Jiangnan?
Ma Changyun was stunned. Was he just starving and dreaming?
He found it even more absurd than the two soldiers.
Jiangnan is a wonderful place in the Central Plains. He never thought he could live in the Central Plains, let alone a place as wonderful as Jiangnan. If he could come here in this lifetime, he would even be willing to shorten his lifespan by ten years.
But this is impossible. Everyone knows that the Southern Barbarians border is guarded by the Imperial Flying Dragon Army, so that even flies cannot fly out. It's not that there are no refugees who can't survive and want to escape, but because the Southern Barbarians are skilled in insect witchcraft, they have repeatedly stuffed insects into people's stomachs, using ordinary people as human weapons. As soon as they get close to densely populated areas, the insect eggs are detonated, causing a large number of flying insects to start destroying the surrounding area.
After those few examples, the Southern Barbarians barbarians were never able to cross the border again, because even a hundred meters away, the other side would shoot you dead with an arrow, regardless of whether you were an old person, a woman, or a child.
So even if they couldn't survive, they never thought of fleeing to the Central Plains, because that was a dead end. Running into the mountains offered little hope, but at least there was a glimmer of hope. The arrows of the Central Plains warriors showed no mercy to the Southern Barbarians barbarians.
"You come from the Southern Barbarians?"
Just as the two soldiers were grinning maliciously, preparing to take down all of them, the girl in the lead spoke up.
The voice was as youthful as the face, filled with curiosity, yet it made Ma Yunchang's heart skip a beat.
Girls who wear such beautiful clothes are usually nobles. He had seen some nobles from the Central Plains in the Kingdom of the Wutu Kingdom. Those people looked at the Southern Barbarians Southern Barbarians disdain, especially the women, as if they had worms on them and kept their distance.
The girl in front of me was different; her eyes held only curiosity.
"Yes, sir, we come from the Southern Barbarians. I swear to the Spirit Snake Goddess, I..." He paused here.
The Spirit Snake Goddess worshipped in their village was dead, and her death was extremely gruesome. She was skinned alive and hung upside down on the temple, her eyes vacant, a sight that would keep anyone awake at night.
" The Spirit Snake Goddess?" The little girl nodded slightly. "The academy's geography textbook mentioned that there are serpent demons in the Earth Dragon Cave of the Wutu Kingdom. There are thousands of serpent demons there, and they all have many followers. Moreover, although she speaks Chinese, her accent is definitely that of Southern Barbarians barbarian."
"Mr. Xiaomu Mu, do you know the Southern Barbarians language?" The soldier next to her immediately gave the girl a gentle smile.
"Ah, my major is pharmacology. There are many good varieties in the deep mountains of the Southern Barbarians. Actually, if I had the chance, I could go and pick some, and then study and improve them. It's just a pity that the situation is not good now, so I can't go to the Southern Barbarians."
The girl then looked at the children who were holding white fruits and munching on them, and said, "These are medicinal fruits, used to replenish essence and marrow. They can't be eaten as food. You all look severely dehydrated, so this is the worst thing you can do. Just eat one to tide you over, and don't overdo it, or something bad might happen."
Upon hearing this, Ma Yunchang quickly turned around and shouted to the people behind him in Southern Barbarians language, "The master said that this is a medicinal fruit and should not be eaten in excess, otherwise it will be fatal, especially for children. Half a fruit is enough!"
Upon hearing that eating the fruit could lead to death, many women quickly snatched the fruit from the children's hands.
Ma Yunchang breathed a sigh of relief. The girl was clearly a person of high status, but she had a kind heart. This might be their chance to survive. Although he didn't know why she said this was Jiangnan, as long as it saved their lives, he would accept it even if she said this was the Imperial Capital the Central Plains.
"Where are you from?" the girl asked with a smile.
We come from the Wutuo Kingdom.
"The officer is asking which direction you came from!" the soldier beside him said impatiently.
"We started from..." Ma Yunchang turned around and pointed behind him, but then froze.
There's no trace of them now, nowhere in the direction they came from.
There was nothing left, just a clear cliff.
"What?" the soldier grinned maliciously. "Did it fall from the sky?"
"No. We clearly came from there."
What happened?
Seeing Ma Yunchang standing there dumbfounded, the two soldiers' eyes grew even more dangerous. "Lord Xiaomu Mu, these people are not honest, and their origins are mysterious. My advice is that we should take them down first."
"No rush." The little girl shook her head. "Maybe it's not a lie."
"What else could it be but a lie?" Junhan was taken aback.
"I came here because I sensed spatial fluctuations. I didn't expect a group of people to suddenly appear out of nowhere. Although Great Azure Mountain is outside the city, it is heavily guarded. There is also the Azure Dragon Grand Formation at the foot of the mountain, making it the least likely place for outsiders to invade. If there is such a master among these people, we don't have the ability to take them down."
"This"
The two soldiers exchanged a glance, seemingly agreeing. Great Azure Mountain was the premier sacred mountain in Liuzhou City, and its Mountain God god was already a seventh-rank deity, the highest-ranking Mountain God in the entire Jiangnan region. Moreover, it was backed by the Warlock Academy, producing the most new technologies. Every year, sorcerers would develop high-end products here that became wildly popular. Not to mention outsiders, even insiders needed permission to come here, as the products from here were worth a fortune. Many merchants were waiting below.
To say that such a group of unarmed elderly, women, and children could break through the blockade is an insult to the arrangements made at the foot of the mountain.
"This is strange. Quickly send the spirit bird to contact the higher-ups." She glanced at the children, who were clearly still incredibly hungry after their fruit was snatched away, yet remained obediently silent, licking their lips. A pang of sadness struck her. She added, "Leave someone here to guard them. I'll go ask Brother Wei Gongzhan to prepare some meat porridge for them."
meat porridge?
Upon hearing this word, Ma Yunchang and the others couldn't help but swallow hard.
The two soldiers sighed slightly. Wei Gongzhan was quite lucky to have caught the eye of a female teacher at the academy. Tsk tsk, the rascal was just lucky.
--
Soon, Ziyue, who was stationed in Liuzhou City and overseeing the central hub of Jiangnan, received the message from the spirit bird.
" Southern Barbarians barbarians?"
Beside him was Master Seventh Master Shen, who had been assassinated by Murong Yunji during the Liuzhou incident and had no other plans for the time being.
"This is the fourth wave." Seventh Master Shen looked at Ziyue: "What exactly is going on?"
"Spatial chaos!" Ziyue said without hesitation, "Back then, when our lord was taken away by the Heavenly Secrets Cave, he forcibly traversed space. The Heavenly Secrets Cave is incredibly mysterious and can open most of the world's restrictions. I learned from the few times I contacted Mr. Heavenly Secrets that they were teleported to a sealed place in the Southern Barbarians region."
"You said that our lord and the others are sealed away in a place, so they can't return for the time being. But what does that have to do with these Southern Barbarians barbarians being able to reach Jiangnan?"
"I haven't heard from them for three days!" Ziyue's expression turned serious. "I suspect that Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets are trying to break through that seal, and may even have been forced to use the Heavenly Secrets Cave. The other side of the Heavenly Secrets Cave is trying to return directly to Jiangnan."
"You said those Southern Barbarians barbarians were sent by the Lord?"
"No," Ziyue shook her head, "They were sent here unintentionally. Chen Qing and the others must be in trouble. The Heavenly Secrets Cave can't be closed, as it directly connects to the Southern Barbarians and Jiangnan, which is why Southern Barbarians people are being sent here from time to time."
"This..." Seventh Master Shen was taken aback. "It can be like this?"
"If only it were that simple," Ziyue rubbed her fingers together. "The people sent from several places are all related to the Wutuo Kingdom. It's too much of a coincidence. This time, the one seeking Princess Mingxue is also a prince from the Wutuo Kingdom. I strongly suspect this is deliberate!"
"How could this be done by someone?" Seventh Master Shen frowned. "Could it be that the Heavenly Secrets were in cahoots with the imperial court?"
"Probably not." Ziyue shook her head. "If they did, they would simply teleport your master into a trap, leaving him completely at their mercy."
"So what do you think?"
" Heavenly Secrets has been tracked!" Ziyue gasped. "It's not just me; someone else has tracked Chen Qing's movements and set a trap, forcing Chen Qing and Heavenly Secrets to open the Heavenly Secrets Cave, leading to all of this!!"
Indiscriminate spatial teleportation, the Southern Barbarians Ghost Domain!
"This is likely..." Moon Eye darkened. "Someone is plotting against Jiangnan!!"
Sorry for the late update. I've been dealing with my girlfriend's issues these past few days, which has kept me from updating as much as I should. I haven't had a chance to make up for the six chapters I owe, but I'll start adding more chapters as soon as possible. Thank you all for your support!