Chapter 331: Who is before the hall

"Comman—"

Xue Zhongjing's lips trembled, and his knees went weak, nearly causing him to kneel.

If one were to talk about familiarity with Li Miao, aside from the Battalion that Li Miao had personally brought up, it would be the Battalion under An Ziyang.

Xue Zhongjing still remembered the first thing An Ziyang did upon taking office: he called all his subordinates to the courtyard and solemnly set down three rules.

"First, the Commander is Heaven! Even if it is the order of the Commandery Commander or an imperial decree, it must come after the Commander's orders!"

"Second, the Commander is a god, a Buddha! When you go home, all of you are to enshrine a portrait of the Commander and kneel and offer incense every day! Memorize every word he has said! I will check at any time; those who cannot recite them can wait for death!"

"Third, the Commander is your ancestor! Filial piety means obedience! Whatever the Commander does is right; anyone who stands against the Commander is wrong! Even if the King of Heaven himself comes, it is the same!"

"Is there anyone who cannot do this... you know I am an elder of the Tang Men, right?"

"I have also been learning the witchcraft methods of Battalion Commander Li Xiaosi recently... hehe..."

After An Ziyang's training, Xue Zhongjing had memorized every word and action of Li Miao. An Ziyang's endless methods had carved those three rules deep into his mind.

He could not be sure if that was Li Miao... but he dared not gamble.

Just as his knees bent slightly, he saw the middle-aged man protected in the middle by the two young men smile and raise a finger, making a shushing gesture in front of his mouth.

"It's over..."

Xue Zhongjing was in despair, but the unconditional loyalty to Li Miao that An Ziyang had carved into his marrow forced him to hold on, showing no signs of anything unusual.

"The Commander does not wish to reveal his identity yet... then I must continue to play the part!"

Xue Zhongjing forced himself to calm down, turned to look at Hua Zhiqiu, and said in a deep voice.

"Are these the three thieves... just three?"

Hua Zhiqiu nodded.

Xue Zhongjing pretended to think and said.

"With the wooden tablet destroyed, you and I are both sinners who have broken the Commander's rules... there is no room left for hesitation!"

"Sect Master Hua, I remember that the Prefect of Guangxin Prefecture is coming today, right? You, I, the elders of your sect, plus the accompanying garrison troops, will surely be able to capture these three!"

"Make up for our mistakes!"

Hua Zhiqiu was happy.

"I think the same as Officer Xue! But there are some things that need to be coordinated; Officer Xue, lean in and listen."

Xue Zhongjing pretended not to notice that he had already gripped his sword hilt and leaned his ear over.

*Puchi! *

The long sword entered his chest, piercing his heart and lungs!

Xue Zhongjing clutched his chest, staggered back several steps, blood flowing from his mouth, and pointed a trembling hand at Hua Zhiqiu.

"You—"

He sat down on the ground with a thud, not caring that his life was about to end, his mind racing as he thought about what last words he could say to cooperate with Li Miao and keep the act going.

"Kongming Sect... rebelling!"

"Ehh, cough, cough... listen, young heroes over there!"

He turned to look at Cao Hanyan.

"Kongming Sect, killing officials, rebelling, treason!"

"Spread the news... report... to the officials..."

Blood flowed back from his lungs into his trachea, choking him and cutting off the rest of his words. Xue Zhongjing collapsed to the ground, taking the opportunity to look at Li Miao, and then slowly closed his eyes.

"This way... should be enough to... make up for my mistakes..."

Li Miao raised his eyebrows, pointed his fingers together in the air, and a trace of imperceptible true energy avoided everyone's sight, hitting Xue Zhongjing's chest and preserving his life.

If an assignment is botched, one must be punished, regardless of the reason; this was the iron rule of the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Being stabbed with a sword to learn a lesson was fine; it wouldn't kill him.

The words of Hua Zhiqiu and Elder Qi could not be hidden from him.

The Kongming Sect would definitely be wiped out today. But there might be more than just them dying.

He still wanted to see if this Prefect of Guangxin Prefecture was also looking to die.

A major Jianghu sect colluding with local government officials behind the Embroidered Uniform Guard's back... those disciples daring to kill innocents to claim credit likely had this reason as well.

This Kongming Sect was truly running wild on the road to death, making Li Miao reluctant to interrupt them; he wanted to see just how much death they could court.

Cao Hanyan could not help but sigh.

Gao Anyu did not know the inside story, and seeing the trouble he was in growing larger, he was truly anxious. In the past, others called him a madman, but now it seemed he was the one with the most sense!

"Brother Cao, what do we do!"

After fighting for so long, the Kongming Sect disciples were already a bit afraid, and many were just going through the motions. He no longer needed to fight with all his might and turned to shout at Cao Hanyan.

"Things have blown up! Since Long Haifeng is already dead, there's no point in us staying; we might as well just leave!"

"The person you absolutely cannot provoke in the Great Ming Jianghu is that Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander. Now the wooden tablet is smashed, a subordinate is dead, and two big pots are being pinned on us; I'm afraid he's going to be provoked!"

"Listening to them, the garrison troops will be here in a while. Uncle Li and Aunt Zheng don't know Wu Gong; let's protect our uncle and aunt and leave first!"

"The matter is too big, we can't handle it! My origins can be investigated later!"

Although he really wanted to find out his origins, compared to these ethereal things, Gao Anyu chose to take care of the people in front of him first.

Hua Zhiqiu shook the blood off his sword and led the elders of the Kongming Sect down the steps.

"Want to leave?"

He sneered.

"After killing so many of my Kongming Sect disciples, destroying the wooden tablet, and killing Officer Xue, you still want to leave?"

"It's not impossible."

Hua Zhiqiu stopped and said to Gao Anyu.

"Hand over your inheritance, and I will let you leave, how about that? This is your only chance to escape."

"My Kongming Sect doesn't have much confidence in killing you. But keeping you here, dragging it out until the Prefect arrives with the garrison troops, is not a difficult task. Once this village is passed, there will be no such shop."

Gao Anyu naturally would not believe his nonsense and just shouted anxiously at Cao Hanyan.

"Brother Cao! We can't wait any longer!"

"Let's just follow that Embroidered Uniform Guard's suggestion, leave this place directly, and report to the officials! Explain everything clearly!"

Before the words fell, a voice came from the mountain gate.

"Who wants to report to the officials?"

*Shua shua shua shua—*

The sound of armor rubbing together was endless, and soldiers in armor poured in from outside the gate like a tide, standing on both sides.

A black gauze cap walked in from outside the gate, stood with hands behind his back, and squinted at the people fighting.

This person was wearing a scarlet silk robe with dark patterns embroidered on it. On the square patch on the front of his chest, a cloud goose was flapping its wings, ready to fly. At his waist was a gold lychee belt and a silver fish tally, and on his feet were a pair of black satin boots. His forehead was full, and three long whiskers hung down his chest.

This was the head official of Guangxin Prefecture, the Grade Four official in charge of the people's livelihood and life and death in the region, the Prefect of Guangxin Prefecture—Prefect Luo Mincheng!

This Prefect Luo squinted and looked around, glanced at Hua Zhiqiu, who was bowing respectfully to him, nodded, then looked at Xue Zhongjing lying on the ground, his gaze pausing as he pondered for a while.

Finally, he cast his gaze toward Li Miao and the other two.

"Fighting with weapons, killing people."

"Opposing the imperial court, killing officials, and rebelling."

"Are you three going to surrender?"

Before Gao Anyu could retort, he sneered.

"It seems not... Then Sect Master Hua, your Kongming Sect, cooperate with the imperial court to take down the thieves and reduce your guilt for failing to guard the place."

"Yes!"

Hua Zhiqiu bowed and agreed.

"You corrupt official! So you are all in the same boat!"

Gao Anyu shouted angrily.

"Insulting an imperial official, the crime is increased by one degree."

Prefect Luo said indifferently.

"Just now, you were the one who said you wanted to report to the officials, right? This official understands the people's feelings and has come down to judge the case personally. Shouldn't you, a Jianghu ruffian, be grateful?"

He flicked his sleeves, spread his hands, and looked indifferently at Gao Anyu.

"Who is before the hall, wanting to accuse this official?"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 332 =====