The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 347 Fear

The stars hang low over the vast plain, and the moon rises over the flowing river.

What should have been a magnificent and grand scene has now been transformed into a living hell.

Severed limbs and mangled bodies were scattered all over the ground, their cries of agony echoing across the landscape.

Scattered in the mud, bloodstained weapons.

The crowd screamed in terror, scattering and fleeing like headless flies as they dodged the constant screams.

And then there's Li Miao, carrying Qiu Wuying like an eraser, wiping away one by one the screaming, fleeing black dots painted on the plains.

The military formation collapsed in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. Even seasoned veterans who had fought their way to the death would tremble at the sight of Li Miao, let alone these soldiers.
How could a beast who can rob and kill civilians and plunder money with the river bandits understand what it means to be "willing to charge into battle, even if it means death"?
Moreover, the weapon Li Miao used... was a living, breathing, and vocal person.

A group of soldiers were fleeing together. They were the most elite among the group of soldiers. They were the personal guards of the canal transport officer who had been nailed to the stone by Li Miao. They were also the only group of soldiers who were able to maintain their formation while fleeing.

Leading the group was the captain of the personal guards. He listened intently to the continuous screams and glanced back during a break in his run, trying to locate Li Miao.

That one glance made the hairs on his back stand on end.

Not far behind him, Li Miao was carrying Qiu Wuying and smashing it down on someone's head.

Time seemed to stand still. The man's pale face from fear, his trembling hands instinctively raised to protect his head, and his slowly opening mouth were all etched into his mind in that instant.

Then—bang!

Qiu Wuying's waist collided with the man's head, his neck instantly disappearing into his chest cavity. In just a moment, fear and life vanished from the man's pupils.

With a thud, the body fell to the ground.

"Uh-huh!"

Qiu Wuying reached out and grabbed Li Miao's arm, tearing at it in vain. Blood kept gushing from his mouth, but he could only pull out handfuls of hair from his own head.

Li Miao's true energy continued to flow into his body through his Baihui acupoint; unconsciousness or death were luxuries for him. Qiu Wuying cast a desperate glance ahead, hoping the next person would stab him and free him from Li Miao's grasp.

The captain of the personal guards slowly moved his gaze up from Qiu Wuying's face, finally meeting Li Miao's eyes.

Li Miao was also looking at him and gave him a kind smile.

His upturned lips, gleaming white teeth, and scattered bloodstains on his face were shrouded in a cold, pale light under the moonlight.

An instinctive scream escaped halfway from his throat.

"what!!!"

His forced rationality was suppressed by fear, and he turned around and ran forward as fast as he could.

The churning river is not far ahead. Just jump into the water... just get there!
Only ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) left!
Bang!
A loud crash came from behind, and he was hit on the back by splashing mud and water. A strange sound of flesh colliding rang out, and the moonlight cast shadows on the ground in front of him. Several mangled human figures flew up and landed without a sound.

Eight feet!

Qiu Wuying's scream rang out again, the first part still somewhat distant, but by the end, it was already very close.

He could almost smell the rusty odor emanating from Qiu Wuying's breath.

Five feet!

To his left, his deputy, who was fleeing towards the river with him, couldn't help but look back, his face turning deathly pale.

He caught up with us—

Bang!
He was speaking when blood splattered on his face.

The deputy's height was shrunk by half, and his upper body became a mass of bloody flesh. Qiu Wuying's legs were stuck in it, and Li Miao slowly lifted them up.

"Ahhhh!"

He screamed again and ran forward as fast as he could.

Three zhang! A series of muffled thuds, and his comrade who was running with him towards the river was thrown into the air like a rag doll, and fell heavily to the ground.

One of the corpses crashed down on his back, and he spat out a mouthful of blood. He rolled forward like a gourd and fell to the ground.

The river channel in front of us is now only a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) away.

"Uhhhhh!"

He had lost all feeling below his waist; the blow seemed to have broken his spine, and his legs hung limply behind him. He reached out and grabbed some dry grass, desperately trying to crawl forward.

In his current state, even if he ran into the river, he would only drown. But he couldn't care less about that now; he had only one thought in his mind—even if he died, he didn't want to die at Li Miao's hands.

Nine feet!

Five feet!

Three feet!

The screams stopped sometime ago, and the sound of fleeing footsteps also disappeared, leaving only silence behind.

He dared not think about what this meant, and like a wriggling maggot, he dragged his crippled body forward desperately.

One foot!
Only one foot left!
He stretched out his hand, feeling the dampness on his palm. Water droplets splashed from the surging river fell on his face, bringing a refreshing coolness.

He finally felt a sense of relief, reached out and grabbed the mud on the riverbank, about to drag himself into the water.

A boot stepped on his hand.

Where are we going?

A mocking voice came from above his head.

He stood frozen in place, raising his head in despair.

Li Miao was looking down at him, blood dripping from his sleeve onto his face, still slightly warm.

"Scared?"

The foot pressing down on his hand slowly exerted force, and the hand bone let out a short, mournful cry before breaking.

A scream burst from its throat, about to escape from its mouth.

A hand pressed down on his head.

"Since you've become an animal, don't speak human language."

Li Miao crushed his jaw, then grabbed his head and lifted it up, looking him straight in the eye, and said softly.

"Don't rush to die, the best is yet to come... I think you have the strongest physique among these people, which is perfect, since I'm still missing a suitable weapon."

"You'll be the last one to survive among this pack of beasts. Don't you feel incredibly lucky?"

A warm current flowed from Li Miao's hands into his head, circulating throughout his body and healing his injuries.

But in his eyes now, this warm current was far more piercing than ice water—because as his injuries healed, his lower body, which had lost all sensation, began to gradually transmit excruciating pain that could destroy his mind to his brain.

His jaw and tongue were crushed by Li Miao, and he couldn't even let out a cry. He could only be held in Li Miao's hand and slowly approached the fleeing crowd in the distance.

Li Miao's voice rang in his ears.

"I just heard that you killed seventy-three people on this merchant ship, including the old, young, women and children, without exception, and you even stabbed each of them in the heart, right?"

"Were they afraid when you killed them?"

"It's okay if you don't remember..."

“I will make every single one of you remember what fear is.”

(End of this chapter)