The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 409 Survival
The two rushed about ten feet away and saw two corpses lying on the ground.

A body with a bluish-purple face and countless wriggling worms under its skin.

A body covered in wounds, with fresh blood gushing from the wounds.

The face mask had already been pulled off, and the two recognized the corpse at a glance.

They were all true disciples of prestigious sects, well-known figures in the martial arts world, yet they died just like that, their deaths meaningless and silent.

But now is not the time to feel sorrow for the passing of a rabbit.

Rather, the corpses were a resource for the two of them.

The masked man stepped forward, raised his sword, and sliced ​​the corpses, cutting the two familiar bodies into pieces in an instant. Clothing was torn into strips, strung together, and carried in his hand.

A scout stone.

"There are two types of traps: one that is automatically triggered and the other that is manually triggered. The dense fog should have also obscured An Ziyang's vision, so he also judged whether to activate the trap based on the sound."

"So using stones on the ground to probe the way won't work; only the sound of flesh and blood touching the ground can detect the mechanism. Also, the body parts can't be too small, otherwise the sound will be wrong."

“This courtyard is ten zhang square – these two corpses are only enough to probe two directions. Subtracting the one time we chased An Ziyang, we only have one chance left.”

The masked man scanned his surroundings.

Which direction should we choose?

The woman patted his shoulder and pointed to the ground on his right.

He turned his head and saw scattered bloodstains on the ground to his right.

"Someone died over there. Perhaps it was a trace left by a senior brother or sister when they were chasing An Ziyang, or perhaps it was a trace left when An Ziyang personally killed someone... Never mind!"

He raised his hand and flung the body parts to the right.

Then—pfft!
The trap was triggered, an explosion rang out, and sparks flew!

In that instant, the masked man burst out of the flames, throwing pieces of corpse in his hand onto the ground in front of him!
"Trying to survive even in the face of death! I've done it before!"

"I will live today!!!"

He drew his sword to block the flying dart, and his junior sister Wan, who was on his back, also swung her sword to protect his back.

It was as if a sudden inspiration had struck him, or perhaps his potential had been unleashed in the face of life and death. He felt that the way he coordinated with his junior sister Wan on his back was as perfect as if she were his own arm!
It was as if the moment he drew his sword, Junior Sister Wan understood his intentions and automatically filled the gap for him.

This made him even more certain that he would survive today!
"Junior Sister Wan, listen up!"

He gave a low shout, abruptly turned, and disregarded the path already scouted by the corpses, stepping onto the side.

"We can't rely too much on the path revealed by the corpse parts. An Ziyang should have realized this by now. He'll use this to delay setting the trap—we have to gamble!"

He stepped down.

There are no traps.

"The bet was right!"

The masked man was overjoyed. After landing, he suddenly jumped back and landed back in the same spot.

Sure enough, in front of him, the body parts were only just triggered by the trap and were sent flying, while the flying mechanism had already missed them.

A smile appeared on his face.

"An Ziyang, you really did achieve your goals through crooked and unorthodox means! The only difference between us is these external things!"

He threw out more pieces of the body to scout the way ahead, and then suddenly charged out.

"We've already rushed four zhang (approximately 13 meters) ahead. Although we don't know where we started, given the size of this small courtyard, no matter which direction we chose, we should already be close to the boundary!"

"You're getting impatient, aren't you? It's time to make your move, stop hiding!"

“If you let us escape, and news of Xuanlan’s location spreads, you will have no way to explain it to the Four Seasons Town Governor. The Tang Clan, witchcraft, and the secrets of the Embroidered Uniform Guard—all of these were given to you by this powerful backer. You cannot afford the consequences of losing his trust!”

He clenched his teeth, his pupils dilating with excitement.

"Come on! Do it! Tell us your location!"

It seemed to echo his thoughts.

The next moment, Sister Wan suddenly patted him on the shoulder three times.

He suddenly turned his head, and Sister Wan pointed to her right rear.

At the same time, she kept throwing hidden weapons in that direction. Even though the thick fog obscured his vision, he could still see the hidden weapons being deflected and landing on the ground.

"It's there!"

"Junior Sister Wan, hold on tight, the hidden weapon is yours!"

There are still three pieces of the corpse left in my hand.

He threw out the first piece, revealing two traps.

The distance was shortened by one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters).

A figure can already be vaguely seen.

He suddenly raised his hand and threw the remaining two pieces of the body, which fell to the left and right respectively.

However, this means that the distance at which the body parts can be detected is insufficient!

He could feel Wan Shimei's hand on his shoulder tighten suddenly.

"rest assured!"

"An Ziyang, let's take a gamble!"

"Left or right, a fifty-fifty chance, it's a gamble!"

The masked man suddenly rushed to the left front.

Traps were triggered one after another behind him, but he was a step too late.

It was as if An Ziyang had made the wrong bet.

The distance was reduced to just a few feet, and the figure in front retreated as if in a panic, even his steps began to stiffen.

But there were no more body parts to guide the way in the middle of those few feet.

In that instant, he suddenly swung his sword and severed his own left arm!

A sharp pain shot through him, and he bit the longsword in his mouth, grabbed his severed arm, and threw it away.

"I wield the sword in my right hand. Losing my left hand would at most reduce my martial arts by 30%, but it's not essential right now. What's wrong with giving it up?"

He stared intently ahead.

There are no traps.

After the severed arm landed, it tumbled once and landed at the feet of that figure.

"it is good!"

He raised his hand and took the longsword from his mouth, holding it up to his eyes.

Infuse your inner energy and unleash your power!
A sword stabs straight forward!
The distance of several feet was covered in an instant, and the longsword pierced straight at the face of the figure.

"Come die!!!"

Amidst the masked man's furious roar, the longsword pierced the skull, blood gushing forth. His momentum undiminished, he pressed down on the head, pinning it firmly to the ground!

Cut left and right until the head is cut in two!

"Dead! Die! Die!"

"I won! I live, you die!"

He hacked wildly at the fallen corpse like a madman until his longsword was dulled and the body was reduced to a pile of minced meat, only then did he slowly stop.

He was panting heavily, using his longsword to brace himself on the ground and barely maintaining his balance.

At the same time, the thick fog that had obscured visibility slowly thinned out.

He was relieved and patted Wan Shimei's hand.

"Junior Sister Wan, we—we survived!"

"Huh... why are your hands so cold?"

"what!"

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through his brain, causing him to sway and break out in a cold sweat.

But at the same time, a voice gradually appeared in his mind.

Hearing has been restored.

Buzz-buzz-

Click, click.

The numerous noises gradually became clearer.

He was surrounded by what sounded like a multitude of insects flapping their wings and countless mechanical sounds of machines meshing together.

clap clap.

A series of applause slowly approached from the side and front, accompanied by An Ziyang's mocking laughter.

"awesome."

"As expected of a true disciple of a prestigious sect, you have a solid foundation, a sharp mind, and are willing to fight to the death. If you had a top-level cultivation level and weren't on my turf, I would really have to avoid your sharp edge."

"Does it hurt a lot? Hold your breath and regulate your breathing. I only recently cultivated this deafening Gu worm. The effect is short-lived, and you will recover soon. Don't worry."

"You killed one of my Gu soldiers, that's impressive."

An Ziyang emerged from the mist, smiling as he looked at the two with his hands behind his back.

Above his head and at his feet were countless flying and crawling Gu worms, and a slowly unfolding machine, with countless threads pulling it together, held in his hand.

"Did you feel like you won just now, and were you especially happy?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not that easy to kill—aren't you angry?"

"Aren't you angry? Hahahaha—"

The masked man gritted his teeth, wanting to rush forward and fight to the death.

But he severed his own arm and failed to stop the bleeding in time. Now he is at his last gasp and has no strength left to move.

Looking at An Ziyang laughing wildly, a thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Even if I die, I won't let you, you despicable person, succeed!"

He reached out and grasped the hand on his shoulder.

"Junior Sister Wan, come down."

"Even though your legs are injured, you can still run for a while if you forcefully channel your inner energy—I'll buy you some time!"

Upon hearing this, An Ziyang, sitting opposite him, tilted his head and looked at him with a mocking smile.

"Junior Sister Wan?"

"Oh...that's this woman's previous name?"

"Then you'll be disappointed, he's not your Junior Sister Wan."

The masked man frowned.

An Ziyang disregarded his feelings completely, shrugged, and said cruelly and sarcastically.

"Don't you think it's strange?"

"Her martial arts skills are so much worse than yours, how did she manage to survive to the end? When she charged at me, how did she suddenly coordinate so well with you, even though her martial arts skills are far inferior to yours? And when she pointed out the direction for you, how was she so accurate?"

"The key is……"

An Ziyang revealed his gleaming white teeth and uttered cold words.

"Your hearing has been restored for a long time, so why isn't she speaking?"

The masked man had no idea what An Ziyang was talking about.

But he instinctively felt a chill.

Yes, Junior Sister Wan, why haven't you said anything?
He slowly turned his head, forcing a dry laugh as he tried to take a look.

"Junior Sister Wan, you..."

scoff.

The hand that had been on his shoulder, guiding him, suddenly gripped his throat and ripped a long tube out of his neck with a jerk!

His eyes were unfocused.

In the last moment before his vision dimmed, he saw a familiar yet cold and unfamiliar face.

The body fell to the ground.

"Junior Sister Wan" jumped off the corpse's back and scanned her surroundings.

An Ziyang politely cupped his hands in greeting to her.

"Eunuch Liu, did you enjoy the show?"

"Now that your mount is dead, your helper is dead, and the person who got in your way is dead, would it be convenient for you to tell me what you've come here for?"

"I'm doing my part as a local magistrate... oh no, I mean, now I'm the commander."

"Junior Sister Wan" turned to look at An Ziyang, her face expressionless.

(End of this chapter)