The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 372 Reading

Chapter 372 Reading
The palace, the Hall of Literary Glory.

Li Miao tossed one Zheng Qi and one Zheng Anqi to the ground, stepped inside, and glanced around.

Although he was quite pleased when he scolded Zheng Anqi, saying he didn't care about the Xuanlan inheritance left behind... well, Zheng Anqi was already dead.

If Zheng Anqi were to jump up and stare at Li Miao right now, Li Miao would not hesitate for a second. He would turn around and leave after a disdainful snort, refusing to lower himself in front of him.

But people are dead, so why bother arguing with a dead person?
So Li Miao still came.

After standing there for a while, Li Miao raised an eyebrow.

With his sharp eyesight, he could easily spot any secret rooms or hidden compartments in the room at a glance. But he was currently facing a problem—it wasn't that there weren't hidden compartments here, but rather that there were far too many.

With just one glance, Li Miao spotted seven or eight mechanisms and more than ten hidden compartments. As for places to hide things in crevices and cracks, there were countless others.

Li Miao shook his head.

"That's true. It's a palace, a main hall... If it doesn't hide some kind of imperial edict or secret letter, it'll seem like it was built for nothing."

"They didn't even say where they were hidden, and I had to search for them one by one. They really deserved to die."

Having said that, without moving, he raised his hand and made a grabbing motion in the air, activating a mechanism that revealed a hidden compartment from which he pulled out a stack of envelopes.

Upon opening it, Li Miao immediately smiled.

"Wow, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministry of Rites all took bribes... It just so happens that the old man is worried about not having a reason to kill someone, so handing it over to him is just right."

Li Miao looked at the densely packed hidden compartments in the room and became even more interested. He reached out and grabbed several items from the compartments, examining them closely.

"Interesting, interesting."

"We've already achieved the goal of taking several hundred heads. Even if we can't find the Xuanlan inheritance, this trip wasn't a complete waste."

A low laugh echoed in the empty hall.

In the distance, a dense sound of footsteps was approaching.

--------

Zheng Yi slashed out with her sword, cutting a foot-long and an inch-deep wound on the back of the man in black.

The man in black seemed oblivious to the pain, continuing to flee forward without dodging or blocking, and not even bothering to turn back and stop Zheng Yi.

Zheng Yi frowned.

There is no doubt that the opponent is a Celestial Being. Although he has only reached the first level of cultivation, his lineage is quite profound and his lightness skill is outstanding, making it difficult for her to kill him in a short time.

However, given another cup of tea's time, they would have killed him anyway.

But the strange thing is... this person doesn't seem to be running for their life at all.

In a proper escape, simply running is the worst approach. One should at least take a detour, try to obstruct others, or at the very least, try to get out of Zheng Yi's sight... But this person walked in a straight line, only climbing higher and higher, never leaving her sight.

It was as if... they were deliberately trying to lure her away.

Zheng Yi paused, then suddenly stopped.

Without the slightest hesitation, she turned around and rushed towards the palace.

As she changed direction, the man in black suddenly stopped and rushed towards her, whipping out two soft whips that wrapped around Zheng Yi's legs.

"As expected! He was trying to lure me in!"

"Are you trying to lure me into a trap, or are you trying to distract me so you can target others?"

In a flash, Zheng Yi lightly touched the ground with her toes, abruptly stopping her forward momentum and leaping backward!

With a few quick flicks of the sword tip, the whip that had been coiling around the victim lost its force and drooped limply. The longsword was abruptly retracted, twirled in the hand, and then the tip shot out from under the armpit, aiming straight for the black-clad man's face!
The man in black's gaze did not waver in the slightest. With a flick of his wrists, the soft whip rose up again and coiled towards Zheng Yi's arm.

The question of whether a whip or a longsword is more lethal is obvious, even to a three-year-old. Yet the man in black, seemingly willing to risk his life for injury, completely disregarded the sword tip already poised before him, and instead lashed out with his whip towards Zheng Yi!
Zheng Yi's expression darkened, and she drew her sword to strike down the soft whip.

The two collided, and the man in black raised his hand to strike Zheng Yi on the back of the head. While still in mid-air, Zheng Yi suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward.

Zheng Yi withdrew her left palm, which had been striking from under her armpit, and turned to slash at the man in black with her sword!
"That's exactly what I was waiting for! You idiot!"

A series of explosions rang out in mid-air as the longsword twirled into a flower, clashing with two soft whips that coiled around like pythons, creating a string of sparks!
Zheng Yi charged up to the man in black, piercing his lung with a single sword strike, then cruelly slid to the right through the flesh, severing the man's shoulder blade.

Despite losing an arm, the man in black remained silent, his left hand whipping towards Zheng Yi's ankle.

"There is indeed something fishy!"

Zheng Yi stepped forward and slipped under the man in black's arm, dodging the soft whip, and then struck his elbow with a palm strike.

Bone fragments pierced through the clothing.

Without pausing, Zheng Yi swiftly severed the tendons in the black-clad man's hands and feet with two quick sword strikes, and then slapped him across the face!
Snapped!
The black scarf fluttered, revealing a pale, beardless, thin, and indifferent face. Upon seeing his appearance, Zheng Yi drew her sword and swiftly struck him in the groin.

Shredded cloth flew about.

"Uh-huh!"

Unexpectedly, the man in black, who had not wavered at all even after Zheng Yi severed his limbs and pierced his chest, suddenly roared, his veins bulging, and his entire body sprang up, crashing into the tip of the sword.

"really."

Zheng Yi sneered and slammed her palm back to the ground.

"You spineless bastard, and now you're getting anxious?"

"Tell me, what do you want by luring me here? If you don't, I'll carve the words 'dead eunuch' on your face, have the Embroidered Uniform Guard find your household registration, and strip you naked and hang you at your doorstep!"

"With ginseng soup to keep you alive and your true qi to heal your injuries, you're still a celestial being. You should be able to live for another seven or eight years without any problem... Those who die a violent death cannot be reincarnated, let alone a eunuch with a mutilated body. Forget about being loyal and righteous at the same time. The important thing is to find a comfortable way to die!"

"Choose one: either I'll give you a quick death after you finish speaking, or you'll be hung at your doorstep and slowly die!"

The eunuch in black gritted his teeth and remained silent.

"Good! That's loyal!"

"Satisfy you!"

Zheng Yi pointed her longsword and made several cuts on his face.

Looking closer, the skin and flesh were torn open, revealing the word "death" starkly above.

With a flick of the sword tip, a horizontal stroke and a downward stroke, half of the character "太" was written.

"Don't!"

The eunuch in black shouted angrily, then slumped down like a wilted eggplant and said in a low voice.

"No, no... I'll tell you..."

Once the mouth is opened and the heart is broken, there are no more obstacles. The eunuch in black whispered a few words, then closed his eyes and awaited death.

Zheng Yi frowned and pondered for a moment, then was startled.

She stabbed the black-clad eunuch to death with a single sword stroke, then turned to look at the palace.

"The Pacification Commissioner..."

--------

Outside the Huagai Hall.

Footsteps, the rustling of armor, the fluttering of clothing.

Arrows clattered in their quiver, horses' hooves pounded the ground restlessly, and the army, like a dark cloud, slowly approached the Huagai Hall, surrounding it.

Several figures, entirely black in color, masked, with only pale corners of their eyes and indifferent gazes visible, slowly approached the Hall of Literary Glory.

At this time.

squeak-

The palace doors were pushed open from the inside, and Li Miao walked out slowly.

He glanced around and let out a sneer.

"Don't you have any sense of public morality?"

He shook his left hand, making the pages of the book flutter.

"Can't you see I'm reading a book?"

"If you're looking for death, wait until I finish watching before you come back."

After saying that, he turned around and walked back to the main hall, slamming the door shut.

The several eunuchs in black looked at each other in bewilderment.

Finally, one of them suddenly waved his hand.

"kill!"