The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 464 Epilogue (Part 1)

Anqi died.

His death was devoid of hysterical anger, relieved relief, or any profound or thought-provoking last words.

Li Miao reached out and pressed his hand on the top of his head.

Until the moment of his death, his eyes remained expressionless.

The assassin was supposed to die like this, but he had avoided death too many times, and only when death was right in front of him again did he finally remember this.

In a daze, the last thought came to mind.

"Why did I establish Yingzhou?"

It seems to be because of one person.

But no matter what he did, he couldn't remember the person's face or any memories related to him. Only a vague "Master" echoed in his mind.

Only then did he realize—oh, the "sex" carrying this part of the memory had been transformed into a sex seed by him and planted in Li Miao's body, and should now have been consumed by Li Miao.

He had harmed countless descendants and lived for over a thousand years, but in the end, he even gambled away the very reason he had lived. He lost everything, and in his last moments before death, his heart was empty, devoid of any emotion or memory.

Li Miao didn't give him a chance to sort out his last thought or let out a final sigh. His fingers suddenly tightened and embedded themselves into his skull.

Click.

Red and white substances flowed down the tip of his nose.

An Qisheng fell silent.

With a flick of his wrist, Li Miao twisted his head off the skull and sped off toward Fengtian Gate.

A few breaths later, he disappeared into the crowd.

"Commander!"

"Commander..."

"Commander."

Countless voices echoed in agreement, and countless gazes focused on his face.

Li Miao's gaze swept across the faces of his subordinates, then he raised his hand and threw An Qisheng's head to the ground, raising an eyebrow.

Why do they all look so overjoyed?

"What, do you have no confidence in this commander?"

Hearing Li Miao's familiar teasing, almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

The realm of spiritual cultivation is far more mysterious than the realm of life cultivation. Even with Li Miao's appearance, they didn't dare to completely relax. Only after Li Miao spoke did they finally dare to confirm the outcome of today's battle.

Gao Anyu was about to jump in front of Li Miao when Cao Hanyan stopped him.

Li Miao glanced at him and beckoned him.

"Xiao Anzi, Xiao Mei."

"Hey... Commander."

"Commander."

The two ran over and bowed deeply in front of Li Miao.

An Ziyang was somewhat uneasy. He didn't know if he had done enough today... Even though he had given it his all and even risked his life, he still doubted whether he could satisfy Li Miao.

Until Li Miao placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Well done."

An Ziyang was taken aback at first, and then instinctively wanted to say a few flattering words as usual. Before he could speak, he suddenly choked up, his eyes stung and his throat tightened, and he couldn't say a word.

In the end, he could only choke out a sentence.

"Yes……"

Li Miao then smiled and turned to look at Mei Qinghe.

"Everyone says you're too reckless. How many times have you used Sword Twenty-Three?"

"Seven times."

"...I shouldn't have taught you. You'd be dead in another hour, and even a god couldn't save you, you know?"

"Death will come without hesitation."

"Alright, alright, you're more like a member of the Imperial Guard than I am."

Li Miao reached out and pinched her pulse point, circulating his inner energy throughout her body.

"Is there any other mess that needs my attention?" "Where's my old man?"

An Ziyang composed himself and replied.

"After bringing Zhu Qianhu back, Ji Tianrui said a few words to the old commander and then left. The old commander then took Zhu Qianhu to the Qianqing Palace, where he should be with His Majesty now, and several attendants are treating his injuries."

"As for the aftermath... Master Tang!"

An Ziyang suddenly remembered something.

Tang Lanzhou is on his way to the Shenji Camp to suppress the rebellion left behind by Liu Jin, but there has been no news from him yet.

Li Miao nodded.

"Understood. Go find some of the retainers to stabilize His Majesty's injuries. The events that happened in the palace today must be kept under wraps, and the people in the capital also need to be appeased. Remember to send someone to find the two from Wudang and Shaolin. If they are still breathing, have the retainers keep them alive until I return."

The last word was spoken, and the final sound suddenly disappeared.

An Ziyang looked up, but Li Miao was nowhere to be found.

--------

Outside the city, at the Shenji Battalion's garrison.

Tang Lanzhou staggered into a tent, grabbing the curtain to steady himself before he could fall.

Outside the camp, shouts of battle filled the air as the three thousand battalions of foreign cavalry charged and fought their way through the Shenji Camp.

The hilt of the sword in Tang Lanzhou's right hand was stained with too much blood, making it sticky and slippery. Tang Lanzhou lost his grip and the long sword slipped from his hand, falling to the ground with a clanging sound.

Vision is blurred and black.

He was already on the verge of death, yet he still managed to personally kill several soldiers. Now he's completely exhausted, and even a gust of wind could probably extinguish his old lamp that has run out of oil.

But he is still alive.

Because there is one more person he needs to kill.

"Lord Tang."

Inside the tent, another person called out to him.

"Lord Tang, I admire you."

“In the past, I heard His Majesty say that you had lost your edge and were just a skeleton in a tomb, so I didn’t take you seriously. I didn’t expect that you still had three parts of your edge left. If I had known, I shouldn’t have started with you in the first place.”

His words carried a hint of intoxication.

Tang Lanzhou opened his dim old eyes and looked ahead.

At the long table in the center of the tent sat a middle-aged officer, holding a wine jug in his left hand and picking at food on the table with his right. On the table was a crossbow with its bowstring cocked.

That was the last Liu Jin.

He was also the last person Tang Lanzhou wanted to kill.

Tang Lanzhou took a few breaths, bent down to pick up the long knife, and staggered toward him.

Liu Jin seemed not to hear him at all and continued speaking to himself.

"Lord Tang, I am not surprised that Li Miao and his men were able to break through my arrangements. But the only thing that surprised me today is you."

"I originally thought that if An Qisheng failed, I would launch the Shenji Battalion to massacre the city of Shuntian Prefecture and destroy everything. When the world is in chaos, someone will naturally confront Li Miao again, and perhaps in the future, I can create a glimmer of hope for His Majesty."

"Unfortunately, the one thing I never expected was that this last trump card would be ruined by a frail, elderly man. It's truly... laughable."

Liu Jin took a sip of wine and put down his chopsticks.

"Li Miao is using you. He can cure your illness, but he can also make others pay the price for slaughtering the civil officials. If I had the Yingzhou Celestials kill your wife that day, he might also have been using you as a stepping stone—"

Tang Lanzhou uttered two words in a hoarse voice.

"I don't care."

He had already closed the distance to Liu Jin, within a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters).

"I only want to exchange my life for your deaths."

"If Li Miao is willing to buy my crippled life, why shouldn't I sell it to him?"

Liu Jin scoffed.

"understood."

He suddenly picked up the crossbow from the table, aimed it at Tang Lanzhou, and pulled the trigger.

(End of this chapter)