleaming. He seemed to be deep in thought. From what the Official Registrar had just said, it was clear that the Official Registrar's stance was no longer that of the strongholds, nor the officials.
"That's true. Even if he was born in a stronghold, the officials still gave him power. Without that, how much value would he have left?"
Indeed, after hearing Pei Zi Yun's words, the Official Registrar's expression softened. He then raised his hand and gestured to the soldiers behind him, "Put down your blades. I wish to speak to master Top Scorer."
"Yes, your excellency." The Official Registrar's soldiers sheathed their blades and bowed. They then retreated ten steps and stood guard.
"Official Registrar, do you have anything else to say to me?" Pei Zi Yun asked.
The Official Registrar's face darkened as he looked down at the river below him. At this point, the sun was rising, and the sky was red. The Official Registrar remained silent for a while before speaking, "You're right."
"Actually, these strongholds have a deep grudge against the High Priest. We all know this. That's why they're here to kill master Top Scorer."
"Although you've defeated a thousand men, in the Southern Kingdom, no matter if it's the officials, the bandits, or the strongholds, none of them wish for a successor to the High Priest to appear."
"Do you mean to say that you wish to avenge the strongholds?" Pei Zi Yun raised an eyebrow and asked.
"Of course not. Most of the strongholds are undecided. Now that the few strongholds they hated have been defeated, no one will fight them anymore."
"It's just that Master Top Scorer, you're a scholar. What do you think the Imperial Court will do after such a huge incident? Now that the Xu Dynasty has been established, even if Master Top Scorer obtains the High Priest's witchcraft and is able to control the poisonous snakes, so what? "The Official Registrar did not threaten Pei Zi Yun, but explained everything clearly.
"That's why I said that your idea was right."
"Sigh, the mountain stronghold led by this priestess has won, so this matter is settled. No one will say anything more."
"Now that I've won, they want to persuade me to surrender. What a scheme." Pei Zi Yun analyzed the intentions of the Registrar Official and the people behind him.
"Master Top Scorer's mind is sharp. That's right. The Imperial Court doesn't care much about the conflicts within the mountain strongholds. It's just that the Imperial Court doesn't allow any faction to be too powerful, and they won't allow a new faction to rise up. The tribe leaders behind me are the same." The Official Official was not ashamed at all as he spoke frankly.
At this point, he lowered his voice, "This time, I've come because of an order from my superiors. If master Top Scorer wins, and you still have some strength left, my superiors can give master Top Scorer three days to settle some matters and leave the Southern Kingdoms. If not, the officials will …."
"You're the one who's worried that I'll use the poisonous snakes to wreak havoc in the Southern Kingdoms. If you want me to settle the matters on the mountain, it's simple. I have a few small requests." Pei Zi Yun laughed and thought for a long time before exhaling.
"Master Top Scorer, please speak." The Official Official was extremely courteous.
"There are less than a hundred people left on the mountain. I'll take them all with me. When I get there, I hope that they'll give me permission to travel. This is the first request." Pei Zi Yun said.
Hearing these words, the Official Official laughed, "A small matter, that's fine."
"Secondly, I wish to rent a large boat to head towards Jiangnan." Pei Zi Yun then said, "It can hold up to a hundred people."
"That's simple. I can make a promise on behalf of them." The Official Official thought for sometime before agreeing.
"As for Snake Mountain, after we leave, we'll seal the mountain. I don't wish for anyone to disturb those who have already fallen asleep. This is the third request."
"These are all reasonable requests. Master Top Scorer, what other requests do you have?" The Official Official's eyes lit up.
"My departure will be beneficial to everyone. Hence, I hope that no one will try anything funny." Pei Zi Yun smiled.
"Haha, of course not. Master Top Scorer, please don't worry." The Official Official laughed out loud. After such a battle, unless he wanted something big to happen, who would act like this?
Pei Zi Yun nodded his head before turning around to leave. Looking at his disappearing silhouette, the Official Official's face turned gloomy. Someone walked up to him, "Official Official, why didn't you kill him?"
"Can you kill him?" The Official Official pointed at the corpses on the ground.
"I can lure him into the city." The man refused to give up.
"But what if you don't succeed? This person isn't someone who would give up easily. If you really force him to rebel, and you didn't kill him, even if the Imperial Court were to suppress him, the Southern Kingdoms would still fall apart. Who would be responsible for that? " The Official Official glared at him, "If he leaves obediently, that's the best thing to do. That's good for everyone. Keep your thoughts to yourself."
"Yes, yes!" The man started sweating profusely.
Pei Zi Yun walked all the way back to the stronghold. The villagers were still inside the stronghold. Most of the snakes had already returned to the stronghold.
"Hiss hiss hiss!" Pei Zi Yun whistled. The snakes on the ground seemed to be very happy. A huge snake circled around Pei Zi Yun before leaving. The rest of the snakes then headed towards the back of the mountain.
Seeing that the snakes had left, Pei Zi Yun then walked towards the stronghold.
"The High Priest is back, the High Priest is back." The villagers on the city walls could sense the movement of the snakes from afar. When they saw Pei Zi Yun, they started cheering.
"Open the gates for the High Priest!" He Qing Qing shouted out in excitement as she ran down the walls. The old woman was also very happy to receive Pei Zi Yun.
"High Priest, we've waited for you for over twenty years. You've finally returned." The old woman lowered her head as she knelt on the ground, sobbing.
"You can call me Young Chieftain. I've only inherited my uncle's powers, and not his." Pei Zi Yun sighed.
"Young Chieftain, is the Chieftain really not coming back?" The old woman's body trembled as she whimpered.
"He's not coming back." Pei Zi Yun replied.
"Wu wu." The old woman's face was covered in tears as she collapsed onto the ground. She was choking on her sobs and couldn't speak. The young girl wasn't as sad as Pei Zi Yun. The memories of the Chieftain were only told by her parents. At this point, she stepped forward and bowed, "Young Chieftain, what happened to the Golden Pearl Priestess?"
"He's been killed by me." Pei Zi Yun replied coldly.
"Young Chieftain is very valiant. Shall we mobilize our troops tomorrow? We shall carry out the Chieftain's last words and gather all the tribes that were loyal to us to revolt. Young Chieftain already possesses the Chieftain's powers. We shall sweep through the Southern Kingdoms and unify the entire Southern Kingdoms."
"Don't test me. I've said it before, the dynasty has just been established, and is no longer the Southern Kingdoms of yesteryear. If we were to revolt, even if we managed to cause chaos, how far can we go? Follow me to Ying Prefecture. I shall arrange a new place for all of you to stay. You won't have to live a life of fighting and killing anymore." Pei Zi Yun sighed.
Hearing these words, He Qing Qing then laughed, "Young Chieftain, when you broke through the siege yesterday, I thought that Young Chieftain would start something big. Young Chieftain has brought us to live a peaceful life, and we're very happy."
The young girl wasn't very concerned about the uprising. As the chieftain, she was more concerned about the people.
When some of the elders heard these words, they were somewhat disappointed. They then thought about it and realized that it wasn't bad to live a peaceful life in the plains.
"Young Master, it's a small matter for us to go to a foreign land. I'm afraid the officials will not allow us to do so." He Qing Qing was somewhat hesitant, as she was worried that the Imperial Court would stop them.
"Don't worry. We've defeated the allied forces of several tribes. At this point, they can't wait for us to leave." Pei Zi Yun laughed.
"Yes, I shall make the necessary arrangements." He Qing Qing replied. She was full of energy as she collected the corpses of those who had died in battle and packed their belongings. The people in the stronghold were all hesitant and fearful.
When everything was packed, Pei Zi Yun tossed the torch into the air. The entire stronghold which had been doused with oil instantly burst into flames. Thick smoke rose up into the sky, and could be seen from tens of kilometers away.
Looking at the burning stronghold, He Qing Qing felt uneasy, but also hopeful. Some of the older villagers looked at the burning stronghold, their eyes filled with sorrow.
"Let's go." Pei Zi Yun instructed.
"Yes, Young Chieftain." The young girl and the old woman replied.
Far away, the sun had just risen. The mountains and the stronghold were scattered all over the place. The Registrar Official was waiting respectfully. In front of him was an old man, who had an air of authority about him. He looked at the thick smoke and saw the soldiers surrounding him. He then laughed and said, "Top Scorer Pei is really decisive. At his age, how could I be like this?"
He then sighed, "You've been tired for the entire night. Go back and rest. I shall go rest as well. As for Top Scorer Pei leaving, it's for everyone's benefit. Please make things easier for me."
"Yes!" The Registrar Official bowed, "However, this lowly official cannot rest yet. Although I've burned down the stronghold, and have made up my mind to leave, I have yet to leave. I still have to make arrangements."
"Go, go!" The official stood up and bowed.
The next day, at a pier.
When a hundred men arrived at the pier, the people on the pier all had strange looks on their faces. The Registrar Official was surrounded by dozens of bailiffs. On the east side of the pier, there was someone boiling water.
One of the constables saw Pei Zi Yun and hurriedly bowed before welcoming him in.
"Master Top Scorer, what do you think of this boat?" The Registrar Official pointed out as he spoke.
Pei Zi Yun looked over and saw that the river was flowing. In the middle of it, there was a huge boat. On the deck, there was a semicircular walkway. It was three stories high. Pei Zi Yun couldn't help but smile, "Not bad. Looks like it's fully occupied."
He then asked, "Have you prepared anything else?"
"I've prepared. Look at the east side, there's someone boiling water. I've prepared thirty large buckets. We'll split it into three batches." The Registrar Official was puzzled, "But what does master Top Scorer mean by this?"
"The stronghold is dirty, and there's a lot of filth in it. It's not a problem in the mountains. However, if we were to bathe on the boat, we might not be able to acclimatize and cause a plague."
"Hence, we'll bathe and change into new clothes. It's better to be prepared."
"However, the weather is hot now. Young people can bathe by the river. Women, children and the elderly have weak bodies. Hence, I've informed you to prepare."
"As for these fruits, I have a use for them."
This was to prevent scurvy. However, the Registrar Official didn't seem to mind. He then praised, "Bathing will get rid of the plague. Indeed, it's better to be prepared."
As he spoke, he took a closer look and asked, "They're all here?"
"They're all here, a hundred and four of them." Pei Zi Yun sighed, "Now, do you feel relieved?"
"Relieved, relieved!" The Registrar Official wasn't ashamed at all, "This way, I can explain myself."
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