Chapter 255: No Life Sect

The next day, at dawn, Jiang State's Court of State Ceremonials became bustling.

Gu Mo also woke up early. After he finished eating, Ye Jinglan had already assembled his team. He left most of them in the Jiang State capital to continue their diplomatic mission and maintain communication with the imperial family. The remaining dozen carefully selected elites would accompany Gu Mo to Jianbei Commandery.

When Gu Mo and his group exited the Court of State Ceremonials, Xiao Ziyin had already been waiting at the entrance for some time. However, Xiao Ziyin had not brought many people from the Chu State envoy, only seven or eight guards and maids. Instead, there was a troop of over a hundred Jiang State soldiers.

Leading the Jiang State contingent was a portly, big-eared middle-aged man. Gu Mo recognized him; they had met yesterday at the palace banquet. He was Zhang Yuankang, the Vice Minister of Personnel for Jiang State.

At this moment, Zhang Yuankang was standing respectfully beside Xiao Ziyin, looking utterly servile. However, this was typical of Jiang State's court officials. As a vassal state of Chu, Jiang State's entire court, both civil and military, prioritized currying favor with Chu. That was why most Jiang State ministers did not attend yesterday's palace banquet for the Qian State envoy, and those who did maintained a polite but distant demeanor, neither rude nor particularly welcoming.

"Great Hero Gu!" Xiao Ziyin approached, cupped his hands, and introduced, "This is Zhang Yuankang, the Vice Minister of Personnel for Jiang State. He will accompany us as an imperial envoy to Jianbei Commandery. Since one of us is from Chu and the other from Qian, conducting affairs in Jiang State without the assistance of its court would be quite challenging."

Gu Mo nodded slightly.

Xiao Ziyin gave Zhang Yuankang a glance. Zhang Yuankang immediately understood Xiao Ziyin's respectful attitude towards Gu Mo. His face instantly broke into a wide smile, and he bowed, cupping his hands, "I am Zhang Yuankang, and it's an honor to meet Great Hero Gu. Please feel free to give any instructions you may have along the way!"

"Then I shall trouble Vice Minister Zhang!" Gu Mo returned the salute.

Zhang Yuankang looked flattered and quickly replied, "Great Hero Gu, you're too kind. This is merely my duty. My main task on this trip is to attend to Her Royal Highness the Eldest Princess and you!"

Gu Mo cupped his hands again, saying nothing.

Zhang Yuankang then hastily added, "Great Hero Gu, a carriage has been prepared for you over there."

"Thank you." Gu Mo cupped his hands, looked at Xiao Ziyin, and asked, "Your Highness, shall we depart now?"

Xiao Ziyin replied, "If Great Hero Gu has no other matters, then let us depart!"

Immediately, Gu Mo and Gu Chudong boarded the carriage.

Once inside the carriage, Gu Chudong pulled back the curtain and saw Zhang Yuankang carefully following beside Xiao Ziyin, bowing and nodding deferentially.

"Brother," Gu Chudong asked, "Zhang Yuankang is a high-ranking official, a Vice Minister of Personnel, the same rank as Brother Ye Jinglan in the Qian State court. Even if Xiao Ziyin is a princess, he shouldn't have to grovel like this, should he?"

Gu Mo replied, "When facing people from other countries, Zhang Yuankang certainly wouldn't be this servile. But Chu State is different. Jiang State is a vassal state of Chu, and Xiao Ziyin is a top power broker in Chu, capable of representing the Chu Emperor's will to some extent. If Zhang Yuankang were to inadvertently displease Xiao Ziyin, a single word to the Jiang Emperor would jeopardize Zhang Yuankang's entire career. No matter what background Zhang Yuankang has in Jiang State—even if he's a member of the imperial family—offending Xiao Ziyin would cost him dearly, because even the Jiang Emperor needs to curry favor with her. This illustrates the principle: when a country is weak, its emperor is weak; when the emperor is weak, the officials are weak; when the officials are weak, the people are weak; and when the people are weak, the country is weak!"

Gu Chudong said, "Previously, my only impression of Jiang State was that it once produced Jiang Ruoxu."

Gu Mo sighed, "It's a pity Jiang State didn't have that fortune. Southern Jin's situation was originally even worse than Jiang State's, but because of Su Qianqiu, Southern Jin retained a certain degree of influence. Jiang State, on the other hand, produced Jiang Ruoxu, who was stronger than Su Qianqiu, but he unfortunately went mad, almost leading to Jiang State's demise."

Gu Chudong sighed, "If Jiang Ruoxu hadn't gone mad, Jiang State surely wouldn't be in its current state. Furthermore, as a member of the imperial family, Jiang Ruoxu was naturally tied to Jiang State. While it's unlikely he alone could have expanded the territory and strengthened the nation, he could have at least given Jiang State some influence, preventing it from being so subservient today. Jiang Ruoxu should have been Jiang State's guardian deity, yet he became a sinner. I imagine the people of Jiang State must detest him..."

"That's not actually the case!" Just then, Xiao Ziyin, who had caught up in her carriage, heard Gu Chudong's words. She pulled back her carriage curtain and said, "Few people among the common folk of Jiang State actually know that Jiang Ruoxu almost massacred the imperial city. This is because the Jiang State imperial family and court intentionally suppressed the matter. Among the current Jiang State imperial family, Jiang Ruoxu's reputation is actually very good, and his memorial tablet is even enshrined in the Jiang clan's ancestral temple!"

Gu Chudong asked in confusion, "Why? Is it because the current imperial lineage of the Jiang clan is grateful to Jiang Ruoxu for giving them an opportunity?"

Xiao Ziyin chuckled, "The current emperor is still from that same imperial lineage—the son of the emperor who was killed back then."

Gu Chudong was even more surprised, "Then why don't they hate Jiang Ruoxu? Was there a hidden reason for his madness?"

Xiao Ziyin said, "There's no hidden reason for his madness; Jiang Ruoxu truly did go mad. However, the sequence of events is different: Jiang Ruoxu first massacred the Jiang State imperial city, and only then did he descend into madness."

Gu Mo also grew interested and asked, "What exactly happened?"

Xiao Ziyin chuckled, "Only the Jiang State imperial family and our Chu State imperial family know the specifics of this matter. Of course, our Chu State imperial family was informed by the Jiang State imperial family. The previous Jiang State emperor was actually Jiang Ruoxu's biological son, and the current Jiang Emperor is Jiang Ruoxu's grandson. Back then, Emperor Rongli of Jiang State, unable to have children due to health reasons, adopted his brother Jiang Ruoxu's son and passed the throne to him. However, Jiang Ruoxu was a martial arts fanatic who never dabbled in imperial power, dedicating himself solely to martial arts training. Later, he went to Penglai Immortal Island, and upon his return, he challenged experts from various countries, defeated the then 'Number One Under Heaven,' became the new 'Number One Under Heaven,' and then returned to Jiang State. At that time, all the nations in the world thought that the weak Jiang State might gradually rise due to Jiang Ruoxu. But no one expected that upon his return to Jiang State, he would massacre the imperial city, causing blood to flow like rivers. After that, he began to roam various countries, killing indiscriminately. Many in the martial arts world believe that Jiang Ruoxu chose to sever emotional ties to pursue the pinnacle of martial arts, leading him to kill extensively, intending to cut off worldly entanglements, but he lost control and went mad. But, in reality, what truly happened was that after Jiang Ruoxu returned to Jiang State, mindful that the emperor was his son, he intended to use his reputation as 'Number One Under Heaven' to help Jiang State strengthen its national power. However, after he entered the imperial city, he discovered that everyone inside—whether the emperor, princes, empresses, or concubines—were all evil spirits disguised in human skin. Only then did he start his massacre. The imperial city soldiers, unaware of the truth, fought against Jiang Ruoxu, which ultimately led to the entire imperial city being almost completely slaughtered. And Jiang Ruoxu himself, due to the excessive killing in that battle, and having inherent flaws in his martial arts, immediately went mad. There are also rumors that Jiang Ruoxu was a qi practitioner, and at that time, a 'heart devil' from the Thirteen Taboos exploited his weakness and took over."

Both Gu Chudong and Gu Mo were puzzled. Gu Chudong pressed, "Your Highness, did you just say... evil spirits disguised in human skin?"

"Don't ask me," Xiao Ziyin said, "I'm puzzled by it too. At that time, not everyone in the imperial city was killed; a group survived, such as the current Jiang Emperor. According to him, most people in the imperial palace had been replaced by evil spirits. However, to avoid detection, the evil spirits acted slowly, so some people were fortunate enough not to have been replaced yet when Jiang Ruoxu returned. However, I suspect that the so-called evil spirits in human skin were actually some sort of bizarre or uncanny method, or perhaps something akin to highly skilled disguise techniques."

Gu Chudong said gravely, "I never imagined there was such a hidden story."

Xiao Ziyin chuckled, "However, it's also a fact that Jiang Ruoxu did descend into madness later."

Jiang State's territory isn't vast, roughly equivalent to one large province in Qian State. Consequently, Jiang State's administrative divisions do not include provinces, only commanderies and counties. It is divided into ten commanderies in total.

Jianbei Commandery is Jiang State's northernmost region.

As the contingent gradually approached Jianbei Commandery, Gu Mo and the others felt it grow increasingly colder. Upon entering Jianbei Commandery's territory, they even saw snow. The further they went, the heavier the snow became, and the more refugees they encountered. Along the way, frozen bodies were visible everywhere.

Although it was only March, Jianbei Commandery was gripped by bitter cold and freezing conditions.

For two or three consecutive days, the contingent passed five or six villages, yet saw not a single living soul. Those who could flee had managed to escape, while elderly people who couldn't had starved or frozen to death in the villages. There was hardly a single wooden house left, likely all dismantled for firewood.

The mood of the group grew increasingly somber.

Before arriving, they had already heard about the severe cold disaster ravaging Jianbei Commandery—"nine out of ten homes empty," and "frozen bones by the roadside." But without experiencing it firsthand, they couldn't truly imagine that level of despair. Even though Gu Mo and the others were not from Jiang State, and relations between Qian and Jiang were not particularly good, seeing such a sight, their hearts were filled with sympathy. Along the way, they hadn't even seen a single tree with bark left.

That day, the contingent traveled to a desolate mountain area.

As dusk approached, Xiao Ziyin and Zhang Yuankang were discussing finding a suitable place to set up camp.

Just then, a scout responsible for reconnaissance rode back and cupped his hands, saying, "Your Highness, Master Zhang, there's a market town three *li* ahead with houses and signs of human habitation. We can temporarily set up camp there!"

Immediately, Xiao Ziyin ordered them to proceed.

The snowy mountain path was difficult to traverse. Despite being only three *li* away, it took them until nightfall to finally reach their destination.

The market town was quite large with many houses. It was evident that it had once been very prosperous, likely the center for the surrounding villages. However, most of the houses had been dismantled; only those with earthen walls remained.

There were quite a few people in the town, but few elderly, children, or women. Most were young and middle-aged men, but they were mostly emaciated, with numb expressions. They huddled together in large groups for warmth. Almost everything in the town that could be dismantled for burning had been removed.

When Gu Mo's contingent entered the market town, it caused a small stir. Some were fearful, but more had a desperate, bloodshot look in their eyes. However, when they saw that everyone in the contingent was armed, no one dared to act rashly. After all, this contingent numbered over a hundred, while the refugees in the town were only three or four hundred.

Soon, under Zhang Yuankang's arrangements, the contingent found several relatively well-preserved houses in the middle of the market town to set up camp. The town was large, and although