Catching Monsters

Chapter 726 Leader Xue Liujiu

Tuoba Anyi had not expected that Xiao Jingzhi would propose such a condition.

Xiao Jingzhi was not in a hurry. He smiled faintly and said, "Chief Tuoba can rest well in the capital for a few days and seriously consider my proposal."

"Once you have made up your mind, you may come to see me at any time."

The Tuoba tribe's influence on the northern grasslands could be ranked among the top five. If they were to submit to the Zhou state, it would be something even the emperor could not accomplish.

For any emperor, this would be an immense achievement, worthy of being written about in great detail in the history books.

He proposed such conditions with a mindset of taking advantage of the situation and demanding exorbitant prices.

After pondering for a long time, Tuoba Anyi finally looked up, gritted his teeth slightly, and said, "Fine! As long as Zhou Guo can help me get rid of the Card Pool Department, I agree to this condition."

There's nothing I can do if they don't agree...

Only Tuoba Anyi knew the true situation of his own tribe. The leader of the Kachi tribe was unpredictable, and if things continued like this, the Tuoba tribe would probably be annexed by the other party.

Tuoba Anyi could still distinguish between what to prioritize and what to sacrifice; preserving the Tuoba tribe was the most important thing at the moment.

Xiao Jingzhi smiled immediately, raised his hand and patted Tuoba Anyi's shoulder, saying, "Alright, Jiang Xing, prepare a banquet. I want to entertain Brother Tuoba well. Also, inform Jiang Yun to prepare to go to the Northern Hu."

"Yes." Jiang Xing nodded slightly.

Then Jiang Xing gestured for him to come and said with a smile, "Chief Tuoba, please come with me. Let's go to His Majesty's living room to rest for a while. After His Majesty finishes his work, he will have a meal with you."

Tuoba Anyi's lips moved slightly as he spoke, "Please allow Jiang Yun and me to set off for the Northern Hu as soon as possible..."

Watching Tuoba Anyi leave with Jiang Xing, Qin Hong seemed to look at Xiao Jingzhi with a different eye, saying, "Your Majesty, the Northern Hu Tuoba tribe's willingness to submit is a great joy. Your Majesty is truly wise, having grasped Tuoba Anyi's mindset perfectly..."

Qin Hong was about to shower Xiao Jingzhi with compliments, but Xiao Jingzhi simply smiled and said, "I just wanted to try it out and make a tentative suggestion... I didn't expect Tuoba Anyi to actually agree."

Qin Hong: "..."

Xiao Jingzhi said, "Eunuch Qin, you should go and see Brother Jiang first. It would be best to send a master from the Tongyou Guard to accompany Brother Jiang to the Kachi Division."

"Yes."

Jiang Yun, who was drinking afternoon tea at the Northern Garrison, heard that Qin Hong had arrived and guessed that it was related to Tuoba Anyi.

He quickly invited Qin Hong into the study.

"Is Eunuch Qin's visit related to Tuoba Anyi's matter?" Jiang Yun smiled and invited Qin Hong to sit down before making him tea.

Qin Hong narrowed his eyes slightly: "You know about this?"

"He's nominally my sworn brother, and he came to see me before going to see His Majesty," Jiang Yun casually mentioned before asking, "Since Eunuch Qin has come, has His Majesty agreed to send someone to help him?"

"Hmm." Qin Hong nodded. "It seems the Tuoba tribe might really be in big trouble. They agreed to one of His Majesty's requests..."

"Lord Jiang, please make some preparations. After dinner, you should be sent to the Northern Hu Grassland to see if you can eliminate the leader of the Kachi tribe."

“Alright.” Jiang Yun did not refuse upon hearing this, as many of his Jinyiwei brothers had disappeared in the card pool department.

He originally intended to save people.

……

The area where the Kachi tribe is located is filled with endless tents and camps, where many people with Hu (non-Han) faces are constantly whipping many Southern slaves to work.

Although the current leader of the Kachi tribe is a Southerner, the tribe's brutality towards Southerner slaves is arguably even greater than that of other tribes.

Many other tribes' slaves, after being captured, did the heaviest work and ate the least food. If they slightly displeased the Hu people, they would be whipped or even beaten to death, which was commonplace.

Other tribal leaders viewed slaves as property, and would not do so unless the slaves committed a crime.

But now the leader of the Card Pool Department is indifferent to the life and death of these Southerners.

The leader of the card pool department was none other than Xue Liujiu.

Now, Xue Liujiu sits inside a huge tent, filled with all kinds of beef and mutton, and countless fine wines.

Inside the room, some Hu people from the Kachi tribe were also keeping him company, and they were equally cautious towards Xue Liujiu.

Xue Liujiu was beaten half to death, but on his deathbed, he obtained the Investiture of the Gods and became its holder, thus gaining access to some of its power. Using the Investiture of the Gods, he returned to the Kachi tribe and wiped out all the Hu people who had previously humiliated him, including the tribe's leader.

Any Hu people who tried to resist or fight him died at his hands.

These nomadic peoples, living in the dog-eat-dog world of the grasslands, naturally revered the strong.

Finally, Xue Liujiu, with terrifying strength, directly became the leader of the Card Pool Department, and with the power of the Investiture of the Gods, he annexed many tribes in a short period of time.

Xue Liujiu was not sitting on a carpet, but on a man from the south.

That was the slave who had threatened to escape and secretly reported him.

This man's name was Yang Qi. The two had a good relationship before and addressed each other as brothers.

But now, Yang Qi could only kneel and crawl, serving as a chair for Xue Liujiu.

Maintaining this posture, Yang Qi's hands trembled uncontrollably. If he lacked the strength to support Xue Liujiu's weight, he would be severely beaten by Xue Liujiu.

At this moment, Yang Qi could no longer bear it and collapsed heavily to the ground once again.

This displeased Xue Liujiu, who grabbed a long whip from the table and lashed it across the man's back. As he lashed the whip, he also poured the salt water prepared on the table onto the wound on the man's back.

The pain caused Yang Qi to roll on the ground repeatedly, and he begged for mercy: "Brother Liu Jiu, Brother Liu Jiu, please stop hitting me. I secretly reported you back then for everyone's good."

"If you had run away then, everyone would have lost their lives."

Xue Liujiu's eyes were filled with rage as he whipped the victim and cursed, "So you want me dead, is that it?"

"No, no, no."

Xue Liujiu whipped Yang Qi mercilessly until Yang Qi was knocked unconscious. Only then did Xue Liujiu stop, saying coldly, "Drag him out. He can't die! I haven't tortured him enough yet!"

Now, Xue Liujiu's personality has changed drastically after being betrayed by his fellow slaves.

The slaves who lived in the same cowshed back then had long been tortured to death by Xue Liujiu.

Only Yang Qi is still alive, mainly because Xue Liujiu believes that he cannot die too easily.

The brutality with which Xue Liujiu killed people during this period terrified the Hu people of the Kachi tribe, who were all afraid of offending him.

Soon, a Hu man strode in and said respectfully, "Chief, the thirteen people who escaped a few days ago have been captured. What do you think?"

“Of course, he should be executed.” After saying this, Xue Liujiu slowly stood up: “I’ll go take a look.”

At this moment, in the center of the camp, thirteen people are tied to a large gallows.

These thirteen people were all prisoners captured during the battle with the Tuoba tribe.

Thick ropes were put around everyone's necks.

Upon seeing this, Xue Liujiu carefully took out an item from his bosom: the Investiture of the Gods.

Then he glanced at his men near the gallows and said, "Begin the execution."

In an instant, the wooden planks beneath the gallows opened, and the thirteen people standing on them fell from the gallows.

Their own weight instantly snapped their cervical spines, and soon all thirteen of them stopped breathing.

At this moment, Xue Liujiu could sense that after these thirteen people died, their souls slowly drifted out and were about to burrow into the ground. However, the Investiture of the Gods in his hand possessed a strange power that quickly absorbed the souls of these thirteen people into it.

During this time, Xue Liujiu often took the Investiture of the Gods to the front lines. He discovered that this treasure in his hands could absorb souls.

Anyone who dies within a ten-mile radius of the Investiture of the Gods will have their soul absorbed into it.

The souls of ordinary people are insignificant to the Investiture of the Gods, but the more powerful the soul, the more obvious its effect on the Investiture of the Gods.

As the number of souls increases, the power of the Investiture of the Gods will also become stronger.

Xue Liujiu carefully put the treasure away. He understood that he owed his current status entirely to this item!

We must keep making it stronger!
Unbeknownst to him, Xue Liujiu's thinking had been subtly altered by the Investiture of the Gods.

(End of this chapter)