In a short while, Wei Yixiao returned successfully with the cult followers, with no injuries or casualties. The scattered Yuan soldiers had been taken care of.
It seemed that Zhao Min knew too many Yuan soldiers will made people suspicious. However, it was probably because most of the soldiers had been sent to escort the captives of the Six Sects. After all, the title of "Princess" sounds impressive, but she can't really mobilize that many soldiers.
Even Zhao Min's father, the Prince of Ruyang, as the Grand General of the Mongol Yuan Dynasty, can't gather many Yuan soldiers without an imperial edict from the Great Yuan Emperor. At most, there are only a few thousand.
That's why Li Xiu dared to provoke the Prince of Ruyang by issuing an edict to gather a few thousand followers.
"Bat King, send another urgent order to the various masters in the Northwestern region for me, telling them to hurry and gather followers near the central altar at Bright Summit. They must arrive within one month, or be punished severely by the rules of the cult!"
"In addition, I have a secret order commanding the masters in all regions to closely monitor the movements of the Yuan soldiers in their areas. If any large movements are noticed, cause a disturbance. Don't use real weapons, but make a lot of noise and try to keep the Yuan soldiers stuck in the local area."
"Of course, if the Yuan soldiers are still mobilized according to orders, cause even more chaos after they leave, killing as many local officials as possible and causing as much turmoil as possible in the area."
Li Xiu thought for a moment, then issued several more orders just in case.
Zhao Min acted on her own without any orders from the court to provoke Jianghu and the Ming Cult. If the matter had succeeded, it would have been a great merit that would have covered up everything.
But now that the matter has failed and the consequences are severe, it is a heinous crime!
Li Xiu doesn't believe that the Prince of Ruyang would dare to report this matter to the Great Yuan Emperor and ask for troops to save his daughter. But he is worried that the Prince of Ruyang, out of love for his daughter, might ignore everything and deceive the Great Yuan Emperor by pretending to quell the rebels and asking for troops.
If the Prince of Ruyang really did something like that, even with the help of the Six Major Sects, Li Xiu would have to flee with his followers and become a mess.
However, with Li Xiu's previous orders, even in a worst-case scenario, the Ming Cult would still profit.
After Li Xiu gave Wei Yixiao specific instructions, Yin Tianzheng had already prepared the letters to be sent to the Six Sects and presented them to Li Xiu for review.
Li Xiu looked them over and saw that there were no mistakes. He nodded and Yin Tianzheng handed the six letters to the selected followers.
"By the way, Eagle King, I've never been to the capital. If I leave from our Cult's Bright Summit and go straight to the capital, how many days and nights of non-stop travel would be needed approximately?"
Yin Tianzheng thought for a moment and guessed Li Xiu's intention. He replied with a bow, "To the Cult Leader, if it's a single person on horseback with a good, fast horse and frequent changes, it would take about ten or so days. But for a army of several thousand people, even if we rush, it would take at least two months or more."
When Li Xiu asked this question, Zhao Min, who was being held down on the ground, lifted her head upon hearing it. Li Xiu didn't avoid her either.
"Good! Then from today, I'll give the Prince of Ruyang three months' time to quickly bring the unharmed members of the Six Sects to Bright Summit. If he doesn't do it within an hour, he can just go ahead and prepare his daughter's royal clothing and coffin!"
"Cult Leader, do you want me to draft the letter now?"
Yin Tianzheng asked while bowing, but Li Xiu waved his hand slightly.
"No hurry. I'm afraid it won't be persuasive if I do it this way, and the Prince of Ruyang might think I'm a petty thief and ignore it. What if something goes wrong?"
"What does the Cult Leader mean?"
Li Xiu didn't answer and turned to look at Zhao Min, who was kneeling in front of him, with a cold smile.
As Li Xiu looked at Zhao Min, she couldn't help but feel a deep fear in her eyes. She shouted sternly, "Li Xiu, if you dare to hurt me in the slightest, my father the Prince of Ruyang will never let you go!"
However, Li Xiu chuckled meaningfully and said, "He won't let me go? I won't let him go either!"
A moment later, Zhao Min screamed in agony, and on the stone table next to Li Xiu there was an extra white and thin broken finger. Zhao Min tried to desperately cover the wound as she screamed, but she was ruthlessly pressed down and couldn't move at all, and blood splattered everywhere.
"Take her down and bandage her up properly, don't let her die, her life is very valuable, it has great use for me!"
The crowd followed orders and was about to take Zhao Min away, but Li Xiu seemed to remember something and paused before quietly giving further instructions.
"Right, after bandaging her, go ahead and break her legs to prevent her from running away, and watch her day and night."
"Li Xiu, you can't die a good death! I will surely kill you someday! Before I kill you, I will slowly knock out all your teeth and pull out your tongue..."
Upon hearing Li Xiu's cruel words, Zhao Min, who was already in unbearable pain, had become almost delirious. The beautiful and delicate face that was like white jade was twisted with a ferocious expression, and she continued to curse Li Xiu with hatred.
As the people took her away, Li Xiu signaled to Yin Tianzheng to follow and see what happened, after all, Zhao Min herself was still skilled in martial arts, and they couldn't allow any mistakes that might allow her to escape.
Turning his gaze back, Li Xiu saw the white and delicate broken finger on the stone table and the guqin leaning to the side, and couldn't help but sigh.
"Why did you come out to cause trouble and bring calamity upon yourself? It's not good to stay at home and play the guqin and sword dance when you look so beautiful, I'm afraid you won't be able to do these things anymore in the future."
Then his tone changed and he said coldly,
"The Prince of Ruyang may not recognize every finger of his precious daughter, but I'm sure he'll recognize the thumb of her right hand!"
After speaking, Li Xiu signaled to Wei Yixiao to take the broken finger and said, "Find a clever and capable member of the cult, draft a letter and send it with this finger to the Prince of Ruyang's palace in the capital with a fast horse. Be careful on the way and don't make any mistakes."
"Yes!"
Wei Yixiao received the orders and went down to take care of the matters.
Two months later, at the foot of the Bright Summit, the main altar of the Ming Cult.
The heads of the five major sects, each with their own disciples, had gathered once again, and their expressions were all somewhat strange and sighing. The last time they were here, the six major sects were united in their efforts to destroy the Ming Cult, and it almost succeeded.
But now, the balance of power had been reversed, and it was now they who had to rely on the Ming Cult, and they didn't dare to show any disrespect. In addition, there were now only five major sects.
"Amitabha, when the Abbess Miejue fell into the hands of the court, she was already severely injured, and it is feared that she will suffer even more difficulties and have few blessings."
Abbot Kongwen of the Shaolin sect recited a Buddhist phrase and then sighed.
The news that the six major sects had been ambushed and captured by the Yuan soldiers had already spread throughout the martial arts world.
The disciples of the sects didn't mention the capture of the Wudang Seven Heroes second-in-command, Yu Lianzhou, the fact that only three of the Kongtong Five Elders remained, or the loss of Kongzhi from the Shaolin sect.
What everyone was most concerned about was: the head of the Emei sect, the Abbess Miejue, had also been taken away by the Yuan soldiers!
Upon hearing this from Abbot Kongwen, the leader of the Kongtong Five Elders had a look of fear on his face and whispered,
"If you ask me, it was Li Xiu who severely injured Miejue on the Bright Summit, which indirectly led to Miejue falling into the hands of the Yuan soldiers."
"That kid's martial arts are so high, and now he's even the leader of the Ming Cult. I'm afraid there won't be peace in the martial arts world in the future!"
Song Yuanqiao's expression was different and he had a different opinion: "Abbess Miejue has a fiery and fierce personality, and it's common sense for Li Xiu to teach her a lesson when she provokes such a person."
Then Song Yuanqiao hesitated slightly and sighed again: "Besides, in these turbulent times in the martial arts world, can anyone expect to live in peace?"
Upon hearing these words, everyone seemed to be choked by something and fell silent.