From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 343 The Kingdom of Xiangji
It was noon.

The valley is wide and the cliffs are high.

The sun hung high in the sky, and the valley, already lush with greenery and damp, was now enveloped in a thin mist.

The nobleman with colorful feathers finally gave his name. Although he was slumped on the ground, he still held his head up, his face showing some fear, but even more contempt and anger at being humiliated. He clearly felt that a lowly person like Meng Yuan was not worthy of hearing his name.

The eleven white-feathered nobles, upon hearing the name of the colorful-feathered nobles, all showed reverence.

Below the platform, hundreds of coarsely dressed slaves knelt on the ground, their foreheads pressed to the ground, their hands covering their ears, not daring to listen at all, showing that they didn't even have the right to listen.

"Rise." At this moment, the noblewoman with colorful feathers staggered to her feet. Even though her colorful feather robes were already in disarray, her tone was exceptionally dignified.

Sure enough, as soon as Noble Lady Aya spoke, the lowly people who had been kneeling below the stage released their hands covering their ears and stood up.

At this moment, the other noblewoman with colorful feathers was sitting on the ground, pressing one hand against the severed wrist of the other, howling and screaming wildly, her whole body covered in blood.

The noblewoman with colorful feathers looked extremely pained. She was clearly angry and wanted to scold Meng Yuan, but she only looked at Meng Yuan with resentment and disgust before looking at a noblewoman with white feathers.

The white-feathered nobleman shouted to the coarse-clothed slaves below the platform, saying, "The superior clan says that he has many servants but few lowly outsiders. If the lowly outsiders obediently surrender, they can be guaranteed not to die."

Sure enough, a slave in coarse cloth below the stage spoke up, saying, "The lord of the upper clan has said that he has many servants. You are just a lowly outsider. Surrender obediently, and you may be spared!"

These nobles even had to use other people to insult others.

Meng Yuan stepped on the head of the noblewoman with the severed wrist, and then swung his sword again, cutting off the noblewoman's hair at the root.

With a swift stroke of the knife, the servants below the stage stared wide-eyed in bewilderment, then their faces lit up with anger.

These servants were relatively normal just now. Although they were afraid after seeing blood, they were not too hostile towards Meng Yuan.

But at this moment, after Meng Yuan cut off the hair of the Caiyu nobleman, these low-ranking servants below the stage seemed to have had their parents killed and their wives and daughters stolen. Their eyes turned red, as if Meng Yuan had broken a huge rule.

Just then, a flash of light appeared in the distance, and Mingyue flew over and stood on the tall tower on the left.

Su Xin, however, was an honest person. After following along, she stood beside Meng Yuan, looking around warily.

“Senior Brother Meng, they…” Su Xin noticed that ever since she appeared, the nobles dressed in fine clothes and draped in feathered robes looked at her with disdain, disgust, and aversion. Some even covered their eyes after just one glance.

And that's not all. Su Xin also noticed that the lowly slaves below the stage looked at her with disdain, clearly believing that she was even inferior to the lowest slave.

Su Xin scratched her bald head, which had grown a few strands of hair, looked at the coarsely dressed servants below the stage, put one hand on her hip and pointed at them with the other, and said irritably, "Do you think I'm lower than you? I'm a nun, whether I'm lowly or not doesn't matter! It's just that you can't you have any ambition? Why do you all just give up on yourselves?"

No one paid her any attention, but the servants below the stage were so frightened that they took a few steps back. Of course, this was not out of fear of Su Xin's power, but because they thought Su Xin was "dirty".

Seeing this, Su Xin didn't want to argue any longer, "Give it to me!"

She took the dazed Suwen from Meng Yuan's arms and immediately noticed that Suwen's body was burning hot. She panicked and said anxiously, "Senior brother, could it be that junior sister has been drugged with aphrodisiacs?" Su Xin actually held Suwen in one arm and touched Suwen's body all over, as if she was afraid that Suwen would lose her virginity.

What is all this nonsense? You, a Buddhist disciple, know far too much! Meng Yuan was at a loss for words.

Su Xin felt around on Su Wen's body for a few moments, not knowing how she had determined it, but a look of relief appeared on her face. "It's my fault for overthinking. Junior Sister has no hair; she's the lowest of the low. Who would take advantage of her?"

Meng Yuan glared at Su Xin, looked at the coarse cloth slaves below the stage, and then looked around.

"Keep quiet!"

Meng Yuan raised his voice, suppressing the clamor of the nobles and slaves, and shouted, "I want to ask questions! If anyone dares to run around or move while I'm questioning them, I will—"

As he spoke, Meng Yuan kicked the long, broken hair on the ground and said, "Whose hair did you cut off!"

Sure enough, as soon as these words were spoken, the entire room fell silent. No one dared to whisper or murmur anymore; instead, everyone pressed their hair down.

Meng Yuan and Ming Yue exchanged glances. They had both seen through these people; they were clearly all incompetent, but for some reason, they had distinguished between them.

Moreover, the method to distinguish between the upper and lower garments is very simple. It's not just the difference between the fine clothes and the feathered robes, but fundamentally the difference in the length of the hair.

"Where do you come from?" Meng Yuan asked the noblewoman named Qingzi.

Kiyoko, a noblewoman of the Rainbow Feather clan, straightened her clothes and began to tremble.

"Senior brother, he'll definitely have the slaves and commoners relay the message. Why don't you just ask the commoners?" Su Xin was a clever woman.

Meng Yuan felt that Su Xin's words made a lot of sense.

"Come here," Meng Yuan said, pointing to the slave who had spoken on behalf of the Baiyu nobles. "Where did you come from?"

The coarse cloth slave did not reply, but instead looked at the white-feathered nobleman and asked, "He asked where the upper class came from."

The white-feathered nobleman then looked at the colorful-feathered nobleman named Qingzi and said, "He asked where the upper clan came from."

The noblewoman named Kiyoko looked disdainful and said, "The Kingdom of Xiangji."

"The Kingdom of Xiangji," said the nobleman Bai Yu.

"The Kingdom of Xiangji," the coarse-clothed servant finally replied to Meng Yuan.

"What a madman!" Mingyue, standing on the tower, was furious. She had been a chivalrous woman all the way south and had done many acts of chivalry. She had seen a lot of servants like this, and at this moment she felt particularly angry.

Moreover, they could have easily expressed their feelings with a single sentence, yet they insisted on having someone else relay the message! It's as if the upper and lower classes would be tainted by any interaction or communication between them!
"Even I, a princess, have never seen anything like this!" Mingyue felt utterly helpless.

As expected of the Land of Fragrant Accumulation! Meng Yuan smiled, sheathed his sword, looked at the noblewoman Qingzi from the Rainbow Feather region, and asked, "What was your name again?"

Meng Yuan certainly remembered that this person's holy name was Qingzi, and he wanted to ask again.

Soon, the coarsely dressed slaves below the stage, upon hearing Meng Yuan's words, quickly knelt down and covered their ears.

"Whoever kneels down and covers their ears, I'll cut off their hair!" Meng Yuan said.

"..." Upon hearing this, the group of coarse cloth slaves below the stage were completely bewildered.

Seeing this, the nobleman with colorful feathers was about to signal the nobleman with white feathers to speak, but Meng Yuan immediately interrupted him, saying directly, "If you give orders to others, I'll cut off your hair!"

As he spoke, Meng Yuan patted Su Xin's head, "Just as short as her hair!"

As expected, the noble lady Caiyu froze upon hearing this, unable to move, wanting to say something but unable to utter a word.

Meng Yuan said nothing more, but simply looked at the noblewoman named "Qingzi" with colorful feathers.

Su Xin scratched her head, while Mingyue stood high on the tower. The former looked at the Caiyu nobles, while the latter was wary of their surroundings.

The noblewoman with colorful feathers looked pained and struggled for a long time before finally whispering, "Qingzi."

"So it's Qingzi!" Meng Yuan exclaimed.

When the nobleman Qingzi saw Meng Yuan announce his name to the public, he immediately turned red with anger, but dared not retaliate, fearing that Meng Yuan would cut off his hair.

When the crowd saw the names of the colorful feather nobles being called out, the eleven white feather nobles were alright, but the coarse cloth slaves below the stage were all panicked, yet also seemed to be happy, as if they had gained some great advantage; but they also seemed to be terrified, as if they were afraid of being punished later.

"Qingzi, I'll ask the question, and you answer it," Meng Yuan said, gripping the hilt of his sword and raising his voice.

The noblewoman, Kiyoko, did not respond; she simply sat on the stage, lost in thought.

"Your full name is Qingzi?" Meng Yuan asked.

The noblewoman Qingzi stood up, seemingly a different person. She held her head high, chest out, and arrogantly declared, "I am a descendant of the gods, surnamed Shui, and my full name is Shui Qingzi." She spoke as if to a servant.

Even though Meng Yuan had a sharp blade in his hand, even though he had already cut off one of the Caiyu nobles' hands, even though his clothes were dirty and messy, even though Caiyu's clothes were flying everywhere, he still exuded a powerful aura.

Meng Yuan felt that while these people were afraid of the knife in his hand, they valued his noble status even more.

Or perhaps they've become so used to being in positions of authority that they've completely forgotten how to deal with subordinates.

Meng Yuan didn't bother to care why this Shui Qingzi was so smug, and simply asked, "Where is the Kingdom of Xiangji?"

“It’s just ahead,” said Mizukiko, a noblewoman from the Rainbow Feather Clan.

"What are you doing here?" the bright moon atop the tower asked. "Why are you burning our friends?"

The noblewoman Shui Qingzi tilted her head slightly, glanced at the bright moon on the tower with extreme disdain, and turned her head away in contempt, as if saying another word to the bright moon would taint her.

“Her words are my words,” Meng Yuan said.

Seeing this, the nobleman Shui Qingzi, though trembling with anger, finally said when he saw the knife at Meng Yuan's waist: "This man has no hair, which shows how lowly he is. According to the laws of Xiangji Kingdom, after the age of seven, the hair of the upper two families shall reach the back of the knees, the hair of the eleventh family shall reach the back of the thighs, and the hair of the lowly slaves shall not reach the neck."

Shui Qingzi scoffed, "Such lowly people should be burned alive as a sacrifice to heaven."

"We are monks, we come from outside, don't try to control us with your rules!" Su Xin was extremely angry.

The noblewoman Shui Qingzi of Caiyu looked down on Su Xin even more than she did on Meng Yuan and Mingyue, which shows that she had a very deep prejudice against the bald man.

Meng Yuan didn't bother asking those questions, and simply asked, "Why isn't my friend awake? What kind of poison has she been given?"

“It was the High Priest of my Xiangji Kingdom who despised its filth and stole the soul of this lowly person,” said Shui Qingzi, a noblewoman of the Rainbow Feather Clan.

"High Priest? Who is that?" Meng Yuan asked.

“The high priestship is now the responsibility of a descendant of the Shui family. Your holy name is not something you can inquire about!” Shui Qingzi, a noblewoman of the Rainbow Feather Clan, spoke very solemnly, as if she were discussing matters of the gods.

Meng Yuan pondered for a moment and asked, "Is the High Priest extremely skilled in healing and medicine?"

The noblewoman Shui Qingzi shook her head and said, "The High Priest never gets sick."

Seeing that he couldn't reason with her, Meng Yuan looked at the bright moon.

The two had been traveling south together for a long time, spending a lot of time together and developing a tacit understanding.

Upon exchanging glances, Meng Yuan said, "Let's go back to Xiangji Kingdom!"

After discussing it with the other member of the Rainbow Noble Family, Mizukiko, who had lost her wrist, they both nodded in agreement.

"Apply the medicine to Gan Juezi," Shui Qingzi said.

Upon hearing this, the nobleman with the severed wrist, seeing his name displayed before the lowly slave, immediately glared angrily at Shui Qingzi, then frowned and looked down at the audience.

None of the slaves below the stage dared to meet his gaze; they all lowered their heads.

Meng Yuan thought that if this Gan Juezi made the people below the stage gouge out their own eyes, they might actually obey.

“Return!” said Mizukiko, a noblewoman of the Rainbow Feather Clan.

A woman in white feathers came to the front of the stage and said, "Return."

The slaves below the stage immediately responded, then scattered and ran away into the distance.

The nobles on the stage did not follow suit, but simply waited quietly.

Soon, the hundred or so nobles arrived carrying thirteen sedan chairs.

Two of the sedan chairs had colorful feathers on them, while the other eleven sedan chairs were decorated with white feathers.

Four people carried the sedan chair, while the rest followed behind with their heads bowed.

Moreover, the servants carrying the sedan chair were both men and women, and all of them had one or two feathers on their heads.

Soon, these people carried the sedan chairs to the front of the platform and lined up in a queue. It was clear that the order of boarding the sedan chairs was different, with the noblewoman in colorful feathers boarding first and the noblewoman in white feathers boarding later.

Seeing that the noblewoman Shui Qingzi was about to get into the sedan chair, Meng Yuan kicked him off the platform.

"Only my junior sister is qualified to sit here!" Su Xin hugged Su Wen and jumped into the sedan chair decorated with colorful feathers, praising, "It smells amazing!"

This commotion was quite alarming. The four slaves carrying the sedan chair were terrified, and the rest of the people stared wide-eyed, completely at a loss for what to do.

Shui Qingzi, who had fallen from the high platform, landed on the ground as if he had stepped into a cesspool. He immediately started shouting and reached out to the white-feathered nobleman on the platform.

The white-feathered nobles quickly reached out to grab her, but they were all too weak and lacked the strength. After a few attempts, they not only failed to pull Shui Qingzi up, but were instead pulled down themselves.

Seeing these so-called nobles crying and wailing, completely lacking any noble demeanor, Meng Yuan was really annoyed. He immediately threw and kicked all the nobles wearing feathers off the high platform.

Seeing Meng Yuan's rudeness and Gan Juezi's hair being shaved down to the thickness of a finger, the nobles dared not resist.

Meng Yuan immediately made arrangements, finding four noblemen of the White Feather Clan to carry the sedan chair, while Su Xin and Su Wen sat inside.

The four noblemen of the White Feather clan were unwilling, and after Meng Yuan cut the hair off two of them, they obediently went to carry the sedan chair.

However, the four white-feathered nobles lacked the strength to lift it.

"I eat vegetarian food every day, and I'm practically skin and bones!" Su Xin said angrily as she got out of the sedan chair.

But the four white-feathered nobles still couldn't lift it, so Meng Yuan arranged for four more white-feathered nobles to lift it.

Fortunately, eight people carried the sedan chair, and Meng Yuan had Shui Qingzi and Gan Juezi lead the way on foot.

The group set off in a grand procession, though everyone was unwilling, they had no choice but to go.

Su Xin then grabbed an elderly female slave and followed her to the back of the group, slowly inquiring about the situation.

Meng Yuan stopped asking Shui Qingzi and instead sought out several Baiyu nobles who were not carrying the sedan chair to inquire.

As the group moved forward, Meng Yuan managed to obtain some useful information.

The so-called Xiangji Kingdom was located just ahead of the valley, but the population of the city was unknown.

Moreover, the Xiangji Kingdom has a strict hierarchy, with two superior clans, namely the Shui and Gan clans, who are descendants of immortals.

There were also seventeen surnames of the Tu clan, who were descendants of the immortals' disciples, but now only eleven of them remain.

These two surnames and eleven surnames are the foundation for the founding of the Xiangji Kingdom.

As for slaves, they either did not have surnames at all, or were fortunate enough to be given surnames by a superior family.

The Xiangji Kingdom now has tens of thousands of slaves and several thousand noble families of the thirteen surnames; it's all outrageous.

He listened and talked all the way. By evening, Meng Yuan finally saw the legendary Xiangji Kingdom.

(End of this chapter)