The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 410 Explosion
An Ziyang stared at the expressionless woman, standing with his hands behind his back.

Although he appeared calm and composed, he was actually on high alert, with the silk threads in his hand ready to activate all the mechanisms at any moment, and the Gu worms were prepared to pounce.

Liu Jin.

The head of the Eastern Depot.

The江湖人 (jianghu people) are merely pawns, expendable resources to test An Ziyang. This Grand Eunuch is the real threat tonight.

"Eunuch Liu, wouldn't you like to have a chat?"

An Ziyang said.

The woman did not answer, but quietly looked at An Ziyang for a while, then looked around before turning her gaze back.

"This is just a smokescreen; your real plans are elsewhere."

He spoke with absolute certainty.

"Without celestial beings guarding it, this wouldn't be the true location of your setup. Your true setup is—"

"Wang Gongchang".

An Ziyang's pupils suddenly contracted.

But the next moment, he forcibly suppressed his emotions and said with a smile.

"What is Eunuch Liu saying?"

The woman did not answer.

She had no intention of arguing with An Ziyang, nor did she have any intention of probing for information. She simply picked up the long sword from the masked man's corpse, slowly wiped it over her body, and removed the bloodstains.

An Ziyang frowned.

Liu Jin had never practiced any spiritual cultivation techniques, so while his methods of possession were bizarre, they were also subject to many limitations. These limitations extended not only to time but also to the quantity and quality of possessions. As a result, Liu Jin's previous possession targets were mostly ordinary people who did not know martial arts.

Possessing the body of someone skilled in martial arts would be a huge drain on Liu Jin. Therefore, this woman must have been a very important pawn.

And this woman's martial arts skills posed no threat to An Ziyang.

So what did he intend to do by picking up the sword?
A desperate gamble?
Would someone like Liu Jin, who is like a puppet, do something so meaningless?

The next moment, the woman raised her hand and ripped it off her body!
Her clothes were ripped off, revealing her snow-white body.

An Ziyang's eyes widened suddenly.

It wasn't because of the woman's body—he'd seen those all before. It was because of a horizontal scar on her stomach, still bleeding profusely! It had been hastily stitched up with hemp thread, and you could still vaguely see the flesh writhing!
The woman's hand had already grasped the hemp thread.

Without the slightest hesitation, An Ziyang raised his hand and tugged! The tug on the silk thread triggered a mechanism, activating dozens of hidden weapons that shot towards the woman!

Whatever Liu Jin wants to do, we must not let him succeed!
Kill them first and then talk!

Puff puff puff——

Countless hidden weapons were instantly embedded in the woman's body, her eyeballs were pierced, her nose and mouth were cut off, and her scalp was ripped off, revealing her stark white skull.

But the woman still managed to pull off the hemp thread at the very last moment of her life.

His belly was open.

A box slowly emerged from the flesh and fell to the ground.

Behind the box was a bundle wrapped in oiled paper, emitting wisps of smoke. The smoke was carried by the wind to An Ziyang, emitting a pungent odor.

An Ziyang was very familiar with this smell; he had been tinkering with this stuff at Wanggong Factory for the past few days.

gunpowder.

The next moment—Bang!

The woman exploded!

An Ziyang suddenly raised his hand, his sleeve burst open, and an iron umbrella rolled up to block his way.

Tiny bits of meat pattered against the umbrella and then slid off.

After a few breaths, he put down the umbrella.

The woman, or rather Liu Jin, has disappeared.

Only two severed legs lying askew on the ground, some broken corpses, and a severed hand still tightly gripping a longsword remained.

The box he had hidden in his stomach was shattered by the blast wave, revealing the contents inside.

There were several pieces of scrap paper, seemingly torn randomly from a book, with some writing on them. Several pieces had already been set on fire and were slowly burning.

An Ziyang's brows furrowed slowly.

"What exactly does Liu Jin want?" "He committed suicide just to deliver a few scraps of paper to me?"

"Now, apart from me, there is no one else alive here. What threat can a few pieces of tattered paper pose to me?"

He pondered for a moment, then chanted an incantation, directing the Gu worms to pounce on one of the pieces of paper. After confirming it was non-toxic, he brought it back and placed it in his hand.

He stared intently at the words on it.

"Body disappears, spirit returns to the void..."

"The mind roams the eight extremes, and the spirit illuminates the entire heavens?"

"This is! A fragment of the Xuanlan martial arts manual from Yingzhou!"

An Ziyang suddenly looked up.

He finally understood Liu Jin's scheme!
The explosion was not intended to kill him, but to destroy the evidence and simultaneously alert the enemy!

And now he truly possesses the Xuanlan cultivation technique!

Without the slightest hesitation, An Ziyang suddenly rushed out, heading straight for the shredded paper! He raised his hand and unleashed a palm strike, unleashing the powerful true energy of the Wedding Dress Divine Skill, aiming to pulverize the shredded paper!
But the next moment—bang!

A tall figure appeared in front of him and blocked his hand.

The next moment, another figure darted past and took the shredded paper away.

"We got it, everyone!"

The figure leaped onto the roof like a wisp of smoke, carefully and quickly extinguishing the flames on the shredded paper. Then, by the moonlight, he slapped himself on the thigh.

“Sure enough, sure enough!”

"The rumors are true! I can't fathom the depth of this technique, but it's definitely different from all the martial arts currently circulating in the martial world. It doesn't train internal energy and physical strength, but rather the spirit—this is the legendary Xuanlan Cultivation Method!"

"Unfortunately, there are only four or five pages! The rest have been burned!"

He beat his chest and stamped his feet in frustration.

But the next moment, an old voice interrupted him.

"It's alright, the person is still here."

An Ziyang exchanged blows with the tall figure, then retreated swiftly into the midst of the Gu worms and traps, scanning his surroundings.

A dozen or so figures, all dressed as江湖人士 (jianghu figures, people of the martial arts world), appeared on the walls, roof, and throughout the courtyard. But unlike the masked men before, these people did not conceal their faces.

So An Ziyang recognized them instantly.

"What's wrong, esteemed sect leaders? Can't you sleep? Did you get lost on my Embroidered Uniform Guard's territory?"

He reached his hand behind him and looked toward the roof.

There are two people there, and they are in the most danger.

Shuijin Temple, where one can understand one's true nature.

Qiao Cailian, of the Kunlun School.

At the moon-viewing banquet on Mount Song, two celestial beings won the "Peak" title for their respective sects.

Qiao Cailian glared at An Ziyang with hatred.

"Li Miao humiliated me like that day, so today I'll take some interest from you, you lackey!"

Liao Xing clasped his hands together, let out a long sigh, and shook his head.

“The elders in the temple are suffering from the five signs of decay, so the monks had no choice but to come… Commander An, please forgive us.”

He smiled apologetically.

“But Commander An, this monk really doesn’t want to offend Lord Li’s might. I’ve only come here today to ask Lord Li for this technique.”

"If Commander An is willing to hand over the complete manuscript, I will protect you. Once the elders in the temple have recovered, I am willing to give my life to Lord Li to atone for my offense today. Is that acceptable?"

A furious shout suddenly came from the side.

"Why bother talking so much to these lackeys and traitors!"

A middle-aged man with red eyes held a severed woman's hand, which was clutching a long sword, and stared intently at An Ziyang.

"So many lives lost, one cultivation technique isn't enough!"

"I want him to be buried with my daughter!"

(End of this chapter)