Chapter 347

"Daoist, I was wrong."

The short man knelt on the ground, kowtowing to the old Daoist, not stopping even when his head was covered in blood. The short sword that was originally aimed at the old Daoist was now stuck in his own thigh, blood flowing down continuously.

Crawling on his knees for a few steps, the short man threw himself at the old Daoist's thigh, tears and snot flowing.

"Daoist, I was really wro—die!"

His sleeve moved, and a sleeve sword popped out, the blade shimmering with a dark blue color, clearly coated with potent poison.

And then there was a "slap" that resounded far and wide!

The old Daoist swung his arm in a full circle, a move of the Wudang authentic "Holding the Sparrow's Tail," which combines hardness and softness, yin and yang, with a "woo—" sound in mid-air, and slapped the sleeve sword onto the short man's face!

Wudang's inheritance from Zhang Sanfeng, the sixty-year battle against demons, never relied on a heart of compassion.

Like a spinning top, the short man spun a dozen times in mid-air, scattering silver, hidden weapons, and broken teeth, and after landing, he rolled several zhang, rolled his eyes, and fainted.

Only then did the old Daoist step forward, grab his hair, and walk back as if dragging a dead dog.

Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu were squatting on the spot waiting for the old Daoist to return, when suddenly their eyes blurred, and the old Daoist appeared in front of them. Before the two could speak, the old Daoist raised his hand and threw the person to the ground.

Cao Hanyan was stunned for a moment.

"Daoist, who is this?"

"Evil person, alive."

The old Daoist spat out four words dryly, then closed his mouth again, closed his eyes again, reached out and rested on Gao Anyu's shoulder, and said no more.

Leaving Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu looking at each other.

After a while, Cao Hanyan sighed.

"Brother Gao, there is still some time before the city gates open, let's ask."

Gao Anyu nodded excitedly.

"Hmm, hmm!"

So one carrying the old Daoist, one carrying the fainted man, the two walked in the direction away from the official road.

When the sky was dim and the city gates of the capital finally opened slowly, Gao Anyu and Cao Hanyan emerged from the dense forest, grabbed two handfuls of leaves to wipe the blood off their hands, and walked toward the city gates.

As for the short man... he had naturally disappeared.

The two arrived at the city gate, but didn't rush in, instead circling to the side of the city wall to squat, pressing their gaze to scan the people entering the city.

Seeing this, Cao Hanyan's brow furrowed.

Gao Anyu on the side whispered.

"Brother Cao, that person's confession was indeed correct... just as Uncle Li expected! I only took one look, and I could vaguely see several masters in disguise!"

"Yingzhou not only sent people to Wudang but also to other major Jianghu sects, using the Profound Observation cultivation method as bait to lure Jianghu people back to the capital!"

"Moreover, they pushed the reason why Uncle Li's martial arts are far superior to ordinary people onto the Profound Observation cultivation method. In this way, the prestige Uncle Li established at the Moon-Viewing Banquet is no longer a bargaining chip to deter the Jianghu, but instead became bait for them to fan the flames!"

Cao Hanyan nodded solemnly.

"The time is too short, ordinary Jianghu people may not be able to rush over, but those major sect masters should all be able to arrive. The current capital has become the center of the vortex."

"We must enter the city quickly, take the Daoist to see the Commander, and report these things to him!"

The two looked at each other, no longer hesitating, walked quickly into the city, and headed toward the Embroidered Uniform Guard office.

At the same time.

Inside the capital, outside the Donghuamen.

A group of black gauze hats gathered together, the voices noisy.

The scarlet official uniforms symbolizing the first to fourth rank officials were common in the crowd. On the patches on their chests, the first-rank cranes, second-rank golden pheasants, and third-rank peacocks gathered in the middle, while clouds, swallows, tigers, and leopards extended to the periphery of the crowd. More than a hundred "clothed beasts" who manipulated the Great Ming gathered outside the Donghuamen, talking while waiting for someone's arrival.

A moment later, excited shouts came from the periphery of the crowd.

"Lord Yan is here!"

"Lord Yan."

"Lord Yan!"

The blue-black gauze hats parted like seawater, revealing a passage one person wide.

At the end of the passage, Yan Song walked over with a solemn expression.

The high officials who saw him clearly all looked solemn.

The Grand Secretary of the Great Ming usually concurrently serves as the Minister of a certain ministry, and usually wears a first-rank scarlet official uniform when attending court. But today, Yan Song is wearing blue.

A blue python robe.

The python robe is a bestowed garment, representing past favor and merit.

If he wore a scarlet official uniform, it would mean Yan Song was treating today's matter as an ordinary political struggle. But wearing a python robe meant he was wearing his past merits and reputation on his body, using them as bargaining chips on the gambling table.

"Lord Yan is going to play for real today!"

Many high officials reached this conclusion in their hearts.

Yan Song walked to the center of the crowd and stood still, scanning left and right, but didn't speak for the time being.

He was also waiting, waiting for Zhu Zai's reaction.

After waiting for a moment, uniform footsteps came faintly from afar.

The Embroidered Uniform Guards in black tight-fitting clothes, with embroidered spring knives at their waists, ran over in formation, silently spreading out along both sides of the street outside the Donghuamen, surrounding the gathered officials in the middle.

Without shouting, they pressed their hands on the hilts of their knives, casting their gazes at the officials in the middle.

Many people in the crowd looked ugly.

Since the Imperial Mausoleum incident, Zhu Zai had purged the eunuch forces, filled the power vacuum with the imperial clan, and simultaneously replaced the eunuchs' positions. The power struggle with the civil officials had also gradually been brought to the table over time.

The officials mobilized by Yan Song all knew that today's matter was called asking the Emperor to rule personally, but in essence, the target was the imperial clan.

Or rather, it was aimed at the head of the imperial clan, Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Zhu Zai.

And at this time, Zhu Zai not only didn't bow his head and admit defeat, but instead sent the Embroidered Uniform Guards over, lining up along the road. The Embroidered Uniform Guards on both sides of the road were like Zhu Zai's two outstretched arms, welcoming the officials' forced palace, and the meaning represented was clearly to confront them head-on!

Today's matter might be much more cruel than they had thought before! It might even lead to blood splashing on the spot!

But the arrow had left the bow, many people hesitated, turned to look at Yan Song, but seeing his cold expression and lack of panic, they felt determined, dispelled the thought of retreating, and instead looked coldly at those Embroidered Uniform Guards.

Yan Song scanned left and right in the crowd and cleared his throat.

"Ahem."

Attracting the officials' gazes.

And then suddenly bent his waist and bowed, solemnly bowing to the crowd around him.

"Today's matter, the court's matter, the world's matter."

"I will trouble you all!"

Before the surrounding officials could bow back, Yan Song straightened his body abruptly.

Without any hesitation, he walked toward the inside of the Donghuamen.