Longzang

Chapter 183 Breaking the Promise
The only source of the secret messages from the Xu family of Ningxi is the current head of the family, Xu Jingfeng.

In the letter, Xu Jingfeng said that both caravans had arrived at Hanyang Pass and received the ordered grain. However, just as they were about to leave the pass, they were suddenly met with a ban: large quantities of grain were not allowed to be smuggled out of the pass without the garrison's permission. Only caravans escorted by government troops were allowed to transport grain; private caravans were strictly prohibited from doing so.

Wei Yuan knew that Xu Zhongxing, the garrison commander, was a member of the Xu family, and that he was not too far removed from Xu Jingfeng by blood. Originally, the Xu family of Ningxi could transport all sorts of contraband at will, so routine supplies like grain were no problem for them.

Since Ningxi became a shattered realm, the human boundary stones have either been removed or destroyed, leaving the area without a boundary and unable to sustain itself on its own. The mortals still living in the shattered realm rely on food supplies from within the pass to survive.

Therefore, the two caravans arranged by Wei Yuan and Xu Jingfeng seemed perfectly normal, except that they were transporting a little more grain this time, a total of three million catties.

The 80,000 people of Quliu Town had just arrived at the border when they were short of food, and unexpectedly, something happened at this time.

The letter also mentioned that Prefect Yuan Qingyan sent a message to the three eastern counties, instructing them to block the east-west grain routes; at the same time, he also sent his own troops to block the north-south passages, declaring that not a single grain of food would be allowed to pass through the area.

Wei Yuan understood that this was Yuan Qingyan's revenge.

To the north of the Shattered Realm lies a continuous mountain range stretching for thousands of miles, dotted with sheer cliffs thousands of feet deep, and even several abysses tens of thousands of feet wide, making it completely impassable. To the west lies the Witch Realm, so as long as the east and south are sealed off, the realm will be cut off from food supplies.

Based on the blockade line mentioned in the letter, Wei Yuan estimated that there were at least 30,000 to 40,000 people scattered throughout the area. These people usually hid deep in the mountains and forests, and would periodically send people to the market towns to exchange for food, salt, sugar, and other necessities. Cutting off the supply lines would slowly extinguish their livelihoods.

Wei Yuan crumpled the letter into a ball and slowly rubbed it into ashes.

Wei Yuan had initially held some hope for Yuan Qingyan, as he naturally had a fondness for scholars. However, this single incident had completely shattered all his expectations and goodwill. It just goes to show that there are many scholars in the world, some good and some bad.

Fortunately, Wei Yuan acted quickly, and Yuan Qingyan was unaware that the three eastern counties had already been relocated to the west by Wei Yuan. They then used the vacant land to purchase a million jin of grain, which would barely sustain them for a while longer.

It would take Yuan Qingyan another two days to learn that the three eastern counties no longer existed. However, this matter was not easy to handle. The magistrates and military officers of the four counties, including Niu Jinbao, were still alive, as were the dispatched soldiers; only their jurisdictions had changed.

As for whether to dismiss them directly and appoint others, or to retain a few officials and re-establish the four counties, it would require submitting a report to the imperial court, which would take at least a month for the process to proceed.

This is following the normal procedure. What if we don't follow the procedure?

Wei Yuan began to ponder what he would do if he were in Yuan Qingyan's position. As he thought about it, he broke out in a cold sweat.

Just then, someone flew rapidly towards Wei Yuan. He looked up, and the door opened automatically, revealing Xu Yifei inside. This sweet and lovely girl had red and swollen eyes, her face streaked with tears.

Upon seeing Wei Yuan, she could no longer suppress her grievances and threw herself into his arms, bursting into tears.

Wei Yuan was momentarily at a loss, a burning sensation rising from his back, as if several immortal swords were pointing at him simultaneously, and in reality, it was quite similar. However, Wei Yuan knew that he needed to remain calm, especially in situations like this.

He slowly raised his hand, as if he had no idea that someone was watching from afar, gently patted Xu Yi's shoulder, then helped her sit up straight and asked, "What happened?"

Xu Yi wiped away her tears and choked out, "I was insulted."

So that's what happened... Wei Yuan frowned slightly, trying to escalate the situation: "But there's been a riot in the city?"

Xu Yi shook her head.

Wei Yuan inwardly cursed, if she threw herself into his arms and cried over just a little grievance, then things would really get complicated.

Xu Yi said, "The new prefect sent an envoy who was extremely arrogant. I happened to pass by and ran into him, so I argued with him for a bit, and he started cursing at me, cursing me with really nasty language! He said... he said that I was hanging out with bandits and had been a wife to everyone, and that even if I were sold to a brothel, no one would want me!"

The new prefect's envoy? Isn't that Yuan Qingyan's envoy?
Even an ordinary girl would find such words unbearable, let alone Xu Yi, who comes from the prestigious Xu family. Her version was likely gentle; the original words were probably many times harsher.

Wei Yuan then asked, "Where did you meet the envoy? Take me there."

"Okay." Xu Yi wiped away her tears and flew swiftly southward with Wei Yuan.

On the way, Wei Yuan learned what had happened. The envoy was stopped by a patrol team at the edge of the boundary, and a conflict ensued. How could the patrol team be a match for the envoy group? Xu Yi happened to be passing by, so he angrily stepped in and fought four Dao Foundation Establishment cultivators from the envoy group to a draw by himself.

Unexpectedly, the envoy, though outmatched in combat, became extremely arrogant and began verbally abusing Xu Yi. Scholars have a wide variety of ways to insult others, and Xu Yi, being from a prominent family, had never encountered anything like this before. She was immediately brought to tears. Later, other people from the realm arrived to calm the situation down, but she was so angry that she immediately ran to find Wei Yuan.

With Qingming's blessing, Wei Yuan's flight speed was extremely fast, and he reached the edge of the realm in the blink of an eye. In the distance, he saw hundreds of realm cultivators confronting a small squad of soldiers. Among the soldiers were one civil official and three military officers, all of whom were Foundation Establishment cultivators. Seeing Wei Yuan land with Xu Yi, the official on the other side said, "Truly a womanizer! In the blink of an eye, he's found another lover!"

Wei Yuan coldly asked, "Who are you, and what brings you here?"

The official wanted to say more, but when his eyes met Wei Yuan's, he suddenly shivered and couldn't utter a single word of what he had prepared.

He felt a chill run down his spine, realizing he had encountered a powerful figure. He said, "I am here on the orders of Prefect Yuan Qingyan to summon Wei Yuan, the Lord of this realm! Who are you? If you are irrelevant, step back immediately and summon Wei Yuan to see me."

Why do you want to see the Realm Lord?

The official glared and sneered, "Of course we're going to punish you! You've been colluding with bandits and robbing the people. Instead of binding yourselves and begging for forgiveness, do you really want to wait for the army to arrive before you give up?"

Wei Yuan said, "The Realm Lord couldn't bear to see the people suffer, so he bought those people. Since you call yourselves the officials in charge of the people's welfare, how can you even protect the people under your jurisdiction? How can you have the face to sit in the courtroom? How can you have the face to see Prince Jin? Why don't you just kill yourselves already? What are you waiting for?"

The envoy was furious. Pointing his finger at Wei Yuan, he shouted, "You audacious madman! How dare you boast of your verbal skills! I think you are..."

Before the envoy could finish speaking, the hand pointing at Wei Yuan suddenly flew into the air! The next moment, he felt a piercing pain and immediately let out a scream.

Not only the messenger, but the other three Daoji among the officers and soldiers all had their right arms severed, and they did not react at all until their arms hit the ground and they began to scream in agony.

Wei Yuan stood still as if he hadn't moved, and said calmly, "The only bad thing about the Western Regions is that there are too many bandits! Look, some of you gentlemen had your hands cut off by bandits without even realizing it."

The envoy, however, remained defiant, suppressing his screams, and roared, "Nonsense! It was clearly you who did it! Rest assured, you've cut off my arm today, but one day I'll exterminate your entire clan!"

Wei Yuan sneered: "Which eye of yours saw me do it?"

"I saw it with my own eyes..." Before the messenger could finish speaking, another scream rang out, and his eyes had become two bloody holes.

Wei Yuan now held a pair of bloody eyeballs in his hand and said, "No, you can't see anything."

Wei Yuan then looked at the group of government troops and asked, "Did anyone else see me do it?"

The officers and soldiers turned pale and shook their heads.

"Alright, you can go now. Just don't run into any more bandits on your way back."

The messenger tore off a piece of his clothing with one hand, used it to blindfold himself, and then forcefully bandaged his severed arm. Throughout the entire process, he didn't utter a single cry of pain. The government troops quickly pulled his horse back the way they had come.

The messenger suddenly turned around and shouted, "I will definitely report the truth to the Prefect when I get back! You can all wait to die!"

Wei Yuan said calmly, "In this place, if I say it was done by bandits, then it was done by bandits. You can say whatever you want when you get back, but it won't make a difference."

As the envoy's procession gradually disappeared into the distance, Wei Yuan suddenly asked Xu Yi, "Did you tell him that you are a member of the Xu family?"

“I did say that I originally wanted to suppress him…” Xu Yi lowered her head.

Before she could finish speaking, Wei Yuan ordered the cultivators, "Chase after them and kill them all, leave no one alive!"

The cultivators from the realm immediately caught up with the group of soldiers and swiftly cut them all down. Wei Yuan moved swiftly and stood before the envoy, asking, "Do you have any last words to say?"

The envoy, riddled with wounds, was on the verge of death. Recognizing Wei Yuan's voice, he roared, "Shameless scoundrel! You broke your promise!"

"I just think it would be more interesting to make the prefect rack his brains trying to figure out your whereabouts. Do you have any last words?" Wei Yuan asked again.

The messenger, catching his breath, said, "Tell my son to avenge me when he grows up!"

"Alright, I understand, but I don't have time to relay your message. Just go on your way." Wei Yuan flicked his finger, shattering the messenger's sea of ​​consciousness.

(End of this chapter)