The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 470 Tiger's Roar
On the official road, several merchants drove their carriages slowly forward.

It was early spring, and the wind was still chilly, making it unsuitable for travel. Therefore, the official road was deserted, quiet except for the constant sound of horses' hooves and the bells jingling from the carriages.

The old merchant rubbed his hands together, feeling the chill seep into his very bones, and couldn't help but complain.

"This is truly unbearable."

The young businessman next to him picked up the conversation.

"Everyone says that ever since that big commotion in the capital two years ago, this road has become increasingly difficult to travel. At least there were some rules before, but now... sigh, you'd be lucky if you didn't get robbed along the way."

The old customer shook his head.

"Who wouldn't say that? We used to hear those江湖人 (jianghu people) say that the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) were cruel and oppressed the good, and we foolishly agreed with them... Now it seems that the Jinyiwei's sword has never been used to cut the heads of us commoners."

"If the Embroidered Spring Blade doesn't cut fast enough, we'll truly have no chance of survival..."

After they finished speaking, they all sighed in unison.

Actually, I just said it casually when no one was around.

Although the Embroidered Uniform Guard has not been as active as before in the past two years, each time they have taken action, they have become more ruthless and decisive than before. In particular, the newly appointed Northern Garrison Commander Wang Hai and Southern Garrison Commander An Ziyang are so fierce that they rival Li Miao, who has not appeared for two years.

The current perception of the Embroidered Uniform Guard in the martial arts world is extremely complex, and the imperial court's control over the martial arts world has clearly weakened. If these words were heard by people in the martial arts world, they might very well bring trouble upon them.

Just as they were about to breathe a sigh of relief, a rustling sound came from the woods by the roadside. The merchants turned pale with fright, thinking it was highway robbers or wild beasts hunting for food. They immediately stopped talking and gripped the short knives at their waists.

But the next moment, a baby’s cry suddenly came from the forest.

Then voices began to speak.

"Don't cry, Miss. We'll be in the city soon. I'll find you something to eat then, okay?"

Before he finished speaking, a dark-skinned young man emerged from the woods, carrying a swaddled baby in his arms.

A tall, imposing man with a heroic appearance then walked out.

The merchants breathed a sigh of relief.

Yes, the dark-skinned youth had a knife at his waist, so he must be a江湖人士 (jianghu person, someone from the martial arts world). But if he had ulterior motives, he wouldn't bring a baby along; it's likely they just happened to run into each other.

The two people who emerged from the forest were Li Miao and Wu Mingxiao, who had fed the baby and were preparing to set off.

If it's just the two of you, then of course you can just pack up and go.

But now that they had a child with them, they needed to prepare some supplies and a cart, and it would be best to find a wet nurse before setting off. The two found the main road, intending to go to the nearby county town to buy things, but they happened to run into several traveling merchants.

The two sides exchanged a glance.

Wu Mingxiao was a greenhorn, so Li Miao was the only one who could strike up a conversation with him.

"Gentlemen, it's fate that brings you here."

He smiled, stepped forward, and bowed.

If Li Miao didn't kill anyone, his appearance alone would make him quite pleasant to look at when he smiles—provided, of course, that he doesn't insult you.

The regular customer responded with a smile.

"Greetings, gentlemen. Are you heading to the county town ahead?"

"I see you two have a child with you, and the journey has been bumpy and cold. If you don't mind, please get in the car—"

He paused suddenly halfway through his sentence.

Before he could finish speaking, Li Miao had already jumped onto the car, lay down casually, pulled the bearskin cloak over himself, said "I don't mind," and closed his eyes to pretend to sleep.

The old customer's lips twitched.

No, you're really not being polite at all, huh?
I asked the person with the child to get on the bus, and you were so considerate, even "not disgusted"... Do you have the right to be disgusted?
Wu Mingxiao blushed. His superior, the Vice Commander, was extremely strict in his military discipline. He would be punished for even taking a bowl of food from the common people. He had never done anything as "unreserved" as Li Miao. He lowered his head, apologized, and rushed into the carriage.

The merchants looked at each other in bewilderment.

"Oh well, it's fate that we met."

In the end, the old customer waved goodbye.

“They have a child with them, they’re probably tired. Let’s just consider it a good deed and take them to the county town.”

So the convoy continued forward.

Linjiang Prefecture, as its name suggests, is located near waterways, and the air is damp and cold. This official road, which had been frozen for an entire winter, has only just begun to thaw slightly, making it even more difficult to travel.

The group walked for an hour, but had not yet left the forest; they had only reached the foot of a mountain.

The young businessman rubbed his legs and said, "Uncle, let's take a break."

The old customer shook his head.

"No, we have to cross this mountain to rest."

"I heard that there's been a tiger attacking this mountain recently, and it's already eaten quite a few people. Now that there's no one on the road, we might just be targeted by that tiger."

"Go quickly, go quickly."

I don't know what this old merchant's mouth is made of, it's so incredibly effective.

Just now, Li Miao and Wu Mingxiao arrived after I mentioned being afraid of people from the martial arts world.

Before he could finish speaking about being afraid of tigers, a deafening tiger roar echoed from the mountain.

Awooo! —

Judging from the sound, the distance was no more than a few dozen feet, and the direction was right in this direction!
The old customer's expression changed.

"Light the fire, apply lime powder, unload the horses!"

Several merchants quickly did as instructed, taking out torches from the cart and lighting them, taking out lime powder from their packages and smearing it on their bodies, and then hurriedly unloading the horses.

Torches were used for self-defense, lime powder was used to make tigers lose interest in people, and unloading horses was used to scatter the horses to lure away the tigers and buy time to escape.

The old merchant picked up his short knife and made a cut on the horse's rump.

Hee hee hee! —

The horse let out a startled cry and immediately galloped away.

Several merchants waited anxiously and nervously.

But the next moment, they all turned pale.

Because the tiger's roar was getting closer and closer, but it wasn't drawn away by the horse's blood at all. It just charged straight at the group and was about to get close!

Inside the carriage, Wu Mingxiao had already gripped the hilt of his knife.

His superior, a military officer, had said that those who eat soldiers' rations must protect the country and its people. He was determined to get involved in this matter, and he was about to rush off the cart.

As soon as he stood up, he suddenly stiffened and sat back down.

He was startled at first, then immediately realized what was happening and looked up.

As expected, Li Miao across from him had already opened his eyes, and was retracting his outstretched fingers into his sleeve, glancing sideways at the outside of the car with an expression of great interest.

"Brother Li!"

Wu Mingxiao spoke up urgently.

But then Li Miao stretched out a finger and shook it, saying with a smile.

"No rush, there's going to be some excitement."

"Don't worry, no one will die."

Wu Mingxiao, however, was even more anxious.

"Brother Li, the tiger won't wait—"

Li Miao smiled.

"If it were just a tiger, I wouldn't bother waking up."

He raised his hand and pointed outside the car.

"listen."

Wu Mingxiao listened intently, his eyes gradually widening.

Just as Li Miao had said.

As they got closer, even he could hear it.

Alongside the tiger's roar, there were also excited gasps.

The sound of a person breathing heavily.

(End of this chapter)