The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 381, Part Three
After Li Miao finished asking the question, everyone in the room held their breath, waiting for Zheng Qi's answer.

No one is not curious about why this person from a thousand years ago, the ancestor of Yingzhou and Penglai, the bloodline of the monster Li Miao, and the person who forced Zheng Anqi, Zheng Qi, Xue Bangzhu, and other masters who could roam the martial arts world to their deaths and escape... has survived to this day.

But Zheng Qi's answer disappointed everyone.

"I'm not sure. I'll only find out about this after I become 'Anqisheng,' and even Zheng Anqi doesn't know."

I only have three guesses.

Li Miao raised an eyebrow: "Tell me."

Zheng Qi said in a deep voice.

"First, cultivate your inner nature."

"There are no other two paths of sexual cultivation techniques within Yingzhou. Perhaps he did not have the aptitude to cultivate other levels of sexual cultivation back then, so he wanted to find another way and rely solely on Xuanlan to push his sexual cultivation to its peak."

"But there are still many things that don't make sense in this speculation. Over a thousand years, he should have had countless other options. At the very least, he shouldn't have been confined to Yingzhou; he should have gone to the Central Plains."

"Secondly, because he was confined to Yingzhou and refused to go to the Central Plains, a second speculation arose—there was someone or something that prevented him from going to the Central Plains."

"And he survived by doing this, in order to wait for that person or thing to be worn away by time."

Li Miao nodded, agreeing with Zheng Qi's statement.

So Zheng Qi continued.

"Thirdly... this statement is somewhat unconvincing. If it weren't for the few words mentioned in the notes left by the Patriarch of Penglai, I probably wouldn't have thought of it at all."

Zheng Qi took a deep breath and spoke slowly.

"Everyone is like a dragon."

"What?" Li Miao frowned.

"Everyone is like a dragon."

Zheng Qi repeated it again to make sure Li Miao hadn't misheard.

"In martial arts, aptitude is paramount. Only one in ten thousand is qualified to cultivate to the level of a celestial being. Among the tens of millions of people in the entire world, there are at most a hundred or so. If you remove those who died violently, had bad luck, were disabled, or whose talents were obscured, the number becomes even more pitiful."

Li Miao twirled her fingers and continued the conversation.

"But Yingzhou and Penglai have such a small population, yet their number of celestial beings is greater than the number of celestial beings openly known throughout the entire Da Shuo Jianghu."

"Yes." Zheng Qi nodded.

"Perhaps he is exploring a path that allows everyone to learn martial arts, and even allows everyone to become a celestial being."

Li Miao didn't speak, but Zheng Qi shook her head.

"But this speculation, like the previous two, is untenable, at least because it lacks some extremely crucial information."

"I only want to destroy Yingzhou, and I don't want to find out An Qisheng's thoughts. In addition, Penglai has been separated from Yingzhou for a long time, and most of its books were lost when it was destroyed. I was also young at that time, so I can only say this much."

"Is it for immortality, to avoid disaster, or for the sake of all people... you will have to ask An Qisheng for his opinion in person."

After a long silence in the room, Li Miao pondered for a moment and then extended his third finger.

"After you answer the third question, you can leave."

"Is there anyone in Yingzhou who can inherit the name 'Zheng Anqi'?"

Zheng Qi scoffed.

"No."

“I know what you mean. Zheng Anqi is dead, and there is no one in Yingzhou who can inherit Zheng Anqi’s name. The current Anqisheng is also old. In other words, the lineage of Yingzhou is on the verge of extinction.”

"But they still have one choice, and that is you."

A smug smile appeared on Zheng Qi's face.

"Throughout the millennia of Yingzhou's history, I doubt anyone can compare to your talent. Since comprehending the Three Paths of Destiny, you achieved the Profound Insight in a single day. Even Zheng Anqi back then would seem like rotten wood compared to you." "If we could capture you and allow Anqi to be reborn in your body, then whatever he desires would be within reach of success."

"It just so happens that Zheng Anqi has fled, and Yingzhou has probably already sent its entire force toward the Central Plains. They've probably arrived by now. Zheng Anqi's death can't be concealed, and they'll definitely set their sights on you."

"Li Miao, you are destined to be an enemy of Yingzhou."

"What I, Penglai, and Zheng Anqi couldn't escape, you can't escape either... I hope you succeed, and I will burn incense and pray for you every day!"

At this point, she suddenly turned to look at Zheng Yi.

"Heh... Do you think you can escape? Even if you don't side with Penglai and instead join the Embroidered Uniform Guard, you'll still be at odds with Yingzhou!"

Zheng Qi's smile gradually turned manic.

"All of you must avenge Penglai! You have no choice but to do so! The rituals have been destroyed, and your martial arts have been crippled, but do you think my fifty years of painstaking effort have been wasted like this?"

“From the moment you arrived in Nanjing, all of you have been my accomplices, whether I live or die, whether you want to or not!”

"Whether it's me, Zheng Anqi, or you, Li Miao, who survive today, we will all fight Yingzhou to the death! This ritual, the entire city of Nanjing, the garrison eunuchs, and the twenty-eight water fortresses—it was all a trap I set from the very beginning! Now, it's complete!"

"Success doesn't have to be achieved by me! Hahaha—"

Zheng Qi seemed to have gone mad, laughing so hard that tears streamed down her face, and she bent over, gasping for breath.

Until Li Miao waved his hand dismissively.

"Hai'er, take her away. Lock her up somewhere for the rest of her life. Don't bother coming back to me."

Wang Hai nodded in agreement, stepped forward, and took Zheng Qi's shoulder, leading her outside. Zheng Yi followed her gaze for a while, but finally slowly looked away.

But Wang Hai did not walk towards the city gate.

Strangely, after traveling several dozen feet, Zheng Qi suddenly fell silent, no longer displaying the manic laughter he had just displayed.

After walking for a while, Wang Hai stopped and threw Zheng Qi to the ground.

Zheng Qi raised her head.

Then they saw the palace still burning fiercely before them, and charred corpses scattered all over the ground.

Wang Hai's voice came from behind.

"You don't seem surprised?"

Zheng Qi scoffed.

"What's so surprising?"

“You are Wang Hai, the mad dog that Li Miao raised since he was a child, who is specifically responsible for doing his dirty work. He asked you to take care of me, even if he didn’t mean it that way, you will still help him to completely nip the trouble in the bud.”

"Whether it's my daughter or Li Miao, isn't it the best ending for me to die quietly?"

Wang Hai shook his head.

"You are a smart man. Such a huge event in Nanjing can be said to be the work of one person. Fifty years of painstaking efforts, yet you have ended up with no relatives and no complete corpse. Don't you have a single regret?"

Zheng Qi slowly got up.

Li Miao crippled her martial arts, and his methods were anything but gentle. Not only did her mortal-like, incredibly strong physique, ingrained in her bones, vanish, but her broken meridians also caused her constant, excruciating pain.

Just standing up caused her forehead to be covered in fine beads of sweat.

"Regret? Regret what?"

Zheng Qi's long hair fell down, obscuring her face, so no one could see her expression or her thoughts.

Just like these 48 years of solitary journey.

(End of this chapter)