[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-imperial-enforcer-with-an-eight-hour-workday":3,"chapter-the-imperial-enforcer-with-an-eight-hour-workday-the-imperial-enforcer-with-an-eight-hour-workday-chapter-68":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Imperial Hound on an Eight-Hour Shift",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},2225126,4113,"Chapter 68","the-imperial-enforcer-with-an-eight-hour-workday-chapter-68",68,"\u003Cp>Inside Tai'an City.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Baiyun, Gao Ling, and a group of Mount Huashan disciples were searching in the civilian houses around the prefectural government office, finding one person, subduing them, and then bringing them back to the office. By now, the office was overcrowded, with several people even hanging from the trees.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fortunately, most of these people had lost consciousness and could be piled up at will without moving around, otherwise, this place probably wouldn't have been able to hold them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Hai galloped over and handed a bag of herbs to Xiao Si.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Little Fourth Sister, take a look and see if these are suitable.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Si's face was pale, her body wrapped in a thick quilt, fine cold sweat dripping down her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In front of her sat a wooden basin the size of a person's embrace, the inside a deep crimson, with living things faintly wriggling within.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Si reached out from the quilt, her wrists wrapped in blood-stained bandages, and took the herbs Wang Hai handed her.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The crimson liquid accumulating in the basin was none other than Xiao Si's own blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How much blood could a thin, teenage girl have? Looking at the liquid in the basin, if Xiao Si's constitution weren't extraordinary, she would probably have already fainted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Si opened the paper package, grabbed a handful of each, put them directly into her mouth, and closed her eyes to savor them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a long while, she opened her eyes and smiled at Wang Hai: \"It's enough, Brother Hai. The age and quality are both sufficient, and there's even quite a bit left over.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Hai is truly amazing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Hai, however, was not as happy as usual, but frowned at the wound on Xiao Si's wrist, and in the end, could not hold back, stepping forward to grab Xiao Si's wrist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Little Fourth Sister... why fight so desperately...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We can just save as many as we can; this is the Ming Cult's scheme, not our karma.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You know the Battalion Commander's nature; if you weren't willing, he would never force you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With Wang Hai's nature, faced with the lives of the entire city's people, he would naturally do his best to act, but the lives of hundreds or thousands of people were truly not as important to him as Xiao Si.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Si's pale little face broke into a sweet smile: \"Brother Hai, I am willing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Hai frowned: \"Don't lie to me, I know you.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You will save people, but you would never take it to heart like the Battalion Commander does.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two had known each other for many years, their minds in tune, and they knew each other extremely well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Hai and Xiao Si were not the type of people to be compassionate. Saving people was more like an instinctive reaction formed under Li Miao's many years of education.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just like the habit of walking on the right side when walking, or eating the dish in front of you first when eating, it was just a \"habit.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To say that the two of them cared deeply about the lives of others in their hearts would be untrue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Hai, you know me, but there is one thing we have never talked about.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My background.\" Xiao Si smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Hai frowned, looking into Xiao Si's eyes, and said nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Si pulled her hand away from Wang Hai's, grabbed a handful of herbs, and sprinkled them into her own blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whoosh—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A mist rose from the basin, hiding Xiao Si's expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"All these years, you and the Battalion Commander have never discussed what happened back then in front of me. It's because you're afraid that my experience was too tragic and that I'd be sad if you mentioned it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But I'm not that fragile. I remember every single thing from back then, and I haven't forgotten a single moment.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Si recounted slowly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Back then, I was abducted by that Great Shaman and imprisoned in a dark room. Every day, Gu insects would burrow into my body, and I had to endure excruciating pain, unable to see even a sliver of light.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"At that time, I could only talk to the other children who had been captured, so I could barely keep from going insane.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We called each other brothers and sisters; I was the fourth one captured, so I was the Fourth Sister, the Fourth Little Sister.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The first to die was the Big Brother. He was the oldest, already having the mind of a youth, and found it the hardest to endure... After I woke up, I went to touch his face and felt his eyeballs, which had already been sucked dry by the Gu insects...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The second to die was the Sixth Little Sister. She was too young and only knew how to cry. The Great Shaman found it annoying, so he fed her to the Gu insects... The Gu insects that ate the Sixth Little Sister crawled inside our bodies... Brother Hai, do you know what that feels like...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We were sad at the time, but also felt a bit of comfort... as if the Sixth Little Sister was still accompanying us...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then came the Second Brother, the Third Sister, the Fourth Little Brother, the Fifth Little Sister... In the end, only I was left.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don't say any more.\" Wang Hai interrupted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just listening to Xiao Si's fragmented words made Wang Hai's hair stand on end, followed by a heartfelt ache, unable to bear listening any further.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Hai, let me finish.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Si smiled: \"When the Battalion Commander came to save me back then, I actually didn't feel happy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I even had a thought: why couldn't he have come earlier, at least... so I wouldn't have been the only one left alive.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Or... why couldn't he have come later, so I could have died with the other brothers and sisters, that would have been fine too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I even felt a bit guilty for saying 'save me' to the Battalion Commander.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Si giggled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Of course, I know thinking that way is wrong. The Battalion Commander's kindness to me is as heavy as a mountain; he took me home and raised me. It's also because of the Battalion Commander that I could meet you, Brother Hai.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I shouldn't have died, and my brothers and sisters shouldn't have died either. There's nothing wrong with surviving; I shouldn't feel guilty for that.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Hai looked at Xiao Si: \"Is it because of the Battalion Commander's kindness, that you don't want to disappoint him, so you're forcing yourself?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No, Brother Hai, I said, I am willing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Si said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"To be hacked to death by a sword, stabbed to death by a sword, burned to death by fire, drowned to death by water—everyone has their own fate. As long as it's not karma I've planted, I really don't care much.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But I cannot bear to watch the people of Tai'an City be killed by Gu insects.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Si pointed outside the door and drew a circle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This Tai'an City traps the people. It's just like that dark room back then, trapping us.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The struggling and wailing outside are just like our struggling and wailing back then.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This isn't kindness, but my own selfishness.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm not saving the people, but myself, and my brothers and sisters.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As Xiao Si spoke, tears fell down her face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I know, those people are gone, and there's no turning back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But for so many years, I still can't help but keep thinking, could I have done something back then... could I have let my brothers and sisters have one more survivor...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Back then, I couldn't do anything. But now, I can finally do something.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I'm not being kind, nor am I saving people, but killing my own inner demons.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Si looked at Wang Hai earnestly, her thin body hidden in the quilt, her fingers still trembling unconsciously.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was not a drop of blood on her face, as if she were a snow doll about to melt.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Hai, you'll help me, right?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Hai looked into Xiao Si's earnest eyes, his hook blade gripped tightly, and in the end, he let out a long sigh.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Little Fourth Sister, since you've said so, what else can I do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But, if you insist on risking your life, I will still subdue you and take you away.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Si smiled sweetly: \"Brother Hai is the best.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Alright, call Sister Mei, Sect Leader Liu, and the others back.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My blood, combined with these herbs, will draw all the people in the city here. If the Ming Cult disciples have also used Gu, they will naturally come too.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"From here on, I'll have to rely on you all to protect me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1467,"2026-06-17T21:41:15.265Z","2026-06-18T03:13:38.468Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","441a9e28461d15f26d2e5caf36f39065cc1cebde5b97010ac846d47b6d142369","the-imperial-enforcer-with-an-eight-hour-workday-chapter-69","the-imperial-enforcer-with-an-eight-hour-workday-chapter-67",647,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-imperial-hound-on-an-eight-hour-shift-cover.jpg"]