Chapter 280: Long Time No See

"Hero Li... long time no see..."

Liu Chengxuan murmured in response.

Suddenly, he felt something bump into his lower back. He turned his head and saw Wen Lianrong, who had already bowed to pay respects, winking at him. Qi Shuyun on the side knelt down on one knee directly, also squeezing his eyes at him constantly.

"Senior brother!"

Seeing him still standing there blankly, Wen Lianrong shouted in a low voice. Her expression had become visibly anxious. Liu Chengxuan suddenly woke up, hurriedly cupped his hands, and bowed to the ground.

"Commoner Liu Chengxuan, pays respects to Lord Pacification Commissioner!"

Li Miao smiled and looked at Liu Chengxuan for a while, then turned to look at Wen Lianrong behind him. After a long while, he raised his hand in the air to support them, helping all three to stand up.

"Alright, wait a moment."

He pointed at the old man kneeling in the hall.

Liu Chengxuan and the three realized, hurriedly moving to the side.

The old man was still breathing heavily, the wounds on his body visibly stopping bleeding slowly. Although it couldn't reach the effect of flesh and blood instantly reshaping like when Li Miao fought, the healing speed was already able to catch up with the offerings that healed Huang Jin back then, clearly also a healing technique with a foundation.

Seeing that the old man couldn't recover for a while, Li Miao was not in a hurry and asked Attendant Ruan Mei.

"How was the probing?"

Attendant Ruan Mei cupped her hands and replied.

"Judging from the self-created martial arts, the temperament is not bad; although it can't be considered upright, at least it's not as damn-worthy as the first two."

"It has a foundation; although it mainly cultivates hard-body, the foundations of internal energy, light-body, ear-skill, and eyesight are not shallow. It must be from a sect, but it's not one of the major sects I am familiar with."

Speaking of this, Attendant Ruan Mei hesitated.

Li Miao raised his eyebrows.

"If you have any thoughts, just say it."

"Yes."

Attendant Ruan Mei nodded and told everything about the old man's performance after entering the third courtyard, and then slowly said.

"Even the eyes couldn't be hidden, just looking straight at it; it doesn't look like he is from the evil path, nor does he look like a Heaven-Man who can hide under the pursuit of the imperial court."

"The temperament is not bad, the origin is unknown, so the subordinate didn't use lethal force, just scraped his flesh and blood, saving him from offending you, and let him break through."

"Hmm, not bad."

Li Miao stepped down the steps, walked to the old man, and reached out to press on his head.

"It's been a long time, have you thought about how to say it?"

The old man took a deep breath.

"I..."

"Oh, by the way, there's no need to introduce yourself again."

Li Miao said indifferently.

"My subordinate hasn't been under my hand for long, and doesn't know much about things yet. But your news, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has already collected it all. A few days ago, you had a fight with Zhao Qiaoqiao of the Blood Clothes Building, which is why those fools of the evil path were willing to follow you in."

"However, I didn't expect that you would still dare to see me after seeing Zhao Qiaoqiao's corpse."

Li Miao shook the old man's head slowly and smiled.

"You are from the Manichaeism, right?"

"If it's a Heaven-Man, the status should not be low. Can speak Han language, you are 'Patig'?"

The old man was suddenly choked, and the words he intended to say were all swallowed back.

As early as the night Li Miao descended from Mount Heng, Wang Hai had already reported this news to him. After the Battle of the Imperial Tombs, the middle-tier disciples of the Ming Sect had all been thrown into the Embroidered Uniform Guard's imperial prison. The Protectors and the Left and Right Envoys had been mostly slaughtered by Li Miao back in Tai'an. Excluding Ji Tianrui and a few others at the Heaven-Man Realm, the Ming Sect had already fallen apart.

However, the bottom-level disciples of the Ming Cult, those who were not qualified to follow the high-level to the capital, were still there. The things collected by the Ming Cult on weekdays, it is estimated that Ji Tianrui did not have the leeway to take away. In the words of Li Miao's previous life, the "superstructure" had collapsed, but the "economic base" was still there, and it was large.

Coincidentally, some disciples in the Ming Cult saw that the situation was not good and fled directly to the Western Regions, taking refuge in the ancestor of the Ming Cult—the Manichaeism.

After the Manichaeism leader learned the news from these disciples, he didn't know how to speak for a while.

"Meaning, that group of heretics who set up their own sect, those above the middle level are all dead? The things are still there, the bottom-level believers are still there, and they are all believers who have been suppressed by the Central Plains imperial court for decades and still haven't left?"

"Ming Zun! Is this your blessing!"

Without any hesitation, the Manichaeism immediately sent people to the Central Plains to investigate. But this investigation made it difficult.

The Ming Cult didn't commit a small matter.

Assassinating the emperor, and almost succeeded. One can imagine that the Great Shu imperial court basically couldn't allow the Ming Cult to continue to exist, even if the name was changed to Manichaeism, it wouldn't work. But letting the Manichaeism give up this wealth was obviously impossible.

Coincidentally, the news of Li Miao gathering all the heroes of the world to gather in Songshan spread, so there was the matter of the old man coming to see Li Miao.

However, the old man didn't expect that as soon as they met, Li Miao stated his origin. This made all the foreshadowing he wanted to do die in his stomach.

After being silent for a long while, the old man spoke hoarsely.

"Lord, do you know so much about my Manichaeism?"

"It can't be said."

Li Miao smiled.

"Leader, twelve apostles, bishop, elder, these basic structures are still known. There are not many people in the Manichaeism who can speak Han language. Since you are a Heaven-Man, you should be the 'Patig' among the apostles who is responsible for preaching."

The old man pursed his lips and said in a deep voice.

"Since this is the case, Lord should know my intention."

"Of course."

Li Miao said.

"Your purpose is obvious, but what I am curious about is, what chips does the Manichaeism have to think that I will let you take over the Ming Cult's stall?"

"Although the Western Regions have not been suppressed by the imperial court, the foundation of martial arts is ultimately in the Central Plains. There are not many Heaven-Men in your place, right? If you don't have some certainty, you won't come to me."

Li Miao let go of the hand holding the old man's head, went up the steps, and sat sideways on the chair. His left hand supported his face, his right hand was on the armrest, and he said indifferently.

"Say it."

The old man was silent for a while before slowly opening his mouth to speak.

"The Ming Cult thieves assassinated Emperor Majesty, causing the Jianghu to be turbulent. If my Manichaeism takes over, we can... to the imperial court..."

"This matter is not your turn to worry about, next one."

Li Miao interrupted the old man's words.

The old man gritted his teeth and continued.

"I heard that there are several Heaven-Men who defected from the imperial court and flowed into the Jianghu. If my Manichaeism can enter the Central Plains, we can assist the imperial court..."

Halfway through the words, he was interrupted by Li Miao again.

"Heh."

Li Miao sneered.

"Offering Ruan, he said he wanted to kill you for the imperial court."

The old man turned his head abruptly to look at Attendant Ruan Mei beside him. Attendant Ruan Mei smiled, raised her hand to point at the Emei piercer at her waist, making a "ding ding" sound.

The old man gritted his teeth and turned to look at Li Miao.

"The accumulation of the imperial court is certainly not comparable to my sect. But it is also a fact that there are many fewer Heaven-Men. With my sect helping, the Jianghu will definitely not be as turbulent as it is now."

Li Miao seemed to have heard enough and closed his eyes.

An Ziyang on the side hurriedly took over the conversation and sneered.

"Turbulent? Do you want to see where you are standing? Do you want to think about how many people outside the mountain gate want to enter but can't?"

"With a single order from my Pacification Commissioner, the entire Jianghu will rush to attend the banquet. This Jianghu turbulence is what my Pacification Commissioner wants to let it be turbulent; if my Pacification Commissioner wants it to be quiet, it must be quiet!"

"Being able to come here and see my Pacification Commissioner Lord is a gift to you!"

"Helper? You also deserve it!"

The last word "deserve," together with a "bah," echoed in the hall, and the old man's face became increasingly ugly.

The room fell into silence again.

Attendant Ruan Mei's hand was already pressed on the handle of the Emei piercer, her gaze looking at Li Miao. It was she who let the person in, so naturally, it should be handled by her. As long as Li Miao waved his hand, she would immediately make a move and kill this person on the spot.

Killing intent permeated, and Liu Chengxuan and the other three on the side couldn't help but take half a step back, fearing being involved.

Suddenly, the old man spoke again.

"My sect has one last condition."

"It's just that, it's better not to be heard by outsiders."

An Ziyang raised his eyebrows and was about to scold.

"You madman—"

"It's not that my sect is hiding it; this matter has little to do with my sect, but rather has some origin with Pacification Commissioner Lord."

The old man hurriedly said.

"This is for the consideration of Pacification Commissioner Lord."

"Oh?"

Li Miao opened his eyes and smiled.

"The previous ones were all clichés and nonsense. After probing for so long, you finally brought out the real goods."

"Have an origin with me? Interesting."

He looked at An Ziyang. An Ziyang immediately understood, first winked at Shen Xunning, then walked down the steps with her, led Liu Chengxuan and the three out, and slowly closed the door.

In the room, only Li Miao, Attendant Ruan Mei, and the Manichaeism old man were left.

"Alright, there are no other people here."

"Say it, I have only walked the Jianghu for more than a year, how can things in the Western Regions have anything to do with me?"

Li Miao said.

The old man raised his head and looked straight at Li Miao, his gaze staying on Li Miao's face for a long time. Attendant Ruan Mei's expression changed abruptly, and she was about to step forward to stop his rude behavior.

Li Miao waved his hand.

Having been an Embroidered Uniform Guard for these years, the prisoners he interrogated must have been at least several hundred. Distinguishing the emotions in the gaze had already become an instinct for Li Miao.

The old man's gaze did not carry any emotion; it was neither provocative nor flattering, but purely observing... as if comparing with someone.

After a long while, he let out a long breath and slowly said.

"As far as I know, the Ming Cult had some entanglement with Lord Li before, and Lord Li personally chased and killed for a while. Therefore, the Ming Cult leader distributed the appearance and general news of Lord Li collected to the disciples above the middle level."

"The disciples who came to take refuge in my sect told us this news. Among them, there is one point I still need to confirm."

He looked at Li Miao, subconsciously lowered his voice, and said.

"Lord Li, you are an orphan, with no relatives, right?"

"Oh?"

Li Miao raised his eyebrows.

"That's interesting... That's right, I am indeed from such a background."

"In that case..."

The old man let out a long breath and continued to ask.

"Then, does Lord Li still remember where you came from?"

Li Miao didn't answer, narrowing his eyes to look at the old man.

The old man shivered and hurriedly said.

"It's not to offend you, it's just that my sect is not sure about this matter. If I don't confirm these two pieces of news with you, it might be inappropriate to say it abruptly."

"Since what the Ming Cult disciple said is true..."

"Lord Li, this matter starts from three months ago."

The old man said in a deep voice.

"Those Ming Cult disciples came to the Western Regions half a year ago, and my sect also started sending people to the Central Plains half a year ago. But at first, the leader didn't intend to let people at the apostle level come here."

"Until three months ago, someone came to my sect's main altar and met the leader."

"He said that the imperial court was turbulent and had already shown signs of fatigue, and the Ming Cult was the culprit. Everyone in the world who was dissatisfied with Great Shu would remember that punch."

"If my sect takes over the Ming Cult's stall, we have to bear this cause and effect. The suppression of the imperial court is one aspect, but on the other hand, it will also win some... hearts."

Speaking of this, the old man paused and looked at Li Miao.

Li Miao didn't show anything.

This matter is not strange. The protruding branch rots first, but it will also be the first to be remembered in people's hearts. If no one made an issue of the Ming Cult, it would be a fresh thing.

"Continue."

Li Miao said.

So the old man continued.

"He said that if my sect is willing to carry the flag of the Ming Cult, even if we don't go against the imperial court, as long as we don't bow down, he is willing to block some things for my sect."

"For example, the Heaven-Men of the imperial court."

"For example, the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"Heh."

Li Miao sneered.

"And you believed it?"

"No."

The old man said.

"The Central Plains is the source of martial arts. Although my sect hasn't walked the Central Plains for many years, we also know the foundation of the imperial court. He boasted so much, my sect naturally wouldn't believe it easily."

"So, the leader let the experts in the sect exchange two moves with him."

"First was the bishop, who was defeated in one encounter. I went up to try two moves, and also had no power to fight back."

"Finally, all the Heaven-Men in the sect made a move together."

"Still, not an opponent."

Li Miao took down his hand, sat up, and asked with interest.

"How many Heaven-Men do you have?"

"Four."

"How many moves did you exchange?"

The old man sighed and said extremely unwillingly.

"... Seventeen moves."

"Although there was no blood, and there was no killing intent between each other, it was indeed a clear judgment of high and low. Even if we continued to fight, it is estimated that there would be no difference."

Li Miao twisted his fingers and calculated.

Four Heaven-Men, even if the Manichaeism doesn't have the secret method to suppress the Five Decays of Heaven-Man, they are all Heaven-Men of the same path, and they are not people who can be defeated quickly by the level of offerings. Seventeen moves, making four Heaven-Men convinced to be defeated without seeing blood... it can almost be compared to the normal state of Li Miao.

It's a trouble.

The meaning of this person's words is aimed at subverting Great Shu. Li Miao's people haven't grown up yet. If there is such a person playing guerrilla warfare everywhere, unless they bump into Li Miao, no one can really stop it.

After a while, Li Miao looked at the old man.

"I understand his meaning. What about your meaning?"

The old man smiled bitterly.

"Lord, if my sect had agreed to him, I wouldn't have come here to see you."

"We are different from the Ming Cult. Their doctrine has deviated from the teachings of Ming Zun. Precisely because of this, we will part ways with them. Even from the consideration of interests, compared with the imperial court that has been established for nearly two hundred years, the promise given by a person who came uninvited is too light."

"Not stupid."

Li Miao smiled.

"But speaking until now, I still haven't heard anything related to me."

The old man raised his head to look at Li Miao and said in a deep voice.

"What happened later is the reason I came to see you."

"Although that person was rejected, he was not annoyed and just left. But after he left, someone found the leader and said there was something to report. This person is exactly one of the Ming Cult disciples who fled from the Central Plains to the Western Regions and took refuge in my sect."

"He said that the person's appearance was somewhat familiar, but he wasn't sure. He needed the leader to gather all the Ming Cult disciples who came to take refuge and verify each other."

"After the leader gathered these disciples, several people verified each other and said a sentence."

The old man took a deep breath, looked at Li Miao above, and slowly said.

"They said that this person's appearance and figure were exactly the same as one person. It was exactly the same as the portrait distributed when they were in the Ming Cult."

"That is—you."

"The 'Four Seasons Battalion Commander' half a year ago, the current Northern Pacification Division Pacification Commissioner."

"The leader gathered painters and drew a portrait according to their description. I compared it with that person, and it was exactly the same."

He reached into his bosom.

Attendant Ruan Mei pulled out the Emei piercer and stepped forward to press on the old man's back neck. Only after he took out a scroll of painting did she slowly put it down.

The old man held up the scroll with both hands.

"This is the painting."

Li Miao raised his hand and grabbed it in the air. The scroll flew into his hand. When he unfolded it, he smiled immediately.

The paintings in the Western Regions are more realistic than those in the Central Plains. The Manichaeism also found a good hand among them. It was vivid, especially the pair of eyes, which were full of form and spirit, almost like looking in a mirror. It was exactly Li Miao.

Li Miao casually threw the portrait to the side and looked at the old man.

"Not disguise?"

"Should not be."

The old man shook his head.

"To show sincerity, he deliberately mentioned this matter when he came to my sect, and we also verified it. It is indeed not a disguise technique, and there is no human skin mask, grease, or powder on his face."

"We also considered whether it was a brilliant technique that could displace bones and flesh, and we also used means to probe during the fight. Unless there is an expert far beyond our sect's founder who has painstakingly created a Heaven-Man inheritance disguise technique, it is absolutely impossible."

"So, I asked you those two questions."

After the old man finished speaking, he didn't open his mouth again.

Li Miao's fingers tapped slowly on the scroll beside him.

Before at Emei, Attendant Ruan Mei once said that the person who killed Emei, regardless of figure, appearance, or even voice, was exactly the same as him, only the temperament and martial arts were different.

Even when Li Miao found her, Attendant Ruan Mei had to use the news of the Imperial Mausoleum to probe before she dared to let Li Miao enter the cave.

When he took in An Ziyang, Li Miao saw the wonderful use of disguise techniques, and he himself had similar means, so his first reaction was that someone was pretending to be him to make trouble.

But, what if it wasn't a disguise technique?

What if this person was exactly the same as Li Miao?

The Ming Cult originated from the Manichaeism. Just looking at the Heaven-Man inheritance, it is almost no weaker than Shaolin and Wudang. Since the old man guaranteed in the name of his sect's founder, its credibility is not low.

Li Miao didn't come to this Great Shu with his own body, and he didn't know where that little beggar came from or what his surname was before he arrived. As soon as he opened his eyes, he was stunned for a while, and before he had time to experience the feeling of being a beggar, he was taken to the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

In these years, there were too many refugees and beggars. Li Miao didn't intend to get to the bottom of it. What kind of trouble of bearing your flesh and bearing your cause and effect, Li Miao wouldn't think about it at all.

But it seems that this matter that he had thrown behind his head for more than twenty years—

Came to his door by itself.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 281 =====