The immortal is beside me

Chapter 9: The Hu and Jie are destroyed, and the Han Dynasty rises

"Immortal, I dare to ask for your advice."

The priest, wearing an animal-skin fur coat, knelt on the ground, muttering something.

Before him, a massive totem pole stood atop the altar, engraved with a ferocious wolf head. The sun shone on the crimson-gold totem, adding a touch of unreality.

"Since our tribe invaded the Central Plains, pacified the northern lands, and killed Han slaves, all this was in accordance with the will of the immortals."

"Now the Han people are about to rise up and attack us. I, a humble servant, offer a two-legged sheep as a sacrifice, and ask the immortals to grant me a decree to help my people."

Dozens of Jie soldiers wearing short jackets and holding long swords came forward, each escorting a naked Han person. There were men and women, old and young. Each of them had strange symbols drawn on their bodies with animal blood, covering the bruises and whip marks from head to toe.

Kicked and beaten by the soldiers, the Han captives, known as "two-legged sheep," were forced to kneel before the totem pole. With a shout from the priest, dozens of sabers chopped off heads, sending them crashing to the ground. Pools of blood flowed out, spreading beneath the glittering totem.

The wolf head on the totem licked the blood, and a faint light flashed in its bronze pupils, as if it had opened its eyes in the dark.

"Please give orders, Immortal!"

With a whoosh, the Hu and Jie people under the altar knelt down in a group, guarding the blood-stained totem like stars surrounding the moon, and their shouts broke through the sky.

The priest on the stage clenched the scepter in his hand and waited quietly, until the shouts of the crowd gradually faded away, until the blood on the stage gradually dried up, but the totem pole in front of him still did not move.

"High Priest, this..."

A servant cautiously approached, looking at the priest in front of him with a mixture of doubt and worry. From this distance, he could see the lines on the priest's face twitching slightly, and the veins in his hand clenching the scepter were exposed.

Since establishing contact with the immortal sect hidden in secret, the Jie tribe has performed nearly a hundred similar sacrifices. Every time, he can hear instructions from the immortal from the totem, and from time to time he will bestow treasures and witchcraft - since the Five Barbarians settled in the Central Plains, the Jie tribe has made a living by this.

But since a few months ago, no matter how they called out or how many sacrifices they offered, there was no response from the voice totem connecting them with the immortals.

As the messenger between the immortals and the Jie tribe, the priest understood what this meant.

The hands holding the scepter began to tremble, and even his whole body trembled. Under the astonished gaze of the Hujie, the priest stumbled to the totem pole and pressed his forehead against the wolf head with bared canines, the veins on his forehead bulging.

After a while, he suddenly fell to his knees with his head in his hands. After a long time, he let out a heart-wrenching howl.

In the autumn of 348 AD, an urgent document was delivered to the leader of the Jie tribe with four words written on it: The immortal is dead.

A few months later, these four words reached the ears of every Hu Jie.

The fierce and brave Jie tribe's fighting power was greatly reduced from then on. At the peak of their power, they retreated bravely, their morale was low and their flags were weak. They were unable to recover, and the Han people under their rule were puzzled.

In the sixth year of Yonghe (6 AD), Ran Min, a Han general in Wei Commandery, followed the will of Heaven and issued the "Order to Kill the Hu." The order stated, "The tyrannical Hu have humiliated the Han for decades, killing our people and seizing our ancestral temples. We are now launching a special campaign to suppress them. Anyone who offends the Han will be put to death. Anyone who kills our people will be put to death. We must exterminate all the Hu people in the world and restore the foundation of the Han dynasty. All Han people in the world have the obligation to slaughter the Hu dogs. I, a humble man, have been appointed by Heaven to announce this omen to the world."

In that year, the Han army gathered to massacre the Hu people, beheading them all, regardless of their status, gender, young or old. More than 200,000 people died, and their corpses were left outside the city, where they were eaten by wild dogs and wolves.

From then on, the Hu and Jie were destroyed and the Han Dynasty rose.

Li Yulan silently closed the history book in her hand and looked at the sky outside the window in a daze.

As the head of the intelligence department, this was not the first time she had witnessed similar historical truths, but this time the shock was no less than any secret she had unearthed.

At first, it was just a cultivator's counterattack, a sect's crusade, and the collapse of a pillar, but later, the entire Central Plains was burning because of it.

The butterfly flapped its wings, causing a distant storm. But this was a butterfly that single-handedly slew Hu Zong, a butterfly that had reached the pinnacle of power and was invincible.

The Hu Jie sect was destroyed because of him, the order to kill the Hu was issued because of him, and the pace of history was changed because of him. And this is just the tip of the iceberg of his life.

"Director, the medical department just called and said Mr. Tan Yong is not in good condition."

A specialist pushed open the office door and said, "We showed him a photo of Zhou Qing and asked him to identify him. He reacted very violently. The doctor said he has symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder and he cannot come into contact with anything related to that person for at least a month." He paused here, a look of doubt in his eyes.

"Director, so that Zhou Qing is..."

Li Yulan tilted her head, her eyes glancing at the embarrassed-looking subordinates beside her. She used her eyes to shut him up before asking, "What about the matter you were asked to investigate?"

"We have thoroughly searched the database as you requested. Apart from the sect ruins this time, we have found no other records related to 'Zhou Fan'."

The clue was broken again. Li Yulan frowned slightly.

This was a predictable answer. Cultivators often came and went without a trace, hidden from mortal sight. Furthermore, this "Zhou Fan" was a wandering cultivator with no affiliation. The probability of finding any record of him was about the same as finding a paramecium fossil in a fish tank.

But now this large paramecium was really right in front of them, and it was even swimming leisurely with the surrounding goldfish.

"Put the existing intelligence on Zhou Fan in a separate file and submit it to the first-level department. Request that the higher-ups decide and request that the investigation level of case No. 25892 be raised to the highest level within the bureau."

".clear."

The subordinate understood and grabbed the file bag at the side, rushing out. Li Yulan was left alone in the archives room, sitting by the window. She reached over her forehead, her fingertips touching layers of cold sweat.

If Zhou Fan is really Zhou Qing, and if the cultivator who massacred the Hu clan and triggered the order to kill the Hu is still alive today, then it means that the person is an old monster from the Five Barbarians Invasion Period who has lived for at least 1600 years.

This is a terrifying number, but what is even more terrifying is the meaning behind this number.

A cultivator's lifespan is closely tied to their cultivation level. Based on current information, even at the Divine Transformation stage, a cultivator's lifespan is typically limited to 1,500 years. This level of cultivator is already considered a top-tier power, a strategic figure coveted by nations around the world.

And that "Zhou Qing"'s lifespan might have already surpassed the level of the Divine Transformation Realm! This is like placing a nuclear bomb in a street corner store!

If this speculation is confirmed, it will far exceed the scope of what the Liangzhou Environmental Sanitation Bureau can handle. I am afraid that the entire country... No, I am afraid that the whole world will be shocked!

……

"So, Brother Zhou, who were those thugs chasing you back then?"

Zhou Qing glanced at Li Jie, who was leaning next to him with an excited look on his face, and slowly unscrewed the thermos in his hand.

"I do not know either."

"You're going to fight them without even knowing who they are?" Li Jie obviously didn't expect this answer. "I thought you were helping the bullies out of injustice, fighting for justice."

"justice?"

Zhou Qing took a sip of hot tea. "Back then, I was young and inexperienced. I didn't understand what justice and injustice meant. I only knew that if anyone offended me, I would punish them, no matter how far away they were."

"As for who they are or what they have done, I don't know and I don't care."

"Hiss, that's cruel." Li Jie took a breath, "You were so irritable before, brother? I can't tell?"

"Everyone is young and frivolous once in a while." Zhou Qing put down his teacup. "Now that I'm older, I don't have that youthful energy anymore."

"Hey, you're only a little old, and you're already acting like you're 'old'. Where are we supposed to put our dignity?"

A middle-aged woman's voice came from the door. The two people who were chatting looked up and saw Wang Hongmei standing there with her arms folded, wearing an armband.

"Excuse me for interrupting your conversation." She tilted her head toward the door. "Xiao Zhou, someone's looking for you outside."

(End of this chapter)