Chapter 210
Moreover, the people of Banshan City, from top to bottom, might all share the same ancestor.
“Pili Jiao, do you understand?”
“Pili Jiao?” Xiao Qing seemed relieved that Zheng Fa wasn’t scolding her for the missing offerings; her expression brightened. “Everyone in the city knows about it…”
“The leader of Pili Jiao, I’ve heard, has been suffering from a strange illness for over a decade—then he gained the ability to control thunder. He founded Pili Jiao, and no one in the city dares to disobey him.”
Controlling thunder…
Listening to Xiao Qing, Zheng Fa sensed that this was no mere fabrication.
It was clear that Xiao Qing was quite talkative, and without needing further prompting from Zheng Fa, she continued:
“But he’s not a good person.” Xiao Qing said indignantly, “Our Banshan City relies on gathering mountain goods and fishing to survive, but now the river with the most fish at the foot of the mountain has been taken over by Pili Jiao. Those who gather mountain goods have to give them a large portion—sometimes even nine-tenths! They’re so greedy—Pili Jiao’s leader used to gather mountain goods himself!”
Zheng Fa was already aware of this; his last visit had been more about observing his own territory.
In the Tianbei Realm, at least in Zheng Fa’s territory, most people relied on just two sources for food—mountains and marshes.
Or rather, the incessant rain brought by the frequent thunderstorms.
Whether in plains or basins, everything had turned into lakes and marshes, with only the mountains managing to escape for the time being.
His territory consisted solely of these two types of terrain.
The mountains were rich in fungi, along with some edible plants and small animals, but large animals were quite rare—mainly because nature couldn’t sustain them.
The marshes, however, were teeming with fish and aquatic plants—like the fabric of the clothes Xiao Qing was wearing, which was likely made from a type of aquatic vine.
From what Xiao Qing said, it seemed that Pili Jiao had already taken control of Banshan City and had begun collecting taxes…
“What else?”
“Also…”
Suddenly, Xiao Qing’s face turned pale, fear etched across her features, her lips trembling as she struggled to speak.
Only one phrase echoed in Zheng Fa’s mind, making him doubt his own hearing:
“They… eat people.”
Seeing Xiao Qing’s terror, Zheng Fa fell silent—
He had always thought the Xuanwei Realm was bad, but in the current environment ruled by the immortal sects, cannibalism was at least officially prohibited.
Yet here he was, hearing those two words.
At that moment, a middle-aged woman entered the temple, holding two pieces of clothing that looked very much like the coarse fabric Xiao Qing was wearing.
“Aunt Yun?” Xiao Qing stood up and addressed the newcomer, “Are you here to pay respects to Lord Thunder? I wanted to tell you…”
She seemed about to mention the miraculous deeds of Lord Thunder.
“Xiao Qing.” The woman, Aunt Yun, appeared even thinner than Xiao Qing, her face a dull yellow, lips cracked and gray. She interrupted Xiao Qing, “Look, do you want these two pieces of clothing?”
Xiao Qing glanced at the clothes in her hands, recognition dawning.
“Is this from Sister Xia?”
“Yes, it is.”
“She doesn’t want it anymore?”
“She was taken by the people of Pili Jiao.”
Xiao Qing was stunned for a moment before speaking:
“Taken? What do they want with Sister Xia?”
“They say the leader wants to become a god, and they want to celebrate.” Aunt Yun’s voice lacked any trace of sorrow.
“...Celebrate.”
Xiao Qing seemed to understand.
She looked at the two pieces of clothing and whispered, “Then when Sister Xia comes back…”
“She won’t come back.” Aunt Yun handed the clothes to Xiao Qing without argument. “Keep this at home. I can’t help but think of her when I see it. You’re about the same height…”
She didn’t finish her sentence before leaving.
From the moment she entered the temple until she left, she didn’t even glance at the statue.
Xiao Qing cradled the two pieces of clothing, staring down at them for a long time before gently placing them on the offering table.
She hugged her knees, sitting beside the table, as if speaking to Lord Thunder, or perhaps to herself: “Sister Xia has always taken care of me since I was little.”
“She used to come every day to offer to you, Lord Thunder. I know she was worried I’d go hungry.”
She paused, then suddenly said, “Lord Thunder, do you know? Actually, everyone knows that when Pili Jiao takes women, they torture them for fun, and if they’re young girls… they’ll eat them.”
“Some people lose their families and come to the temple to offer prayers—they cry terribly, hoping for you to show your spirit and take justice for them. If you don’t show, they turn to me.”
“My father, my grandfather, my great-grandfather… for generations, we’ve been temple keepers. They think I might have a way to make you show your spirit, to bring justice, but I can’t! I don’t even remember the last time you showed your spirit.”
“Eventually, they understood, and the number of people coming to the temple dwindled… while more and more went to Pili Jiao.”
“Actually, I shouldn’t think badly of you, Lord Thunder.” Xiao Qing looked up at the statue, her tone tinged with anger. “If I weren’t a temple keeper, I might have been eaten long ago. But I still want to ask…”
“Lord Thunder, will you just watch?”
…
The silence of Zheng Fa’s temple was shattered.
A group of strong men approached the temple.
At the center of the group, sixteen men carried a middle-aged man. This man wasn’t particularly large, yet no one dared to lift their eyes to meet his gaze.
Behind them followed a massive crowd.
A dark mass, nearly ten thousand strong.
Most of them were extremely thin, their cheekbones protruding sharply, yet when they looked at the middle-aged man, the fervor in their eyes surpassed that of the strong men.
The light in their sunken eyes burned like ghostly flames.
Xiao Qing heard the commotion outside and walked to the temple door, gazing at the uninvited guests.
“What do you want?”
Her voice trembled slightly, and she didn’t even dare to look at the middle-aged man, feeling even more reverent than before the statue.
“Today, our esteemed leader is to become a god, so this temple should naturally belong to him!” A burly man in the crowd proclaimed loudly.
“This is Lord Thunder’s temple!” Xiao Qing’s eyes widened as she scolded, “Do you dare to offend Lord Thunder?”
“Lord Thunder? A false god!” the burly man scoffed. “The deity in this temple has been absent for countless years. Only our leader is the true god of this age!”
“Today, we will smash this false god’s statue and turn this place into the Pili Temple!”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Qing grew even more anxious, blocking the entrance as if trying to stop them.
…
Zheng Fa observed the group of strong men from the statue.
There were fewer than a hundred of them, yet their presence was overwhelming—what intimidated the crowd most was their robust physiques, especially when compared to the emaciated ordinary people of the city.
It highlighted their comfortable lives, their ample nutrition, and their lack of need for meat.
It’s worth noting that while the Tianbei Realm is rich in water and fish, fishing is perilous—whether by the riverbank or on a boat, one risks being struck by lightning.
Fishermen can only fish on days when the storms have passed.
But such days are irregular and rare; it’s hard enough for one person to catch enough fish to fill their own belly, let alone support a family.
Thus, in the Tianbei Realm, protein deficiency is the norm.
These men…
Zheng Fa glanced at the group of strong men, feeling a wave of disgust, and simply directed his consciousness toward the middle-aged man seated on the high platform.
This must be the so-called leader of Pili Jiao.
Under his spiritual perception, Zheng Fa could see the man’s true nature—there was a faint trace of spiritual energy within him, but no signs of any cultivation method.
This situation had also appeared in the Xuanwei Realm:
The Immortal Yanyue was one example; after consuming a certain type of thunder fruit, if she hadn’t died, she would have some cultivation without ever having entered the path.
Previously, Xiao Qing mentioned that this man had also gathered mountain goods, which likely meant he had some fortuitous encounter in the mountains.
His subsequent decade-long illness was probably due to digesting the spiritual fruit.
Now, the spiritual energy within him was not dense, only at the level of the first or second layer of Qi training, but in the eyes of the people of Banshan City, his level of cultivation indeed seemed godlike.
What made Zheng Fa feel that this man was not simple was his apparent division of followers into two vastly different tiers of treatment…
Greatly enhancing the loyalty of his followers.
…
“You’re Xiao Qing, right?” the leader of Pili Jiao spoke. “This temple was built by Banshan City to honor Lord Thunder. Now that I am to become a god, this temple should rightfully honor me.”
“Lord Thunder has shown his spirit!” Xiao Qing retorted angrily.
“Shown his spirit? I’ve already checked the records.” The leader smiled lightly. “Your lineage of temple keepers has always deceived Banshan City. Since the city was established, this statue has never shown any signs of life!”
“…”
“We offer daily, pray yearly, yet we’ve never seen this wooden puppet or clay statue move even a little!”
Zheng Fa couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
What this man said was likely true…
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