The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 335 Ending
When Li Miao stopped concealing his identity, Cao Hanyan understood that it was time to put an end to the matter.

Cao Hanyan didn't know much about court affairs. But the fact that the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Li Miao's superior, was a member of the imperial family was common knowledge in the martial arts world of Da Shuo.

The imperial family wanted to seize power in the court, but Lord Luo and his relatives and friends stood on the opposite side of the imperial family.

This is a political struggle.

Li Miao's ability to readily recite the exact number of people in Lord Luo's household indicates that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had intended to kill him from the very beginning. However, some events occurred that Cao Hanyan was unaware of, perhaps involving some exchange of benefits, which allowed him to escape death by only being transferred to an official post in a remote area.

But now, he himself is putting his head under Li Miao's knife.

The charge of "colluding with the Embroidered Uniform Guard and offering and accepting bribes" might not be serious enough, and the charge of "embezzling property" is also a bit lacking.

However, the charge of "colluding with the Ming Cult and plotting a rebellion" was enough to implicate all those Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) who needed to be implicated.

What? You're saying you didn't collude with the Ming Cult?
Where did you get the Ming Cult strongholds and martial arts manuals from?
The commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard gave you… well, I'm sorry, a few days ago this commander accidentally stuck his little finger into his nostril while washing up in the morning, and bled profusely, dying on the spot. You said the injuries on his corpse? Oh, he fell while he was on the verge of death, it has absolutely nothing to do with the Embroidered Uniform Guard's rules.

No accomplices? Or are you still not thinking straight?

Or how about we get our nails removed and our teeth ground down first to refresh ourselves before we continue our conversation?

Cao Hanyan sized up Lord Luo. His steps were unsteady, his limbs weak, and his skin fair—he looked like a frail scholar. Once inside the Jinyiwei prison, within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, he would readily confess to plotting a rebellion with his own father.

With this opportunity, Lord Li can probably use Lord Luo's network of connections to take down many people who would normally be difficult to deal with.

Cao Hanyan carried the knife and walked slowly forward.

He glanced around at the guards, twirled his sword in his hand, and turned the back of the blade forward.

Lord Luo was pale, completely devoid of his previous official demeanor. Seeing Cao Hanyan walking towards him, he involuntarily stepped back, tripped, and instinctively reached out to grab at his side, only to find nothing. He then fell to the ground with a thud.

He turned his head in surprise to look at his side, but there was no one there. Looking behind him, he saw that the subordinates who had been flattering him and supporting him had quietly retreated a few steps.

Seeing him look over, they all turned their heads away. Some looked down at their feet, some looked up at the sky, and some sighed and closed their eyes. No one was willing to meet his gaze.

Lord Luo knew, and they could tell too.

To know so much about the affairs of the capital's court and to be able to accurately state the number of people in the families of these high-ranking officials... the key is the phrase "traitorous beast" used when referring to the Jinyiwei commander who colluded with him.

Li Miao's identity is about to be revealed.

"you you--"

Lord Luo's lips moved, then his face turned ashen, and finally he gritted his teeth and shouted loudly.

"Sect Leader Hua, listen to me!"

"Never mind what's happening over there, come and kill them first—"

Hua Zhi Qiu, who had just exchanged blows with Gao An Yu, also felt his hands go numb. He felt that the boy's martial arts foundation was so solid that he couldn't find any flaws. His original plan to kill and capture him quickly had basically failed, and he was quite unhappy.

Just then, he heard Lord Luo's shout, clicked his tongue, and without turning around, he flashed to Gao Anyu's side, using the figures of his disciples as cover.

The black ruler was silently thrust forward, about to burrow into Gao Anyu's side. Gao Anyu seemed to sense it and tried to block with his right fist, but it was too late!

Hua Zhi Qiu's face lit up with joy—at that very moment!
boom! ! !
A deafening explosion, like a mountain collapsing and the earth splitting apart, followed by a burst of flying debris and air currents, exploded behind him!
Hua Zhi Qiu was already focused on his move, and this sudden attack startled him so much that he trembled.

This slight movement slowed the attack, allowing Gao Anyu to dodge it by sidestepping.

But Hua Zhi Qiu had no time to regret this failure; her face was pale as she turned to look behind her.

He had attended the moon-viewing banquet at Mount Song.

Such a huge commotion could only be caused by a celestial being attacking the Kongming Sect's mountain gate if someone hadn't fired cannons at it!

A middle-aged man's face suddenly flashed through his mind... He knew it! Why would Gao and Cao follow the lead of someone who didn't know martial arts? There must be something fishy about it!
But little did I know—hmm!?
Hua Zhi Qiu's eyes widened suddenly.

A knife mark stretched from the mountain gate all the way behind him, spanning dozens of feet. At its widest point, it was a foot wide, while even at its narrowest end, it was still a hand's width. Along both sides of this knife mark, all the soldiers lay on the ground, some with broken limbs, others bleeding from their mouths and noses, writhing on the ground. Although they were still alive, they were no longer able to fight.

The knife mark continued to extend forward, following Hua Zhi Qiu's gaze from the ground to the back of the blade, finally bringing the person who had made the cut into his line of sight.

This is not the Li Miao he thought he knew.

It's Cao Hanyan.

He was leaning on the hilt of his knife, sweat dripping down his face, panting heavily, as if he were at his last gasp.

But after that previous strike, no one dared to test whether he still had any strength left. Everyone who witnessed that strike watched him in utter silence.

That strike, delivered with the back of the blade, wasn't aimed at a person, but at the ground. The aftershock alone sent all the guards protecting Lord Luo flying, scattering them like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

If a blade were used... I'm afraid a real bloodbath would break out within the gates of the Kongming Sect.

After a long while, Cao Hanyan seemed to catch her breath, slowly straightened up, and walked towards Lord Luo.

Lord Luo was already terrified and turned pale. He was grabbed by the back of the neck, struggled a couple of times, and was then kicked in the ribs. His eyes rolled back and he passed out. Cao Hanyan dragged him to Li Miao like a dead dog.

Bang.

Cao Hanyan threw Lord Luo to the ground, glanced cautiously at Li Miao, clasped her hands together, and bowed in greeting.

"My lord...I..."

"Never mind, that's just your nature, it's not necessarily wrong."

Li Miao waved his hand.

Cao Hanyan was ultimately kind-hearted. Li Miao used the Wedding Dress Divine Skill to transfer a wisp of true energy to him, so that he could capture Lord Luo and Hua Zhi Qiu, and incidentally settle all matters concerning the Kongming Sect.

Li Miao was too lazy to deal with these scoundrels one by one. Letting Cao Hanyan experience the pinnacle of martial arts beforehand would also benefit his progress.

However, Cao Hanyan was unwilling to harm these soldiers. Previously, he had not had the luxury of considering such matters and could only try to minimize casualties. But with the true energy given by Li Miao, he now had a choice.

He chose to use the back of his sword to unleash his true energy in one go, using the aftershocks to shake off the guards.

However, doing so also depleted the true energy that Li Miao had transferred to him, and at the same time left hidden injuries in his meridians, making him temporarily unable to receive Li Miao's true energy.

He went against Li Miao's wishes and also pushed the trouble of resolving the Kongming Sect matter back to Li Miao. Therefore, he bowed to Li Miao to apologize.

What can Li Miao do?

He has a bunch of scoundrels under his command, and they won't hesitate to do anything immoral or heinous if he gives the order.

The purpose of taking Cao Hanyan, such a kind-hearted person, under his wing was to rectify the atmosphere. Li Miao could only accept all the mistakes Cao made because of his kind nature.

Li Miao turned to look at Hua Zhi Qiu, smiled, raised her hand to wipe her face, and secretly used the "Li Family Wedding Dress Divine Skill" to move the displaced flesh back to its original position, revealing her true face.

The black ruler in Hua Zhi Qiu's hand clattered to the ground.

He said in despair.

"S-Sir..."

Gao Anyu's eyes widened as he looked around.

"Who? Who is the adult? How many adults are here?"

Where is my Uncle Li?

"Brother Cao! Where did Uncle Li go?"

(End of this chapter)