The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 52 Invitation to Battle

"Uh--"

Deng Baixuan was blocked by Li Miao.

But he immediately changed his tone and said with a smile: "Yes, yes, it was Deng who took it for granted."

"The Northern Pacification Office's Bu Zhenfushi is also famous!"

He secretly regretted that he had taken things for granted and accidentally violated a taboo. The North and South Pacification Offices worked in the same government office and were competitors. He rashly flattered and ended up flattering the boss of the rival office. It was really wrong.

But Li Miao said, "I am not under Bu Lei's jurisdiction either."

"If you want to flatter my superior, then flatter the commander, Lord Zhu. Don't flatter the wrong person."

In terms of organization, Li Miao was from the Northern Pacification Division, and his salary was also distributed by the Northern Pacification Division.

But he is special.

Li Miao has been a subordinate of Commander Zhu Zai for more than ten years. Zhu Zai's cultivation and trust in him over the years have been seen by everyone in the Jinyiwei. Whenever Zhu Zai has any difficult tasks, he will directly hand them over to Li Miao.

As for Li Miao's temper... those who understand him know him. The people in the Northern Pacification Office had already reached a consensus in private: Don't let Li Miao do anything, otherwise he will use you as a shield and delay the task if the commander assigns him an errand.

When Zhu Zai throws his chopsticks in your face, don't complain.

After all, the cost of a thousand-household garrison was not small, and the Northern Pacification Office could not afford to support a thousand-household garrison that only obeyed orders but not orders. As time went by, Li Miao's thousand-household garrison gradually became independent, and Li Miao's salary began to be paid directly by Zhu Zai.

The "warehouse" where Li Miao usually took money also refers to Zhu Zai's private warehouse.

It's no wonder that a son doesn't feel bad when he sells his father's land, so Li Miao took money from it at will. Zhu Zai had no objection, and no one else had the right to interfere.

Back to the present, everyone in the Jinyiwei knew about this matter, but Deng Baixuan didn't know it and was stunned for a moment.

I thought to myself, "You are neither under the jurisdiction of the Southern Pacification Office nor the Northern Pacification Office. I still call you sir, but you just call me by my name."

"Which Jinyiwei are you from? Is this still Dashuo?"

Look at the thousand-householder badge hanging around Li Miao’s waist, it’s real.

But the sentence "The boss is Commander Zhu" is very clear.

Deng Boxuan thought to himself, "This is a big deal."

If this captain of the Imperial Guard had taken over the job from the commander of the Imperial Guard, it would mean that there was someone on Mount Tai that the imperial court wanted to kill.

Before tonight, most of the people in the room will leave. Without knowing Li Miao's purpose, even the people from Songshan School, Hengshan School, and Hengshan School will not be able to sleep tonight.

Deng Baixuan stopped talking.

Zuo Lishan did not see anyone, he did not want to be the first to do so. Originally, his Hengshan Sect was located in the south, and had never participated in suppressing the Huashan Sect. He just wanted to use the name of the "Five Mountains Sword Sect" to develop himself.

Normally he can be a peacemaker, but he won't do it if he is asked to prevent disaster.

For a moment, no one in the room spoke, only the sound of cup lids clinking when Li Miao drank tea could be heard from time to time.

Several underworld figures whose seats were close to Li Miao were sweating profusely and stood still, afraid of being noticed by Li Miao.

Why hasn't Zuo Lishan come yet?

He, the master, doesn't show up, but lets us take the lead. What's going on?!

Everyone secretly complained in their hearts.

Fortunately, some clever disciples of the Taishan Sect had already noticed the situation was not good and had already trotted off to report it.

The room was silent for a while, and finally someone walked in from the back hall. "I have made some breakthroughs in my meditation recently, and I forgot the time. I am sorry for neglecting you all. I hope you can forgive me."

Before the person arrives, the words come first.

The man who was speaking had a long sword on his waist, a serious and upright face, and was dressed neatly. He had a glove on his right hand and walked to the middle of the room and stood still.

It’s Zuo Lishan!
At this moment, he was completely different from what Gao Ling saw yesterday. He had returned to his previous "Zhenyue Sword" style, and there was no trace of yesterday's madness or inhumanity from head to toe.

At this moment, he swept his cold eyes over everyone in the room, first glanced at Gao Ling, and then locked his gaze on Li Miao.

Ignoring everyone's surprised looks, he walked straight towards Li Miao without looking around or greeting anyone else.

"Master Li."

Zuo Lishan took a few steps forward and walked in front of Li Miao: "Long time no see."

"Thank you very much for your teachings a few days ago, Lord Li. I, Zuo, have benefited a lot."

Li Miao said without even raising his head: "You're welcome, it's just a small favor."

When Zuo Lishan heard this, bloodshot suddenly appeared in his eyes, and it seemed as if something was crawling under his long gown.

Li Miao's words almost exposed the flaw in his appearance that he had managed to stabilize with great difficulty.

Just a simple gesture...?
You injured me to the point of near death, crippled my right hand, and forced me to use the Ming Cult's skills and poisonous insects in advance - just a piece of cake?
Zuo Lishan's normal appearance at this time was just a cover-up. His body and mind were completely different inside. His crazy appearance in front of Gao Ling that day was definitely not fake. He had truly turned into a madman inside.

If that technique has no side effects and can allow top masters to reach further, why wouldn't the Ming Cult use it?
The Ming Cult gave the things to Zuo Lishan not out of kindness, but rather sent a trap to Zuo Lishan.

If you don't use it, you will be stuck at the top. If you use it, you will not be able to raise your head in front of the Ming Cult. Otherwise, I will spread the news. The poisonous insects in your body and the different Qi from the Central Plains martial arts will not withstand inspection.

Zuo Lishan was overjoyed when he met Li Miao and Gao Ling: they were the only two people who had seen him seriously injured that day, and now they came to him on their own initiative.

If he kills these two people, he will have no more trouble. As for the accounts with the Ming Cult and the Jinyiwei, he can slowly turn things around.

If it was the usual Zuo Lishan, he would not be impulsive. But now, Zuo Lishan was almost furious at Li Miao's casual words.

Zuo Lishan suppressed his anger at this time and nodded, saying: "Lord Li may not seek repayment, but I must be grateful."

"Since Lord Li has come to our Taishan Sect today, I, Zuo, have received Lord Li's great kindness, so I should do my best to be a good host."

"Your Excellency holds an official position, so you should be different from common people like us. My Taishan Sect has a private residence in the back mountain, far away from other guest halls, so we, the people of the martial arts world, will not disturb your peace."

"Lord Li, would you like to stay here overnight?"

At this moment, even Mei Qinghe understood what Zuo Lishan meant.

Invite to fight.

Zuo Lishan practiced evil skills, his martial arts skills became even better, and his body was transformed by poisonous insects, making him tougher and weirder than ordinary people.

Li Miao deliberately held back that day, and with the martial arts skills he displayed that day, Zuo Lishan felt that he was already capable of winning.

So he's being provocative.

The question is “Are you willing?”, which actually means “Can you dare?”

Do you dare to live in a place where no one can hear you, waiting for me to come to you tonight?
"Okay."

Li Miao stood up and said, "Master Zuo's hospitality is hard to refuse, so I will stay here for one more night."

(End of this chapter)