The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 297 Three Days
Li Miao looked Yin Suqin up and down.

During a casual chat with An Ziyang before, we mentioned this "mouthy young master" who was his equal. According to An Ziyang, this person was quite skilled in martial arts and acted with integrity—unfortunately, he had a foul mouth.

Especially after a few drinks, there's no gossip he wouldn't dare spread in the martial arts world. There's no one of any importance in the martial arts world who hasn't been the subject of his gossip.

It's fair to say that ever since he started his life in the martial arts world, he's been beaten up every month because of his foul mouth. Yet he's still alive and well, which speaks volumes about his martial arts skills.

Yin Suqin's brows furrowed even more.

He was used to this kind of scene. With his sharp tongue, it would be strange if no one came knocking on his door. However, after looking closely for a while, he still couldn't recognize Li Miao.

Cao Hanyan, standing nearby, quickly tried to smooth things over: "Your Excellency, Your Excellency. Did he mention you or your sect just now? Please forgive him, my friend is drunk and doesn't know any better. I'm speaking on his behalf—"

Li Miao gave him a half-smile.

“Mentioned? He said I mentioned quite a lot.”

Yin Suqin also laughed and clasped her hands in a fist and palm salute: "Your Excellency, if I have ever offended you because of my mouth, I apologize to you here."

He reached out to support Li Miao's arm.

"But—could you please put your hand down first?"

He has a sharp tongue, but a good heart. If someone comes looking for him, he never fights back, only caring about escaping for his own life. But he is, after all, a swordsman, and he won't really let Li Miao grab his shoulder.

He used seven-tenths of his strength in that fight.

But it didn't move at all.

His expression immediately changed.

He mustered his inner energy and used all his strength for another fight.

It remained completely still.

His expression turned dejected, his shoulders slumped, and he looked at Li Miao with a wry smile.

"May I ask which esteemed senior you are?"

"If I have offended you in any way, please just ignore me—is that alright?"

Li Miao said with a smile.

"No."

Yin Suqin's expression turned even uglier. He hadn't been unaware that this day would come, that he would offend someone he couldn't afford to offend because of his foul mouth, and then die. But he hadn't expected this day to come so suddenly.

He turned to look at Cao Hanyan and smiled wryly.

"In that case, senior, could you please let my friend leave first? I may have a sharp tongue, but he is an upright person and has never spoken ill of others—he has nothing to do with this matter."

Cao Hanyan immediately looked anxious and tried to stand up. But a sword sheath pressed down on her shoulder, and she sat back down with a thud, unable to move.

It was Zheng Yi.

Now, both of them realized that they had been defeated.

Yin Suqin could only smile wryly and say.

"Senior, before you take action, could you please tell me your identity, or tell me when and what I said that offended you?"

"Let me die knowing the truth, okay?"

Li Miao smiled but didn't say anything. His fingers slowly dug into Yin Suqin's shoulder, deeper and deeper, until they pushed open the flesh and pinched the bone.

Yin Suqin gritted her teeth, sweating profusely from the pain, and forced herself not to cry out.

Until—crack.

With a crisp sound, Yin Suqin's right hand fell limply to her side.

His face turned pale instantly.

He was a swordsman, wielding a sword in his right hand. His opponent had broken his right collarbone—his martial arts were now useless.

Li Miao still didn't take his hand off.

He picked up the wine glass with his other hand, took a sip, and looked at Yin Suqin with a half-smile.

"You ask when you offended me... just now."

Yin Suqin forced a smile.

"Are you a master from Kongtong or Kunlun?"

Li Miao ignored him and continued speaking.

"You want to know which sentence offended me..."

“Every single sentence.”

Yin Suqin pursed her lips and remained silent. *Snap.*

Li Miao placed the wine glass on the table and looked at him with a half-smile.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

Yin Suqin suddenly remembered the information she had heard.

He heard two versions of Li Miao's appearance. One version said he had a blue face and fangs, was eight feet tall, and had wide, glaring eyes, like a demon or Rakshasa.

This was also the version he was going to tell Cao Hanyan.

Another version describes him as having a heroic appearance, a lazy demeanor, and a smile on his lips—a description that perfectly matches the person sitting opposite him.

Recalling every word the other person had just said, Yin Suqin's lips trembled involuntarily, her face turned pale, her hands and feet were icy cold, and her legs were shaking.

"No way... Is it really that unlucky? I went to Mount Song and spent half the night enjoying the mountain breeze and didn't see anything, but I bumped into this god while having a drink?"

"It's all over, it's all over, it's all over... If it really is him, I'd be lucky to have died here on the spot... He's the ancestor of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

Yin Suqin made a final struggle.

"Senior...may I ask your esteemed name?"

Li Miao raised an eyebrow.

"Li Miao".

puff.

Cao Hanyan slid to the ground with a thud, her lips moving but she didn't know where to begin. Yin Suqin's eyes widened, her heart filled with indescribable fear and despair.

Li Miao gently patted Yin Suqin's shoulder and smiled.

"Tell me, where did you hear these words from?"

Yin Suqin forced herself to answer.

"It's just hearsay... Sir, people in the martial world are always so gossipy. It's enough that it ends with me; there's no need to go after everyone..."

Li Miao laughed.

"No, for anything else, I might break your arm to teach you a lesson. But there's one thing—where did you hear that Ji Tianrui is dead and Ji Tianrui is the leader of the Ming Cult?"

Yin Suqin's expression changed.

He wasn't stupid; what he had just told Cao Hanyan was only the "most amusing" version. It was obvious that the Ming Cult's assassination attempt on the emperor couldn't be as simple as a romantic affair.

He's made a fatal mistake; he's probably involved in something serious now.

Not daring to hide it, he spoke eagerly.

"My lord, I heard about this from a passing江湖人 (jianghu person) while drinking. He also said it was hearsay, so the news has probably been circulating for a long time... As for the source, it's probably hard to tell."

"Oh."

Li Miao nodded.

Judging from Yin Suqin's heartbeat, he probably wasn't lying.

Those who know Ji Tianrui are all involved in the matter of the imperial tomb. If he can spread this news, he is naturally also likely to spread the truth about the imperial tomb.

They were just a few escaped retainers and the eunuchs left behind by the emperor. He didn't need to investigate this personally; he could simply send a message back to Shuntian later.

Li Miao nodded and removed his hand from Yin Suqin's shoulder.

"Forget it, that's it."

Having said that, he raised his hand and pointed out two streams of true energy, which struck Cao Hanyan and Yin Suqin squarely in the chest. The two women turned pale, thinking they were about to die on the spot, and were filled with remorse.

After a while, the two slowly opened their eyes, reached out and touched their chests, but found no damage whatsoever.

Li Miao didn't even look at the two of them. Zheng Yi brought over the dishes they had just eaten. While eating, Li Miao pointed at the two of them with his chopsticks.

"You two go and do something for me."

“The young man surnamed Cao is a local, so it’s easy for him to do this—go and check for me whether anyone who looks like me has appeared in this area from fifty years ago to now. Or someone with outstanding martial arts skills and an unknown background will also work.”

"You have three days."

Yin Suqin and Cao Hanyan exchanged a glance.

Li Miao's move just now was definitely not without purpose. If the two of them don't return in three days, or fail to find what Li Miao wants, their fate will certainly not be good.

Without hesitation, the two stood up together, bowed to Li Miao, and quickly walked out of the tavern.

(End of this chapter)