Chapter 307

In the cold moonlight and chilly wind, Li Miao said slowly.

"I said when I was teaching you interrogation before, what is so-called 'those with permanent property have permanent hearts'; this sentence is also appropriate right now."

"Everything in this world has weight; the more things you hold in your hands, the harder it is for you to move. The things you care about will ultimately turn into shackles that frame you, making you willing to move along a fixed trajectory."

"Of course, this is not a bad thing. Even I am willingly framed, becoming an 'animal in clothes' who has to check in every day."

Li Miao smiled; although it sounded like self-mockery, Gao Anyu heard some self-satisfaction and relief in it.

"But these people are different."

Li Miao gestured for Gao Anyu to look at the eunuch.

"Eunuchs are essentially a group of people forcibly separated from kinship and blood ties by imperial power."

"From the moment they walked out of that room, their attributes as 'humans' were cut off along with their bodies."

"Family, blood ties, love."

"Reputation, dignity, recognition."

"These things were all cut away from them, but at the same time, it unloaded their shackles. They are destined never to get anyone's recognition or respect, and they are destined never to get any 'legitimate' fame or wealth."

While speaking, Gu Feixuan's wounds had gradually healed. Li Miao walked to the middle-aged eunuch, looked at his red eyes, and said calmly.

"This is our enemy."

"A group of wretches who can only think of the most vicious revenge as making their enemy become just like them."

Li Miao beckoned, and Gao Anyu walked over knowingly, looking together at the middle-aged eunuch who was standing in place, veins bulging but unable to move.

Li Miao reached out and poked the middle-aged eunuch's chest, smiling.

"There is only one thing I want to tell you."

"It's not that there are no good people among eunuchs, but it's best not to think that the one in front of you is an exception."

"To deal with these people, it's best not to think they have any bottom line from the beginning, don't expect to catch any leverage on them, and don't let them know what you care about."

"Don't have any hesitation, just strike directly."

Pfft.

Li Miao's fingers were like sharp blades, slowly sinking into the middle-aged eunuch's chest, hooking the ribs, and lifting him up.

"This little brat and Gu Feixuan are left to you; take them back to the boat and watch them, I'm going to kill some people."

"If Little Yi and Little Cao come back, just sail the boat toward Nanjing; after arriving, find You Zi'ang to rendezvous, no need to wait for me."

"I want to see how far I can kill along this line."

Before the words were finished, Gao Anyu's vision blurred.

Looking again, Li Miao was already carrying the middle-aged eunuch's ribs, sinking into the reed marsh dozens of yards away, and disappeared.

————————

One of the twenty-eight road leaders of the Jiangnan waterways, "River-Turning Rat" Qiu Wuying, wiped the blood off his short knife on the sole of his shoe, sheathed the knife, and bowed to the middle-aged man in front of him.

"My lord, everything has been cleaned up."

The middle-aged man nodded and looked at the merchant ship slowly sinking in the river.

A group of shirtless people with rolled-up sleeves rowed small boats full of wealth and scattered from around the merchant ship.

Just looking at their attire, these people all looked like water bandits. But if one looked closely, one could see this group was divided into two distinct groups.

One group was pitch black, with very short hair and splayed toes, which should be caused by not wearing shoes all year round. Under their arms, in the web of their thumbs, and on the sides of their necks, there were rashes and ulcerated scars left by long-term contact with river water.

And the other group didn't have many characteristics of those making a living by the river. But when they gathered and marched, they faintly carried some order, not like water bandits... but rather like an army.

After a while, the merchant ship sank completely under the water, and scarlet blood faintly emerged from the water surface, then was swallowed by the churning river, leaving no trace.

The middle-aged man said in a deep voice.

"How much stuff did you collect?"

"River-Turning Rat" Qiu Wuying bared a mouthful of apricot-yellow teeth and held up three fingers to gesture at him.

"Still the old rules, you keep one-tenth, the rest is stored for now, and transported into Nanjing at the end of the month. Clean up the traces; if you leave any clues and the Embroidered Uniform Guard finds out—"

Qiu Wuying smiled obsequiously.

"We've done this job dozens of times, we're all experienced hands, there will definitely be no problems, my lord can rest assured."

"There were seventy-three people on this merchant ship, old and young, women and children, maids and guards, all had their hearts pierced, absolutely not a single living soul can go to complain!"

The middle-aged man shook his head.

"Be careful and there will be no big mistakes; some time ago, it seems the Embroidered Uniform Guard checked on the Eunuch, perhaps they have already noticed... If you leave any flaws and implicate the Eunuch, don't blame me for turning against you."

Qiu Wuying cursed "dog official" in his heart, but his face was smiling obsequiously, swearing and promising that there would be no mishaps.

The middle-aged man nodded, waited for a while, but frowned, turning to look into the distance.

"Why has Eunuch He been gone for so long?"

Qiu Wuying was also strange when he heard this.

"That kid had one of his arms removed by me, and was slashed in the back by you, and his weapon was dropped... Eunuch He has indeed been gone for a long time."

"Do you want me to go take a look?"

The middle-aged man gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist.

"Let's go together, Eunuch He is the Eunuch's person, there can't be any accidents, otherwise we can't afford to take the responsibility."

"It's this direction, right—let's go."

The two exchanged a few words with their subordinates at their side, walked down from the high ground one after another, and were about to chase in the direction Gu Feixuan had escaped.

Before they had taken a few steps, suddenly, a loud noise came from behind them.

Boom!!! —

The two turned back in astonishment, and saw a blood-and-flesh firework explode suddenly in the crowd that had gathered on the opposite bank to divide the wealth.

The collected wealth was thrown high into the air, then fell down with a clatter, splashing dense water in the river.

"This!"

Qiu Wuying was dumbfounded.

"Heaven-Human!"

The middle-aged man gritted his teeth.

"That kid has a Heaven-Human behind him! No wonder he saw through our identity and dared to strike at us!"

"I don't know which family's Heaven-Human it is, daring to meddle in official business!"

Qiu Wuying drew his short knife.

"My lord, what should we do?"

The middle-aged man looked at the blood flowers exploding on the opposite bank and turned around without hesitation.

"Go!"

"Now there are no experts who can stall a Heaven-Human, no matter how many people there are, it's useless... The top priority is to return to Nanjing and report this to the Eunuch!"

"Split up!"

Having said that, he paused and was about to flash away.

Qiu Wuying despised the other's cowardice in his heart; seeing the middle-aged man had already dashed out a distance, he was about to turn and escape to the other side.

Whoosh!! —

A sharp sound of breaking wind suddenly tore through the air, approaching from the opposite bank in an instant!

In Qiu Wuying's terrified gaze, the middle-aged man's figure blurred, a blood flower exploded in mid-air—and then he smashed into a giant rock by the river!

Boom!

Gravel splashed!

The middle-aged man looked down at the long knife that had nailed him to the giant rock, blood gushed from his mouth, his head tilted, and he lost his breath.

"!!!!"

Qiu Wuying was stunned, his pupils trembling violently.

This long knife was thrown from the opposite bank... directly nailing the middle-aged man to death!

What kind of Wu Gong is this!

He didn't hesitate anymore, flashed onto the ground, and crawled away extremely quickly along the low ground.

As expected of one of the twenty-eight road leaders, a hero who made a living in the water all year round! On land, he was like swimming in water, and in the blink of an eye, he had dashed out several yards!

As long as he dived into the water and erased his tracks, even if that person had world-topping Wu Gong, it would be impossible to find him!

As his thoughts raced, Qiu Wuying had already reached the river, only one step away from diving into the water.

At this very moment—a round thing fell from mid-air in front of him, blocking his path.

It was Eunuch He's head, eyes wide open in death.

A pair of boots appeared in Qiu Wuying's line of sight, walked over slowly, kicked the head into the water, and stood still in front of him.

"Little thing, where do you want to go?"

A playful and cruel voice sounded above his head.