Chapter 334

"Regional Commander."

"Uncle Li."

"My lord."

"... lder brother."

Everyone suddenly turned to look at Zheng Yi.

What? What did you just call him?

Since when were you two this close?

The others swallowed their words, only Gao Anyu jumped up and was about to applaud: "Uncle Li, Auntie Zheng, we are finally a real family—"

Cao Hanyan pulled his sleeve and stopped him.

At the same time, someone among those kneeling in front let out a cold snort: "I don't remember giving birth to a son. If you want to acknowledge a relative, shouldn't you ask me, the birth mother, first?"

Zheng Yi didn't reply and walked to Li Miao's side with her sword.

"Elder brother, the houses have all been torn down, and I walked around the palace wall again to confirm that the fire won't spread to the common people."

Li Miao nodded: "Thank you for your hard work."

He raised a hand and pointed at the person who had snorted coldly.

"No, he is different... at least in my memory, it is so."

Zheng Yi shook her head expressionlessly, but her gaze couldn't help but sweep toward the woman kneeling on the ground—Zheng Qi.

Zheng Yi had almost been killed by her with a single palm strike, ending the hope of mother and daughter acknowledging each other; that was one thing. But feelings were something that could never be clearly sorted out or cut off, and no matter how disappointed she was, she was still Zheng Yi's birth mother.

If Li Miao had killed her, even if Zheng Yi felt no resentment, a thorn would have been buried in her heart, and it would be difficult to get Zheng Yi to call him "elder brother" again.

So Li Miao didn't kill her, but crushed some of her non-lethal internal organs and brought her to the Huagai Hall after the fight ended. It was fortunate that Li Miao killed quickly, otherwise she would have been burned to death.

Zheng Yi watched for a long while before finally speaking slowly.

"Mother."

Zheng Qi snorted coldly: "Don't. I am a member of the Penglai Sect; I don't have a daughter who is an Embroidered Uniform Guard. I can't afford to climb that social ladder."

Zheng Yi shook her head.

"Whether you acknowledge me or not, it doesn't matter anymore."

"You gave me a life, and I return a life to you. The grievances are settled. Whether you think it's worth it or not has nothing to do with me anymore... and I will no longer follow the path you arranged."

"Right now, I just want to tell you that I will let my elder brother spare your life, and you should not hide anything that my elder brother wants to know... If you still care about the bond between mother and child, please don't make things difficult for me."

Seeing Zheng Qi about to mock her, Zheng Yi interrupted.

"You have no Wu Gong now, and Zheng Anqi has already been executed. Only my elder brother can avenge the hatred of Yingzhou, so I hope you... consider it carefully."

Having said that, she turned and stood behind Li Miao, saying nothing more.

Zheng Qi wanted to speak, but Li Miao waved his hand to interrupt her.

"Enough. You think revenge is more important than your daughter, so why can't she think her mother is more important than revenge? You were about to kill her with one palm, yet you're still putting on the airs of an elder here?"

"If you say any more nonsense, I'll bury you with Zheng Anqi, and I'll make sure he's pressing down on top of you. When people dig you both up in the future, they'll think you were a loving couple—do you understand?"

Zheng Qi actually shut her mouth.

Li Miao's words, backed by twenty years of Embroidered Uniform Guard experience, were not something Zheng Qi could withstand.

So Li Miao continued.

"Actually, I don't have many questions. I've already figured out most of the things about your Yingzhou and Penglai. Why don't I say it and you listen, to see if there are any mistakes or omissions?"

Without waiting for Zheng Qi to speak, he began to talk to himself.

"A thousand years ago, An Qisheng founded Yingzhou. The foundation was the Profound Observation, but it wasn't the Profound Observation technique, but his own Profound Observation realm."

He clenched his fist, then opened it, feeling the power surging within his body that was completely different from the three paths of life.

"The essence of Profound Observation is mastery, a realm where one can control one's life completely. And An Qisheng went a step further on this basis—he achieved the ability to split his own nature and then plant it into others."

"Yingzhou was born because of this."

"Planting his own nature in his own bloodline, through the connection between life and nature, he created countless descendants similar to himself. This approach undoubtedly makes all his descendants live in pain. Their faces, bodies, Wu Gong, and realms are all someone else's; they have nothing of their own."

"The Buddhists say 'In heaven and on earth, I alone am honored,' but Yingzhou and Penglai are a group of poor people who don't even have an 'I'."

Li Miao walked slowly to Zheng Qi's side and said unhurriedly.

"I think the birth of Penglai, Zheng Anqi's defection, and my being taken out of Yingzhou—the reasons for these three things are the same."

"Whether it's Yingzhou or Penglai, they can't stand this life where even an 'I' doesn't exist."

Zheng Qi's face was as calm as water, and she remained silent, tacitly accepting Li Miao's statement.

Li Miao smiled, raised his hand, extended three fingers, and shook them in front of her.

"So, I have three questions. The better you answer, the more likely I am to destroy Yingzhou."

"Zheng Anqi is dead, your fellow disciples have been mostly killed by you, and your Wu Gong is ruined. Only I in the world can avenge Penglai, so you'd better answer seriously."

Zheng Qi was silent.

Li Miao wasn't in a hurry and just waited on the side.

After a long while, Zheng Qi's shoulders slumped.

She had lost, lost all her chips, and even lost Zheng Yi, her successor.

No matter how unwilling she was, she could only hope that Li Miao could destroy Yingzhou. Because no one else could do it... or rather, Li Miao was more likely to succeed than her.

So she said hoarsely: "Ask."

"The first question," Li Miao said: "Is An Qisheng still alive?"

"Yes," Zheng Qi answered without hesitation.

With that single word, everyone in the room except Li Miao widened their eyes and opened their mouths, unable to speak for a long time.

A thousand years, spanning almost all the changes of unified dynasties, countless families and even surnames had vanished in that time... Could someone really span such a long time?

But immediately, Zheng Qi continued: "And also no."

Before Li Miao could frown, she continued.

"The ranks of Yingzhou are divided into the Outer Sect and the Main Family. The head of the Main Family is named Zheng Anqi."

"And when Zheng Anqi's Profound Observation reaches perfection, he will become An Qisheng."

Li Miao twisted his fingers and thought for a moment, then said.

"So Zheng Anqi and An Qisheng, these two names are both titles, not fixed people."

"So, the one with the best aptitude is Zheng Anqi, and when Zheng Anqi cultivates Profound Observation to perfection, he becomes An Qisheng, passed down from generation to generation."

"No wonder Zheng Anqi wanted to plot to seize the ritual you prepared. This evil path of Profound Observation is unclean and cuts off one's own future. It's because he was about to become 'An Qisheng,' right?"

Zheng Qi nodded: "Yes."

"His Profound Observation is already near perfection, just one step away. Even if he deliberately doesn't practice, under the feedback of the life technique, his Profound Observation will soon be perfect."

"He didn't want to lose the last bit of what could be called 'I.' So he fled."

Li Miao nodded and extended his second finger.

"The second question."

"A thousand years, dozens of generations of inheritance, just like a ship constantly being repaired. The current An Qisheng must be completely different from the An Qisheng of that year, right?"

"Spending these thousand years using such a filthy method of wearing oneself down and watching oneself being replaced bit by bit—you aren't doing this just to be a local emperor in Yingzhou, are you?"

"Turning all your descendants into your own containers, switching bodies back and forth, I'm afraid you can't even recognize who you are anymore."

Li Miao reached out and pressed on Zheng Qi's shoulder, monitoring the blood flow, heartbeat, and all other movements within her body.

"After doing all these things, what exactly does he want to do?"

"Can you explain it to me?"