The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 407 Substitute
The final act in this grand drama in Shuntian Prefecture—the martial arts world—has finally made its appearance.

It was just done in a way that was almost childish.

To put it bluntly, in this grand drama, everyone—from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot to the civil officials and Yingzhou—is a player, while the Jianghu (martial arts world) is completely clueless and can only be led around like a pawn.

As for how Yingzhou spread the news throughout the world and lured these martial arts figures to Shuntian Prefecture.
With a face exactly like Li Miao's, martial arts skills beyond the comprehension of ordinary martial artists, and the Xuanlan martial arts technique, he could easily incite these martial artists who had been suppressed by Li Miao's fists simply by showing himself and playing tricks.

An Ziyang didn't bother to delve into the details.

However, the trouble right now doesn't lie with these martial arts figures.

An Ziyang's gaze swept over the dozen or so masked men, trying to discern clues from their eyes.

At the same time, he suddenly spoke.

"Eunuch Liu, are you there?"

The masked man leading the group frowned.

"What does Commander An mean?"

An Ziyang examined it carefully, but still couldn't find anything suspicious.

But he also understood that Liu Jinyi had been hiding under his nose for so long without being exposed, and unless he showed himself, it was virtually impossible for him to be exposed.

He spread his hands and laughed.

"Very well, since Eunuch Liu is unwilling to show himself, then I'll just kill them all. If my methods are a bit underhanded, I hope Eunuch Liu will forgive me."

The masked man was so angry he almost laughed.

Up to now, An Ziyang's words have been either insults or riddles, showing no regard for them whatsoever. The fact that he has refrained from making a move until now is already a testament to his good manners among martial arts practitioners.

But since An Ziyang had already shouted the word "kill," they naturally understood that it was impossible to resolve things peacefully today.

Draw your sword or knife.

The fist is held at the waist, and the fingers are raised to the chest.

"Since Commander An says so, then let's proceed with our subordinates—"

Bang!
A dozen or so people charged at once.

"Let's see the real deal!"

Even with the disguises, it was clear that these were all high-level moves from prestigious schools, raining down on An Ziyang.

An Ziyang let out a cold laugh.

"You guys are idiots and you still won't accept it."

"You know who I am, yet you dare to come to my territory and court death!"

Before he could finish speaking, he suddenly flung his hand away.

The taut, transparent threads tied throughout the courtyard instantly untied, forming a large net that swept over the dozen or so people.

At the same time, poisonous needles shot out from under the eaves, venomous insects swooped down from among the branches and leaves, and animal traps suddenly rose up from the ground.

Thick, bluish-purple smoke suddenly spewed out from the gap in the box An Ziyang was leaning against, enveloping the entire courtyard.

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Mei Qinghe opened her eyes, turned her head to look in the direction of An Ziyang, then stood up and brought the long sword that was lying across her knees to her eyes.

"come out."

The words fell to the ground without a single response.

Mei Qinghe remained unmoved, only staring intently at the darkness in the distance with her sword drawn.

After a long while, a sneer came from the darkness.

"As expected of Li Miao's most vicious sword."

"Among his men, the most vicious is Li Xiaosi, the most ruthless is Wang Hai, and the most cunning is An Ziyang. But in terms of talent and skill in martial arts, the one who is the most outstanding is you—Mei Qinghe."

"No wonder he was reluctant to let you leave the capital, only letting you practice martial arts in the capital every day, and occasionally do some killing jobs to hone your sword skills."

"You've only just reached the pinnacle of cultivation, yet you can already sense my presence. If I give you more time, with the inheritance of the Three Paths of Destiny and the Profound Observation, you'll likely become a Celestial Being who has unified the Three Paths in the future."

The voices came from afar and grew closer.

A tall figure, stepping on shadows, walked out from the darkness.

Fire was forbidden in Wang Gong's workshop, so no lamps were lit. At that moment, a cloud blocked the moonlight, and only a blurry shadow could be seen.

It wasn't until this person was ten feet away from Mei Qinghe that a ray of moonlight illuminated half of his face.

Mei Qinghe's pupils contracted sharply! "The Pacification Commissioner—"

The man who came was wearing a black bearskin cloak and gold-plated black gloves. He had long arms and a narrow waist, and a heroic face. He walked with a powerful stride, and even the patterns on his gloves were stained with blood. From top to bottom and from left to right, he was exactly the same as Li Miao!
But Mei Qinghe immediately gritted her teeth.

"Yingzhou..."

"Oh?"

The man raised an eyebrow, his expression mirroring Li Miao's surprise.

"Everyone says that among Li Miao's subordinates, you're the least bright. I thought you'd be surprised for a while, so how come you reacted so quickly?"

Mei Qinghe gripped the sword hilt tightly.

"What are you trying to do by disguising yourself as the garrison commander?"

The man smiled.

"What do you want to do?"

"There are many, let me think."

"Kill the guards of Xiaoling Mausoleum, kill the Imperial Guards, assassinate the emperor... or, how about just massacring some commoners?"

"There are very few people in the world who know about Yingzhou, and among those who have cultivated to the point of being a Celestial Being with two or more paths, there is only one openly known to be Li Miao. How many people do you think will hold Li Miao accountable?"

Mei Qinghe's hand gripping the sword hilt had turned somewhat white.

Hearing this person's shameless words, her sword energy was almost out of control.

Seeing Mei Qinghe's anger, the man revealed the same sly smile as Li Miao, and spread his hands.

"It has been a long time since any celestial being has appeared in this world. Many people have forgotten how many people an unrestrained celestial being can kill in a quarter of an hour."

"The martial world, the martial world."

"The martial arts world in the Central Plains has been bound by law for too long, it's almost laughable to us... Do you know what the status of celestial beings was a thousand years ago?"

He spread his arms out.

“不敢高声语，恐惊天上人。”

"In front of the celestial beings, how dare an ordinary person utter a sound? Do you know how ridiculous that is? This daytime, outside the Fengtian Hall, when Li Miao was killing those corrupt officials, he even had to find some excuse!"

“It’s okay. If he doesn’t dare to show off, I’ll do it for him… Anyway, he’ll have to bear the consequences.”

The smile appeared and then disappeared.

The expression on that person's face was no longer that of Li Miao.

Instead, a sinister smile appeared.

"Come on, kill me."

He crossed his fingers.

"After I kill you, I'll see what Li Miao has set up here, and then I'll go kill some other people... If I'm late, the island lord will punish me."

He was already prepared to make fun of Mei Qinghe.

The next moment, Mei Qinghe put down her sword.

Not only did he put down his sword, but the anger on his face also disappeared.

He frowned, about to ask a question.

But then he heard an old voice behind him.

“Amitabha, what you mean by a thousand years ago is rather laughable to me… If Yingzhou is so powerful, why didn’t you come out and cause trouble when Master Zhang Sanfeng was alive?”

"It seems that Grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng's attempt to subdue demons on the Jiazi day failed to reach the sea. Even a noble celestial being like you is afraid of Grandmaster Zhang Sanfeng's Tai Chi sword."

His pupils constricted sharply, and he turned around to deliver a palm strike!
The palm was swung out, but the force was deflected by an old, withered hand.

Then—an incredibly powerful fist slammed into his heart!
Progress, like a block and a punch!

In a flash, he and the old Taoist priest exchanged a glance.

The old Taoist priest solemnly uttered a sentence.

"Since Grandmaster Sanfeng failed to completely eradicate you demonic cultivators, let me, his unworthy successor, clean up the mess for him!"

"Commander Mei, please sit still. I'll deal with this villain!"

Bang! ! !
The sound exploded!

(End of this chapter)