The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 374: The picture shows the dagger
As Li Miao finished speaking, the crowd exploded outwards from him.

The next moment, with a command from the officer of the Right Guard of the Valiant Cavalry, the sound of hooves reverberated once more, and they surrounded Li Miao. They did not approach him immediately, but instead circled around him at a distance of about three zhang.

Armor, horseshoes, and blades gleamed coldly, surrounding Li Miao like a vortex.

The black-clad eunuchs remained silent, their bodies surging with inner energy.

Broken blade, hook, and short sword slid down the sleeve into the hand.

The other two eunuchs had one clenched a fist and the other raised their palm.

Five pairs of eyes, filled with murderous intent, were fixed on Li Miao.

Li Miao, however, acted as if nothing had happened, lowering his head to brush the blood and ash from his sleeves: "I knew you would pull this stunt, I've been waiting for you for so long."

"How long have you been colluding with Zheng Anqi?"

He looked up at one of the five eunuchs in black.

"Cun Dong, Cun the Eunuch, is that you?"

"Humph."

The eunuch in black snorted coldly, removed his face mask, and revealed his aged face.

It was none other than Cun Dong, one of the four eunuchs in charge of the Nanjing garrison, and the only one still alive. He said with a sneer.

"The garrison commander has a keen eye. You said you knew we would come. How did you figure that out?"

Li Miao smiled.

"What's so hard to guess?"

"Nanjing isn't without top-notch martial arts experts. How could Gu Feixuan kill a guard eunuch so easily?"

“Zheng Anqi doesn’t seem like the kind of person who can be easygoing. He’d act like he was going to die if he was just scolded a couple of times. How could he be willing to pass on his cultivation technique to me after he dies? Maybe he’s half sincere, but he wouldn’t say something like that without a reason.”

"The Nanjing garrison eunuch holds a high position and wields great power; he's a cunning and ruthless figure who rose through the ranks of countless eunuchs in the palace. Zheng Anqi gained your trust so quickly upon his arrival; you must have played a significant role in that, right?"

Cun Dong's lips curled up.

"The garrison commander guessed correctly... So you knew all along that Nanjing today was a trap deliberately set for you?"

Li Miao said with a smile.

"of course."

“Penglai, Liu Jin, Zheng Anqi, the three groups I’m investigating all happen to be in Nanjing, and they all happen to be connected by the point of ‘guarding the eunuchs’. Coincidence? Nobody would believe it.”

"You lured me here so Zheng Anqi would fight me. If I win, you'll be the ones luring me in from behind, right?"

Cun Dong nodded calmly.

"Yes."

He was Liu Jin's man from the very beginning.

After Liu Jin made the decision to make contact with Yingzhou in Shuntian Prefecture, he began to search for traces of Yingzhou people in the martial arts world. Coincidentally, Zheng Anqi also crossed the sea at this time and followed Zheng Qi's trail to Nanjing.

The two hit it off immediately. Cun Dong would help Zheng Anqi gain the trust of the other three guarding eunuchs and prepare the ritual, in return for Zheng Anqi's help... kill Li Miao.

However, the two had different opinions about Li Miao.

From the very beginning, Liu Jin and Cun Dong did not believe that Zheng Anqi could kill Li Miao, nor could they allow Zheng Anqi to cultivate to perfection and become another Li Miao. Shang Qiu's death and the early execution of the ritual were all arrangements made by Cun Dong in advance.

Zheng Anqi led Li Miao to the Huagai Hall, where the grand scheme set up for Li Miao was finally revealed.

Li Miao said with a smile, "So, you think you can kill me?"

Cun Dong said in a deep voice.

"I dare not ask for perfection, but I am at least 50% confident. I hope the garrison commander will forgive my blunder." He suddenly opened his arms.

"The Flag Bearers, the Right Cavalry Guards... plus five eunuchs who have cultivated the Yingzhou Xuanlan Technique, possessing two paths of life cultivation and half-path Xuanlan cultivation, are all here to send you off to your funeral!"

"That should be enough to deal with someone like you who has reached the Three Perfections stage!"

“Commander Li, Liu Daban and I have to admit that you are perhaps the most difficult enemy to deal with in the whole world... Your martial arts are unparalleled, your mind is meticulous, and your methods are ruthless. You cannot be bribed or swayed.”

"But everyone has weaknesses. Your weakness is that you're too arrogant!"

Cun Dong wore a smug smile.

"Knowing it was a trap, they still dared to stay."

“I know you have the means to break through in battle, so I only left half of the cultivation manual in the Huagai Hall, and deliberately added a lot of errors and omissions in the middle, just to hold you back and prevent you from cultivating the Xuanlan.”

"Without cultivation techniques, you cannot break through your cultivation level, and your martial strength remains under our control. Add to that the severe injuries inflicted by Zheng Anqi… your arrogance is the reason for your defeat today!"

Li Miao nodded.

"Oh."

Thank you for your explanation.

Cun Dong's gaze was fixed on Li Miao's face, but he couldn't find a trace of panic on it. He frowned.

But at this point, there's nothing more to say.

He waved his hand: "Kill!"

Before the words were even finished, hundreds of three-barreled guns exploded with a deafening roar!
Arrow rain, lassos, rope hooks, javelins!
An attack that almost filled the entire sky shot towards Li Miao!

The horses, galloping like a tidal wave, compressed the space in an instant, pressing towards Li Miao.

With a flash of black, five eunuchs in black disappeared from their spot, leaping up like wisps of smoke on galloping horses. Broken swords, short swords, claws, fists, and palms all came crashing down on Li Miao!

"Hmm, the scene is alright."

Li Miao smiled, raised his hand above his head, extended two fingers, and his true energy surged, shaking up the dust on the surrounding ground. Then he suddenly clenched his fist at his waist.

"Black Pagoda!"

The boundless sword energy was unleashed once more!
Upon seeing this, the five eunuchs in black were not angry but rather delighted: "He really did use this trick!"

In a flash, they all suddenly leaped upwards by a foot, then the five of them struck each other with their palms and used each other's strength to dodge—avoiding all the sword energy!
The weapons that were flying towards Li Miao were knocked away. The five black-clad eunuchs used a powerful downward strike to land suddenly. Ignoring the corpses around them that had been cut to pieces by the sword energy, they rushed towards Li Miao.

"This move is His Majesty's martial art, which will deplete his internal energy. He used it once before, and now it takes him two breaths to recover. With his serious injuries, it will take even longer! This is our opportunity!"

"Go all out and kill this scoundrel!"

The broken blade cleaved towards the head with tremendous force, creating a whistling sound; the short sword and claw, hidden in the shadows, silently pierced towards Li Miao's ribs.

Cun Dong and another person rushed in front of Li Miao, attacking Li Miao's arm with a punch and a palm strike, one yin and one yang, one hard and one soft!
Li Miao smashed the broken knife away, grabbed the short sword and slammed it at the hook claw, then threw out both fists at the same time, colliding with the fist and palm at the same time!
Bang!
A deafening explosion erupted!

Cun Dong's face turned pale, and the smell of rust filled his nostrils, but a triumphant smile appeared on his face.

"That scoundrel is indeed ruthless. Even with serious injuries, he can still suppress us... But his foundation is weak and his true energy is unstable. His cultivation level is still at the peak of the third stage, and his injuries have not yet healed!"

"Can win!"

He swung his palm to deflect Li Miao's arm, then stepped forward and struck Li Miao's chest with his palm. The other four black-clad eunuchs also changed their moves and attacked Li Miao.

Just then, he heard Li Miao speak calmly.

"Yes, the deduction has been made."

"The first line: 'The profound vision begins to open, and qi is gathered in the dantian...'"

(End of this chapter)