Chapter 349

Nanjing, Forbidden City.

The delicate-looking young eunuch took small steps, moving cautiously and quickly along the corridor, without making a single sound of footsteps.

As the capital during the founding of the Great Ming, the palace city in Nanjing still retained its vast and magnificent scale, but the washing of time over more than a hundred years since the capital was moved and the lack of repairs had left traces of decay in too many places.

The young eunuch familiarly bypassed the Jinshen Hall and Qianqing Palace, which had been burned down for decades, stepped over the corridor where the pillars had been dismantled, and walked toward a side hall.

When he reached the entrance of the side hall, he stopped, skillfully stood to one side of the door, lowered his head, and stood silently.

After a long while, a cough came from inside the door, and only then did he walk forward slowly and gently push open the door.

As soon as the door was pushed open, the heat inside rushed toward his face. Several heaters were placed on the ground, and heavy curtains hung on the windows all around, blocking the light; inside the room, only the dim candlelight flickered constantly.

In the center of the room, an aged figure was standing up, holding the head of the bed, laboriously putting on a complex python robe for himself.

This person was one of the most extravagant figures in Nanjing city, and also the main official who held the military power of all of Nanjing, one of the four garrison eunuchs of Nanjing—Cun Dong.

The young eunuch did not step forward to serve, but just stood in place, waiting for Cun Dong to finish changing his clothes extremely slowly, before walking forward slowly to support his arm.

Cun Dong was already in his seventies, and his physical condition didn't look good; after changing his clothes, a thin layer of sweat appeared on his forehead, and he coughed lightly without stopping.

The young eunuch patted Cun Dong's back lightly.

Slap.

Slap.

Slap.

After a moment, Cun Dong's complexion looked a bit better, and the young eunuch supported his arm again and said softly.

"Old Ancestor, the other three are all waiting for you at Huagai Hall."

"What for?"

Cun Dong asked indifferently.

"Early this morning, an Embroidered Uniform Guard battalion commander showed his waist token at the city gate; it was hard to block it in full view of everyone, and now he has already entered the city."

The young eunuch said softly.

Cun Dong frowned, his withered fingers tightening on the young eunuch's arm.

"Where is he now?"

The young eunuch said softly and quickly.

"Arranged to stay at the 'Longjiang Post', and hasn't come out since. But there has been no action until now, and he hasn't been seen going to the Embroidered Uniform Guard yamen to find anyone; he is behaving so calmly that it's somewhat abnormal."

"The key is that this person is extremely unfamiliar, not any Embroidered Uniform Guard battalion commander we knew before, but that waist token is real—the other three are inviting you to discuss this matter."

Cun Dong didn't speak, and the young eunuch understood and shut his mouth, supporting him out of the side hall and walking toward Huagai Hall.

After walking for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, they reached the entrance of Huagai Hall.

The young eunuch supported Cun Dong as he walked into the hall; as soon as he entered, he sensed the oppressive and cold atmosphere in the hall, and hurriedly lowered his head, not daring to speak.

On the chairs in the hall, three people were already sitting.

The middle-aged eunuch sitting upright on the left, with meticulous clothes and a serious expression, was named Shang Qiu.

The two young eunuchs sitting very close on the right, with identical appearances and equally anxious expressions, were named Liu Chun and Shou Xia.

Adding Cun Dong, the four garrison eunuchs had already gathered in this Huagai Hall.

Seeing that Cun Dong had finally arrived, Shang Qiu acted as if he hadn't seen him, still drinking tea by himself. Liu Chun and Shou Xia, however, both let out a cold snort.

"Old thing, what a big ego! None of us have anyone to serve us, only you bring people in, relying on your age to bully others!"

Cun Dong acted as if he hadn't heard, supported by the young eunuch, walked slowly to a chair and sat down, and only then spoke slowly.

"If you want to argue or kill, wait until the matter is settled."

"Hmph!"

Liu Chun and Shou Xia snorted coldly again, but sensibly shut their mouths.

Cun Dong turned his head to look at Shang Qiu.

"Companion Shang, what have you found out?"

Shang Qiu put down his teacup and said in a deep voice.

"Nothing has been found."

"The waist token is real, but the person has no background, at least he doesn't match any company commander or battalion commander in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. I had people bring a few surrendered Embroidered Uniform Guards to look, and they all said they didn't recognize him—it's as if he suddenly popped out of the ground."

"However—" he hesitated for a moment.

Liu Chun sneered.

"If you have something to say, say it! What are you swallowing it back for!"

Shang Qiu frowned.

"It's just a guess, there's no solid evidence—this matter might be related to 'that person'."

As soon as these words were spoken, Liu Chun and Shou Xia's expressions changed, and even Cun Dong frowned tightly, saying in a deep voice.

"How so?"

Shang Qiu tapped his fingers on the table.

"After the Imperial Mausoleum incident, 'that person' disappeared for half a year, only appearing on the 15th of the 8th month at Mount Song, holding a moon-viewing banquet, suppressing the entire Jianghu, and then lost his tracks again; no one knows where he is now."

"But this person has three characteristics."

Shang Qiu held up three fingers.

"First, this person likes to use disguises to walk the Jianghu, wandering around, and has many methods, often walking and walking, and then following clues to turn things upside down."

"Last year's events... the cause was just a small Huashan Sect, and in half a year, he turned it into a major event of treason and rebellion—perhaps he followed the clues from the water stronghold incident to Nanjing."

"Second, this person likes to recruit subordinates from the Jianghu; the few battalion commanders and confidants he has now are almost all recruited from the Jianghu."

"That young battalion commander who entered the city, since he has no background, perhaps he is a subordinate he recently recruited from the Jianghu."

"Third..."

Shang Qiu sighed.

"This person's nature is fierce and cruel; whether breaking a situation or setting one up, he only has one method—killing."

"It just so happens that early this morning, a battalion commander under me and two water strongholds lost contact; perhaps it was this person's handiwork."

He looked up and slowly uttered a name as if groaning.

"That person..."

"The Commander who killed the previous one, the great traitor who killed the Emperor, the peerless demon who usurped the court and overturned the Jianghu—Li Miao."

"Perhaps he has already arrived."

As soon as these words were spoken, the expressions of the other three became extremely ugly.

The younger Liu Chun and Shou Xia stood up abruptly and paced back and forth: "So fast! This, if he enters the city, we could die at his hands at any time! The guards in this Forbidden City are like toilet paper to him!"

"We clearly sealed off the news... how did he know!"

"Cun Dong! Could it be that the two battalion commanders under him a few days ago, Wang Hai and Li Xiaosi, have already escaped the city!"

Cun Dong shook his head slowly.

"No, although they haven't been caught, the two are still hiding in the city; my men are searching, and have already touched their tails; at least I can guarantee that they definitely haven't escaped the city."

"Rather, with that person's methods, it's not strange even if he found out about Nanjing himself."

Liu Chun and Shou Xia gritted their teeth, also knowing that now was not the time to blame each other.

"Companion Shang is only guessing, perhaps it's not accurate... perhaps it's just a young battalion commander who was just promoted, and perhaps those water strongholds and battalion commanders who lost contact just had some accidents..."

Shang Qiu, however, slammed the table.

"But what if he really came?"

"Are you not afraid that when you sleep tonight... he will suddenly appear at your bedside? Are you not afraid that when you are eating, he will suddenly walk in from the door with a smile? Are you not afraid that when you are walking on the road, you will suddenly be grabbed by the neck from behind?"

"He has only been walking the Jianghu for a little over a year, and he has at least a thousand lives on his hands! Shuntian, Miaojiang, Qilu, where has he been that hasn't been a river of blood! Are you not afraid!"

"I am afraid! I think you should be afraid too!"

Liu Chun and Shou Xia's expressions were ugly, but they couldn't refute.

After a long while, Cun Dong spoke slowly.

"Let's do this, we can't lose our footing."

"Companion Liu, Companion Shou, you two go and test that battalion commander to see what his plan is."

"Companion Shang, let's prepare for the possibility that he really came."

"If things go wrong... we can only advance the schedule."

After saying that, he looked at the young eunuch standing by his side and sighed.

Bang!

Suddenly he raised his hand and struck a palm onto the young eunuch's chest!

Crack.

A crisp sound, the sternum broke and pierced the organs; the fear on the young eunuch's face hadn't fully appeared before he fell to the ground, twitched a few times, and lost his breath.

The other three acted as if they hadn't seen it, instead turning their heads to one side in unison.

Patter, patter.

Footsteps came from behind the hall, and a person walked out slowly, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at the four garrison eunuchs.

"Immortal Master."

The four high-ranking and powerful garrison eunuchs actually stood up in unison and bowed to him, and the man accepted this bow as a matter of course.

Cun Dong said in a deep voice.

"Immortal Master, you heard what was just said, that demon might have already arrived... although the gathered wealth is not yet complete, it might be difficult to seek perfection, I don't know if it will affect your immortal arts?"

The man waved his hand.

"The Great Dao is forty-nine, one is escaped; it is inherently difficult to seek perfection."

"It's just that I originally thought I could 'restore yang' for the three companions, but with the current preparations, perhaps only two companions can get their wish."

The four garrison eunuchs' expressions changed upon hearing this, their gazes swept over each other, their hostility became increasingly heavy, and at the same time, their expressions became hesitant.

Three spots weren't enough to divide, making four people almost fall out... now there was one less, so what was there to talk about regarding cooperation and division of labor?

Compared to enemies, accomplices fighting over loot were even more hateful!

Even more deserving of death!

Seeing this situation, the man smiled indifferently, walked slowly to Cun Dong, and reached out to pinch his pulse point.

An extreme joy appeared on Cun Dong's aged face, and the other three stared at his face with envious and jealous gazes.

In the cold gazes of the three, Cun Dong slowly grinned.

As if an invisible pair of large hands were slowly stroking his cheeks, gently and firmly moving and tightening the skin. The wrinkles slowly disappeared, and his appearance gradually changed.

But this wasn't important... what made him most joyful was that his lower body, which had been empty for decades, was slowly heating up and swelling, as if something was about to grow out.

Thinking of the maids at home who could be looked at but not used... Cun Dong felt a long-lost impulse surging from the bottom of his heart, making him want to cry.

Immortal arts!

All the martial arts in this world, even the healing techniques of the Heaven-Man Realm, couldn't do it... restore yang! Even, immortal arts that could change his aged body from the inside out into another person!

"Laozi" says: "Cleanse the mysterious mirror, can you be without flaws?"

The mysterious mirror is the mirror of the heart. Cleanse away evil decorations, reach the ultimate purity and stillness, then there is nothing that is not reflected!

Flawless and without blemish, always guarding and always present!

Cun Dong said joyfully.

"I know, we will do it today!"

The man smiled and let go of his hand, not speaking.

The four garrison eunuchs walked out of Huagai Hall, and when they reached the door, they turned around in unison and bowed deeply toward the inside of the hall.

"We will definitely not let worldly affairs disturb your cultivation!"

"Immortal Master Zheng!"

By the time the four raised their heads, the man had already disappeared.

(End of chapter)