Chapter 454: Death of Lei Ao

Chapter 454: The Death of Lei Ao

For Sisi, Lei Ao's death was a good thing.

Because his killer "had to" be a Xia person. Not only would the Black Miao not trouble Sisi, they would solemnly invite the Spirit Clan's Holy Maiden to discuss the great matter of rebelling against Xia.

The excuse for rebellion that Pacification Commissioner Lan Tiankuo had lost due to Yue Hongling's assassination suddenly reappeared.

Black Miao chieftain Lei Zhentang sent out heroic invitations far and wide that night, summoning all tribes to gather in Dali.

The implication was: since the Xia people would kill his son, none of you would escape either—why not rise up together against them?

Everyone knew this was just an excuse, but such an excuse was necessary.

There were already a group of chieftains with burning ambitions, eager to found their own kingdoms while Great Xia was tottering in the wind. What they lacked was broader consensus among the hundred tribes.

Opposition from a "small tribe" like the Spirit Clan was trivial. There were also pro-Xia tribes like the White Miao and the Yao, many of them large, who held opposing views. Their general sentiment was that things were no different from autonomy now—they didn't want to found a kingdom anyway. Forcing a rebellion was like farting through your pants—pointless. As for how the Pacification Commissioner came to oppress the people, didn't everyone know in their hearts? Hadn't Lei Zhentang taken his thirty percent cut? How could he have the nerve to say anything?

Sisi believed even more that this was merely the Black Miao's ambition to use the opportunity to unite the tribes. If they truly gathered momentum and formed an alliance to raise arms, Shu Commandery would send troops to "suppress" them. In the course of war, integration would easily occur, with orders coming from the strongest. In the end, they would drape a yellow robe over someone, and the Kingdom of Dali would emerge.

Lei Zhentang was one of the rare figures on the Chaos Ranking in the Miao frontier, ranked twenty-eighth on the Earth List, slightly higher than Wang Daozhong. He held immense prestige and power in the Miao region, and with Shi Wuding's covert assistance, he was fully qualified to do such a thing.

However, Sisi's view did not gain consensus from the White Miao and others; they simply felt that rebellion would bring no benefit to themselves.

Each had their own thoughts. The Miao frontier had been roiling with turmoil for months, and the Black Miao had long been weaving alliances and playing off the tribes against each other.

The atmosphere had already reached its most tense point. From the looks in the people's eyes when Zhao Changhe entered Xizhou, it was clear that the Miao frontier folk's dissatisfaction with the Xia people was palpable. The Black Miao were only waiting for the final few tribes to reach an agreement. Then, with a raised arm and a shout, they would sacrifice the Pacification Commissioner to the banner and rebel as a matter of course. Small tribes like the Spirit Clan would have no choice but to follow reluctantly.

At this time, Yue Hongling fled to the Miao frontier and happened upon Sisi. Learning that Yue Hongling was being hunted by Shi Wuding, Sisi secretly took her in. The earlier tension from when Sisi had impersonated Yue Hongling dissipated completely. Instead, it truly felt like meeting an old friend in a foreign land, and they called each other "sister" with great warmth.

After staying for a while, Yue Hongling learned about the situation there. One was indignant at the Pacification Commissioner's oppression of the people, the other unwilling to be coerced into rebellion. The two sisters hit it off immediately. Sisi would impersonate Yue Hongling to distract Shi Wuding, while Yue Hongling would go undercover in Dali to assassinate Lan Tiankuo. On the day of the operation, Zhao Changhe stepped into the storm.

With Lan Tiankuo dead, the Black Miao's excuse for rebellion suddenly vanished. But they were already an arrow on the string—there was no stopping.

Lei Ao's assassination became the perfect excuse, even better than rebelling against the Pacification Commissioner.

Lei Ao was the young chieftain of a tribe; his assassination was a serious political incident. The White Miao and other tribes would also think: Lei Ao had no particular misdeeds in ordinary times. If the Xia people would kill Lei Ao, wouldn't they kill them too?

Of course, no one was stupid. Who killed Lei Ao? What if Lei Zhentang had killed his own son out of ambition? That needed to be investigated first.

The next day, over a dozen tribal leaders who scraped a living around Cangshan and Erhai gathered in Dali at the invitation of Black Miao chieftain Lei Zhentang.

Sisi, as the leader of the Spirit Clan, was naturally among the invitees. She brought a small retinue to the meeting, flanked by two protectors—a man and a woman—unfamiliar faces no one had seen before.

Naturally, they were Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling, whose injuries had mostly healed.

Zhao Changhe was still dressed as Si Laoye. Yue Hongling wore a blue Spirit Clan outfit, deliberately chosen to be a style that didn't bare the waist, but her straight shoulders and slender waist unexpectedly made her look quite alluring. So Zhao Changhe maliciously smeared her face to make it ugly, just to keep others from staring at her.

As they entered the hall, the atmosphere was grim and murderous.

A thousand people filled the hall, densely packed. Lei Zhentang sat in the main seat, before him a stretcher covered in white cloth, upon which lay Lei Ao's corpse.

Many people gathered around Lei Ao's body to examine it, eventually shaking their heads and stepping back, returning to their own tribal ranks.

Sisi took the chance to ask a chieftain she knew well: "Sister Pan, what's the situation?"

Pan—the first of the twelve Yao surnames, Yao chieftain Pan Wan. She was a charming woman, nearly forty years old... It seemed Sisi called everyone "sister."

Pan Wan's expression was grave. She said in a low voice: "He's truly dead. I examined him myself. No signs of witchcraft or other arts to fake it. It's a real corpse."

Sisi was startled, frowning: "He really killed his own son..."

Pan Wan asked: "Wasn't Lei Ao just at your stronghold?"

"Yes, but I didn't kill him."

"No one says you did. The chieftain doesn't mean that either." Pan Wan glanced at her. "But this means over a thousand Black Miao tribesmen witnessed a Xia person's assassination."

Sisi said disdainfully: "They're all his people. Whoever they say did it, that's who it is. Can that count as evidence?"

"But the assassin was caught on the spot. He's indeed a Xia person, and one with an official post in Shu Commandery. They say his name is Qi Siyuan." Pan Wan gestured with her chin. "Over there."

Zhao Changhe and his companions turned to look. Sure enough, in a corner, a group of Black Miao were holding a black-clad Xia man kneeling, his head hung low and spirit wilted.

Qi Siyuan was a swordsman from Shu Commandery, somewhat famous. By the looks of it, it seemed ironclad that Shu Commandery had sent someone to assassinate Lei Ao.

Zhao Changhe breathed a sigh of relief instead—at least Li Si'an hadn't fallen. It seemed the incident had nothing to do with Li Si'an. His greatest worry eased, and he said: "Who can such a flimsy excuse fool? Why would Shu Commandery want to kill Lei Ao for no reason? And even if they did, why force a kill in front of a thousand troops? What kind of stupid assassin is that?"

Sisi gazed at the white cloth on the stretcher in the distance, a hint of depth in her eyes: "That's not important. What matters is that the event is real. Not everyone here is educated. Hot-headed brutes are the majority."

Zhao Changhe was taken aback. That was true—he always assumed everyone had their own thoughts, but most of the hundred tribes were mountain hunters or herders. They wouldn't think too much about the details behind a case. Things happened as they happened, and Lei Zhentang's goal was achieved.

He thought for a moment, then approached the stretcher to look at the corpse.

By now, the noise in the hall had gradually subsided. Most people had finished viewing the corpse, and the captured Qi Siyuan was right there—the facts were clear, nothing more to learn. Lei Zhentang quietly watched the chieftains return to their places and spoke calmly: "Have you all seen clearly now?"

Pan Wan said: "Why not let the murderer explain a few things? Why did he do it?"

A Black Miao man grabbed Qi Siyuan's hair and yanked his head up. Qi Siyuan raised his face, his expression surprisingly arrogant: "Governor Zhai hated the poor quality of the jade Lei Ao supplied. He sent reprimands several times, but Lei Ao remained obstinate. The governor felt his authority was challenged, so he sent me to teach him a lesson—and it had to be in public! The majesty of Great Xia is not something you barbarian tribes can provoke!"

The hall erupted instantly: "Damn it, this is too much!"

"Rebel against him! What's so great about that Zhai Muzhi?"

"Don't they know why the jade quality was poor?"

Even Pan Wan shook her head, half believing the words. It really was something a Xia bureaucrat might do.

Lei Zhentang watched the seething crowd, a flicker of smile flashing in his eyes. Then, in a voice of profound grief, he spoke: "Everyone, ever since the former king was treacherously murdered by Xia Longyuan, the Kingdom of Dali was abolished, and our tribes were torn apart. The Xia have oppressed us for decades. I don't need to tell you what life has been like these years. Lan Tiankuo had only been in office for a month—how many women did he demand from you? Not even sparing your wives and daughters!"

"Now it's my son's turn!"

"Someday it will be your sons' turn!"

"This life of slavery—I, Lei Zhentang, don't want to live it. Do you still want to continue?"

His voice was resonant, full of incitement. The hall was on the verge of a fervent response when a discordant voice suddenly rang out: "This dead man isn't even your son! What are you shouting about?"

Lei Zhentang's voice caught in his throat. He flew into a rage: "Who are you!"

Immediately, his attendants leaned in and whispered to Lei Zhentang about the Spirit Clan protector Si Laoye, who had shone so brightly at the stronghold last night.

Lei Zhentang sneered: "So it's the Spirit Clan protector. Your swordsmanship is impressive, I hear. Close to the Central Plains style?"

"What does it matter who I am?" Zhao Changhe didn't take the bait at all. "What matters is whether this is your son, doesn't it?"

Lei Zhentang slammed the armrest of his chair and stood up furiously: "Do you think I wouldn't recognize my own son?"

"Then that's strange." Zhao Changhe pinched the dead man's cheeks and pried open his mouth. "As far as I know, your son was missing a tooth. But this dead man's teeth are all intact... Oh, a bit of decay. That's some fine dental work. Could Chieftain Lei teach us all?"

The hall fell utterly silent.

The dead man had been stabbed in the throat. None of the examiners had been foolish enough to pry open his closed mouth.

But how had this man thought of that? Stranger still, he had been certain it was a fake even before prying it open!