The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 465 Epilogue (Part Two)

Killing a dying old man with a bow and crossbow at a distance of one zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) should be a fairly simple matter for Liu Jin, even if he is not using his own body.

But just before pulling the trigger, Liu Jin's left face suddenly contorted. Dividing her face in the middle, the right half remained calm, while the left half suddenly showed fear and struggle.

This is Liu Jin's last clone, and also the last remaining trace of "sexuality," which is no longer able to fully control this body.

"Well!"

This unexpected turn of events made his hand tremble.

Boom!
The crossbow missed his heart and pierced Tang Lanzhou's waist and abdomen.

Blood spurted out.

Tang Lanzhou did not react at all. He pressed the hilt of his knife against his waist and pounced on Liu Jin like a dying, thin tiger.

puff.

The blade pierced Liu Jin's side ribs.

Liu Jin's eyes regained their clarity. He threw down his bow and crossbow, drew a short knife from his waist, grabbed Tang Lanzhou by the collar with his left hand, and stabbed him in the waist with the short knife in his right.

Puff puff.

A series of sticky sounds.

Tang Lanzhou's waist and abdomen became a bloody mess.

Instead of struggling, he desperately gripped Liu Jin's ribs, frantically twisting the long knife embedded in his side ribs, digging out the flesh and blood inside.

This was a meaningless struggle, a desperate fight between two people who were destined to die.

Silent yet menacing.

It was a mess and bloody scene.

Finally, pinkish blood foam gushed from Liu Jin's mouth, and after plunging the dagger into Tang Lanzhou's abdomen, he made a desperate slash.

wow-

Tang Lanzhou suffered a sudden hemorrhage in his waist and abdomen, his internal organs spilling onto the ground with a clatter, along with his last ounce of strength. The long sword slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground. Tang Lanzhou's limbs fell limply to his sides, and his vision gradually faded into darkness.

This chaotic struggle is coming to an end.

"Master Tang, have you vented your anger?"

Liu Jin, relying on his strong military officer physique, was still able to speak with difficulty.

"pity……"

Tang Lanzhou was unable to finish her sentence.

Fortunately, Liu Jin knew what he was regretting.

Unfortunately, they couldn't take the life of the instigator with them, as a gift for him to meet his wife in the underworld.

"I don't understand the concept of marital affection, Master Tang."

Liu Jin spoke calmly, raising his short knife and placing it against Tang Lanzhou's neck.

"I am a eunuch."

“What do eunuchs know about relatives and friends, the people and the world, let alone propriety, righteousness, shame, love and hate? I only know the phrase ‘unwavering loyalty’ and ‘the sunflower’s descent into the sun’.”

Tang Lanzhou uttered two words dismissively.

"Eunuch..."

Liu Jin was not offended at all and nodded.

"Yes, I am a eunuch."

"But what wrong has a eunuch done? Is it wrong to be loyal to His Majesty? If I, a eunuch, don't love His Majesty, who else can I love? And who would even look at a eunuch like me?"

"Unfortunately, all the hard work and effort came to nothing."

Liu Jin and Tang Lanzhou exchanged glances.

"The only thing I can do before I die is to personally kill a traitor and do my best to show my loyalty to His Majesty."

The short knife slowly pressed down, sinking into the skin.

Tang Lanzhou closed her eyes.

In that instant, the tent curtain suddenly fluttered, and a figure flashed in, pointing out with a raised hand.

Bang!
Liu Jin's right shoulder was ripped open.

His right arm detached from his body, falling to the ground along with the dagger.

Liu Jin released Tang Lanzhou, stumbled back several steps, and fell to the ground, turning her gaze to the figure.

"Li, Miao".

"Liu Daban, what kind of skill is it to bully a dying old man if you don't settle things with me?"

Li Miao smiled and shrugged, then reached out and grabbed the unconscious Tang Lanzhou.

"I greatly admire Mr. Tang's performance today."

"Most of the officials are dead. We need someone who can keep things in check, understand people's hearts, and isn't afraid of death to help my old man stabilize the court. But I can't let you kill him."

True energy is infused, merging flesh and blood.

Tang Lanzhou's breathing gradually returned to normal.

Li Miao put Tang Lanzhou on the ground, slowly walked to Liu Jin, squatted down, and tilted his head to look at him.

"This must be my last life, right?"

"I'm tired of killing people, but you're the first one, Eunuch Liu."

Liu Jin was panting heavily.

"Is Your Majesty alright?"

Li Miao raised an eyebrow.

"Nothing's wrong, it's none of your business."

Liu Jin let out a long breath and relaxed his shoulders.

"That's good then." Li Miao waved his hand.

"Alright, stop with that relieved look. The emperor is still alive, but your so-called emperor is long dead, and I won't bring him back to life."

"Yingzhou, Dongchang, civil officials."

"You've handed him over to me today, Eunuch Liu. There's probably no one or force in the world who can help you bring His Majesty back. Don't you regret it?"

After catching his breath for a while, Liu Jin finally managed to utter a single sentence.

"There will be."

In his dying moments, his mind was in disarray, and he finally revealed a sliver of emotion. He spoke as if both triumphant and regretful.

"Don't you think I've sent too few martial arts practitioners to the palace?"

--------

In the wilderness outside the capital, a woman clutched her chest and ran for her life. Shouts echoed behind her.

Leave the secret manual behind!

"That was given to all of us by Liu Gonggong. Do you want to keep it all to yourself?"

"We only need to make one copy, stop!"

The woman, however, did not dare to actually stop.

Liu Jin arranged for them to leave the city in batches; this batch consisted of twenty people. Because each batch received a copy of the secret manual, a fierce battle ensued, leaving only five or six people alive.

Yes, the secret manual will not disappear because it is copied.

But human lives can be lost because of greed and jealousy.

No one was willing to share this secret manual with others. Unlike other secret manuals that were rumored to be miraculous, this manual was actually mastered by someone... and used it to dominate the entire martial arts world.

Which martial artist hasn't fantasized about being the one who sets the rules for the entire martial arts world at the Songshan Moon Appreciation Banquet?
Who wouldn't want to be the next Li Miao?

The woman ran wildly, when suddenly a whooshing sound came from behind, and a sharp, bone-piercing nail pierced her shoulder blade. She cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Several men who had been chasing her surrounded her and stabbed her to death on the spot.

But this does not mean the end.

The moment the woman lost her voice, the men who had been chasing her suddenly turned on each other and killed one another!
Weapons clashed, and blood splattered.

In the end, only one person remained.

He staggered to the woman's body, knelt down, and pulled a bound book from her bosom. He carefully wiped away the bloodstains, revealing the words on the cover.

"Yingzhou, Xuanlan".

--------

"Hehe... Lord Li, once Xuanlan enters the martial world, two or three different celestial beings will spring up like mushrooms after rain... At that time, will you still be able to control the martial world?"

“There will always be people who try to test you, there will always be people who try to overturn your rules… there will always be people who notice His Majesty’s abnormality, who notice you who are controlling His Majesty.”

"Chaos is opportunity. His Majesty will wait until the day someone tries to awaken him and deal with you."

Liu Jin looked at Li Miao, a hint of pleasure in his eyes.

But Li Miao didn't react at all; instead, his smile became even more mocking.

"I know."

"On my way here, I saw a group of martial arts practitioners you had sent away, but I didn't do anything to them. Can you guess why?"

Liu Jin was taken aback at first, then leaned back and sighed deeply.

"Going with the flow..."

"You also need to get them to help you force the old man from the river out... You don't care about the temporary chaos; compared to the martial world, he is the opponent you truly care about and look forward to facing..."

"You really are a madman..."

Li Miao smiled as he grabbed Liu Jin's head.

"Did Liu Daban leave any last words?"

Liu Jin hesitated for a moment.

"Your Majesty——"

"Just kidding, I don't want to listen."

Li Miao suddenly clenched his hands.

Crash! —

Blood splattered.

The body fell to the ground.

Several bandits surrounded the corpse. One of the young men reached into his robes and pulled out a blood-stained manual.

He opened it for a glance, then abruptly closed it again.

"what?"

"A useless ledger."

"Oh."

After the conversation ended, the young man tucked the manual into his pocket, his heart pounding.

"Xuanlan!"

"Divine skill!"

"Opportunity!"

He fantasized about everything: waking up to wield power over the world, sleeping on the lap of a beautiful woman, wielding a sword to roam the world, and suppressing the martial arts world all by himself. These images kept churning in his mind.

What he didn't know was that at the same time, in every corner of Da Shuo, dozens... no, perhaps hundreds of people were having the same dream.

Perhaps only a handful of people can cultivate the Xuanlan technique.

But like a pebble thrown into a lake, the ripples have already been created and will gradually engulf the entire lake.

(End of this chapter)