[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-imperial-enforcer-with-an-eight-hour-workday":3,"chapter-the-imperial-enforcer-with-an-eight-hour-workday-the-imperial-hounds-of-the-eight-hour-workday-chapter-609":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Imperial Hound on an Eight-Hour Shift",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":20,"prevChapterSlug":21,"totalChapters":22,"novelImage":23},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":16,"volume":17,"translator":18,"content_hash":19},2225667,4113,"Chapter 609: Step Down","the-imperial-hounds-of-the-eight-hour-workday-chapter-609",609,"\u003Cp>The Emperor’s Palace stood on the west side of Kyoto. Due to the fighting between *daimyo*, it had become increasingly dilapidated over the decades. After the fire last night, it appeared even more decadent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wildfire not yet extinguished, black ash everywhere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because of the heat of the wildfire, even the birds and beasts that came to peck at the corpses were nowhere to be seen, let alone human figures. Thus, only the fierce wind whistled at the end of Suzaku Avenue, lifting the charcoal powder on the ground into a curtain of ash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, movement came from afar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We’re going to die, we’re going to die, we’re going to die!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Shut up! Shut up!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did they catch up or not! Someone take a look!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t look back! If we slow down even a bit, we die!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Following the four curses approaching rapidly, the smoke and dust like a cavalry charge flew along Suzaku Avenue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After a few breaths, the roof of the luxurious sedan chair was revealed, and beneath it were four [Sword Saints] who had used all their strength, carrying the sedan chair and running wildly toward the Emperor’s Palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All four were bathed in blood. With every step taken, their shoes, soaked with blood, sprayed out a spray of blood beads, drying their shoes halfway in a few steps, only to be soaked again by the blood flowing from their bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The front-left Sword Saint said.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I can’t hold on anymore...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The front-right Sword Saint shouted while running wildly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hold on!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Only a hundred *zhang* left to the Palace!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As long as we reach there... as long as we deliver Her Highness Nanako there! Bring out your guts, hold on for this hundred *zhang*!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As long as—\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*BOOM!!!*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The center of the road ahead exploded!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The loud noise cut his words short and also instantly shattered the calm the four Sword Saints were forcibly maintaining.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The speaking Sword Saint gritted his teeth, shifted the sedan pole to his left hand, didn’t stop his feet, and sometimes drew his sword to splash a piece of sword light, cutting the smoke and dust to reveal a figure in the center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[Tajikarao-no-mikoto].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just one glance, and they recognized the figure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hair bristling, face like a beast, physique simple and sturdy, the exposed muscles of his forearms like twisted giant rocks—it was precisely one of the seven great gods of the Shinto sect who had come to intercept!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only, unlike when he first appeared, he was now bathed in blood, his skin and flesh from neck to calf full of broken and sticky tears, his left arm hanging twisted on his shoulder, and his chest was a patch of scarlet with four claw marks across it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without a doubt, Li Miao’s masterpiece.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By now, the Sword Saints no longer had any doubt about Li Miao’s martial power.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Each of the seven great gods and monsters of the Shinto sect who came to intercept could easily put them to death, but Li Miao had blasted four of the monsters away in a single encounter, and then punched through the abdomen of \"Takeminakata,\" rolling all the gods into the battle circle with his protective true Qi, which was the only reason they could break out of the encirclement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But... how did one leak through!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As thoughts raced, the Tajikarao-no-mikoto ahead raised his head, revealing half a forest-white right face with the skin torn off, and a left eye full of bloodshot and killing intent!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>*Boom!*\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Smoke and dust rose!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In just an instant, Tajikarao-no-mikoto jumped up violently, his still-intact right hand opened, and magnified infinitely in the Sword Saints’ vision.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I’ll do it!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The front-left Sword Saint gave a violent shout, wanting to rush forward to temporarily block it and buy time for his companions to escape.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The front-right Sword Saint also gave a violent shout!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Don’t worry about anything else! Just charge forward!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Lord Li said we don’t need to worry about other things, close your eyes, charge forward!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The front-left Sword Saint turned his head to look at him, only to see him really close his eyes tightly, using all his strength to speed up and charge forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Tsk!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All of them were old men who had been lurking in the Shinto sect for many years and trusted each other extremely. Seeing that their companion had made a choice, they would not hesitate anymore.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ughhhhhh!\" \u003C\u002Fp>",739,"2026-06-17T21:54:32.236Z","2026-06-18T03:13:38.468Z",1,"Gemini 3.1 Flash Lite","69fa1b2cf22e2dcafa3d175503182250388abb93980831d458395e26f28c9a99","the-imperial-hounds-of-the-eight-hour-workday-chapter-610","the-imperial-hounds-of-the-eight-hour-workday-chapter-608",647,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-imperial-hound-on-an-eight-hour-shift-cover.jpg"]