Chapter 261

Li Miao looked up and down at Yin Suqin.

When chatting with An Ziyang before, he had mentioned this "Young Master Foul-Mouth" who was as famous as he was. According to An Ziyang, this man's Wu Gong was quite good, and his conduct was upright and honorable—it was just a pity he had such a foul mouth.

Especially after having a few drinks, there was no gossip in the Wu Lin that he dared not spread. There wasn't a single person of status in the Wu Lin who hadn't been slandered by him.

It could be said that ever since he started roaming the Wu Lin, he had been beaten up every month because of that broken mouth of his. Yet, the fact that he could still live perfectly well until now showed just how good his Wu Gong was.

Yin Suqin's brows furrowed even tighter.

He was actually used to this kind of scene. With that broken mouth of his, it would be strange if no one came knocking. However, he looked closely for a long time but failed to recognize Li Miao.

Cao Hanyan, who was at his side, hurriedly tried to smooth things over: "My lord, my lord. Did he mention you or your sect in his words just now? Please forgive him, my good friend is drunk and doesn't know any better, I will—"

Li Miao looked at him with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

"Mention? He said quite a lot about me."

Yin Suqin also laughed and cupped his hands: "My lord, if I have offended you because of this mouth, I offer you my apologies here."

He raised his hand to block Li Miao's arm.

"But—could you please take your hand down first?"

He had a foul mouth, but his nature wasn't bad. If someone came knocking, he never fought back, only fleeing on his own. But he was a swordsman after all, and he wouldn't truly let Li Miao grab his shoulder.

For this block, he used seventy percent of his strength.

Yet, it didn't budge a single bit.

Instantly, his expression changed.

He stirred his internal energy and used ten percent of his strength for another block.

It still didn't budge a single bit.

His expression turned dejected, his shoulders slumped, and he looked at Li Miao with a bitter smile.

"May I ask which senior expert you are?"

"If there has been any offense, could you just treat me like a fart and let me go—is that possible?"

Li Miao said with a smile.

"No."

Yin Suqin's expression became even uglier. It wasn't that he hadn't thought about having a day like this, where he would offend someone he couldn't afford to offend because of this broken mouth and then die. But he hadn't expected this day to come so suddenly.

He turned his head to look at Cao Hanyan and smiled bitterly.

"In that case, senior, could you let my good friend leave first? My mouth is foul, but he is a decent person who has never spoken ill of others—he has nothing to do with this."

Cao Hanyan immediately showed a look of urgency and was about to stand up. But a sword scabbard pressed down on his shoulder, and with a thud, he sat back down, unable to move.

It was Zheng Yi.

At this point, both of them understood that they were done for.

Yin Suqin could only smile bitterly and say.

"Senior, before you act, could you tell me your identity, or tell me when and what I said to offend you?"

"Let me be a ghost who knows why, alright?"

Li Miao smiled and didn't speak, his fingers slowly digging into Yin Suqin's shoulder, deeper and deeper, pushing aside the skin and flesh to pinch onto the bone.

Yin Suqin bit his teeth tightly, sweating profusely from the pain, forcing himself not to cry out.

Until—snap.

With a crisp sound, Yin Suqin's right hand hung down powerlessly.

His face turned pale instantly.

He was a swordsman who used a right-handed sword. And the other party had pinched and broken his right clavicle—his Wu Gong was already ruined.

Li Miao still hadn't taken his hand away.

He picked up his wine cup with his other hand, took a sip, and looked at Yin Suqin with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

"You ask when you offended me... just now."

Yin Suqin forced a smile.

"Are you an expert from Kongtong or Kunlun?"

Li Miao ignored him and continued.

"You want to ask which sentence offended me..."

"Every single one."

Yin Suqin pursed his lips and didn't make a sound.

Slap.

Li Miao placed the wine cup on the table and looked at him with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

The atmosphere became increasingly heavy.

Yin Suqin suddenly remembered the information he had gathered.

Regarding Li Miao's appearance, he had heard two versions. One version was a green-faced, fanged monster, eight feet tall, with bulging tiger eyes, like an evil ghost or Rakshasa.

That was also the version he had prepared to tell Cao Hanyan.

The other version was heroic in appearance, with a lazy demeanor and a smile at the corners of his mouth—which matched the person sitting across from him perfectly.

Remembering the "every single one" the other party had said just now, Yin Suqin's lips couldn't help but tremble, his face turned white, his hands and feet went cold, and his legs shook.

"It can't be... am I really that unlucky? I went to Songshan and blew in the mountain wind for half the night without seeing him, and just by drinking, I ran into this god?"

"It's over, it's over, it's over... if it really is him, it would be considered good luck if I could die right here on the spot... he is the ancestor of the Embroidered Uniform Guard!"

Yin Suqin made a final struggle.

"Senior... may I ask your name?"

Li Miao raised his eyebrows.

"Li Miao."

Thud.

Cao Hanyan slid to the floor, his lips moving but not knowing where to start. Yin Suqin's eyes widened, his heart filled with indescribable fear and despair.

Li Miao slowly pinched Yin Suqin's shoulder and smiled.

"Tell me, from whom did you hear these words?"

Yin Suqin forced himself to answer.

"Just hearsay... my lord, people in the Wu Lin are naturally loose-lipped, it can end with me, there's no need to kill them all..."

Li Miao, however, laughed.

"No, for other words, I would just break one of your shoulders to teach you a lesson and that would be it. But for one thing—where did you hear that Ji Tianrui is dead and that Ji Tianrui is the leader of the Ming Cult?"

Yin Suqin's expression changed.

He wasn't stupid; what he had just told Cao Hanyan were all the "most fun" versions. One could imagine that the Ming Cult's assassination of the Emperor certainly wouldn't be as simple as a private affair between a man and a woman.

Disaster comes from the mouth; he was afraid he had gotten involved in a major matter.

Not daring to hide anything, he spoke eagerly.

"My lord, I heard this from a passing Wu Lin person while drinking. He also said it was hearsay, I'm afraid this news has already spread... as for the source, I'm afraid it's hard to distinguish."

"Oh."

Li Miao nodded.

Judging by the sound of Yin Suqin's heartbeat, he shouldn't be lying.

Those who knew about Ji Tianrui were all involved in the Imperial Mausoleum affair. If he could spread this news, he could naturally also spread the truth about the Imperial Mausoleum affair.

It was just a few escaped palace attendants and the eunuchs left behind by the Emperor. There was no need for him to investigate this personally; he could just send a message back to Shuntian later.

Li Miao nodded and took his hand off Yin Suqin's shoulder.

"Forget it, let's leave it at that."

Having said that, he raised his hand and pointed out two streams of internal energy, hitting Cao Hanyan and Yin Suqin right in the chest. Both of their faces turned white, thinking they were about to die on the spot, and they couldn't help but feel immense regret.

After a while, the two slowly opened their eyes and reached out to touch their chests, but there was not a single sign of injury.

Li Miao didn't look at them. Zheng Yi brought over the food they had been eating, and Li Miao ate while pointing at the two with his chopsticks.

"You two go do something for me."

"The kid surnamed Cao is a local, so it's convenient—go and check for me if anyone who looks like me has appeared here from fifty years ago to now. Or someone with outstanding Wu Gong and an unknown background will also do."

"You have three days."

Yin Suqin and Cao Hanyan looked at each other.

Li Miao's move just now was definitely not without purpose. They figured that if they didn't return after three days, or if they couldn't find what Li Miao wanted, their fate would definitely not be good.

Without hesitation, the two stood up together, bowed to Li Miao, and walked quickly out of the tavern.