Chapter 228: Imperial Jade Seal

"Are you comfortable?" Tian Ba asked Consort Xiao.

"Comfortable." Consort Xiao leaned her head against Tian Ba's broad and sturdy chest, gazing up at him with a slightly flushed face, panting softly; just moments ago, she had experienced the happiest moment of her life.

Apart from Tian Ba, no one could make her feel this happy, this blissful.

Tian Ba could grasp both of Consort Xiao's breasts with one hand; he kneaded with one hand while propping his elbow on the bed, his palm supporting his head.

"Tian Ba, what are your plans for the next step?" Consort Xiao asked him coquettishly.

"Hehe..." Tian Ba gave a cold smile, then stopped moving his hands.

"Hmm?" Consort Xiao pressed on, spreading her arms to reveal her pure and alluring body entirely to Tian Ba.

One wave hadn't settled before another rose.

After an hour, dawn was about to rise.

A stranger appeared at the cave entrance. His hair was white, his skin wrinkled, he hunched his back, lowered his head, clasped his waist with both hands, strained to lift his head, wanting to venture into the cave yet hesitating to act rashly, as if wary of something.

"Hehe, isn't this Eunuch Zhang? Which wind blew you here?" Tian Ming had somehow already stood behind that person.

"The Way of Heaven. Hehe..." Eunuch Zhang chuckled coldly, not turning his head, not moving his body at all.

"Zhang Huayu, true to your reputation—you actually managed to find our base." Tian Ming clapped while walking toward Eunuch Zhang, saying, "Since you're here, why not come in for a cup of tea?"

Eunuch Zhang followed Tian Ming into the cave.

"Eunuch Zhang, what maxim do you live by?" Tian Ming asked.

"If you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get the tiger's cub?" Eunuch Zhang replied.

After walking a stretch of dark passage, the pebbles on the ground clacked and clattered; the sound of water droplets falling continuously could be heard. Soon they reached the deepest part of the cave.

"Such a small cave, yet it contains a whole world—truly vast in its capacity!" Eunuch Zhang exclaimed admiringly, "I never imagined there would be such a place around the imperial capital; it seems I've wasted all these years living in the capital."

"You are a person of stature, naturally you wouldn't look down on such a small place—please, have a seat." Tian Ming gestured, and a large chair appeared before Eunuch Zhang.

Eunuch Zhang sat down accordingly, facing Tian Ming.

"Such immense power must be the corpses from the subterranean world of the Thousand-layer Gate, right?" Eunuch Zhang sniffed, then asked.

Tian Ming pointed at the rock wall behind him and said to Eunuch Zhang, "No wonder you could find this place—you sensed the scent of our corpse people!"

"Hehe, impressive."

"Eunuch Zhang is still quite capable; I've heard everyone is looking for you now, they'd love to flay you and tear your bones apart, yet you haven't fled far—instead you're right under their feet. Such courage, I truly admire!" Tian Ming's words were half flattery, half truth, "But I think coming to find us wasn't a wise decision."

"Whether it's good or not, I don't know—I just wanted to come, to see the legendary Way of Heaven for myself." Eunuch Zhang said neither humbly nor arrogantly, "And there are two others?"

"Probably still asleep?"

"I heard from the Embroidered Uniform Guard that you recently attempted to assassinate Chen Yi He and failed?"

"The eyes and ears of the Embroidered Uniform Guard are everywhere; they could very well be planted among Zhou Ke's elite troops, or even among the royal ancestors and such!"

"Hahaha! I never expected this news to reach you." Tian Ming first laughed loudly, then quickly sank his face, speaking solemnly, "Indeed, that's the case!"

"How could it have failed? Care to explain? Is there a mastermind secretly pulling strings?" Eunuch Zhang asked intriguingly.

"Perhaps there is a mastermind behind it, so we need to wrap this up sooner."

"I recall you said you wouldn't speak, three months of time? To enjoy life to the fullest? Why now do you want to end it early?"

Tian Ming paused, then replied with a laugh, "Hehe, if you didn't know, you wouldn't show up at this time—let's get back to the point: what brings you to us?"

"Hahaha! Fine, we'll speak plainly as honest people—let's lay it all out!" Eunuch Zhang laughed loudly, his laughter making the cavern tremble, "I want to cooperate with you!"

"Cooperate!?" Tian Ming shrugged, spread his hands, "Are you talking in your sleep?"

"No, no, how could it be sleep talk? You shouldn't pretend like that; wouldn't it be better to lay our true cards on the table? Why bother with hypocrisy?" As he spoke these words, Eunuch Zhang's hunched back trembled, giving the feeling he might tumble from the chair at any moment.

"Alright, alright, then speak plainly—what do you bring to the table for a deal? Your strength? We're not interested." Seeing his lies exposed, Tian Ming felt no embarrassment and asked Eunuch Zhang,

"The Embroidered Uniform Guard, three hundred thousand of them—all yours."

"Hahaha! Three hundred thousand Embroidered Uniform Guard?"

"I know you have the corpse people of the Thousand-layer Gate Underground World as your vanguard, but they're dead after all, forever unable to take the stage." Eunuch Zhang justified his bargaining chip, "Even if you truly relied on them to conquer the world, they wouldn't be acknowledged by the populace; only by gaining the recognition of the legitimate Embroidered Uniform Guard can you earn the acknowledgment of the common folk and the world."

"Hahaha! Ridiculous—if that's the case, I think we have nothing to discuss; you may leave, I won't kill you!" Tian Ming slapped the chair's armrest, rose to his feet, making a gesture of seeing you out.

"Three hundred thousand living people—aren't they better than your bunch of corpses?"

"To us, the living and the corpse people are the same concept; don't think we'll feel lonely—even if everyone under heaven were hunted down and slaughtered, we wouldn't feel lonely!" Tian Ming said this, and his face actually showed a tragic expression, tragic to the extreme, turning into despair!

"Even if this world only had the three of you?" Eunuch Zhang hadn't expected his scheme to falter; he hadn't thought the Way of Heaven cared whether anyone flocked to it or not.

"Saying that shows you don't understand the Way of Heaven at all—the loneliness we endure in the Way of Heaven is beyond your imagination; living people, in our eyes, are nothing but corpses." Tian Ming said ruthlessly, the fang at the corner of his mouth revealing his murderous intent.

"It seems what I hold in my hand is merely a pawn on a chessboard; now the board is scattered—what use are the pawns?" Eunuch Zhang shook his head, sighing.

"You still have one pawn."

"What pawn?" Eunuch Zhang asked.

"Actually, you don't need to pretend—I know the Imperial Jade Seal of the Great Zhou Dynasty is on you."

"Imperial Jade Seal!?"