The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 505 Where to go
"No wonder I couldn't find any trace of Master Ji these past two years. Turns out he went to Japan."

Li Miao squinted as he spoke.

Ji Tianrui caused trouble twice, and both times she nearly ruined the entire Da Shuo, along with Li Miao. Lazy as she may be, no matter how heartless Li Miao is, he wouldn't just wait for her to resort to such tactics again.

In the past two years, he has left a huge mess to his subordinates and disappeared into the world. Although this was partly due to his personality and laziness, the real reason was that he was actually searching for Ji Tianrui.

Li Miao had actually guessed about Ji Tianrui's whereabouts long ago.

She collaborated with An Qisheng to extract information about Kawakami, so she most likely knew about Xu Fu, and her destination was probably related to Japan.

Li Miao's appearance in the southeastern coastal area was no coincidence.

His meeting with Wu Mingxiao was not accidental.

However, before confirming Ji Tianrui's whereabouts, he couldn't leave Da Shuo and head to Dongying directly. This round trip would take at least half a year, and if Ji Tianrui didn't leave, it would be tantamount to handing Da Shuo over to her.

But now, it's different.

"What is the leader of the Ji sect doing in Japan?"

Li Miao asked with a smile.

Lan Qinyu hesitated for a moment and did not speak.

Without saying a word or making a move, the internal organs that were strangely fixed in place inside Lan Qinyu's open abdomen began to twitch inexplicably—as if an invisible giant claw was squeezing and compressing his internal organs.

This kind of pain is something that probably no one else in the world has ever experienced.

It wasn't until after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea that Lan Qinyu suddenly relaxed, lowered her head, and was drenched in sweat.

Then Li Miao spoke slowly and deliberately.

Did I say you have no right to hesitate?

"Is it any of your business to decide what to say and how to say it?"

Lan Qinyu suddenly snapped out of her daze and hurriedly said in a trembling voice.

"No, sir... I was just... thinking..."

"I escaped back to the Central Plains when that enchantress had just arrived in Japan and before she had a firm foothold, so I don't know much about her plans there..."

"In addition, she was somewhat aware of my thoughts at the time, so she did not entrust me with any truly important tasks. Therefore, all I know is probably just a little bit."

Lan Qinyu pondered for a moment before slowly uttering three words.

"Shintoism."

"Before I left, the task that witch gave me was to replace a priest at the Ise Grand Shrine of Shintoism in Japan. That's when I took the opportunity to escape... So her scheme must be related to Shintoism in Japan."

"Anything more... I don't know..."

After saying that, Lan Qinyu lowered her head.

He felt he had revealed everything he knew, and now he only hoped that Li Miao would give him a quick death.

Li Miao didn't speak for a moment, but just sat there, propping his face up in thought.

Shintoism.

The indigenous religion of Japan has a concept somewhat similar to shamanism, believing that all things have spirits, but it also has a main god, subordinate gods, and its own creation myth. However, compared with the Ming Cult, it is a relatively normal religion.

Moreover, it's not exactly mainstream in Japan. At least, as far as Li Miao knows, it was being thoroughly defeated by Buddhism, which originated from Central China, just a few years ago. He wondered what Ji Tianrui was planning to do with this indigenous Japanese religion.

But that's enough.

Knowing where Ji Tianrui is and what she is planning, at least the goal is clear.

"Is that big Japanese guy Ji Tianrui's man?"

Li Miao stood up and asked one last question.

Lan Qinyu shook her head, then nodded.

"No, sir, if he were one of the witch's men, he would only kill me. But today he came to us because of witchcraft, so it's most likely related to the witch... As for anything else, I don't know."

Li Miao nodded.

"so."

He dusted off his sleeves and was about to leave.

A mournful cry came from behind. "My lord... my lord!"

"I...I want to die, kill me..."

“I have told you everything I know, sir!”

Li Miao chuckled.

"When did I say I was going to kill you?"

"Speaking of which, didn't you just want to 'freeze your hands'? Since you're so eager to live, I'll naturally grant your wish."

He turned half his face slightly and gave a mischievous smile.

"I've left you a wisp of true energy to sustain your life."

"Three days later, this true energy will gradually dissipate, and your internal organs will gradually fall out from between your abdomen, but they will not break off. Until the day when the true energy I left is exhausted, your internal organs will snap off with a snap... and you will die."

"You can guess how many days this true energy of mine can last."

Having said that, he ignored Lan Qinyu's desperate cries behind him and strode out of the side hall.

The once grand Dayan Hall is now deserted.

The square was littered with corpses; not a single intact body could be found.

Li Miao walked to the center of the square with his hands behind his back.

The giant's corpse lay on the ground, still in the same posture it had when it blocked Li Miao's leg axe, its eyes wide with rage, lifelike.

Li Miao bent down and touched him.

He was quite curious about the giant's methods. He didn't cultivate internal energy, nor did he employ any particularly sophisticated techniques; he merely relied on brute force to force Lan Qinyu to flee in disarray. Furthermore, the unknown method he used later even managed to block one of Li Miao's attacks.

It was just too unorthodox; it blocked the obvious force but not the shockwave contained in Li Miao's kick, which shattered his internal organs.

But that's shocking enough.

This method, so different from the martial arts of the Central Plains and taking an extreme approach, was naturally worth Li Miao's investigation—especially after he learned of Ji Tianrui's whereabouts.

True Qi penetrates.

Li Miao frowned.

"Nothing unusual... His bones and internal organs are normal, but there is no true qi in his dantian, and his meridians are also blocked. If he were in the Central Plains, he could only rely on his physique to bully second- or third-rate experts."

"But where did his skin, which was as tough as steel, go?"

Li Miao reached out and pressed his finger on the corpse. His fingertip easily pierced the flesh and sank in, a stark contrast to the giant's behavior in life.

Li Miao probed the area with his true energy again, and after a long while, he finally discovered something amiss.

The flow of vital energy to the center of the eyebrows was blocked.

The Ren and Du meridians both pass through the space between the eyebrows. Even if one doesn't practice martial arts, these two meridians should still be connected to some extent... Otherwise, if the blood and qi couldn't reach the head, one would have died long ago.

Li Miao channeled his inner energy and thrust it forcefully along the Ren and Du meridians.

That one poke caused a sudden and unexpected change.

The giant, who had been dead, suddenly twitched, his eyes widened, and the "Acala" image that had disappeared from his body suddenly reappeared, as if he had been resurrected.

But only for a moment.

A moment later, he collapsed again.

Then, like a deflated balloon, the flesh collapsed, the bones shattered, and it turned into a pool of blurry blood.

Li Miao stood up and clapped his hands.

"Interesting, form follows intention, and intention vanishes without form."

"Could it be that this final stage of sexual cultivation is destined to take place in Japan?"

"That's perfect. It's just as good as the matter of Xu Fu and Master Ji, saving us a lot of trouble... So, we won't stay in the Central Plains any longer. We'll send Wu Mingxiao to Dengzhou as soon as possible, and use the connections of that Vice Commissioner of Dengzhou Guard to learn about the situation in Japan. Then we'll set off as soon as possible."

Having said that, he got up and left, leaving behind the corpses and blood scattered all over the place, and went down the mountain by himself.

(End of this chapter)