The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 512 Who is to Blame?
The young man suddenly became alert.

"who!?"

He drew his sword and stared intently into the depths of the prison cell.

Clang clang—

The others also drew their weapons, becoming extremely vigilant, channeling all their inner energy and strength, and waiting intently.

Thousands of soldiers from Dengzhou Guard have vanished without a trace, but a man has appeared in this prison... The threat posed by this man must be matched with that of the thousands of soldiers.

Although this comparison makes no sense, it reflects the inner thoughts of everyone present except Li Miao.

Snap, snap, snap.

Footsteps drew closer, and a pair of black-patterned boots stepped into the firelight, followed by a jet-black front, luxurious accessories made of white jade, gold, and glass, an embroidered patch with bull-shaped patterns, and a pale face with a playful smile on the corner of the mouth.

The man didn't show his entire face; he just smiled and spoke.

"Who are you all, and why have you come here?"

No one in the martial arts world dared to answer easily.

Although I couldn't see the other person's whole face, that bullfighting outfit was genuine... The other person's official rank was definitely above the commander of Dengzhou Guard, a high-ranking official who could reach the emperor!

The merits associated with the bullfighting uniform are equivalent to at least a thousand lives. And if the opponent is a martial arts officer, his skill level is certainly no less than that of a top-tier warrior. If we disregard Li Miao, he alone could kill everyone on our side in an instant!

A martial arts practitioner quietly moved behind the young man from the Huanhua Sword Sect and gently poked his side.

"Brother, brother, what's wrong—"

He stopped mid-sentence.

He noticed that the young man didn't respond at all and was completely stunned, not even noticing that he had been poked in the waist.

Cold sweat poured from his neck, soaking through his clothes in just a few breaths. His arms trembled uncontrollably—

Clang clang.

He couldn't even hold onto his longsword, which fell to the ground with a loud bang, startling the surrounding martial artists who turned to look and noticed his absent-minded state.

"Could it be that he is too young and has shown fear in the face of life and death?"

Some people thought so, but the next moment, they found that another young female disciple of the Huanhua Sword Sect had the same reaction, or even worse. She could barely breathe and could only open her mouth wide and hiss inhaling, as if she was about to burst her chest.

At this point, they finally thought of a possibility.

The Huanhua Sword Sect is a top-tier sect with the Imperial Guard stationed within its ranks. Furthermore, it's rumored that the sect leader, Liu Chengxuan, has a personal relationship with the Imperial Guard, and high-ranking officials from the Imperial Guard often visit the Huanhua Sword Sect for tea. Therefore, their reactions were likely not due to fear of death.

It was because he recognized the person opposite him.

Suddenly, a breeze blew by, causing the flame of the oil lamp to sway slightly.

The firelight then extended into the depths of the prison for a moment, illuminating the upper half of the military officer's face.

The martial arts practitioner finally saw the face clearly.

Thin and seemingly frail, he looked more like a spoiled, fox-faced playboy than a military officer, peering through the firelight with a smile.

puff.

He suddenly sat down on the ground.

Dede dede—

The teeth clashed violently, the pupils suddenly contracted to slits, and the corners of the eyes twitched with tension and fear.

"Peace, peace, peace—"

The young man from the Huanhua Sword Sect trembled and despaired as he accepted his words.

"Your Excellency the Garrison Commander..."

"You, how did you get here..."

At this point, everyone else finally realized who the person opposite them was.

The most powerful and most ineffective henchmen of the emperor; the most ineffective henchmen of the imperial court.

In two years, he transformed the Jinyiwei Southern Garrison, originally a logistics unit, into a force that rivaled the Northern Garrison. He was the mastermind behind the massacre of the Kunlun Sect and the Shuijin Temple, two celestial lineages. He was a cruel official who could stop a seventy-year-old man from weeping at night.

A fourth-rank official, the Commander of the Southern Garrison of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

An Ziyang.

Standing opposite them, he smiled at the young man from the Huanhua Sword Sect and said, "You recognize me? You look somewhat familiar to me too."

"Oh, I've seen you at the Huanhua Sword Sect."

"Why can't I be here? Is there any place in this world that my Imperial Guards can't go?"

The young man lowered his head, trembling.

An Ziyang then continued.

"However, why I'm here isn't important. What's important is why you're here?"

"Breaking into the garrison prison in the dead of night, with a sharpened weapon in hand, couldn't possibly be there just for a meal, could it?"

Swah——

An Ziyang flicked his wrist, pulling a fan from his sleeve. He tapped it a few times on the palm of his other hand, then paused abruptly and said with a smile.

"I understand."

"You're here to break me out of prison, right?"

"You brought weapons because you planned to kill a few soldiers and clear a path if you encountered any obstacles, right?"

The young man was trembling like a sieve, and dared not answer, only burying his head lower and lower.

But at that moment, An Ziyang suddenly laughed.

He suddenly raised his hand and slammed the fan against the bars of the cell next to him.

Bang.

As if a signal had been given, the torches hanging on the walls on both sides of the cell were lit with a "poof, poof, poof" sound, extending all the way into the depths of the prison and illuminating a row of cells.

An Ziyang turned around leisurely and pointed towards the depths of the prison with his fan.

"Is he the one you're here to rob?"

The young man suddenly looked up.

In the deepest cell, a figure hanging from a wooden frame was illuminated by the firelight. The figure was ragged and covered in wounds. Long hair hung down, obscuring the face, and drops of blood dripped from the ends of the hair down the face.

"Can't see clearly?"

An Ziyang smiled and waved his hand.

"how about this?"

woo-

Suddenly, a dark cloud appeared out of nowhere; upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a swarm of tiny flying insects, no bigger than grains of rice, which swooped down toward the man's face and whipped up his long, drooping hair.

He revealed a pale, heroic, and even somewhat immature face.

"General Qi!"

A mournful cry came from several wandering martial arts practitioners who often traveled in Shandong.

The person who had been tortured into unconsciousness was the very person they were trying to rescue, and also the Vice Commander Qi Jiguang that Wu Mingxiao had been longing to see!

In just a few days, the once valiant and wise General Qi, revered by all, has become like this!
These martial arts figures all shed tears.

The young man from the Huanhua Sword Sect finally mustered his courage and stammered as he spoke to An Ziyang.

"My lord... General Qi, he is innocent!"

He eagerly awaited An Ziyang's reply.

Unlike ordinary martial arts practitioners, the Huanhua Sword Sect is very close to the Embroidered Uniform Guard because of Li Miao, so their views on the Embroidered Uniform Guard are naturally different... The young man knows that although the current Embroidered Uniform Guard can be called cruel officials, they are also genuine good officials and a good government!

He wished An Ziyang could just laugh it off and say, "I see," and let General Qi go.

But the next moment, An Ziyang shattered his hopes completely.

"Innocent? How could that be?"

An Ziyang curled his lips into a smile and uttered cold words.

"I was the one who convicted him of the crime."

Li Miao, who had been watching the show for a while, raised an eyebrow and chuckled silently.

(End of this chapter)