The Overlord of Great Xia (2/5)

When did you find out?

After being exposed by Li Boyang, she slowly opened her eyes, knowing she could no longer pretend.

Yue was confident in his ability to feign death and unconsciousness; he believed very few people could see through it.

Back on the battlefield, it was this skill that allowed me to survive to the end, and then the Witch King bestowed upon me my current status and abilities.

"That's not important."

Li Boyang tossed the Heavenly Mandate Bone Plastron lightly and simply replied with a smile.

"Now, the more important question is, what are you prepared to give in exchange for your life?"

Upon hearing this, even those who had long been prepared to die couldn't help but raise their heads.

"Are you willing to let me go?"

It must be said that the surprise at this moment was genuine.

Ever since he learned that Li Boyang was the "little brother" Li Jingshu had mentioned, he had given up all hope for his future.

"It's not about letting you go, it's about saving you."

Bending down, Li Boyang stroked the broken bones and fractures as he spoke.

"I don't know how you did it, but your bones are definitely broken."

"If you don't reposition and correct it, and instead let it heal on its own in this state, you're destined to be disabled for the rest of your life."

Before he could refute, Li Boyang continued.

"I can help you straighten your bones. All you need to do is tell me why that fox came here."

The conditions proposed by Li Boyang were not harsh, but they still left people speechless.

Fortunately, the silence didn't last long, and he unexpectedly asked another question when he spoke again.

"Are you really willing to save me?"

I swear in the name of the "Witch of the Huai River"!

Before Li Boyang could respond, Xiluo suddenly stomped on his broken knee.

With a crisp cracking sound of bones breaking, Xiluo roared in a suppressed and deep voice.

"Baby, I think it's better to just take care of this pushover."

The pain contorted his face uncontrollably, but he forced himself not to cry out.

I just need a guarantee.

His continued vocalizations through gritted teeth were enough to prove that, aside from being reckless, he wasn't truly an idiot.

I already know where I am.

It is also clear that the deity enshrined in this mountain temple is most likely the witch from a thousand years ago.

Therefore, the red-haired boy and the lynx standing before him are very likely Hou Yi of the Witch of the Huai River.

We don't need to promise you anything, because you have no choice.

You have only one choice: believe me or not believe me.

With a faint smile on his face, Li Boyang's demeanor at this moment sent a chill down my spine. In fact, no one would have fared much better when faced with such indifference and composure far beyond his years.

The word "cunning and shrewd" is far more terrifying when applied to a young child than any verbal threat.

"I trust you!"

After realizing that Li Boyang was the one in charge of the human-cat duo, they decisively backed down.

In the Central Continent, thousands of miles away from the Hundred Lands Mountain Range, lies a prosperous land where fertile fields and plains coexist.

There, countless Mountain Folk left the mountains and wilderness, broke free from their tribes, and established their own city-states and nations.

The most powerful of these countries was called "Xia".

The ruler of this country was revered as the "Common Lord" by all the surrounding city-states.

The Xia Kingdom conquered the south and north, and expanded east and west, taking nearly a thousand years to build a Great Xia kingdom spanning the entire Central Continent.

However, it was different from the feudal empire and feudal dynasty that Li Boyang had in mind.

Due to limitations in its governing capacity, the Great Xia's existence was closer to a "state-state system".

That is, each country and each city-state is relatively independent.

All they had to do was pay tribute to the Great Xia at specific times each year and declare their submission.

Of course, this is to prevent states from saying one thing to your face and another behind your back.

Every state conquered by the Great Xia would voluntarily send a hostage with the right of succession to the capital region.

If any state chooses to betray, Great Xia will use the name of this hostage to punish the traitor, uphold the rightful ruler, and reinstate a ruler who is close to Great Xia.

Over time, a relatively broad shared cultural sphere has emerged.

"Central Continent" is the self-designation of this cultural system, and also the understanding of the Great Xia by remote states such as Guifang Kingdom.

In Great Xia, the Common Lord possessed absolute authority.

In other states and regions, priests were the ones who presided over various sacrifices and ceremonies.

However, in the Great Xia, the Common Lord was also known as the "Witch King," and the exclusive privilege of worshipping ancestors and deities was his.

However, like all rulers...

The ruler of the Great Xia was not satisfied with the power he held.

Especially the current Common Lord, whose ambitions have become common knowledge.

According to legend, this Common Lord was a divine being born of conception, and was the offspring of the Sun God Hao on earth.

In order to establish his authority, the Common Lord not only ordered priests and high priests to compile his words into a collection of sayings for dissemination, but also forcibly required that his statue be erected outside the ancestral temples and shrines of all states.

At the same time, this Common Lord also attempted to abolish all the blood sacrifices and live sacrifices to the gods in all the states, believing that he was the only one qualified to decide the life and death of others.

The special unit system of "Sikou" arose under these circumstances.

In name, the duty of the Sikou) was to apprehend smugglers and bandits, and punish all illegal activities.

But in this era, "law" itself is an extremely precious resource, so how can it possibly be truly extended to the grassroots level?

Therefore, in most cases, the Sikou) were carrying out the orders of the Common Lord, extending the Common Lord's will to states outside of Great Xia).

At the very least, that's how they understand their responsibilities.

He traveled frequently among the southern states, focusing his investigations on blood sacrifices and live sacrifices that disobeyed the commands of the Common Lord.

As for the "rebellious act" of some states refusing to erect statues of their Common Lord?

As long as they don't go too far, they generally won't interfere.

Undeniably, this is also related to his own experience—born as a "human sacrifice," he hated blood sacrifices and live rituals the most.

If it weren't for the Common Lord's pardon, he would probably have become part of some Ancestor God by now.

Therefore, whenever it involves "illegal human sacrifice," he will exhibit an execution force that is inconsistent with his personality, determined to investigate to the end.

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