The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 578 Meeting
Following the humming, Lu Wushuang slowly climbed the steps, crossed the ruins, and looked up to see Li Miao in the distance.

Sensing the subtle melancholy in Li Miao's singing, she didn't approach him directly, but instead sat cross-legged and watched him from afar.

Under the moonlight, Li Miao leaned against the ruins, holding a half-full wine jug and swaying it, his eyes slightly closed, his fingers resting on his knees and tapping slowly.

The wine cup opposite was empty, and the wooden mallet lay scattered beside the wooden fish, swaying gently in the breeze, creating delicate ripples in the pool of blood, as if the departed old monk was responding to his friend's tune.

The moonlight, as white as snow, condensed into a layer of pure white frost on the blood.

Lu Wushuang stared at Li Miao in a daze from afar.

She didn't know what had happened that night, but she had some guesses. Seeing Li Miao, whose clothes were torn after the battle, revealing his strong, muscular arms and chest, his body still wet with blood, sitting alone in the ruins drinking under the moon, humming a tuneless tune to an empty wine glass, she wanted to go forward, but dared not approach.

After a long pause, she sighed.

"too weak."

“I’m too weak to keep up with him, I don’t even have the right to watch. I don’t know who his enemy is, or what I can do or say…”

“Brother An has already cultivated to the Celestial Realm, while I am still complacent about reaching the summit… I, Lu Wushuang, will never do anything to curry favor!”

Swish!
Lu Wushuang flicked her sleeve, revealing a soft sword. She raised her hand and let her long hair fall loose; a flash of cold light, and most of her hair fell to the ground. She sheathed the short sword and, while keeping an eye on Li Miao, tied up her severed hair.

"A Celestial Being! Before leaving Japan, I must achieve Celestial Being status! Next time, I will never be a weakling excluded from the battle!"

Lu Wushuang gritted her teeth and said in a low voice.

She had shaved her head to show her resolve, not to prove anything with this vow, nor to mention her thoughts to anyone else. But before she could finish speaking, a laughing voice suddenly came from behind her.

"You want to cultivate yourself into a celestial being?"

"You don't have to wait until you leave Japan, you can do it now."

The voice was pleasant and melodious, and it was extremely close, as if it were right next to Lu Wushuang's ear. The breath that was being spoken was blowing in her ear, which startled her!

Who! When did they arrive?!
If someone gets this close without you noticing, it means your life is in their hands!
"who--"

Lu Wushuang was about to shout angrily, raising both hands to stab her soft sword behind her back. But before she could make a move, a hand lightly touched a major acupoint on her back, freezing her in place.

"Don't shout, don't shout."

"Don't disturb Lord Li."

The person behind him laughed and walked to Lu Wushuang's side, also looking down at Li Miao from afar, his smile growing even stronger.

"It's been two years since I last saw you, Lord Li, and you still look as dashing as ever, which delights me. But you're currently reminiscing about old friends, so I'll go and bother you later."

She turned to look at Lu Wushuang.

"Miss Deer, right?"

"You should know me. I have no ill intentions towards Lord Li, so please don't speak loudly or disturb him... You know I'm not kind to anyone other than Lord Li, right?"

Lu Wushuang's pupils trembled violently.

Moonlight streamed down, flowing over the three-layered white robes worn by the person opposite. The outermost white robe was made of finely woven Echizen silk, its wide sleeves cascading down like fresh snow covering the steps. Below, a dark purple hakama (traditional Japanese kimono) hung down to the clogs, the plain buttons of the kudzu sandals peeking out from the ankles—the robes of the priestess of the Ise Grand Shrine.

If the attire of the highest-ranking priest of the Ise Grand Shrine brought Lu Wushuang horror, then the exquisitely beautiful face smiling charmingly beneath the jet-black tasseled crown made Lu Wushuang almost unable to suppress the shock and fear in her heart.

“Ji… Ji…” Lu Wushuang squeezed out a name from his throat, a name that carried a hint of despair and was enough to strike fear into the hearts of more than 99% of the martial arts world in the Central Plains.

“Ji Tianrui…”

The priestess smiled and nodded.

"Yes, it's me."

Although Lu Wushuang was unable to move due to acupressure, her vest was instantly soaked with cold sweat.

How could it be her!
Judging from what Minamoto no Asahi said, shouldn't she be being hunted down by Shintoism right now?
She had already been to Enryaku-ji Temple and taken away Master Jianzhen's body, so why would she come again... and why at this particular time!
Li Miao once said that if there was any opponent in the world who gave him a headache, Ji Tianrui would undoubtedly be the only one. Now, Li Miao has just fought a major battle, his injuries compounded. If Ji Tianrui were to launch a sneak attack or assassination now, or use any other means… that would be bad!
Lu Wushuang disregarded his own safety and was about to shout a warning, but before he could speak, he suddenly trembled and could no longer control his body except for his eyes. His shout was also blocked in his throat.

Ji Tianrui waved her hand.

"Sigh, I already said I meant no harm."

"If I had malicious intent, why would I waste my breath talking to you? Wouldn't it be better to just go and kill Lord Li? ... Never mind, let's get back to the main topic."

"You just said that you want to become a celestial being before leaving Japan?"

Ji Tianrui, with her hands behind her back, tilted her head and leaned closer to Lu Wushuang, smiling playfully.

"Although you have good aptitude, you're just a potential Celestial Being. At best, you'll only reach the second or third level in your life—even if you have another year, you still won't become a Celestial Being."

"However, I've always been very public-spirited towards those around Lord Li..."

She took Lu Wushuang's hand, bit her fingertip, and drew a circle on her palm. Immediately, Ji Tianrui's sleeve twitched a few times, and three Gu worms crawled onto Lu Wushuang's palm, beginning to lick Ji Tianrui's blood.

Once the blood was consumed, the worms suddenly bit into the flesh of Lu Wushuang's palm, cutting a gash along the circle drawn by Ji Tianrui before she could react in horror, and then burrowed inside.

"Uh-huh--"

Lu Wushuang felt a cold, sharp pain tear through her flesh from her palm, arm, and collarbone to her chest cavity. Then it split into three paths: one stopped at her heart, one went down to her dantian, and the last one suddenly burrowed into her skull, finally stopping at her upper jaw.

Ji Tianrui patted her hand, channeling her inner energy, and the wound healed instantly. She smiled.

"The heavens have three lights: the sun, the moon, and the stars; man has three treasures: the three dantian. The upper dantian is the Purple Palace, the middle dantian is the Yellow Court, and the lower dantian is the Sea of ​​Qi. I'm giving you three Gu worms that I've improved."

“You may not want to now, but talent and endowment are insurmountable barriers that cannot be overcome by swearing oaths or shaving your head to show your determination.”

"When you finally understand, you can try using your true energy to connect the three—you'll be pleasantly surprised."

"Okay."

Ji Tianrui pointed a finger at Lu Wushuang's neck.

"Wait for us in Kyoto."

"I'm going to find Lord Li."

In the last moment before Lu Wushuang lost consciousness, she saw Ji Tianrui gracefully descend from the ruins and walk towards Li Miao, who was squinting and scanning over.

"Lord Li, you still owe me a favor from the battle of the Forbidden City... How about we catch up?"

(End of this chapter)