The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 294 Account
At the summit of Junji Peak, as dawn broke, the martial arts figures who had come for the banquet had already departed. Only the Imperial Guards remained.

Li Miao leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes to rest.

Zheng Yi's hands were tied behind her back. She knelt in front of him, her face pale, her jaw clenched, and cold sweat dripping down her chin.

An Ziyang, who was in charge of the interrogation, frowned and said in a deep voice.

"In short, Yingzhou is a secluded sect located overseas, roughly near Ryukyu. Your Penglai is a branch that split off from Yingzhou during the founding of the Daesuki Kingdom."

"For nearly two hundred years, Yingzhou has been trying to strangle you. Decades ago, they found the island of Penglai, but only a few people escaped to Dashuo and were lost ever since."

"You are a descendant of one of these branches."

Zheng Yi gritted her teeth and slowly nodded.

An Ziyang turned to look at Li Miao, and seeing that he didn't seem inclined to speak, he continued to ask.

"There are still a few questions."

"First, since you are being hunted down by Yingzhou, why did you come here to Mount Song?"

Zheng Yi said through gritted teeth.

"revenge."

"Ten years ago, they found my home and my mother died at their hands. I must avenge this."

"The invitations they distributed throughout the martial arts world were inlaid with jade stones commonly used in Yingzhou. I intercepted one of the people delivering the invitations, and upon examining his meridians, I discovered that he possessed a unique technique belonging to Yingzhou in his heart meridian."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard is holding a moon-viewing banquet on Mount Song, scheduled for the fifteenth of August. They are clearly aiming for Yingzhou. So I came here... but I didn't expect to step into their trap."

An Ziyang pondered for a moment, then continued to ask.

"As for Yingzhou's strength, I mean, how many people like you and that dead man's head—" He pointed to Zheng Ming's head on the ground, "can avoid the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man?"

Zheng Yi shook her head: "I don't know."

"Yo ho!"

An Ziyang shouted and rolled up his sleeves.

"Fine! I see you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin, you won't give up until you reach the Yellow River, you won't turn back until you hit the south wall. Even when you're about to die, you still dare to be stubborn! Today, I'll show you what Tang Clan techniques, personally passed down by the Miao King, really are—"

"All right."

Li Miao waved his hand.

"Yes!"

An Ziyang darted to the side, his arrogant and domineering demeanor vanishing instantly, and he responded meekly with lowered eyes.

Li Miao squinted at Zheng Yi, remaining silent for a moment. But the more silent he was, the more terrified Zheng Yi became.

Being stared at by Li Miao was like having a man-eating tiger eyeing your neck. Even if the other party didn't make a move, the instinctive tremor would extinguish any thought of resistance.

She explained quickly.

"I only learned martial arts from my mother before; she never told me anything about Yingzhou and Penglai. I only started to find out some information after her death. As for the details of Yingzhou, it wasn't something I deliberately sought out—"

"okay."

Li Miao waved his hand again.

"Too much nonsense, I can't be bothered to listen. From now on, I'll ask and you answer."

"I am from Yingzhou, that much is certain. But why do you, me, and Zheng Ming look so alike?"

Zheng Yi replied.

"I really don't know the reason, but Yingzhou and Penglai are not based on master-disciple inheritance, but on bloodline inheritance. Whether someone comes from Yingzhou or Penglai can basically be known just by looking at their appearance."

"Moreover, the better one's innate talent, the more similar their appearance will be. That's why we are divided into the 'main family' and the 'outer family'. My mother belongs to the 'main family' in Penglai, as do you, me, and Zheng Ming."

"The 'original family' is the one that can avoid the five signs of decay in the heavens and man. As for the reason—it probably involves the very foundation of Yingzhou, a fact that even my mother does not know."

Li Miao sat up and laughed. "This is interesting."

After his previous battle with Emperor Jianwen and the Emperor, he had almost confirmed that his "eight-hour workday" was related to his spiritual cultivation level, but now doubts have arisen again.

His physical body originated from Yingzhou, and was from the "original family." According to Zheng Ming, he should have been able to avoid the "five signs of decay" from the very beginning.

But when he attained the status of a Celestial Being, he didn't receive this treatment. Otherwise, he wouldn't have had to wander the world with an imperfect cultivation level all this time.

Li Miao twirled his fingers, deep in thought.

"Logically speaking, the cause of the five signs of decay in a celestial being is the lack of cultivation of sexual energy, but Yingzhou can avoid it through bloodline... Could it be that one of the 'spirit' and 'intention' in sexual energy cultivation can be passed down through bloodline?"

"This doesn't make sense... It's unreasonable, both from the perspective of martial arts principles and from the logic of the loss of the transmission of spiritual cultivation techniques."

"Also, why don't I get this benefit? Is this 'eight-hour workday' really a unique feature of Da Shuo?"

After thinking for a moment, he continued to ask.

"You all share the surname Zheng... This surname was passed down from Yingzhou, wasn't it?"

Zheng Yi nodded.

"Yes."

"So, the person who founded Yingzhou must also have the surname Zheng?"

"Yes."

How many years has Yingzhou been passed down to this day?

"I don't know." Zheng Yi shook her head: "But it won't be shorter than Shaolin, it's estimated to be a thousand years old."

Li Miao nodded and turned to An Ziyang.

"Xiao Anzi, send a message back to Shuntian and list out all the people with the surname Zheng that you can find in historical records, ancient books, and rumors."

"Pay attention to three times."

“A thousand years ago, when Yingzhou was founded.”

"When the Great Shuo Kingdom was founded, Penglai became independent."

"And then there was the time when Penglai was wiped out."

"Also, go to the Jinyiwei's files and find someone who looks like me, whether they are alive or dead. As soon as you find them, have You Zi'ang report back immediately."

An Ziyang nodded in agreement and immediately turned to do so.

Li Miao then turned to look at Zheng Yi.

“Just now, when I was fighting Zheng Ming, you took this item from the body of a corpse.”

A member of the Imperial Guard stepped forward and presented a tray with a blood-stained cloth bag on it.

Li Miao picked up the cloth bag and shook it a few times, from which some loose silver coins, a bottle of pills, and a letter fell out.

Li Miao picked up the letter and waved it at Zheng Yi.

"According to you, you are an enemy of Yingzhou, yet you know nothing about Yingzhou, and you came here alone this time—that corpse is from Yingzhou."

"The situation was urgent, so why would you go into the arms of a man from Yingzhou to look for something?"

Li Miao spoke slowly and deliberately.

"He had two fatal wounds, one from being stabbed by the flute and the other from a sword wound—a longsword. Of the people I killed, two used swords, but you were the only one who used a longsword."

"You and Zheng Ming killed him together, and before you escaped, you went to his arms to touch his corpse."

"Could you explain to me who he is?"

(End of this chapter)