Chapter 355

Before Gao Anyu could ask, Wang Hai recounted the matter.

Just as the news brought back by You Zi'ang, he and Xiaosi followed the clues to Nanjing city and found the four garrison eunuchs.

At first, the two only secretly investigated the family property and the flow of wealth of the four garrison eunuchs, wanting to see if it was related to the group of eunuchs who flowed into the Jianghu after the Imperial Mausoleum incident.

Wang Hai sighed.

"Actually, when we first investigated, we also had the intention of directly forcing these four dead eunuchs to rebel, just to cut them down. Anyway, most of the eunuchs in Shuntian Prefecture have already been killed, and it's time to clean up Nanjing."

"So we actually deliberately leaked some news, letting these four garrison eunuchs know that the Embroidered Uniform Guard was investigating them."

Worthy of being brought out by Li Miao, Wang Hai's approach was exactly the same as Li Miao's methods for rectifying the Five Mountains Sword Sect.

Regardless of whether the four garrison eunuchs had colluded with Liu Jin, they were not good things anyway; people died, and regardless of whether they had colluded before, they couldn't collude after.

"To prevent them from jumping over the wall in desperation, and also to be able to cut the Gordian knot quickly when making a move, we transferred four offerings from Shuntian Prefecture... that is, four Heaven-Men of the Two-Path Realm."

"With an imperial edict, offerings who could assassinate them one-on-one, the Embroidered Uniform Guards stationed in Nanjing, and the secret cooperation of dozens of Nanjing officials... if there were no accidents, this matter should have been ten out of ten."

Speaking to this point, Gao Anyu and Gu Feixuan both knew.

If there were no accidents, then there were accidents.

"The accident happened with this Immortal Master Zheng."

Wang Hai said in a deep voice.

"On the day we were ready to make a move, this person suddenly appeared in front of the four garrison eunuchs. All the anomalies in Nanjing city now are caused by him."

"I won't talk about the things that happened in the middle; you two just need to know, four offerings, dozens of Nanjing officials, three Embroidered Uniform Guard battalion commanders stationed in Nanjing, and the manpower we brought—"

"Overnight, all died at his hands."

Gao Anyu and Gu Feixuan were both stunned and shocked.

"What!?"

"Not to mention anything else, four Heaven-Men of the Two-Path Realm could already exterminate any large sect in the Jianghu. If they joined hands, I'm afraid they could suppress the entire Jianghu... and they all died!?"

Wang Hai nodded.

"Yes, and it's not a simple death."

"It's the kind of death where they exhausted all their means, couldn't shake the other party in the slightest, and finally were killed in one move without any resistance."

"And that Immortal Master Zheng was unscathed."

————————

Zheng Yi's sword stopped.

Just like the swiftness when she stabbed, as if the process had been eliminated. Her sword stopped, also as if there was no process.

When the sword tip reached one inch in front of Zheng Anqi's chest, it couldn't move forward a fraction.

Zheng Yi looked up at Zheng Anqi.

Zheng Anqi was a human, not an immortal. The method he used to block Zheng Yi's sword was not some immortal art, but martial arts, true energy.

And it was the Yingzhou internal energy true energy that was of the same origin as Zheng Yi's.

But precisely because it was true energy... it made Zheng Yi feel even more bone-chilling.

Protective true energy, a method that almost all Heaven-Men would master to some extent. The fighting of Heaven-Men in the Great Ming was too cruel, often resulting in flesh and blood flying everywhere; except for healing techniques, all Heaven-Men would try to find ways to strengthen their "defense."

Protective true energy was one of them, and Zheng Yi, as a Heaven-Man who had achieved Sumeru and had the high and subtle inheritance of Penglai, naturally mastered this method.

Zheng Anqi used this method.

The protective true energy lingering around him, as substantial as if it were flowing slowly, thin as a cicada's wing, was like a light gauze draped around him, faintly reflecting the moonlight.

It also fixed Zheng Yi's sword in mid-air.

Zheng Yi suddenly remembered the sentence Zheng Anqi chanted in the room when she first entered the courtyard.

"Cleansing the mysterious mirror, can you be without flaws?... Giving birth without possessing, acting without relying, leading without dominating, this is called mysterious virtue..."

Zheng Anqi laughed.

"Has the distinguished guest finally figured it out?"

"That's right. Flawless and without blemish, always guarding and always present. This is—"

"Mysterious mirror."

"The method of longevity among the three natures of heart, spirit, and intent, the fundamental realm connecting nature and life, one of the nature-cultivation realms that has been lost for a thousand years, and also the root of my Yingzhou inheritance... how about it, am I sincere enough?"

Zheng Yi didn't say a word, just desperately agitated her true energy, trying to break through Zheng Anqi's protective true energy and push the long sword forward by another inch.

Only one inch away, it could pierce into Zheng Anqi's chest.

But that one inch was like a natural chasm. Even though Zheng Yi's true energy was pouring into her meridians frantically, even leaving dark injuries, this sword that could split a boulder couldn't move forward a fraction.

Zheng Yi let go of her hand and retreated rapidly!

She had already done what she could. If there was one thing she learned from traveling with Li Miao, it was "fight if you can win, fight another day if you can't."

Things were not going well; Li Miao was just not here, and would arrive in Nanjing by tomorrow at the latest. Since she had already probed the roots of the "Mysterious Mirror," the most important thing now was to save her life and bring the news to Li Miao.

Although she didn't want to admit it, Zheng Yi had a inexplicable certainty—she had no way to deal with Zheng Anqi, but Li Miao definitely could!

As long as she escaped, it was a victory!

Zheng Yi flashed and retreated more than ten zhang, turned a somersault, and leaped several zhang high. At the same time, she waved her hand, and the majestic true energy wrapped around the tiles and shot toward her back in the air! Then she pointed at the roof and was about to fly away!

But she stopped abruptly.

Because Zheng Anqi appeared in front of her.

"Since the distinguished guest has come, why leave without saying a word?"

He flicked his sleeves with both hands and looked at Zheng Yi leisurely.

"I have waited here for the distinguished guest for a full month, just to wait for the distinguished guest to come to the door; if I let you go—wouldn't it be a waste of my hard work this month?"

After saying that, he raised his hand and grabbed toward Zheng Yi's shoulder!

Zheng Yi turned to dodge, but was suddenly fixed in place.

It was that eerie protective true energy again!

The moment she touched that protective true energy, her body was wrapped in it, and she couldn't move a fraction like the long sword!

If she moved forcibly, she would tear her body wrapped in it—then she wouldn't need Zheng Anqi to make a move, she would be seriously injured herself, and it would be even more impossible to escape from Zheng Anqi's hands!

Zheng Yi had no more means, and could only watch Zheng Anqi's palm get closer and closer to her shoulder, seeing it was about to grab it firmly!

At this instant, Zheng Anqi's eyes changed abruptly.

"Finally here!"

"I thought you wouldn't come!"

Bang!

A hand reached out from behind Zheng Yi and collided with Zheng Anqi's hand... two protective true energies, as substantial as if they were real, collided and exploded with a bang!

Zheng Yi only felt her collar tighten from behind, as if someone had pulled her clothing and thrown her behind them.

Was it Li Miao who arrived!?

Zheng Yi's expression was happy, looking at the person who saved her, and was about to speak.

"Li—"

Before she could finish, she paused abruptly.

Shock climbed onto Zheng Yi's face, her pupils trembled violently, and her fingers slowly clenched until they turned white.

Looking at the familiar figure standing in front of her, Zheng Yi trembled and slowly uttered a title she hadn't called for several years, but which appeared in her dreams almost every night.

"Mo... Mother?"

(End of chapter)