The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 308 Pengzhen
Xue Hanmeng stood facing the stone wall for a long time without making a move.

Li Miao raised an eyebrow and was about to raise his hand.

Zheng Yi stepped in front of Li Miao, her face contorted in pain, and clasped her hands together in a pleading manner, saying, "My lord, my lord, she is unaware of the situation and was momentarily stunned. Please wait a moment."

"There are only a few people left in Penglai, please let go."

After saying that, she turned around and kicked Xue Hanmeng in the back of the knee, her eyebrows furrowed and she cursed.

"You're coming here tonight with a sword; whether you live or die is up to you! Do you think you're a three-year-old who can stand still and expect someone to take the blame for you?!"

"Your mother is dead! You've protected your mother's killer all the way here, and now you want to go down with him to see your mother?! What kind of unfilial child are you!"

"idiot!"

Although Zheng Yi also hated Xue Hanmeng to the core, Xue Bangzhu was dead after all, and she might be the last fellow disciple of Penglai in the world. No matter how much Zheng Yi hated her, she couldn't just watch her lose her life.

These words were both a scolding and a reminder. After saying each sentence, Zheng Yi raised her hand and slapped Xue Hanmeng on the back of the head. The slap was loud and satisfying.

When the last word "idiot" landed, Xue Hanmeng's shoulders slumped, her body tilted, and she collapsed like a noodle.

"I...I can't open it..."

Xue Hanmeng murmured.

Zheng Yi thought Xue Hanmeng was going to be stubborn to the end, her eyebrows furrowed, and she raised her hand to hit her, but then she heard Xue Hanmeng say in a low voice.

"Before my mother left, she said that I could only open this place when I had cultivated to the second level of the Celestial Realm... If any fellow disciples came looking for me, they would also need to have reached the second level of the Celestial Realm before I could let them in..."

"Otherwise, not only will we fail to retrieve what she left behind, but our lives will also be in danger..."

Zheng Yi turned to look at Li Miao. Li Miao walked to the stone wall, reached out and placed his hand on it, his palm trembling slightly.

After a moment, Li Miao withdrew his hand and smiled.

"interesting."

"I thought Xue Bangzhu had no background in Da Shuo and was being chased by Yingzhou people. How could she have found this stone wall that matched the artistic conception of Penglai swordsmanship by such coincidence?"

"Little Yizi, how many years ago was the Penglai clan wiped out?"

"About forty-eight years ago."

Li Miao nodded.

"Xue Bangzhu only officially appeared in public forty-five years ago, but before that, she must have secretly investigated Kaifeng Prefecture and only settled in the city after confirming that it was safe."

"She must have lived here during that time. This stone wall wasn't formed naturally; she carved it out little by little with her sword during that period."

After saying that, Li Miao raised his hand and punched the stone wall.

This punch was a perfect blend of strength and gentleness, making very little noise, as if the fist had merely grazed the stone wall.

But after Li Miao withdrew his fist and stood still for three breaths, a rustling sound suddenly came from inside the stone wall, and then it shattered into countless stones like an avalanche, collapsing down with a crash—revealing a hole that was as tall as a person and as wide as an arm.

Li Miao stepped inside, and Zheng Yi grabbed Xue Hanmeng's arm and followed, leaving Cao Yin and the other two outside to guard the half-crippled "Bu Liuxing".

Caves used for refuge generally look similar, with narrow entrances for concealment and narrow passages to prevent the enemy from sneaking in; this place is no exception.

As Li Miao walked, he reached out and touched the stone wall, where he felt countless sword marks.

This stone cave was carved out by Xue Bangzhu, sword by sword.

Xue Bangzhu, who had just escaped from Penglai, was also at the level of a celestial being.

pity……

Li Miao turned her head and glanced at Xue Hanmeng, who had been dragged in by Zheng Yi.

Martial arts are not the same as cultivating immortality. No matter how profound one's cultivation level is, one is still just an ordinary mortal, unable to escape the seven emotions and six desires. Martial arts may be flawless, but people certainly are. For the sake of her children, Xue Bangzhu, a dignified Celestial Master of two paths, died so inexplicably at the hands of that worthless bastard "Bu Liuxing"... I wonder if she felt any resentment before she died.

After walking a few more feet, the narrow passage came to an end.

Li Miao followed the stone wall into the stone chamber at the end. As soon as he entered, his brows furrowed. The internal circulation of Qi, which had been running on its own, was activated, and its speed suddenly increased. He poured his true Qi into his limbs and bones, forcing out the invisible toxins that had invaded his body.

The stone chamber was filled with deadly poison.

Zheng Yi followed behind and entered the stone chamber. She had just caught her breath when her expression changed drastically. After a moment, however, she calmed down and simply pushed Xue Hanmeng out.

"Go outside and wait. Don't come in, and don't go near the cave entrance."

After Zheng Yi finished explaining to Xue Hanmeng, she turned to look at Li Miao.

"Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

Li Miao replied.

"It doesn't matter."

Zheng Yi breathed a sigh of relief and looked around.

The floor inside the stone chamber was covered with lush greenery, filled with a type of mushroom that emitted a faint glow. Its tops were cracked, from which spores drifted out and disappeared into the air.

Zheng Yi bent down, picked one, examined it closely, and then turned to Li Miao.

"My lord, this thing is called 'Pengzhen'. According to my mother, this thing was planted in the forbidden area of ​​Penglai back then. When it matures, it will spread poisonous miasma. If you are not a member of Penglai, you will surely die if you inhale it."

"But now it seems that this thing is not as magical as it is said."

Zheng Yi held the mushroom under her nose, sniffed it, closed her eyes to feel it, and then spoke.

"The poison in this substance is subtly compatible with my Penglai internal energy cultivation. If someone who cultivates Penglai internal energy has reached the level of two Celestial Realm cultivators, they can neutralize it on their own. But if someone who does not cultivate Penglai internal energy cultivation, I'm afraid only you, sir, will be unharmed."

"only--"

Zheng Yi pondered for a moment, then hesitated before speaking.

Why would Xue Bangzhu go to the trouble of setting up this trap?

"The previous checkpoints were enough to confirm that the person she sought was from Penglai, so why did she need to use this thing to confirm it again?"

"If Xue Hanmeng had acted on her own initiative and entered ahead of time, wouldn't she also have been poisoned... Wouldn't Xue Bangzhu have thought of this?"

Li Miao twirled his fingers and thought for a moment, then smiled.

No one knows a child better than their mother.

"Although Xue Hanmeng is foolish, she has great respect for Xue Bangzhu. In order to save 'Bu Liuxing', she was willing to risk her life against you and me, but she never told 'Bu Liuxing' about this place. So she probably won't come here on her own before she has cultivated both realms."

"Xue Bangzhu set this up for two reasons."

Zheng Yi asked in confusion.

"Which two?"

Li Miao smiled and pointed outside the cave.

“Kill 'Bu Liu Xing'.”

He then pointed at Zheng Yi.

"And killing someone like you."

"Or you could say it's about killing those who wanted to use Xue Hanmeng, and the Penglai disciples who wanted to use Xue Hanmeng to take revenge on Yingzhou but were too weak."

(End of this chapter)