The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 48: Faced (Five Thousand, Dry Goods)
"!?"

Mei Qinghe was so shocked by Liu Baiyun's answer that she couldn't utter a word.

who! ?

Plum Blossom Thief! ?

No matter how wild Mei Qinghe's imagination was, she could not connect this matter with him!
Liu Baiyun said, "Fifteen years ago, I found you in the forest and brought you back to Huashan Sect."

"Have you ever thought about why I appeared in Qilu when Huashan Sect is close to the western border of Dashuo?"

"It's out in the wilderness, there's no one around, and there's no village or road nearby. How did I happen to run into you by chance?"

Mei Qinghe had never thought about this question, she just thought it was fate between her and Liu Baiyun. But when Liu Baiyun said this, she immediately reacted.

Yes, Qilu and Huashan are far away on the east and west sides of the Dashuo territory, and he is in an uninhabited mountain forest. How could Liu Baiyun appear there by chance?

Even if it was just a coincidence, if he hadn't known about it in advance, why would Liu Baiyun have run to that deserted mountain forest?
"Do you know why I agreed to that Jinyiwei just now, and why I agreed so quickly?"

Mei Qinghe was stunned again.

Yes, Liu Baiyun is not a weak person. Serving the imperial court is equivalent to cutting off his fellow martial artists, and even his own sect's inheritance may be taken away by the imperial court.

Even if the situation forced him to do so, why did Liu Baiyun agree so readily? It was as if he had already made a plan in mind.

Liu Baiyun didn't keep the secret and said directly: "Because, I am afraid too."

"More afraid than Zuo Lishan, and earlier than the Taishan Sect."

"Because, if we really talk about collusion with the Ming Cult... our Huashan Sect is the one that got out of the way."

"As early as fifteen years ago... I had already colluded with the Ming Cult..."

"Drinking poison to quench thirst, seeking the skin of a tiger, how can it last long... Surrendering to the imperial court was one of the methods I had envisioned to preserve the Huashan Sect."

Liu Baiyun told the story slowly and leisurely.

"Fifteen years ago, it was someone from the Ming Cult who brought the Plum Blossom Thief to find me and gave me a copy of the Huashan Heart Sutra that had been modified by the Plum Blossom Thief and allowed for faster progress, as well as a disciple who was even more talented than me."

"So, I was able to find you."

Mei Qinghe looked steadily into Liu Baiyun's eyes.

She just felt that the master who rescued her from the mountains and raised her had become so strange at this moment.

Was he a gift from the murderer of his mother to his master? If everything was not fate, but calculation and scheme, then could the relationship between master and apprentice over the past ten years still be taken seriously?

How should she cope with it?

After a while, Mei Qinghe said hoarsely: "Master... please explain this to me..."

Liu Baiyun sighed again and started the story from the beginning.

The decline of Huashan Sect did not start after Zuo Lishan took over. Signs of this had already appeared fifteen years ago. Otherwise, Zuo Lishan would not have chosen Huashan Sect as the target of suppression from the beginning.

At that time, Liu Baiyun was just at the level of a first-class master due to his lack of talent. Huashan Sect was in a period of transition, and there was no other master besides Liu Baiyun.

Precarious.

One day, a middle-aged man came to pay a visit to the mountain and said that he wanted to give Huashan Sect a big gift and have a secret talk with Liu Baiyun.

After everyone left, the man revealed his identity to Liu Baiyun - he was the Left Envoy of the Ming Cult, Lan Lechuan.

The leader of the Ming Cult, Ji Tianrui, was strangled to death by the Embroidered Uniform Guards in Miaojiang, along with most of the Ming Cult's masters, and the Ming Cult was in a precarious situation.

In order to avoid being hunted down by the imperial court, the Ming Cult needed a sect to hide in and cover up. Huashan Sect was located in the frontier, far away from the imperial court, with a suitable structure and territory, and it was also in a precarious situation, making it the most suitable target.

Liu Baiyun certainly didn't agree at first. It was too dangerous to collude with the Ming Cult, which might lead to the hostility of the imperial court. Although the Huashan Sect was in a bad situation at that time, it was not to the point of being destroyed, so there was no need to wade into the muddy water of the Ming Cult.

However, if words don’t agree, there’s still fists.

Lan Lechuan, the left emissary of the Ming Cult, is a top master. Apart from the leader Ji Tianrui, he is the strongest in the Ming Cult.

At that time, the Huashan Sect only had Liu Baiyun left, who was powerless to resist. After being subdued by Lan Lechuan, he was left with a handle and had no choice but to cooperate.

Later, Lan Lechuan said that he needed Liu Baiyun to go to Shuntian Prefecture with him to do something important. Liu Baiyun had no choice but to go east with him to Shuntian Prefecture.

When the two of them reached the border of Qi and Lu, Lan Lechuan met a man who told him that the incident in Shuntian Prefecture had been discovered by the Jinyiwei and exposed. All the survivors had been evacuated.

So Lan Lechuan and Liu Baiyun had no reason to go to Shuntian Prefecture.

Lan Lechuan told Liu Baiyun that he needed to pick up someone in the Qi and Lu area - his name was "Plum Blossom Thief".

This person is extremely important to the Ming Cult and no mistakes can be made.

So the two of them came to Yanzhou Prefecture and found the Plum Blossom Thief.

At this moment, the Plum Blossom Thief handed Liu Baiyun the modified mental method and told him the location of Mei Qinghe.

He smiled and said that although the Ming Cult's plans in Miaojiang and Shuntian Prefecture had failed, and most of its personnel had been lost, and it no longer needed to borrow the Huashan Sect's territory, there would always be a place where the Huashan Sect would be useful in the future. This was a gift he prepared in advance, and Liu Baiyun was asked to accept it.

This led to the incident where Mei Qinghe was brought back to Huashan Sect, and after learning martial arts well, he went down the mountain to seek revenge and ran into Li Miao.

"The Plum Blossom Thief, whose real name is Yun Zelin. He was born with a very poor physique, and it was difficult for him to improve his martial arts. When he was in his twenties, he was only a third-rate martial artist."

"But his understanding is unprecedented and unparalleled. He can be compared with the legendary Bodhidharma."

"He can easily create a third-rate sect's handed-down martial arts technique, or he can modify the Huashan Sect's martial arts technique and bring forth something new."

"He had already joined the Ming Cult, and after failing in Shuntian Prefecture, he fled to Qi and Lu. He discovered that you were extremely talented, so he deliberately tortured and killed your mother."

"Firstly, he used Zhao Dehua to cover up his purpose. Even if it was exposed, people who knew about it would focus on Zhao Dehua and think that Zhao Dehua was the successor he chose in a desperate situation, and would not pay attention to you who was only five years old at that time."

"Secondly... he deliberately tortured and killed your mother in front of you so that your character would be more compatible with his modified martial arts."

Liu Baiyun sighed and said, "That year, the two of them left. I found you in the forest and brought you back to Huashan Sect."

"My comprehension is OK, but it is far from that of Yun Zelin. I was unable to find the problem in that technique."

"At that time, Huashan Sect was in a period of transition, and I was eager to achieve success, so I passed on this technique that can make even faster progress to you."

"It was only after a few years that I discovered that your character had become increasingly rigid and extreme. But at that time, you had already achieved inner strength, and with my skills, I was unable to help you switch to inner strength."

"That's why I thought, I will tell you the truth after your martial arts have reached the pinnacle. By then, you will have mastered internal skills, and with your talent, you can switch to other skills. If you want to seek revenge on Yun Zelin, without the pinnacle of martial arts, I'm afraid you won't be able to break through the protection of the Mingjiao masters."

The hilt of the sword in Mei Qinghe's hand was already creaking from her grip.

"So... the Plum Blossom Thief is still alive?"

Liu Baiyun nodded: "Alive. He left behind countless traces of fake death, skills, and successors."

"Although I didn't see it with my own eyes, the person who died so hastily at the hands of the Jinyiwei back then was definitely not him. It must have been a substitute with a similar appearance."

"Now... he should still be in the Ming Cult. And considering how much Lan Lechuan valued him back then, he should have a high status in the Ming Cult now. Even his bones may have been improved by the Ming Cult's methods and natural treasures."

"With his comprehension, if his physique wasn't limiting him, his martial arts would have improved by leaps and bounds. In the past fifteen years, I don't even know where he is now."

Mei Qinghe closed her eyes upon hearing this.

She just felt that her life was a huge joke.

Li Miao nodded in the private room upstairs, and said in his heart: "Haha... Plum Blossom Thief, Yun Zelin..."

"I really made a mistake back then. I only focused on killing those with high martial arts skills and missed such a person."

"Yes, all of them are correct."

The world is big, and the excitement is the biggest. He didn't have such a high moral bottom line that he really let the master and apprentice finish the story behind his back.

They were eating separately and Gao Ling didn't say anything, so of course he couldn't help but use his ear skills to listen to the conversation between Mei Qinghe and Liu Baiyun. Mei Qinghe and Liu Baiyun would never have thought that Li Miao's ear skills could hear their conversation clearly through several layers of door panels.

At this time, Li Miao completed the last piece of the puzzle - stringing together all his experiences after entering the Qi and Lu areas.

Even he himself was involved.

Fifteen years ago, Ming Cult leader Ji Tianrui entered Miao territory and combined the art of witchcraft to create the technique that Zuo Lishan practiced.

When the Jinyiwei received the news, all members went south to Miaojiang and strangled Ji Tianrui.

When the Mingjiao masters saw that the plan was exposed, they simply split into two groups. One group went to Miaojiang to support Ji Tianrui, and the other group carried the witchcraft method developed by Ji Tianrui and the Miaojiang witchcraft masters to Shuntian Prefecture, hoping to take advantage of the Jinyiwei being in Miaojiang at this time and making the defense empty to do something big. As a confidant of the commander Zhu Zai, Li Miao took the task and went to strangle the Mingjiao masters who came to Shuntian Prefecture and rescued Xiao Si from the hands of the Miaojiang witch.

After a fierce battle, Li Miao was seriously injured and dying, and all the people of the Ming Cult were killed or injured. However, the Plum Blossom Thief, whose martial arts skills were not very impressive, escaped.

Because of this incident, Li Miao was promoted to the rank of Captain of the Imperial Guard, and forced Zhu Zai to sign the "eight-hour work system" labor contract, and officially began to use his golden finger to practice martial arts unscrupulously.

In Miaojiang, the Jinyiwei won a great victory, and all the Mingjiao members fled. Lan Lechuan, the left emissary of the Mingjiao, was one of the survivors.

The Ming Cult suffered heavy losses and needed a place to recuperate and cover up its tracks, so Lan Lechuan picked the Huashan Sect, and through coercion and inducement, he made Liu Baiyun leave a handle and had to obey.

Afterwards, Lan Lechuan took Liu Baiyun to Shuntian Prefecture to prepare to support Shuntian Prefecture's plan.

When they arrived at Qilu, they received the news that Li Miao had destroyed the Ming Cult in Shuntian Prefecture and many masters were almost wiped out. So they turned to Yanzhou Prefecture in Qilu to meet the Plum Blossom Bandits.

The Plum Blossom Thief received the news and learned that the Huashan Sect had defected to the Ming Cult, so he began to modify his skills.

He found Mei Qinghe and tortured and killed her mother, leaving a mark on Mei Qinghe's character, making Mei Qinghe more in line with the character requirements of his modified mind method.

Incidentally, he also passed on his claw skills to Zhao Dehua, making it difficult for him to escape the pursuit of the Jinyiwei, so he left the illusion of being the successor to cover up his plan of faking his own death and escaping.

The inner strength and lightness skill that You Ziang had acquired were also part of his plan to fake his death and escape. His stand-in must have practiced that inner strength, which is why he had the same birthmark as the Plum Blossom Thief.

Twelve years ago, the Plum Blossom Thief's substitute was discovered by the Jinyiwei and killed. The body was transported to Shuntian Prefecture. His fake death plan was successful.

Eleven years ago, because Jinyiwei slaughtered all the witchcraft masters in Miaojiang, the Miaojiang witchcraft village no longer dared to have contact with the Central Plains and became more and more closed. This made Ge Pushi have fantasies about the Central Plains, so she escaped from the village, came to Pingshanwei, and became Wu Yuanwai's concubine.

Five years ago, the Ming Cult colluded with Zuo Lishan and gave him the poisonous insect and the martial arts created by Ji Tianrui.

The time has come now.

Jinyiwei received news that Zuo Lishan was colluding with Ming Cult, and Li Miao took the task and came to Qi and Lu.

When Mei Qinghe received the news that the Plum Blossom Thief had been killed by the Embroidered Uniform Guards, he had no choice but to come to Qi and Lu to seek revenge on Zhao Dehua, and met Li Miao who took on the task.

Li Miao killed Ge Pu who escaped from Miao territory.

Li Miao severely injured Zuo Lishan, forcing him to start practicing the skills taught to him by the Ming Cult.

Liu Baiyun had been worried because he had left evidence in the hands of the Ming Cult, so he immediately agreed to work for the court in order to eliminate the hidden danger of colluding with the Ming Cult.

Everything Li Miao experienced after coming to the land of Qi and Lu - Mei Qinghe, Liu Baiyun, Zuo Lishan, You Ziang, Xiao Si, Ge Pushi, and Zhao Dehua.

Witchcraft, evil skills, and hatred.

Taishan Sect, Huashan Sect, Five Mountains Sword Sect, Embroidered Uniform Guard, and Ming Cult.

Everything was connected by one person at this moment.

The Plum Blossom Thief, Xun Zelin.

Li Miao laughed softly, revealing his white teeth, revealing a deep, strong murderous intent. Gao Ling, who was sitting next to him, felt cold all over, as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. She felt like a lamb caught in the mouth of a beast, and even the flow of her true energy was frozen.

"Good, good, good."

"I underestimated you back then. I thought you were just a small fish or shrimp that got away. I didn't expect you to be such a big shot!"

"You've done so many things since you escaped from my hands. I can't just turn a blind eye to them."

"After I finish the matter with the Five Mountains Sword Sect, I will come to you in person..."

"I hope you are still alive..."

Gao Ling trembled with fear, not knowing why Li Miao revealed his murderous intent, nor where such pure and heavy murderous intent came from. She could only lower her head to her chest, not daring to look at Li Miao.

Mei Qinghe's face turned an abnormally red after hearing what Liu Baiyun said.

puff--

He suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, which splashed onto the ground.

She was at the point of changing her cultivation technique, and it was very easy for her to go astray. After hearing her life story, she felt that she had been a toy in the hands of the Plum Blossom Thief and a joke. How could she stay calm?

He was so anxious at this moment that he immediately showed signs of going crazy. His true energy went astray, damaging his heart meridians, and he spurted out a mouthful of blood.

"Qinghe!" Liu Baiyun rushed forward and tried to support Mei Qinghe.

But Mei Qinghe raised her hand to stop him.

"Master!" Mei Qinghe wiped the blood from his mouth.

"I am confused and don't know how to treat Master..."

"I have gone crazy and my mind is unstable. The beast's skills will make me extreme. Please don't get close to me, otherwise I... am afraid I will hurt you..."

Only then did Liu Baiyun realize that Mei Qinghe's hand, which was gripping the hilt of the sword with too much force, was bleeding.

Mei Qinghe closed his eyes and tried to regulate his breathing for a moment, then he let out a long sigh, but a trickle of blood still flowed from the corner of his mouth.

"Master, please go back to your room and rest..."

"Qinghe will never forget your kindness in saving my life and raising me. Qinghe remembers every detail of the past fifteen years."

"It's just... I survived because of the conspiracy of my mother's murderer and my master. My mother died tragically because I became a gift to Huashan Sect... I don't know how to face you, Huashan Sect, and my mother's spirit in heaven..."

"Even the skills I have been practicing for more than ten years were the work of that beast... Qinghe really doesn't know how to deal with it..."

"My heart is in turmoil... Master..."

"Let Qinghe be quiet for a while... let her be quiet for a while..."

Liu Baiyun looked at Mei Qinghe and sighed.

He raised his hand, drew the sword from its sheath, and slashed directly at his left forearm.

puff-

Blood gushed out and Liu Baiyun's arm fell to the ground.

"Master!?"

Mei Qinghe had no time to stop him, so he desperately stood up and pressed Liu Baiyun's acupuncture points to stop the bleeding: "Qinghe has never resented Master! What is Master doing!?"

Liu Baiyun looked down at Mei Qinghe's tearful face, and gently held her in his arms with his right hand.

"It's okay, it's okay... Master practiced right-handed swordplay, even without his left hand, he's still a top-notch expert..."

“Qinghe, what happened back then was owed to you and your son by my Huashan Sect and me, Liu Baiyun…”

"You will go to the Ming Cult to seek revenge in the future. Master will go with you..."

"Don't let me, your master, leave a flaw in your state of mind. If your state of mind is flawed, it will be difficult for you to perfect your martial arts. How can you seek revenge on that beast..."

"It's okay, it's okay... It's just a minor injury. I have the White Cloud Sword..."

"Let's do this for now... Help me sit down..."

Mei Qinghe couldn't stop crying at this time, and helped Liu Baiyun sit down. She was filled with regret, and she just hugged Liu Baiyun with both hands and cried bitterly.

Liu Baiyun looked pale, but with a smile on his face, he gently stroked Mei Qinghe's hair.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open.

Li Miao walked in slowly, looked up and down at Mei Qinghe and Liu Baiyun who were hugging each other, and said with a smile: "Are you done talking?"

"Really? This is the first time I've seen a mother and daughter talk about self-harm. I've learned something new today."

Then he stretched out his hand into a claw, sucked in his true energy, and sucked the broken arm on the ground into his hand. He walked in front of the two and said to Mei Qinghe with a smile.

"If you run into me, just be happy."

"Come on, Xiaomei, move aside."

"If it's any later, the arm won't be able to be reattached."

(End of this chapter)