on. Although the imperial court has stationed troops and yamen there, it does not have much say in the local governance. If there are any problems within the village, they solve them themselves. Conf...Chapter 970: The Miao Village

Gritting his teeth, Sabao had to abandon the pursuit of Li Yinhu and Zhou Xingjia.

He looked around, and saw that the countless insects had already begun to retreat, leaving thousands of corpses on the ground.

In this wave of locusts, only a very small number of lucky or skilled people avoided the disaster. The vast majority of others, including Minister Wang Fuyong of Dali Temple, all became souls under the insects.

Looking at the ground littered with corpses after the tide of insects retreated, these corpses were bloodless but had been gnawed to pieces by the insect swarm, including their flesh.

The worst off was Wang Fuyong; his body was now just a complete skeleton, not even a piece of flesh the size of a palm left on him.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and insects, and the sight of corpses strewn everywhere was deeply shocking. Sān Bǎo's face was as dark as thunder.

He knew he was in deep trouble.

······

Xizheng Hall.

Li Chen looked at the several corpses of black insects in front of him, and at San Bao who had been kneeling for half an hour, his face expressionless.

"How many people died" Li Chen asked.

"There were as many as seven thousand six hundred people." Sanzhao answered with a gritted teeth.

"Not bad, fewer deaths than last year's disaster." Li Chen sneered.

The Three Treasures bowed their heads, not knowing how to answer, let alone daring to.

"Has Li Yinhǔ always colluded with the Miao village"

"Yes, we did find some clues before, but we couldn't confirm which side they belonged to. Now that they have revealed their true colors, it's clear they are from the Miao Village."

Li Chen's face was not looking good.

Although he managed to ruin Li Yinhǔ's reputation and dashed his hopes of competing for the position, the sudden appearance of the Miao village left Li Chén feeling uneasy.

"The clans and lineages of the Central Plains, the Miao villages and tribes in the South Borderland, and the Tusi lamas of the Heavenly Vault, these three have always been a major headache for the imperial court, almost impossible to solve."

Among them, the Miao village tribe in Nanjiang is the most low-key, almost completely isolated from the world. However, it is precisely because of this highly closed environment that they naturally have a strong sense of exclusion. Although the imperial court has stationed troops and yamen there, it does not have much say in the local governance. If there are any problems within the village, they solve them themselves. Conflicts between villages are also resolved internally, either through negotiation or fighting to the death; there is no involvement from the government.

It’s none of the government’s business.

Li Chen's fingers twitched as he asked expressionlessly, "What kind of person is Zhou Xingjia in Nanjiang"

The Three Treasures, knowing everything, replied: “Zhou Xingjia came from Zhoujiazhai in Nanjiang. This Zhoujiazhai was among the top five largest villages in all of Nanjiang. Moreover, the Zhou family inherited the Miao medicine and sorcery skills for generations. They were most famous for their living creature sorcery. However, many years ago, I followed the imperial order and at great cost eradicated the entire Zhoujia Miao village, causing them to fade from the Miao region’s stage ever since.”

"However, this is merely a surface-level fade out. After all, as long as Zhou Xingjia remains, the Zhou family cannot be considered completely severed."

The customs of the village are closed marriage and intermarriage. They do not accept outsiders, nor do they allow Miao women to marry outsiders. Therefore, over the years, there has been almost intermarriage between several large Miao villages, achieving a state where you have me, and I have you.nd a chance.Moreover, the trend has already passed.As Li Chen got closer and closer, Zhou Xingjia's emotions became extremely tense."Eighth Prince, run!"Zhou Xingjia now no longer calls Li Yinhu "Your...