Chapter 296: Seventy-nine

Li Miao considered his brain to be quite flexible, not an outstandingly smart person, but good enough. If his martial arts were added, it was quite enough.

But facing Ji Tianrui, even Lord Li would feel a toothache.

If there were any opponents in the current Great Ming that Li Miao had to be prepared for and go all out against, it had to be this Ming Cult leader, the Miao demoness.

Li Miao had to admit that from the moment he stepped into the Jianghu, he had always been calculated to death by Ji Tianrui. In the Imperial Mausoleum affair, the Emperor, the Jianwen Emperor, and even Li Miao himself were just supporting roles; the only true protagonist was Ji Tianrui.

And she had indeed achieved all her calculations and retreated unscathed.

People like her, every move, every smile, were calculated; Li Miao wouldn't believe she left that secret room unintentionally.

It was estimated that from the beginning, this manual was left for Li Miao. It was just that there was a twist in the middle; first, someone in the Embroidered Uniform Guard stole it and gave it to Lord Luo as a gift; now it had gone around and was delivered to Li Miao again.

"Zheng Anqi."

Li Miao twisted his fingers and thought to himself.

"Although Leader Ji speaks in riddles, she doesn't like to lie, she just likes to hide things... so this information should be credible."

"This legendary figure who appeared in official history from the Qin and Han periods and had dealings with the First Emperor of Qin and Emperor Wu of Han is the founder of Yingzhou... and also the source of the bloodline of Yingzhou and Penglai."

Yingzhou and Penglai were both inherited by bloodline, and both had the surname Zheng. So An Qi Sheng was not only the ancestor of both sides but also the ancestor.

The answer to the question Xue Bangzhu sought was revealed.

"But if it were just 'An Qi Sheng founded Yingzhou,' would it really be worth Xue Bangzhu spending effort to investigate after his sect was wiped out? Would it be worth Leader Ji specifically leaving a manual to remind me?"

Li Miao's twisting fingers stopped.

He thought of the Jianwen Emperor and Yin Ruihua.

Although they were lingering in a state of living dead, the Jianwen Emperor had indeed lived to the present; by the time he was killed by Li Miao, he was already one hundred and sixty-seven years old. Yin Ruihua was even nearly two hundred years old.

Combining life and nature, even if they practiced the evil path of the Jianwen Emperor, they could greatly extend their lifespan.

An Qi Sheng had many titles, the more famous ones being "Zheng Xian," "Ancestor of Qin and Han Alchemists," "North Pole True Man," etc.

And, "Thousand-Year Old Man."

Li Miao lowered his hands.

As far as the four Heavenly Human realms he had come into contact with, he didn't think anyone could live for a thousand years. Even the mysterious "Silent Illumination" could not change the essence of the human body.

But now, what exactly the "Intent Realm"—"Xuan Lan"—was, he still had no clues and dared not make a rash assertion.

"More clues are needed, at least I need to investigate the manual left by Leader Ji and the relics of Zheng Huaijin clearly before I can deduce more conclusions... the only speculations I can make now are these."

Li Miao stopped thinking and looked up.

During the time he was thinking, Gao Anyu was still fighting Hua Zhixiu. But after the garrison troops surrounding him turned to protect Lord Luo, he wouldn't be in any danger for a short time.

And Lord Luo, seeing Li Miao finally look up, said hurriedly.

"How about it, have you considered it clearly?"

Li Miao looked at him, the corners of his mouth curling up.

"Hmm... almost."

Li Miao beckoned to Cao Hanyan, and Cao Hanyan sighed and turned to Li Miao's side without hesitation.

Lord Luo looked happy.

"Good, you are indeed straightforward! That secret room is in—"

"No rush."

Li Miao pointed a finger at Cao Hanyan's chest and smiled at Lord Luo.

"I have a few more questions, Lord Luo might as well answer them."

Lord Luo frowned, but he really didn't want to cause any more trouble. He thought to himself that there would be plenty of opportunities to deal with these ruffians in the future, so he flicked his sleeves: "Go ahead!"

Li Miao's finger was still poking Cao Hanyan's chest, smiling and saying.

"First, Lord Luo was a Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel, a noble office like the Selection Department, but was kicked to this Guangxin Prefecture in a demotion disguised as a promotion. Has Lord Luo ever thought about why?"

Lord Luo frowned, feeling angry, and was about to scold him, but heard Li Miao continue.

"Because you stood on the wrong side."

"!!!"

Lord Luo's eyelids widened slightly.

"Second, the current Embroidered Uniform Guard is different from before last year, Lord Luo should know since you came from the capital... then the question comes."

Li Miao put down the hand poking Cao Hanyan's chest.

"Who gave you the guts to first collude with the traitorous beasts in the Embroidered Uniform Guard to pocket things related to the Ming Cult, and then collude with a local great sect to try to cover up the cause of death of an Embroidered Uniform Guard Platoon Leader?"

Li Miao smiled coldly.

"Is it your teacher, Minister of the Ministry of Personnel Lord Qiu, or your fellow townsman, Right Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate Lord Gan?"

"Or is it those friends of yours in the Six Ministries who secretly submitted memorials to create momentum and wanted to suppress the rise of the imperial clan?"

*Deng, deng, deng.

Lord Luo's knees went weak, and he almost fell. He barely stabilized his figure but stepped back a few steps, pointing a trembling hand at Li Miao.

"You, you, why do you know—"

"I am the one asking you questions now."

Li Miao interrupted him with a smile, and Lord Luo actually turned pale and closed his mouth, mumbling.

Only then did Li Miao continue slowly.

"Look, Lord Luo, you are not sincere."

"I asked you two questions, and you didn't answer either. With such an attitude, how can we talk about cooperation?"

"How about this, as long as you can answer my third question, the previous things will be forgotten, how about that?"

How could Lord Luo answer now?

His official robe was trembling, and the subordinate official who had been supporting him just now had quietly let go, quietly stepped back a few steps, and pulled away from him.

After a long while, he said with a trembling voice.

"You say."

Li Miao patted Cao Hanyan on the shoulder.

Since being poked by his finger, Cao Hanyan had been closing his eyes and hanging his head, his face flushed, as if he had lost his mind. Now, being patted by him, he suddenly opened his eyes, but the first thing he did was reach out and touch himself all over, then looked at Li Miao in astonishment.

Li Miao didn't look at him but continued to say to Lord Luo.

"Actually, the third question is very simple, I think Lord Luo should be able to answer it."

"This question is... how many people are in your family?"

Lord Luo instinctively wanted to answer.

"Seven—"

Halfway through the words, he suddenly realized something, and cold sweat broke out on his back.

He knew very well what this question represented, having come from the capital and experienced the bloody struggles between the imperial clan, eunuchs, and civil official groups in the first half of this year.

But Li Miao wouldn't let him go.

"Correct, Lord Luo finally got it right once."

Li Miao laughed playfully.

"That's right... it is indeed, seventy-nine people."

Lord Luo's eyes widened! His wife and young children, plus his concubines, were clearly only seven!

Cao Hanyan turned around, feeling the surging, far-exceeding internal energy in his body, drew his blade, and sighed long.

Sure enough, he still couldn't stop it.

These people were too good at courting death; he had tried his best to turn things around within the range Li Miao could accept, but he still couldn't change the result.

Lord Luo was confused by the situation, but Cao Hanyan was a bystander who saw clearly, and he looked at Lord Luo with pity.

The names Li Miao mentioned just now... teachers, fellow townsmen, friends, those who worked for the civil official group with him, trying to stop the rise of the imperial clan.

Added together with Lord Luo's family, it should be exactly seventy-nine people.