The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 359 Su Mingjun

On the eleventh day of the tenth month of the twenty-fourth year of the Jiajing reign.

The second quarter of the hour of Chen (7:45 AM).

Inside the underwater chamber, Xiao Si's left hand was inside Cao Hanyan's chest cavity, while his right hand was pressed against Cao Hanyan's left ear.

Gu Feixuan and Gao Anyu stood aside, and could vaguely see countless writhing and twisting Gu worm limbs between Xiao Si's occasionally bulging sleeves and the palm of Cao Hanyan's right hand. They felt a chill run down their spines, but dared not speak, for fear of disturbing Xiao Si's treatment.

After a long while, Xiao Si slowly exhaled.

"All right."

Upon hearing her words, Cao Hanyan on the bed suddenly opened her eyes. As soon as she came to her senses, she glanced around and immediately understood the current situation. She then tried to get up by supporting herself with one hand.

"do not move."

Xiao Si didn't make any move, and Cao Hanyan's body suddenly stiffened, then she lay back down with a thud.

With a series of sticky, watery sounds, Xiao Si pulled his left hand out of Cao Hanyan's chest cavity. As he raised his left hand, countless Gu worms fell from his sleeve and rushed into Cao Hanyan's chest cavity.

"Uh-huh--"

Cao Hanyan, lying on the bed, saw everything, her eyes wide open, and she let out a series of sobs.

But as the insects continued to flood into his body, the huge gash that had burst open in his chest began to slowly heal, eventually closing completely and leaving only a large scar.

Xiao Si then smiled and said.

"Okay, just rest for a few more days."

Before he could finish speaking, Gao Anyu lunged at Cao Hanyan and burst into tears.

"Brother Cao, sob sob sob—"

Tears and snot smeared Cao Hanyan's face, but he couldn't move. He could only lie on the bed, his face pale and desperate, staring at the ceiling of the secret room.

After a while, Xiao Si's control over him gradually faded, and he struggled to speak.

"Brother Gao, ptooey, pfft, excuse me... it's in my mouth..."

"oh oh!"

Gao Anyu then realized what was happening and quickly wiped Cao Hanyan's face with his sleeve, removing her tears and snot. He then reached out and grabbed Cao Hanyan's hand, and tears streamed down his face again.

"Brother Cao, I—"

"Alright, Brother Gao, I'm fine now."

Cao Hanyan quickly interrupted him, patted his shoulder as if coaxing a child, and turned to Xiao Si with a smile.

"Li Qianhu, is that right? Thank you."

Xiao Si shook her head and smiled sweetly.

"Brother Cao, there's no need to thank me. Your survival is mostly not due to my efforts, but rather to the methods left behind by the garrison commander."

Ji Tianrui's method of using Gu worms to store one's cultivation level was not passed down to Li Miao. However, after learning that Gu worms could store true qi, Li Miao spent some time researching with Xiao Si to see if they could develop a similar method.

One of the research findings was the use of Gu worms to store Li Miao's "Li Family Wedding Dress Divine Skill" true energy. Otherwise, without a celestial being present, it's uncertain whether Cao Hanyan could have been saved.

At this point, Gao Anyu suddenly roared.

"Aunt Zheng! If Brother Gu and I weren't here, Brother Cao would surely be dead! How could she be so heartless! I will definitely—"

Cao Hanyan patted him on the shoulder.

"Brother Gao, please don't be anxious. Senior Zheng was forced into this situation. If she hadn't made a move, I would have been the one to die... Besides, she is a celestial being who has mastered two paths. If she really wanted to kill me, how could I have survived?"

"She held back, although she couldn't make it too obvious, but she tried her best to smooth things over. It wasn't her fault."

Gao Anyu was still unconvinced and was about to retort when Cao Hanyan interrupted him.

"Alright, Brother Gao, now that I'm alive, it's not the time to dwell on these things." He turned to Wang Hai: "Commander Wang, let's discuss the current situation first."

Among everyone present, Cao Hanyan was the smartest and Wang Hai was the most experienced, so naturally the two of them took the lead.

Wang Hai nodded and said in a deep voice.

"The current situation is somewhat unfavorable."

"This morning, Brother You investigated the streets... After what happened last night, the four guarding eunuchs are probably alert and preparing to collude with that Master Zheng to start causing trouble."

"The location is on Tianjie Street, and the time is noon today."

"Half of Nanjing's population has already gathered there. If any trouble arises... do you all know what happened in Tai'an last year? I'm afraid it will be repeated in Nanjing."

Gao Anyu didn't react much, but Cao Hanyan and Gu Feixuan's expressions changed.

The events of Tai'an...are being repeated in Nanjing? Nanjing is the wartime capital!

Its population is more than ten times that of Tai'an!
Despite her injuries not being fully healed, Cao Hanyan helped Gao Anyu off the bed and reached for the long sword placed beside the bed.

Wang Hai stopped him from moving.

"Brother Cao, don't worry, there's still a chance."

"Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard was besieged before, they still have some manpower left. I have sent them to Tianjie to prepare for action, which should be able to disrupt their plans to some extent."

"Then, Senior Zheng and that woman who forced her to kill you seem to be enemies of that damned immortal master, so things may change."

At this point, Wang Hai let out a long sigh.

"The most crucial thing is—"

Xiao Si took out a Gu worm from his pocket. It was shaped like a cicada and was constantly flapping its wings, emitting a faint buzzing sound.

Cao Hanyan didn't understand what he meant and waited for Wang Hai to explain.

Wang Hai didn't keep them in suspense and continued.

"After Brother You finished investigating the situation this morning, I gave him another task. Fourth Sister gave him a Gu worm. If he completes it, he will use his true energy to activate the Gu worm, and the pair of Gu worms will flap their wings together."

"Since it has begun to flap its wings, it means that Brother You has succeeded."

Wang Hai smiled with relief.

"He has already found the pacification commissioner."

"The garrison commander will arrive soon."

The people inside the secret room looked at each other in bewilderment.

A moment later, several long sighs of relief echoed in unison.

--------

"So this is how it is, Commander of the Garrison."

You Zi'ang bowed.

"understood."

Li Miao waved.

"It's noon, right? I'll be there shortly."

"Go back first and tell them to be careful, but not to risk their lives."

"I have everything."

You Zi'ang cupped his hands in greeting, glanced at the woman confronting Li Miao, and then darted several feet away, speeding towards Nanjing.

Li Miao twirled his fingers, turned to look at the woman who was badly injured and barely managed to steady herself, and said with a smile.

“I felt before that there was something wrong with Xiao Gao’s martial arts… It was too well-matched with the physical constitution of people from Yingzhou and Penglai, and its function was also somewhat unbalanced.”

"It's like a martial art that was deliberately developed to counter a certain person or a certain martial art."

"now I understand."

Before he finished speaking, Li Miao had already disappeared from the spot.

The woman's eyes narrowed, and she tried to dodge, but a large hand firmly grabbed the back of her neck. True energy flowed into her meridians, freezing all her movements.

Li Miao's voice came from behind.

"Your alias is Su Mingjun, right? You're the only name Xiao Gao remembers."

"You are the Penglai disciple who communicated with Zheng Huaijin, and also the one who cooperated with Zheng Yi's mother and joined forces with her to hunt down fellow Penglai disciples."

"It was you and Zheng Yi's mother who brought that Master Zheng to Nanjing."

The woman's pupils contracted sharply, but her body was already immobilized by Li Miao, making it impossible for her to move an inch. She could only open her mouth to argue, but Li Miao grabbed her neck and swallowed all her words.

Li Miao continued speaking.

"Don't even think about making excuses, I only believe in my fists. Rather than solving the problem, I prefer to deal with the person who caused it. Kill you all, and the problem will naturally disappear."

The fingers gripping her neck slowly tightened.

Before the scene before her suddenly blurred, she heard Li Miao's last words.

"Come with me on this trip—to put an end to this."

(End of this chapter)