Chapter 346: Military Bandits

Qiu Wuying felt as if he had fallen into an ice cellar; his hands and feet were frozen at his sides, and he dared not move.

Eunuch He had come from within the palace; whether in terms of inheritance, natural talent, or the resources consumed, he was far superior to him, and his nature was even more ruthless and resilient by several times.

The head was kicked into the water.

The middle-aged man did not hold a high official position, merely a Grade Seven Transport Commander, but it was one of the few positions in Nanjing with real power and lucrative perks, overseeing hundreds of transport ships and thousands of transport soldiers! In terms of real power, he was by no means inferior to any Battalion Commander in the Great Ming!

Like a dead dog, he was nailed to the stone, losing his life on the spot before he could even leave a final word.

Where on earth did such a vicious person come from!

"Look up."

The voice said mockingly.

"No, I dare not... Your Excellency, Great Hero, Grandfather, Ancestor, I know the rules; if I see your face, I won't survive. You can kill these people if you like, I only beg you to spare my dog's life!"

"As long as you spare my life, I will tell you anything you want to know. Once I'm done, I will leave the Great Ming and will never leave you the slightest bit of trouble!"

"My wealth is all in my water stronghold, if you—"

Qiu Wuying begged for mercy repeatedly, not even daring to catch his breath.

Yet he heard that person say with a laugh.

"Who said you would live just because you don't look up?"

"Oh, you don't need to reach for the pill poison in your bosom; that stuff is useless against me."

A chill ran through the bottom of Qiu Wuying's heart again.

This was his means of saving his life, a small packet of Tang Men pill poison he had sought out after pulling many strings, yet the other party had discovered it before he could even make a move!

What to do, what to do... The pill poison was discovered, and in terms of Wu Gong, he was definitely no match, and listening to the other party's tone, it was clear that the intent to kill had already arisen!

He made a final struggle.

"Grandfather, Ancestor! Please don't make a move!"

"Do you know who is behind me? It is precisely—"

Before he could finish his sentence, a hand gripped the top of his head, slowly tightening like a steel hoop.

"Arghhhhh!!!"

The surging pain turned his pleas for mercy into inhuman screams.

His skull emitted a mournful sound, compressing inward, severing the boiling thoughts in his brain in half.

"I don't want to know now."

"I won't believe a single word spoken while you are still whole."

The perspective shifted upward; he was slowly lifted, gradually leveling with a face wearing a mocking smile.

Borrowing the moonlight, Qiu Wuying saw that face clearly.

Extreme fear temporarily dispelled the pain, allowing him to squeeze out a murmur full of despair.

"Li, Li—"

Li Miao turned his head to glance at the noisy crowd on the opposite bank, then turned back to look at Qiu Wuying.

"I was afraid you would run away earlier, so I came over to kill a bit first. The trash over there hasn't been cleared away yet, you still have to accompany me on a trip, and by the way, I'll trim you down a bit."

Li Miao lowered his voice and laughed cruelly.

"So that you can live until I start interrogating you, I'll give you a piece of advice—lift your hands, hold your own neck, and don't let go."

A trace of confusion appeared in Qiu Wuying's eyes.

But the next instant, he understood Li Miao's meaning.

His vision blurred; Li Miao gripped his head and leaped several zhang into the air! The overly rapid acceleration almost tore his head from his body!

Qiu Wuying let out a wail in mid-air, lifting his hands to grip his own neck.

"That's right."

Li Miao's mocking voice came from above.

Qiu Wuying watched helplessly as he was held in Li Miao's hand, crossing the wide river like a meteorite—smashing toward the opposite bank!

Boom!

The landing point was not soil, but a human body.

Amidst the splashing blood, Qiu Wuying's vision blurred again.

After Li Miao landed, he actually grabbed his head and swept it violently!

Bang, bang, bang, bang—

The human bodies that hadn't had time to scatter were swept away by Qiu Wuying's legs! It was as if a scarlet firework had exploded within the crowd!

Intense pain came from his lower body.

Before Qiu Wuying could scream, Li Miao had already grabbed his head and charged into the crowd, sweeping out another rain of blood!

Repeating this several times, dozens of corpses already lay on the ground, and Qiu Wuying's lower body had become a soft, collapsed mess, where not even a slightly larger bone fragment could be found.

Qiu Wuying had already taken his hands off his neck.

He had already recognized Li Miao, and he was clear about Li Miao's reputation. Falling into Li Miao's hands, even leaving a whole corpse was a luxury. Compared to being used as a weapon by Li Miao and smashed to death alive, he would rather have his neck snapped, at least he could get it over with quickly.

But the moment he took his hands away, Qiu Wuying felt a warm current pour into his body along his Baihui acupoint, instantly traversing his extraordinary meridians.

His injuries slowly healed, and a strand of true energy appeared at his neck, knitting his muscles together and beginning to operate on its own a hard-style cultivation method he had never practiced before.

A trace of despair appeared in Qiu Wuying's eyes.

Falling into the hands of this devil, indeed, even death was a luxury.

After "maintaining" the "weapon," Li Miao scanned the surroundings.

The moment he first killed his way here, he had already discovered that this group of "water bandits" was actually two groups of people mixed together.

Half of them were soldiers.

Regular troops, disguised as water bandits, intercepting and killing merchant ships passing by together.

There was no need to rack one's brains to guess the mastermind behind this—the Nanjing Garrison Eunuch, who was already above the Nanjing Garrison, was the military official in charge of the entire Nanjing military power.

But even though Li Miao had long been mentally prepared to have a go with the Nanjing army, he had never expected to see the army here.

An organized army, under the orders of their superior, disguising themselves as bandits, intercepting and killing commoners along the transport thoroughfare, and plundering wealth—in any dynasty, this was the sign of a fallen nation among signs of a fallen nation.

It could only be said that the mess the Emperor left for Li Miao and Zhu Zai was truly a leaky, crumbling disaster on the verge of national collapse.

While Li Miao was sighing, the real water bandits had already fled to the small boats one after another, rowing for their lives to escape.

And the regular troops disguised as water bandits no longer hid their identities, forming military formations one after another and pressing toward Li Miao.

Li Miao glanced at them and gave another cold laugh.

The Great Ming's military preparedness was lax, yet these people could form military formations on their own in a short time even after their superior had died. From this point alone, it could be seen that these soldiers were far superior to the elite garrison troops Li Miao had seen elsewhere.

But these so-called "elites" were raised on the blood of innocent commoners.

Whether they were just going with the flow or enjoying it—Li Miao would not leave a single beast that had already eaten human flesh.

"Are you ready?"

Li Miao smiled and took a step forward.

Whoosh—

The military formation in front actually produced a wave of chaos with his step. The people in front retreated involuntarily, only to retreat onto the weapons of their comrades behind, crying out in pain.

By the time they came to their senses and turned to look forward again, Li Miao's figure was nowhere to be seen.

Scanning the surroundings, suddenly, a cry of alarm came from a companion at his side.

"Above! Above!"

"It's here! It's here!"

The perspective shifted upward.

Li Miao, wearing a ferocious grin, hauled Qiu Wuying and plummeted from mid-air, smashing into the crowd with a thunderous boom!

(End of chapter)