The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 349 Flawless and Immaculate, Everlasting and Everlasting

Nanjing, the Forbidden City.

The handsome young eunuch moved cautiously and quickly along the corridor with small, quick steps, without making a sound.

As the capital of the founding of the Great Shuo Dynasty, Nanjing still retains a large and magnificent palace city. However, more than a hundred years since the capital was moved there and due to lack of maintenance, many places have shown signs of decay.

The young eunuch skillfully bypassed the Jinshen Hall and Qianqing Palace, which had been burned down decades ago, and walked across the corridor with its pillars removed, heading towards a side hall.

When he reached the entrance of the side hall, he stopped and stood to one side of the entrance with practiced ease, head bowed and silent.

After a while, a cough came from inside the door, and he slowly stepped forward and gently pushed the door open.

As soon as the door was pushed open, a wave of heat rushed out. Several braziers were placed on the floor, and heavy curtains hung on the windows all around, blocking out the light. Only the dim, flickering candlelight filled the room.

In the very center of the room, an elderly figure was getting up, supporting himself against the headboard, and laboriously putting on an elaborate python robe.

This man was one of the most extravagant figures in Nanjing, and also the chief officer in charge of the entire Nanjing military force, one of the four Nanjing garrison eunuchs—Cun Dong.

The young eunuch did not step forward to serve him, but stood still and waited for Cun Dong to finish changing his clothes very slowly before slowly stepping forward to support his arm.

Cun Dong was already in his seventies, and his health did not look good. After changing his clothes, a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he kept coughing lightly.

The young eunuch gently patted Cun Dong's back.

Snapped.

Snapped.

Snapped.

After a moment, Cun Dong's complexion improved, and the little eunuch supported his arm again, speaking softly.

"Ancestor, the other three are waiting for you in the Hall of Literary Glory."

"What's the matter?"

Cun Dong asked calmly.

"This morning, a commander of the Imperial Guards showed his badge at the city gate. It was difficult to stop him in broad daylight, and he has now entered the city."

The young eunuch said softly.

Cun Dong frowned, his withered fingers tightening around the eunuch's arm.

Where are you now?

The young eunuch spoke softly and quickly.

"He was arranged to stay at 'Longjiang Inn' and hasn't come out since. But he hasn't made any moves yet, and he hasn't gone to the Embroidered Uniform Guard headquarters to look for anyone. He's been unusually well-behaved."

"The key is that this person is extremely unfamiliar and is not any of the Jinyiwei commanders we knew before, but the waist tag is genuine—the other three are the ones who invited you to discuss this matter."

Cun Dong didn't speak, and the little eunuch understood and shut his mouth, helping him out of the side hall and towards the Huagai Hall.

After a short while, we arrived at the entrance of the Huagai Hall.

The young eunuch helped Cun Dong into the hall. As soon as they entered, they sensed the oppressive and cold atmosphere inside and quickly lowered their heads, remaining silent.

There were already three people sitting on the chairs inside the hall.

The middle-aged eunuch sitting upright on the left, dressed impeccably and with a serious expression, is named Shang Qiu.

Sitting very close to him on the right were two young eunuchs who looked exactly alike and even had the same anxious expressions. They were named Liu Chun and Shouxia.

With the addition of Cun Dong, the four guarding eunuchs had already gathered in the Huagai Hall.

When Cun Dong finally arrived, Shang Qiu seemed not to notice him and continued drinking his tea. Liu Chun and Shou Xia, however, both let out a cold snort.

"Old man, what a big shot! We have no one to serve us, but you bring people in and act like you're old and powerful!"

Cun Dong seemed not to hear, and was helped by the little eunuch to walk slowly to the chair and sit down before slowly speaking.

"If you want to argue or kill, wait until this is over."

"Humph!"

Liu Chun and Shou Xia snorted again, but wisely kept quiet.

Cun Dong turned to look at Shang Qiu.

"Shang Daban, what did you find out?"

Shang Qiu put down his teacup and said in a deep voice.

"We found nothing."

"The waist tag is real, but the person has no background. He doesn't match any of the centurions or commanders in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I had some of the Embroidered Uniform Guards who had surrendered take a look, and they all said they didn't recognize him either—it's as if he suddenly appeared out of nowhere."

“However—” he hesitated for a moment.

Liu Chun sneered.

"Just spit it out! What's the point of swallowing it back?!"

Shang Qiu frowned.

"It's just a guess, there's no concrete evidence—this matter may be related to 'that person'."

Upon hearing this, Liu Chun and Shou Xia's expressions changed, and even Cun Dong frowned and said in a deep voice.

"How to say?"

Shang Qiu tapped his fingers on the table.

"After the incident at the imperial tomb, 'that person' disappeared for half a year. He only reappeared on Mount Song on the fifteenth of August, held a moon-viewing banquet, and dominated the entire martial arts world. After that, he disappeared again, and no one knows where he is now."

"But this person has three characteristics."

Shang Qiu held up three fingers.

"Firstly, this person likes to disguise himself and travel around the world, wandering around aimlessly. He has a wide range of methods and often, while walking around, he will follow the slightest clues to turn things upside down."

"What happened last year... it all started with a small Five Mountains Sword Sect, but in just six months, he managed to turn it into a major rebellion—he may have traced the matter from the Water Village all the way to Nanjing."

"Secondly, this person likes to recruit subordinates from the martial arts world. Currently, almost all of his commanders and confidants are recruited from the martial arts world."

"Since that young commander who entered the city has no background, he is probably a subordinate he recently recruited from the martial arts world."

"Third..."

Shang Qiu sighed. "This person is ruthless and cruel. Whether he's breaking a trap or setting one, he only has one method—murder."

"Just this morning, one of my battalion commanders and two water fortresses lost contact. Perhaps this is the work of this person."

He tilted his head back and slowly uttered a name, as if in a groan.

"that person……"

"Li Miao, a peerless demon who died in battle, murdered the emperor, usurped the court, and turned the world upside down."

"Perhaps we've already arrived."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the other three people turned extremely ugly.

The younger Liu Chun and Shou Xia jumped to their feet and paced back and forth: "So fast! If he gets into the city, we could die at his hands at any moment! The guards in the Forbidden City are like toilet paper to him!"

"They had clearly tried to keep the news under wraps... how did he know?!"

"Damn it! Could it be that those two commanders under his command, Wang Hai and Li Xiaosi, have already escaped from the city a few days ago?!"

Cun Dong slowly shook his head.

"No, although we haven't caught them, the two are still hiding in the city. My men are tracking them down and have caught up with them. At least I can guarantee that they haven't escaped the city."

"In fact, given that person's methods, it wouldn't be surprising if he had found out about Nanjing himself."

Liu Chun and Shou Xia gritted their teeth, knowing that now was not the time to blame each other.

"Shang Daban is just guessing, and it might not be accurate... He might just be a newly promoted young commander, or perhaps the missing water fortress and captain just encountered some accident..."

Shang Qiu suddenly slammed his hand on the table.

"But what if he really comes?"

"Aren't you afraid that tonight... he'll suddenly appear at your bedside? Aren't you afraid that while you're eating, he'll suddenly walk in smiling from outside? Aren't you afraid that while you're walking down the street, someone will suddenly grab you by the neck from behind?"

"He's only been wandering the martial world for a little over a year, and he's already taken at least a thousand lives! Shuntian, Miaojiang, Qilu—wherever he goes, rivers of blood flow! Aren't you afraid?!"

"I'm scared! I think you should be scared too!"

Liu Chun and Shou Xia looked grim, but they couldn't refute it.

After a long pause, Cun Dong slowly spoke.

"Well then, we can't afford to lose our composure."

"Liu Daban, Shou Daban, you two go and probe that commander, see what his plans are."

"Shang Daban, let's be prepared for him to really come."

"If things don't go smoothly... we'll have to move it forward."

After saying that, he glanced at the eunuch standing beside him and sighed.

Bang!
Suddenly, he raised his hand and struck the little eunuch in the chest!

Click.

With a sharp crack, the sternum fractured and pierced the internal organs. Before the fear on the little eunuch's face could fully show, he collapsed to the ground, twitched a few times, and lost consciousness.

The other three ignored it and instead turned their heads to look to one side.

pat, pat.

Footsteps came from behind the palace, and a man walked out slowly, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at the four guarding eunuchs.

"Immortal Master."

The four high-ranking and powerful eunuchs stood up in unison and bowed to him, which he accepted as a matter of course.

Cun Dong said in a deep voice.

"Immortal Master, you heard what I just said. That demon may have already arrived... Although the loot is not yet complete, it may be difficult to collect everything. I wonder if this will affect your immortal arts?"

The man waved his hand.

"The Great Way is forty-nine, but if one is omitted, it is inherently difficult to achieve perfection."

"I had hoped to revive three of my spouses, but with the current preparations, perhaps only two of them can have their wish fulfilled."

Upon hearing this, the four guarding eunuchs' expressions changed. They glanced at each other, their hostility growing stronger, and their expressions becoming hesitant.

There weren't enough spots to go around, which almost caused a falling out between the four of them... Now that there's one less, what's the point of talking about cooperation and division of labor?
More hateful than the enemy is the accomplice who fights for the stolen goods!
Even more damning!

Seeing this, the man smiled calmly, walked slowly to Cun Dong, and reached out to pinch his pulse.

Extreme joy appeared on Cun Dong's aged face, while the other three stared at his face with envy and jealousy.

Under the cold gazes of the three, Cun Dong slowly grinned.

It was as if a pair of invisible hands were gently stroking his cheeks, softly yet firmly moving and tightening his skin. The wrinkles slowly disappeared, and his appearance gradually changed.

But that doesn't matter... What delighted him most was that his lower body, which he had been used to for decades, was slowly becoming hot and swollen, as if something was about to grow out.

Thinking of the maids in his house who were only good for show and not useful... Cun Dong felt a long-lost impulse welling up from the bottom of his heart, making him want to cry.

Immortal magic!

No martial art in this world, not even the healing techniques at the Celestial Realm, can achieve this... Restoring health! It can even transform his aged body from the inside out into another person's immortal technique!
As Lao Tzu said, "Can one cleanse one's inner vision and be without blemish?"

The profound contemplation is the mirror of the mind. Cleanse yourself of all evil and defilement, attain utmost purity and stillness, and then everything will be reflected!

Flawless and spotless, everlasting and everlasting!
Cun Dong said happily.

"I understand. We'll get on it today!"

The man smiled and lowered his hand without saying a word.

The four guarding eunuchs walked out of the Huagai Hall, and upon reaching the door, they all turned around and bowed deeply towards the inside.

"We will certainly not allow worldly affairs to disturb your cultivation!"

"Master Zheng!"

When the four looked up, the person had already disappeared.

(End of this chapter)