Chapter 74

This phrasing is certainly not the style of the Jianghu.

Jiao Qingfeng, a minor official, had no idea about the ways of the Jianghu, so he could only "improvise on the spot" by roughly mimicking the style of the storytellers he heard at teahouses in his daily life.

As a result, he learned it wrong; this was clearly adapted from "Who is the approaching general? State your name," which is the opening line for a challenge when two armies face off.

Upon hearing this, the Flood Flag Master also felt something was not quite right. Besides the strange way the person opposite him spoke, why did it also carry a bit of the local Taian accent?

Hadn't that "Li Miao" been staying in Shuntian Prefecture the whole time, never having left the capital?

Was his ancestral home here in Taian?

Left Envoy Lan, did you run into him while he was back home visiting relatives, and then meet a tragic end?

His heart stirred, and the look he gave Jiao Qingfeng became increasingly suspicious.

After Jiao Qingfeng finished saying this, he felt that the little bit of courage he had managed to scrape together had been completely exhausted.

He could only force an attitude of disdain, glancing sideways at the Flood Flag Master without saying a word.

"Your Excellency, are you Lord Li Miao in person?"

After a long while, the Flood Flag Master spoke.

"Indeed."

"Oh... Left Envoy Lan was killed by you, then."

"Indeed."

"Sect Leader Zuo was also killed by you."

"..."

This sentence was a trap.

Zuo Lishan died at the hands of Yun Zelin, not Li Miao.

If Jiao Qingfeng had followed the previous questions and said "Indeed," the Flood Flag Master would have immediately stepped forward to kill him.

However, the only thing Jiao Qingfeng was good at was "observing expressions and reading the situation."

For a minor official like him, the first thing to learn is to act according to the expressions of his superiors. After years of muddling through the yamen, this skill had reached a "master" level.

Jiao Qingfeng was already wary of this series of questions, and upon discovering a trace of murderous intent leaking from the Flood Flag Master, he immediately stopped speaking.

After weighing his words, he said: "Who killed Sect Leader Zuo... don't you know?"

This sentence was ambiguous; if Li Miao had killed him, it meant, "Don't you know who I've killed?"

If Li Miao hadn't killed him, it meant, "You killed him, yet you come to ask me?"

When it came to being vague, evasive, and stalling, the Flood Flag Master, a rough man of the Jianghu, was truly no match for Jiao Qingfeng.

Under normal circumstances, Jiao Qingfeng might have really been able to use Li Miao's prestige to bluff the Flood Flag Master into retreating.

But right now, that wouldn't work.

The Ming Cult was determined to succeed in this matter; they had already thrown away the life of a Left Envoy, and the plot on Mount Taishan had already been ruined by Yun Zelin.

Having paid such a high price, they had to achieve something. The Ming Cult was determined to take Taian City.

The Flood Flag Master hesitated for a moment, finally made up his mind, and a look of ruthlessness crept onto his face.

"I don't care if your surname is Li or whatever; since you are blocking the way here, you are an enemy of our Holy Cult!"

"Even if I can't defeat you, dragging you here will mean one less obstacle for Protector Mao!"

Having decided, he did not hesitate any longer.

In an instant, the Flood Flag Master flashed forward and struck a palm toward Jiao Qingfeng's face!

"Whether you die or I perish, let's see the real skills in the fight!"

"It's over... I can't hold him off..."

In despair, Jiao Qingfeng braced himself not to lose his composure, watching helplessly as that palm grew larger and larger in his field of vision.

"I suppose this counts as me carrying the burden of the word 'official' a little bit..."

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Let us turn the time back a moment.

On Li Miao's side.

Five hundred insect soldiers.

Wang Hai was already stretched to his limit facing one or two insect soldiers. When two came at once, it forced Mei Qinghe to fight for her life.

Although there was the reason that his true Qi was bottoming out, he couldn't retreat, and could only fight head-on, one could also see from this how troublesome these Ming Cult insect soldiers were.

And the insect soldiers on Mao Yingxia's side were even harder to deal with than those that had been put into the city in advance.

The insect soldiers scattered into Taian City in advance were, to a certain extent, "discarded pawns." But the insect soldiers on Mao Yingxia's side were the capital the Ming Cult had accumulated over a dozen years, refined using "materials" with good bone structure, and were truly meant for conquering cities and seizing land.

The consensus in the Jianghu is: no matter how high one's Wu Gong is, if one is surrounded by heavy troops and cannot escape, one will have to drink the cup of regret on the spot.

First, even if one is a "Sumeru," true Qi is not infinite and will eventually bottom out.

Second, no matter how high one's Wu Gong is, one is still human and must catch one's breath.

Being surrounded by heavy troops is not like in the movies Li Miao saw in his past life, where the protagonist only fights the people in front of him, and the enemies behind him are only responsible for howling, posing, and waiting for the protagonist to turn around.

Truly falling into a heavy siege means facing attacks like raindrops simultaneously; at the same moment, your face, groin, waist, back, arms, and legs are all under attack.

Facing this kind of offensive, even a master of hard-body techniques who can withstand it must catch their breath. The moment they catch their breath and their power slackens, they will be injured.

As injuries accumulate, movements become increasingly sluggish, true Qi becomes increasingly weak, and they will die.

And what Li Miao was facing was a siege of five hundred insect soldiers who feared neither death nor injury from blades.

Right now, one hundred remained.

Li Miao's forehead was slightly sweaty; he pressed his fingers together into a palm and pulled it to his waist.

A diagonal cut!

The "One Blade" from the "Iron Punishment Battle Post"!

The sharp true Qi left his body, cutting three human-shaped figures in front of him in two. After their upper bodies hit the ground, they were still crawling and roaring toward Li Miao.

Li Miao's initial plan was to kill Mao Yingxia and quickly return to Taian City to support Li Xiaosi.

But after seeing these five hundred insect soldiers, he changed his mind.

Only by blocking these insect soldiers here and killing them all could Taian City be safe.

Right now, it was almost done.

Li Miao flashed, reached out with his hand in a claw, and used "Leaf Removal," scraping from top to bottom across an insect soldier's face.

Half a skull, red and white, remained in his hand.

The insect soldier didn't make a sound and collapsed with a boom.

Li Miao leaped high, dodging the pounces of several insect soldiers.

Then, "Thousand-Catty Drop," "Powerful Vajra Leg"!

His figure dropped suddenly, smashing several insect soldiers into the ground, and Li Miao smashed his fists hard into the back of their heads.

When he lifted his fists, his dark black gloves were already covered in red and white brain matter.

And Mao Yingxia, lying on the ground nearby, had already fallen into despair.

No matter how much she couldn't believe it, she had to admit the fact: Li Miao was truly killing off the insect soldiers that the Ming Cult had spent over a dozen years accumulating.

"How could it be... how could it be..."

"How is your true Qi not exhausted yet... you are not a 'Sumeru,' how can you have such deep true Qi..."

"How can you be both a 'Vajra' and a 'Kshana' at the same time, why aren't you dead yet!?"

"Who exactly are you! Who exactly are you!"

Mao Yingxia was a direct disciple of Ji Tianrui and was infinitely loyal to the Ming Cult. At this moment, seeing with her own eyes the Ming Cult's grand plan for revival being broken by an inexplicable anomaly in an incomprehensible way, she was powerless.

Coupled with serious injuries and excessive blood loss, she was already delirious and shouted frantically at Li Miao.

Li Miao turned a deaf ear and continued his slaughter.

A short while later, the last insect soldier was grabbed by the arms by Li Miao and torn into two pieces; after hitting the ground, it crawled for a distance and then lost all sound.

Li Miao turned and walked toward Mao Yingxia.

"Who are you! You are—"

Profound Heaven Finger.

The sharp true Qi pierced through her forehead, and Mao Yingxia's words were left unfinished as she collapsed softly.

"Talking to a beast like you who slaughters cities is a waste of time."

Li Miao stepped forward and grabbed a mass of blurred flesh from Mao Yingxia's corpse.

Leaving behind the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, Li Miao did not stop, using his light-body technique to the fullest to rush toward Taian City.

————————

Just as Jiao Qingfeng was opening his eyes wide, waiting for death.

Suddenly, hot liquid splashed onto his face.

Then, the palm that had already reached his face fell to the ground.

Jiao Qingfeng turned his head blankly and saw a severed hand on the ground.

And Li Miao, holding the head of the one-armed Flood Flag Master, crashed into the Ming Cult crowd.

Flesh and blood splattered.

A moment later, Li Miao walked to Jiao Qingfeng's side and reached out to pat his shoulder: "You held on well."

After saying this, Li Miao moved along the wall, walking as if on flat ground, and flew into Taian City.

After another long while, Jiao Qingfeng suddenly collapsed softly onto the horse's back, drenched in sweat, gasping for breath.

"Heh... hehe..."

He couldn't help but laugh out loud, feeling a sense of relief.