Chapter 22: The Thousand Households of Death

While Yongjie was locked in a life-or-death struggle with the three factions, the others were not idling either.

Three lone first-rate experts exchanged glances and tacitly moved to stand together.

The Boatmen’s Guild was a special case; they had spoken very little since entering the Miao King’s Tomb. Among the factions present, they were the weakest. They had wanted to form an alliance with the Beggar Sect, but remained hesitant. They didn't belong to the same circles as the others. Strictly speaking, they were "greenwood" outlaws, their martial arts crude and worlds apart from the established sects with deep legacies.

Lao Qifeng sighed and turned to walk toward Li Miao, who was standing to the side with his arms crossed, watching the show.

"Master Li, what is your plan?"

Li Miao smiled. "What makes you ask that, Sect Leader Lao?"

Lao Qifeng lowered his voice. "I mean, are you with the Bright Cult, or are you with the Imperial Court?"

"Oh?" Li Miao glanced at him, neither confirming nor denying.

Lao Qifeng knew that if he didn't speak plainly, Li Miao would never be candid. He continued on his own: "Master Li, you know that my Beggar Sect disciples are everywhere, unlike sects like Emei, Qingcheng, or Kongtong, which are rooted in single regions. I may not know what happened in Taian City, but I have received some news. The Gu, the Gu soldiers, the Miao border..." Lao Qifeng stared into Li Miao’s eyes. "With your level of martial arts, it is impossible for you to have no master, yet you are completely unknown in the pugilistic world. Furthermore, you have such an understanding of Gu insects and appeared here so suddenly. You are either a member of the Bright Cult or a secret agent of the Imperial Court."

Li Miao looked up at Lao Qifeng and chuckled softly. "What if I am from the Court, or the Bright Cult?"

Lao Qifeng did not answer immediately. He pondered for a moment, prepared himself for a fight, and said earnestly, "If you are with the Court, I will pretend I know nothing. If you are with the Bright Cult... I am afraid I will have to fight you to the death."

Li Miao asked, "Oh? Do you have a grudge against the Bright Cult?"

"No grudge, no enmity."

"Then why fight me to the death?"

"Righteousness of the martial arts world."

"Ha," Li Miao laughed lightly. "You have become the leader of the Beggar Sect, yet you still believe in that? The Beggar Sect's business isn't exactly clean, is it?"

There was only one kind of beggar in this world who was "clean"—those who truly couldn't survive and were just begging for a bite to eat or a bowl of water. But a Beggar Sect that treated begging as a profession, organized it into an institution, and turned it into a business—how clean could it be? The filth involved didn't bear thinking about.

"True, I won't deny that," Lao Qifeng said. "In the past, I would not have harbored animosity toward the Bright Cult. If they were powerful, I would have yielded; the leader of the Beggar Sect is still a beggar, and there is no shame in bending the knee. If I had run into them elsewhere, I could have turned a blind eye. But I will not allow a Bright Cult villain to achieve his machinations in the Miao border. If the events of Taian were to repeat, I could not bear the weight of those lives."

Lao Qifeng stared fixedly at Li Miao. "To slaughter a city, to kill and injure civilians—that is something everyone is entitled to punish."

This was the most basic, simple logic of the common martial artists of the Great Shu. "The affairs of the pugilistic world belong to the pugilistic world; the affairs of the common people belong to the common people."

So-called "martial arts righteousness" was often ignored due to various interests, grudges, or affections. Like the Seven Ghosts of Meishan, if they didn't provoke someone they couldn't afford to offend, no one would bother them. But once it involved civilians—especially an atrocity like the Bright Cult's slaughter of a city—it triggered the fundamental rule of the martial world: "Those who involve the innocent are subject to universal execution."

Li Miao laughed out loud. "I said it before: among all these people, you are the one I find most agreeable, Sect Leader Lao. Rest assured, I am with the Imperial Guard."

Seeing Li Miao reveal his identity, Yin Minjun hurriedly stepped forward and said to Lao Qifeng, "Sect Leader Lao, my sect leader was saved by this lord. Tens of thousands of lives in Taian City were saved solely because of him."

"Ah," Lao Qifeng replied, his expression changing instantly. "Could it be... the 'Thousand-Household of the Deathly Passing' in the flesh?"

This time it was Li Miao’s turn to change color. "Say that again? What kind of nonsense is that!? The... the 'Thousand-Household of the Deathly Passing'?"

"Which 'death'? Which 'passing'?"

It wasn't until Lao Qifeng used his internal energy to carve the characters into the cave wall that Li Miao laughed helplessly. "What a pathetic nickname. Why not just call me the 'Death-Servant Thousand-Household' instead..."

He could guess what happened. His actual nickname, "Four Seasons Thousand-Household," must have been mangled by these uncultured martial artists into such a rustic, ridiculous title.

Sure enough, once Lao Qifeng realized who Li Miao was, he said cautiously, "Martial arts rumors say that the Bright Cult's Left and Right Envoys, one protector, two flag masters, and hundreds of disciples all died in one night at the hands of an Imperial Guard Thousand-Household... It is said this lord normally guards the capital and never leaves. This time, he left the capital, and anyone who sees him is doomed, earning him the name 'Thousand-Household of the Deathly Passing' among the Imperial Guard... I didn't expect it to be you, my Lord. Seeing you today, it is truly—"

"Sect Leader Lao, please, hold on. My head is starting to hurt." Li Miao waved his hand, stopping the flattery. He seemed to lose all his energy and composure; the look of nonchalance he usually wore collapsed.

What was this? It was too tacky. If he had known, he would have dragged out whoever in the Imperial Guard started that rumor and beaten them until they came up with a better name before he started his travels.

To be honest, having practiced his martial arts to such a level before finally stepping into the world, Li Miao had certainly held expectations for his future reputation. He had imagined several scenarios: The Sword of Clear Breeze? Average. The Sword of White Clouds? Not bad. The World's Number One? Excellent. The Universal Martial Canon? Quite good. Even something like "The Reckless Vajra" would have been fine!

The thought that from now on, whenever martial artists saw him, they would say, "Could it be the 'Those Who See Him Die' Thousand-Household of the Deathly Passing?", gave him the urge to abandon this Miao border mission and go back to his desk job in Shuntian Prefecture.

"Sigh—" For the first time, Li Miao let out a long sigh of pure helplessness. "Forget it. Let’s talk business."

Li Miao glanced at Yongjie’s side; it had devolved into a chaotic mess. The Boatmen’s Guild, seeing that Lao Qifeng was ignoring them to talk to Li Miao, assumed the Beggar Sect was in league with Yongjie, and after some thought, actually began to assist Yongjie. The three lone experts were helping neither side, merely stirring the pot. Li Miao looked closely and saw that while they appeared fierce, they were only using about fifty or sixty percent of their strength, clearly hoping to conserve energy and reap the rewards of the chaos.

Li Miao watched the battle while saying, "I am here to cut off the inheritance of the Miao border's witchcraft and Gu arts. Sect Leader Lao just spoke with such righteousness; I assume you will not stand idly by."

"Yes, the Miao people initiated this against us, and coupled with the Taian City incident, the Beggar Sect will naturally contribute. It's just..." Lao Qifeng hesitated.

Li Miao waved a hand. "I know what you want to say. The Imperial Court has been suppressing the Miao border for years and has never been able to completely eradicate the witchcraft. But if the Court were to handle this matter, it would actually be more difficult. Therefore, this burden must fall upon the people of the martial world."