The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 361 Gathering
A quarter past noon.

Zheng Yi's mother was the murderer who killed Xue Bangzhu, Zheng Huaijin, and a group of fellow disciples from Penglai. She was also the instigator that Li Miao had encountered along the way since the Moon Appreciation Banquet.

He lunged forward, reaching Zheng Anqi in an instant! His longsword lightly touched Zheng's face!

Zheng Anqi was still surrounded by the protective aura of "Xuanlan," which had been swaying like a light veil, but in the next instant it suddenly lashed out like a living thing! It swept towards the longsword!

If one can only defend and not attack, how can one be worthy of the title "Flawless" as one of the three realms of spiritual cultivation?

However, Zheng Yi's mother did not dodge at all. When she was only a foot away from Zheng Anqi, her long sword suddenly accelerated and pierced into the protective true energy!
Squeak! —

A piercing sound, like steel scratching porcelain, suddenly rang out!

Wang Hai, who was hiding in the crowd, stared intently—the long sword that was piercing Zheng Anqi’s face suddenly had several thin strands of true energy wrapped around it like light gauze!

Extending from Zheng Yi's mother's arm, the sword tip converged into a sharp point, slowly and steadily advancing towards Zheng Anqi's face under the protective aura of Zheng Anqi!

Zheng Anqi was not surprised at all.

He already knew from his fight with Zheng Yi's mother last night that she had also cultivated the "Mysterious Insight" technique.

But he still had a calm and composed smile on his face.

"If I had been given another ten years, and if I hadn't come and you had performed this ritual instead, you might actually have been able to kill me today... Unfortunately, you lack the strength to hold on!"

With just a few words, Wang Hai's expression changed drastically in the crowd below.

That's it!

It turns out that the culprit behind the disaster in Nanjing was not Zheng Anqi at all, but Zheng Yi's mother!

Before the people from Yingzhou came to her door, Zheng Yi's mother was openly one of the twenty-eight leaders of the Jiangnan Waterway, and she had long been in cahoots with four guarding eunuchs... Someone like her, who always had "revenge" in her heart, would not just find an identity to hide under.

If Zheng Anqi hadn't come, Zheng Yi's mother would have been the one to preside over the ceremony! Zheng Anqi was just reaping the benefits!

As Wang Hai's mind raced, the crowd around him suddenly erupted into a clamor.

"Who is that! How can he look so much like Master Zheng!"

"Evil spirit! Evil spirit! That is the evil spirit that Master Zheng is going to exorcise today! She has transformed into Master Zheng's appearance!"

"Master Zheng! Master Zheng!"

Wang Hai frowned.

He originally thought that the fight between Zheng Anqi and Zheng Yi's mother would make the people afraid and back down, and with the poisonous insects brought by Xiao Si, some of the people would disperse.

Despite the uproar from the crowd, they showed no sign of backing down! Instead, they raised their hands even more fervently, shouting towards Zheng Anqi like devout believers!

He looked up at the altar, then scanned the rooftops on both sides of the Heavenly Street, and sure enough, he found a familiar figure.

Zheng Yi.

On the altar, Zheng Anqi fought with Zheng Yi's mother, yet he still seemed to have energy to spare. His right hand formed a palm, wrapped with protective true energy, and constantly clashed with the long sword, while his left hand still held the magic sword and kept waving it.

Zheng Yi stood on a rooftop, playing a long flute. The sound was identical to that of Zheng Anqi wielding his magic sword, and it came from her direction towards the crowd. The two sounds overlapped, and the minds of the surrounding people were increasingly fanatical. The poisonous insects that Xiao Si had attracted slithered through the crowd, but they were ignored.

Wang Hai's pupils suddenly contracted.

Yes, that explains why Zheng Yi's mother appeared here and fought with Zheng Anqi. Hatred was one aspect, but another was probably the intention to kill Zheng Anqi and continue the ritual.

Since the massacre of Penglai, and her transformation into a bandit leader in Dashuo, colluding with the garrison eunuch to amass wealth, she has probably been planning this scheme for two or three decades. How could she possibly give up so easily?
Regardless of who wins, the people present will be doomed.

"Break the deadlock, break the deadlock... At least we need to disperse some of the people here before the garrison commander arrives, to create space for him to fight!"

Wang Hai's face turned cold, and with a tremor of his hands, the claw hooks popped out of his sleeves and hooked onto his fingers, gleaming coldly.

He cared about human lives because Li Miao cared; but for Li Miao, he could care about nothing at all. Having served in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for many years, he was used to weighing human lives on both sides of a scale based on quantity, and could make cold-blooded judgments.

Wang Hai flexed and extended his fingers, his inner energy surging! His cold gaze swept over the frenzied crowd beside him.

Even if their minds are affected, the people are not walking corpses; they can still see and hear clearly. If they see the people around them suddenly falling apart, they should be afraid and run away!
Dozens dead and wounded, thousands saved... Wang Hai could calculate the cost and was willing to do it! He sent Cao Hanyan and Gu Feixuan away, intending to use this last resort!
As for whether Zheng Anqi and Zheng Yi's mother will find out and beat them to death, that's something to consider later!
Wang Hai suddenly raised his hand, about to tear a bloody rain from the crowd!
Just at this moment!
Ding--

A tiny pebble struck Wang Hai's claw hook, producing a barely audible sound.

Wang Hai paused, looking at Zheng Yi.

Zheng Yi moved her left hand slightly, raising half of her middle finger towards Wang Hai almost imperceptibly, with a little dust still remaining on the fingertip.

Their gazes met in the air, but Zheng Yi remained unmoved.

Wang Hai narrowed his eyes.

"Then... let's wait a little longer!"

The grappling hook snapped back into his sleeve, and Wang Hai ducked into the crowd.

Zheng Yi breathed a sigh of relief and turned her gaze to the altar.

The battle between Zheng Anqi and her mother is gradually losing its momentum.

Zheng Anqi gripped Zheng Yi's mother's longsword with one hand. The two protective energies intertwined and collided, making it difficult to determine which was superior for a moment.

However, just by looking at it with the naked eye, one can tell the difference between the two—Zheng Anqi's protective aura was ten feet wide, enough to cover his entire body, while Zheng Yi's mother's protective aura was only a few feet wide, with no remaining strength after removing the part wrapped around the longsword.

Zheng Anqi's lips curled up, and his free hand suddenly released the magic sword, splitting his fingers into claws, wrapping them with protective true energy, and grabbed towards Zheng Yi's mother's face!

"It's a pity that if you were born in Yingzhou, you would probably be the one calling yourself Zheng Anqi today! But your Penglai is ultimately just an 'outsider'!"

"Even if neither of us is fully proficient in the 'Mysterious Observation' realm, the part you've supplemented by hunting down fellow disciples over the years is still not much. How dare you come looking for me—die!"

As he spoke, Zheng Anqi's palm was already on Zheng Yi's mother's shoulder. She tried to dodge her head, but was still grabbed on the shoulder—blood splattered!
Zheng Anqi ripped off her collarbone and half of her shoulder!

With one hand useless and half of his moves gone, the outcome seemed to be decided, and a slight smile appeared on Zheng Anqi's face.

At that very moment, a sharp pain suddenly shot through his hand that was gripping the longsword.

(End of this chapter)