The so-called severe torture by the aboriginals wasn't severe, it was just plain torture .
These guys weren't able to have such fancy ideas .
In the Sixty Thousand Mountains, they had to contend with Heaven and Earth in order to live, They had no time or energy for such things .
To them, killing people was no big deal . Just kill if they found someone obnoxious . There was no need to think of fanciful ways to torture people .
Even if they left the mountains and built a country, it would last less than a few decades as they were so poor and surrounded by hostile countries that they would still never come up with these cunning ideas .
He picked up the scaly whip and shook it after dipping it into salt water, causing the scales to puff up . A lash of this whip would directly tear away a strip of flesh .
Even an aboriginal, let alone an ordinary person, would have to rest in bed for a few days after receiving three lashes .
After three lashes, an ordinary person would be half dead .
The person caught wasn't unyielding, and it didn't matter even if he was . Either way, Ren Baqian could easily catch others just by giving an order .
In Ren Baqian's mind, these remnant citizens of the Hao Nation weren't related to him in any way . After going through the war, they were just a number to him .
He had seen many dead people, and it didn't matter if more innocent people were to die .
…
Where there were people, there would be society .
With more than one person, there would be comparison . With more than two people there would be collusion .
This was true even among the remnant citizens of the Hao Nation who were captured .
Not only were there social rivalries, there was a martial arts world and even sects .
This was what Ren Baqian found out over these few days in Gu City .
There were 67 big and small cities as well as hundreds of sects in Tianjing Basin .
Initially, the remnant citizens of the Hao Nation were forced into the basin by the rebel forces . Due to the division between different forces, there were many battles between them .
The most common were naturally the ordinary civilians .
Above them were the army and the sects .
The army constituted the greater power while the sects were the lesser power . There were struggles within the sects, so some sect members would enter the army to wield power .
There were three forces in Tianjing Basin and each controlled dozens of cities .
Plus, the relationships between these three forces were not monolithic .
Many of those rebel leaders of different ranks became the warlords or officials .
There weren't that many of them, no more than 200,000 . The Protectorate of the South was watching and wouldn't just sit around and let them do something on a large scale .
Their name was also changed to the city security force while their forces were scattered such that each city ranged from no more than a few thousand soldiers to 10,000 soldiers .
After all, they still belonged to Dayao, and the imperial court could tolerate a few thousand defenders .
If they were independent forces, they would be asking for death as they wouldn't be tolerated .
Those rebels were badly beaten in the past, could only resort to petty manoeuvres secretly and dared not stir up too much turbulence openly . If they overstepped the line, even the past agreement wouldn't be able to protect them .
As for the sects, which numbered in the hundreds, their overall power wasn't strong .
Some of the stronger sects escaped Dayao by tramping over the hills to other countries . Those left behind were either weak or sentimentally attached to their homeland .
Although there were some top experts left, they weren't able to generate much waves .
Moreover, Xi Wanya was monitoring them . From time to time, he would execute a group of people if he discovered any untoward movements .
During those days of battle with Great Xia, he had killed tens of thousands of people .
Ren Baqian stayed in Gu City for a few days . Besides hearing from the few remnant citizens of the Hao Nation that he caught, other information was acquired from Xi Wanya's sources . Although he hadn't entered the basin to see with his own eyes, he had a rough idea of the situation there . He had to wait until he was there in person to confirm the validity of the information obtained .
Ren Baqian bound together a booklet that contained the notes he had compiled during this period .
He went out of his room, strolled past a few courtyards, and heard music being played from a bamboo instrument coming from another courtyard .
Upon entering the courtyard, he saw a couple playing a musical instrument made from bamboo . It was like a flute, but was only as long as one palm . The sound produced by it wasn't that mournful and had its own flavor .
The empress happened to be eating fruits in the room .
The candy tree was by her side . Ren Baqian had fixed a trolley with four wheels to the tree so that she could be accompanied by the tree wherever she went .
"How are things?" the empress asked as he strode in .
"I need to take a look in order to know," Ren Baqian replied gently . He sat beside the empress and took a bite of the refreshing fruit which melted in his mouth .
This was one of the goodies that Xi Wanya had given to the empress .
"When are we leaving?" The empress brightened up as she was getting bored here .
She wasn't really interested in what Ren Baqian was doing .
The main purpose of this trip was to see what these people were like . They were protected by Dayao, yet harbored evil intentions against Dayao . On the other hand, she didn't like to be separated from Ren Baqian for several months at a time .
"I am afraid we will have to be apart from each other in due time," Ren Baqian said . They would be too conspicuous together, and it would be hard to discover the desired information .
The empress was a little disappointed, but understood that this was a serious matter .
Ren Baqian asked, "Your Majesty, do you want to follow me back to Earth? Your humble servant will set out after this trip . "
He said he wanted to meet Qi Jiayu, but these days, he was always on the move . The empress also didn't follow him back to Earth, and he was thinking of quickly settling this matter as he already had a plan to resolve the issue .
He wanted to kill those who deserved to die so as to prevent the mind from mulling over it .
"Let's go back and take a look," the empress told Qing Yuan and Hong Luan . She held Ren Baqian's wrist, and the two disappeared into the room .
A moment later, Qing Yuan and Hong Luan went out to ask the two musicians to leave .
After returning to Earth, Ren Baqian and the empress changed their clothes .
It was the end of midsummer, so the weather was very hot .
Ren Baqian wanted to ask the empress whether she would like to go for a swim . He longed to see the empress in a swimsuit because she had a figure that would excite a man .
However, there was a official business to attend to .
"Your Majesty, do you remember when I said that there was a person who looks the same as you?" Ren Baqian asked
"I have some interest, but I wonder why you are so eager for me to meet her . " The empress smiled at him . She always seem to be more relaxed on Earth .
Over here, she wasn't the empress of Dayao .
"It's indeed true . " Ren Baqian nodded . "But the empress must see her first . "
"Very well . " The empress nodded her head after seeing his seriousness . Although he was normally easy going, when he said that something was important, it was time to take a look .
"Your Majesty, this is a new phone . " Ren Baqian didn't rush to leave, but instead took out something from his bag . It was a red phone .
"What are the differences compared to the previous one?" The empress found this phone to be slimmer, and it turned out to be soft when she touched it .
"It's really different . " Ren Baqian took the empress's hand, placed the phone around her wrist, and it became like a watch .
"This is the latest version . " Ren Baqian said with a smile . This phone used the latest technology, which was a flexible screen . In fact, it was already available two years ago, but only available on the open market recently .
"It's really convenient . " The empress nodded .
"Let's go . " Ren Baqian guided the empress to the car and drove to SH University .
While in the villa, he had checked the course schedule of Qi Jiayu and found that she should be teaching today .
The two entered the campus . The ivory tower environment was refreshingly pure when compared to society . With books in their hands, the to and fro of the students gave the place an academic atmosphere .
"Is this Zixiao's first time visiting a university?" Like a pair of lovers, Ren Baqian held the empress's hand while walking around the campus .
"It's indeed my first time . " The empress nodded . She had been brought to an elementary school by Ren Baqian, but those 10 year old kids were radically different from these university students, making her envious .
Fortunately, Dayao had its own school nowadays . Although there weren't many students, they were the seeds that would germinate later .
As the two walked around the campus, her looks and disposition were attracting attention, especially in an ivory tower where students harbored illusions about love .
They stared at the empress and thought, Our university actually has such a female student? Why haven't we heard of her before?
However, after seeing that Ren Baqian was holding her hand, they swore silently, A good cabbage is being eaten by a pig .
"Wait here . " When they reached the teaching block, Ren Baqian stopped walking and waited with the empress under the shade of a tree for Qi Jiayu to finish her lesson .
Chapter end
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