The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 640 The Ones Who Went to Their Deaths (5k)

Outside the capital.

Tang Lanzhou staggered out of the city gate and ran forward as fast as he could.

The capital was in chaos, but it was precisely because of this chaos that he successfully escaped the city under the cover of the crowd. The foreign woman chased after him several times along the way, but Zheng Yi stopped her each time, and she hasn't pursued him again for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Tang Lanzhou's chest swelled and contracted violently, like a broken bellows.

Even with his unwavering resolve, he could not overcome the frailty of his aging body.

"Where...where..."

His vision was already blurring at the edges, and his mind was beginning to wander.

"The tiger tally and the imperial seal... must be handed over..."

Tang Lanzhou staggered forward.

Ahead, at the edge of the line of sight, someone seems to be running rapidly towards us.

"Tang...Tang..."

"Lord Tang..."

"Lord Tang!"

The figure finally arrived in front of him and reached out to help him up.

Tang Lanzhou strained to open her eyes wide and make out the person's face.

"Ah—Lord An."

An Ziyang pinched his pulse point, channeled his inner energy into him, and asked urgently at the same time.

"How is the situation?"

Tang Lanzhou barely managed to regain his composure and took out the tiger tally and jade seal from his bosom.

"Lord Zhu, His Majesty, and the ministers, officials, and retainers within the Forbidden City."

"They should have all fallen by now."

"That celestial being, whose realm was above Lord Li's, shattered the Hall of Supreme Harmony."

"Commander Zheng Yi has been holding off the pursuers for me for so long that I haven't seen him for even a cup of tea."

He rattled off the current situation like a machine gun, each sentence making An Ziyang's face even more gloomy.

An Ziyang was also clearly not in good condition. His face was pale, and the skin color of the hand that was supporting Tang Lanzhou did not match the skin color of the rest of his body. It was obviously caused by the healing technique he had recently developed.

The assassination attempt by the alien celestial beings against Li Miao's subordinates was clearly not going to be easy to withstand.

If they hadn't rarely fought since the chaos in Yingzhou, and their martial arts hadn't improved so much that the enemy misjudged their strength, they might not have survived until now. But after rushing back to the capital overnight following the assassination attempt, they were already at their last gasp.

As the two were talking, several more people arrived.

You Zi'ang carried the unconscious Mei Qinghe on his back, while Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu each pressed on her pulse points and channeled their inner energy to revive her.

Others, including Deng Baixuan, former head of the Hengshan Sect; Zhou Yingxue, former head of the Songshan Sect; Liu Baiyun, former head of the Huashan Sect; Zhisheng, head of the Wudang Sect; and Zhiqing, an elder of the Wudang Sect, all gathered around.

An Ziyang said in a deep voice.

"There's no need to enter the city."

"The old man from the river has already entered the city."

Everyone's expression changed drastically.

They had all rushed back from the south overnight, but upon arrival, the worst-case scenario they had anticipated had already come true and was right before their eyes.

"But the old commander—"

Cao Hanyan said urgently.

Tang Lanzhou barely managed to regain his composure and looked up to speak.

"Zhu Gong and His Majesty will be fine."

“If they want to usurp the throne, they cannot commit regicide; and Lord Zhu’s life is their bargaining chip in negotiations with Lord Li. They will not kill them.”

"Similarly, Lord Zhu Yijing and the family of Lord Zhu are probably the same."

"But...the others in the city..."

Tang Lanzhou fell silent.

Deng Baixuan was taken aback, and then gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

"Brother Zhang... is in the Forbidden City..."

"Given his personality, he would definitely try to rescue Zhu Gong immediately..."

Zhou Yingxue, Liu Baiyun, and Gao Ling, who also came from the Five Mountains Sword Sect, darkened their expressions.

The men, having come from similar backgrounds and known each other for a long time, and having all joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard after the events in Tai'an, had become close friends over the years. Because of this, the soft-hearted Deng Baixuan couldn't finish his sentence.

Zhang Jingfeng is doomed.

The rest of the people also had somber expressions.

"There are also Lord Zhu Shoujing, Consort Ruan Mei, and Consort Hong Chou."

"And other colleagues stationed in the Forbidden City..."

Cao Hanyan lowered her head and gritted her teeth.

"There's no time for mourning."

An Ziyang said in a deep voice.

"There's still something to do."

“We must let go of the capital, but before the commander returns, we must do something to slow down their actions… Brother Cao, you take Zhou Yingxue, Deng Baixuan, and Liu Baiyun to meet up with Commander Zheng Yi.”

Cao Hanyan nodded and left with the three of them.

"Brother You, take Sister Mei and Lord Tang with you."

An Ziyang handed Tang Lanzhou and the jade seal and tiger tally to You Zi'ang.

"Go to Nanjing, it's safe there."

"We must get there within three days, or Sister Mei will surely die."

You Zi'ang took the jade seal and tiger tally, carried Tang Lanzhou and Mei Qinghe on his back, nodded, and turned to leave quickly.

An Ziyang then turned to look at Zhiqing and Zhisheng.

"Two Daoist masters, Commander Gao and I will go with you to meet Daoist Yue Cang."

"Then we'll do 'that thing'."

Yue Cang is the Taoist name of Wu Tian.

The Wudang elder Zhiqing, who was the first to meet Li Miao, remained silent, while the Wudang sect leader Zhisheng slowly shook his head.

"No need."

“Governor of Anzhen, my uncle does not need to provide assistance.”

An Ziyang frowned.

"But Daoist Yue Cang's cultivation level should be lower than that of that Wudang outcast..."

Zhisheng said slowly.

"My martial uncle left a message."

"The Wudang disciples helped foreign tribes enter the pass and overthrow the world. Such sins must be cleansed by the Wudang disciples themselves. They cannot be left for later or tomorrow. Every extra breath that person lives is a disgrace to the ancestor."

"My martial uncle will perish together with him."

"This concerns the people of the world, and Wudang will not hold them back—that's what my martial uncle said."

Zhisheng's words were resolute.

An Ziyang remained silent for a few moments after hearing this, then nodded.

"I see."

"If we live to see the future, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will build a cenotaph for Daoist Yue Cang. Every year during the Qingming Festival, the Embroidered Uniform Guard will go to Wudang Mountain to sweep and clean Daoist Yue Cang's grave."

"Therefore, everyone, follow me."

After saying that, An Ziyang turned around and dashed away like an arrow.

Gao Anyu, Zhiqing, and Zhisheng followed in silence.

The group did not enter the city, but instead sped off in the opposite direction.

If someone were to look down from above, they would see that the direction in which the group was rushing was exactly the opposite of the path that Kawakami had cleared when he stormed into the capital, as if they were tracing back the direction from which Kawakami had come.

The group traveled at high speed for about half an hour.

As they gradually lost sight of human habitation, the group arrived at a vast, flat wilderness.

An Ziyang suddenly stopped.

He circulated his inner energy, raised and opened his palm. After a few breaths, there was a rustling sound, and a Gu worm about the thickness of a little finger crawled out from his sleeve and onto his palm. After slithering and stretching a few times, it came to a stop.

After a moment, two figures suddenly appeared in the distance.

Its speed was extremely fast, clearly indicating that it was also a master at the Celestial Realm.

In just a few breaths, they arrived in front of them.

An Ziyang glanced at the two of them up and down, then let out a long sigh of relief.

"Thank goodness...Brother Wang."

Wang Hai nodded and put Li Xiaosi down from his back.

“The alien celestial beings have long been eyeing Xiao Si. If it weren’t for Master Yongjie of Shaolin, I probably wouldn’t have been able to rescue Xiao Si from the city by myself.”

“Master Yongjie is seriously injured, and I have told him to leave on his own.”

An Ziyang nodded.

"Just stay alive."

After saying that, he turned to look at Xiao Si. "Can you do it?"

Xiao Si's expression was somber. Unlike the others, she was Li Miao's adopted daughter. Zhu Zai loved Li Miao and took good care of her, so she had considerable feelings for Zhu Zai, not entirely because of Li Miao.

Now that Zhu Zai has fallen into the hands of the river elder, she is naturally worried.

However, when she heard An Ziyang ask, she knew that now was not the time to think about these things, so she forcibly composed herself and nodded.

“Brother Hai already told me about this on the way here.”

She raised her hand, rolled up her sleeves, revealing her slender arms.

"hiss!--"

Zhiqing and Zhisheng were not Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) after all, and they didn't know Xiao Si well. After seeing Xiao Si's arm, they both gasped in shock.

"this!"

On Xiao Si's slender, snow-white arms, there were hundreds... no, thousands of tiny, dark holes, with uneven edges at the entrances, like leaves that had been gnawed by insects.

Xiao Si said in a deep voice.

"Due to the emergency, I had no choice but to forcibly collect the Gu worms stored at home into my body."

"There are too many of them, the poison is too strong, and the flesh and blood cannot be repaired."

"The alien celestial beings destroyed some of it, but I still managed to bring out... about 80%."

An Ziyang pursed his lips and said.

"I haven't been back to Beijing for several years... How many out of eighty percent?"

Xiao Si answered calmly.

"More than 178,300 Gu worms."

"They're all inside me."

Zhiqing and Zhisheng were utterly horrified.

Nearly 180,000 Gu worms are now surging and writhing inside this petite girl's body... A chill ran down the spines of both of them.

An Ziyang nodded.

"That should be enough."

The two Taoist priests exchanged a glance and couldn't help but ask.

"Anzhenfu Envoy, Wangzhenfu Envoy."

"We are not from the Embroidered Uniform Guard and do not know your plans... But now that we have come this far, could you please explain why we are here?"

Zhisheng reached out and gestured to Xiao Si.

"Miss Li...why did you bring nearly two hundred thousand Gu worms?"

An Ziyang looked over and said.

"Please forgive me, Daoist priests. In fact, before today, I did not dare to fully trust you. After all... the reason you came to help was because that Wudang outcast who defected to the Tatars sent you a letter in advance."

"Therefore, it was my fault for keeping this from you two all this time."

He clasped his hands in a fist and bowed to the two Taoist priests.

Zhiqing and Zhisheng quickly stepped forward to help him up.

“There’s no need for the Governor of Anzhen to do this.”

“At its root, it’s still because of the filth within Wudang… It’s only right that you take precautions.”

The two helped An Ziyang up.

"However, we are currently short-handed. Since today's matter concerns the world, we do not want any mistakes to be made by Wudang... We would appreciate it if Governor An could explain a few things so that we can act accordingly."

An Ziyang nodded and said.

"You two should know the root cause of today's events."

"It is unknown when it began, but the old man from the river has been using the alias 'Eternal Heaven' to establish a sect among the Tatar tribes. It can be said that the Tatars are now completely under his control."

"And what happened today was done by him while the commander was away."

"First, they secretly assembled a large army and gathered outside Shanhaiguan; they blasted open the city walls, and then led thousands of elite cavalry on a rapid march, breaking through passes one after another. The main army followed behind to take over the cities and eliminate the rebels."

"But as far as I know, after breaking through Juyong Pass, the old man from the river, in order to speed things up, even abandoned those thousands of cavalrymen... and took only a portion of the alien celestial beings he had trained, heading straight for the capital."

"That's the flaw."

An Ziyang said slowly.

"For us, the River God is an insurmountable mountain that we cannot conquer, but no matter how powerful he is, he is still just one person... To control the world, the Tatar army is a necessity."

"We need to delay his usurpation of the court. Taking action against him personally is far less effective than... taking direct action against the Tatars!"

As Zhisheng listened, he suddenly turned his head and looked into the distance. Then he squatted down, placed his palm on the ground, and after a few breaths, he suddenly realized.

"The sound of horses' hooves, cavalry."

"I see……"

He looked up and said.

"The old man on the river, the light cavalry entering the pass, and the Tatar army."

"These three are currently disconnected."

"The Gu worms... are for dealing with the foreign armies that have entered the pass."

An Ziyang nodded.

"Yes."

"He had no time to worry about anything else until his father-in-law in the capital achieved his goal."

"We must seize this time and fight our way back along the route of Juyong Pass, Datong, and Shanhaiguan, spreading the Gu worms into the Tatar army... Without an army, without the imperial seal and tiger tally, the River Elder is just a rootless duckweed with the highest power in the world. He can kill people, but he cannot seize power; he can do evil, but he cannot overturn the world."

"In that case... hopefully we can stall until the commander returns."

Zhiqing pondered for a long time, then suddenly frowned.

"But... there are a few problems here."

"Firstly, news of our attack on the Tatar army will eventually reach the ears of the River Elder, who could appear before us at any time, and we... will be powerless to resist."

"Secondly, there must be celestial beings among the Tatar army, perhaps even celestial beings from the third, fourth, or even fifth routes, so our operation will not be so easy to succeed."

"Thirdly, we still have no news about Lord Li. Forgive my bluntness, but is it possible that the old man from the river has already taken action against him, and that he has met with misfortune?"

Upon hearing the last sentence, Gao Anyu's eyes widened in anger.

"You old bull's nose, let go—"

He was stopped halfway through his sentence by An Ziyang waving his hand.

"It's alright. The two Taoist priests have already risked their lives to save the country and alleviate its difficulties. Moreover, they are only discussing the matter at hand and are not disrespecting the commander."

After stopping Gao Anyu, An Ziyang turned around and continued speaking.

"Let me start with the third point."

"You two are right. The timing of Kawakami's attack is so coincidental that it's hard to say that the commander's trip to Japan wasn't a pre-planned scheme... But please think about this."

"If the old man on the river was confident he could kill the commander... why would he have gone to the trouble of luring the commander away?"

"If the commander is in danger, why would he keep the old commander as a bargaining chip in negotiations with him?"

"This shows that he knows very well that no matter what methods he left in Japan, he can't keep the commander... The commander will definitely come back, and he will come back soon. With the commander's ability to investigate cases, he may have already discovered Kawakami's plan, so he will definitely rush back as quickly as possible."

An Ziyang said firmly.

"And we must hold on until he comes back."

Zhiqing and Zhisheng exchanged a glance and nodded in unison, agreeing with An Ziyang's statement.

An Ziyang continued.

"Then there's the first and the second."

"To be honest, no one knows how strong the River God is, so no one knows how long it will take him to take over the capital, or how many people and spies he has spread throughout the Central Plains. Therefore, he may detect our actions at any time and appear in front of us."

"As for how many powerful Celestials he has cultivated over the years, and how many Celestials are in the Tatar army, we have no idea."

"so--"

An Ziyang said in a deep voice.

"From this moment on, every one of us could die."

"The two Taoist priests should know that I am not a kind person."

An Ziyang said.

"I am by no means a kind-hearted person."

"But today, one of Wudang's members has already died, so I would like to ask you two a question."

"Gentlemen, would you consider leaving for the sake of Wudang?"

The two Taoist priests from Wudang looked at each other and burst into laughter.

Laughter echoed across the open field, mingling with the distant, rapid sound of horses' hooves.

"Although Wudang is a Taoist sect, we are also chivalrous heroes of the martial world... To wield a sword and save the day when the world is in turmoil is something we have dreamed of since childhood, since we first began learning martial arts!"

"Such a wonderful opportunity should not be left to the esteemed officers of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

"Among those who are willing to die for their cause, Wudang has more than just Uncle Yuecang!"

The sound was clear and resonant, spreading outwards.

The Tatar cavalry, galloping from afar, had already arrived.

That's exactly what I wanted to say.

Then several figures roared, remained silent, or laughed loudly.

It hurled itself at the dense military formation and the alien celestial beings that emerged from it.

(End of this chapter)