Chapter 229

Wu Zhiheng no longer needed to speak of the details of the fighting in the middle.

In short, the four fought to the death all the way to the Great Red Gate, and Retainer Liu had already died. Wu Zhiheng and Retainer Qi had also suffered heavy injuries.

Retainer Wang glanced at the two, knowing he could not delay any longer, so he fought fiercely with the two, injuring them to the point of near-death at the cost of his own heavy injuries, and turned to escape into the dense forest of Mount Tianshou.

And Wu Zhiheng and the other two no longer had the strength to pursue, so they left the Imperial Mausoleum, avoided the Xiaoling Guards and Imperial Guards who were still fighting, and sat down in an open space.

"Brother Qi, is your son really the Assistant Commander of the Dengzhou Guard? A Regular Grade Four official position, that is truly promising."

Wu Zhiheng barely managed to press his acupoints to stop the bleeding and said.

"Could that be fake?"

Qi Xiang's face was pale, and he barely managed to smile.

"Counting the years, my grandson is also sixteen years old; it's about time for him to inherit this position, and in the future, who knows, he might be a general."

"This Qi Family Blade of mine should also be carried forward by him."

"Congratulations, congratulations."

Wu Zhiheng cupped his fists.

"My grandson is only ten years old, but when I was running errands before, I secretly sent messages to ask people to help me inquire. They said his foundation is not bad, and in the future, who knows, he might be able to be like me and serve as this Leader of the Cao Gang."

"It's just that the two of us, I fear, will not be able to see the sight of our descendants becoming successful."

"Heh."

Qi Xiang smiled.

"No matter, ever since I became this retainer, I never thought I would have a day to see my descendants."

Speaking of this, blood suddenly gushed from Qi Xiang's waist and abdomen.

Most Heaven-Man level experts could heal their own injuries, but there was a limit. Just now, the four were in a life-and-death struggle and did not hold back at all; their meridians, dantian, and internal organs were all covered in scars, and their true energy could no longer form a complete cycle, so they no longer had the strength to heal themselves.

Qi Xiang instinctively reached out to cover the wound, but then let out a sigh and took his hand away.

"Brother Wu, it seems I have to go a step ahead."

Qi Xiang said with a smile.

"Brother Qi, go ahead, and wait for me on the Naihe Bridge; I will follow shortly."

Wu Zhiheng smiled, but his expression suddenly turned solemn.

After Qi Xiang finished saying "go a step ahead," his pupils had already dilated. Blood from the wound on his waist and abdomen gushed out, flowing along the ground to under Wu Zhiheng, making his cold hand feel as if it were immersed in a basin of hot water.

"Brother Qi... sigh."

Wu Zhiheng let out a sigh.

"I should have talked more with Brother Qi in the past; it's a pity that it wasn't until death was imminent that I finally opened my heart to Brother Qi."

Wu Zhiheng struggled to stand up.

In the distance, the little eunuch saw him and hurried over with light-body techniques.

Wu Zhiheng slowly leaned over, bowed to Qi Xiang's corpse, and then stepped forward to close his eyes for him.

"Brother Qi, please wait for me."

"I will be there shortly."

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Wu Zhiheng finished telling the whole story, and his whole person seemed to have lost all strength; he could no longer support himself and sat down on the ground.

The little eunuch on the side was about to open his mouth to scold him for this rude act, but was stopped by the Emperor raising his hand.

The Emperor looked at Wu Zhiheng on the ground and slowly spoke.

"So that's it."

"So, you came here to die?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Wu Zhiheng smiled.

"The reason this subject has lived until now is to inform Your Majesty of Brother Qi's affairs."

"Otherwise... he would have died in vain."

"This subject and Brother Qi have served Great Ming loyally for decades; today, we repay the country with our bodies, only hoping that Your Majesty can treat our descendants well."

"In that case, Brother Qi and I can close our eyes in peace."

"Good."

The Emperor nodded.

"I have always been clear about rewards and punishments."

"Today, although you were stupid and stepped into the rebels' trap, considering your loyalty, merits and demerits cancel each other out; I will neither reward nor punish you."

"The matter of Heaven-Man level experts, the matter of the cultivation method, ends with you and Qi Xiang."

"You can go in peace."

Wu Zhiheng's expression relaxed, and he said.

"Thank—"

Bang!

The headless corpse fell softly.

His last sentence, after all, was not finished.

The Emperor, who had appeared behind Wu Zhiheng at some unknown time and used a finger to shatter his skull, looked at the blood on his hand and said nothing.

The little eunuch hurriedly stepped forward to offer a cloth.

Only then did the Emperor wipe away the blood on his hand and casually throw the blood-stained cloth onto Wu Zhiheng's headless corpse. He turned to look at the little eunuch.

"Bring me the mother-gu of Retainer Wang."

"Yes."

The little eunuch turned and left, returning a moment later to offer a bug that was scarlet all over.

The Emperor took the bug and activated his true energy.

The bug, which had been lying quietly in his palm, suddenly stood up, its head swinging around, and finally pointed in one direction.

"I have ascended the throne for twenty-three years, yet I do not have a single capable subject. I am not a muddled monarch, yet you are all muddled subjects!"

The Emperor said coldly.

"And yet you still need me to do it myself!"

"This subject is incompetent!"

The little eunuch knelt down suddenly, kowtowing incessantly.

After a long while, he lifted his head.

The Emperor had already disappeared without a trace.

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Xiaoling Mausoleum.

Li Miao looked at the sky in boredom, then glanced at the Jianwen Emperor, and shook his head.

If the Jianwen Emperor wanted to speak normally with people, he could only rely on pulling them into the "Jizhao" illusion; otherwise, he could only pop words out one by one. And Li Miao and he could not speak of trust at all; they were just using each other, so naturally, it was impossible for him to take the initiative to let him pull himself into the illusion just for the sake of chatting.

So he turned to look at Ji Tianrui.

"Hey, Sect Leader Ji."

"What is it, Lord Li?"

Ji Tianrui, who was squatting on the ground pondering the cultivation method, lifted her head and looked at Li Miao with a smile.

"How old are you this year?"

Ji Tianrui covered her mouth with her sleeve and said with a smile.

"Why is Lord Li so abrupt? Is a woman's age something that can be asked casually?"

"However—"

Ji Tianrui stood up, moved her lotus steps lightly, walked in front of Li Miao, and smiled.

"Since Lord Li is asking."

"I am exactly fifteen years old this year."

"You are really only fifteen years old?"

Li Miao said in surprise.

"I looked at those things of the Miao King in the Miao territory before and roughly calculated your age; I thought there was something wrong somewhere."

"I would not leave fake things to deceive Lord Li."

Ji Tianrui smiled.

"However, my fifteen years are also counted from the time I started remembering things."

"Oh?"

Li Miao raised his eyebrows.

"What kind of calculation is this, counting from the time you started remembering things?"

Ji Tianrui waved her hand.

"Since Lord Li has been to the Miao territory, you roughly know the methods of my mother. She must have taken out those fake bodies that looked exactly like her to deal with you."

"I am actually of the same root and origin as those things."

"I did not crawl out of her womb, but was 'cultivated'."

"Actually, I shouldn't call the Miao King 'mother'. To me, she is just the artisan who manufactured me; to her, I am just a mass of flesh and blood used for Ji Tianrui to absorb realms."

Ji Tianrui said with a light laugh.

"So, unlike others who are born with the hopes of their parents, my birth never had any meaning. At the moment of my birth, I couldn't even be considered a 'person'."

"It was I who gave meaning to my own life; from that moment on, I was a 'person'."

"Naturally, my age must also be counted from the time I started remembering things."

(End of Chapter)