The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 642 Offering a Head
The ground shook, and a strong wind rattled the window frames, making short, sharp noises.

Tang Lanzhou looked around.

Besides him and Mei Qinghe, there were several other people lying on the large bed inside the room.

Mei Qinghe was fighting against the attacking alien celestials when a strong wind blew through the window into the room, lifting the curtains covering the large bed. Tang Lanzhou then saw the figures clearly—skilled members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and court officials, each with missing limbs and unconscious. Even with the intense fighting outside, they showed no sign of waking up.

Tang Lanzhou suddenly realized.

Only then did he realize what came after "three" that Mei Qinghe had mentioned earlier.

It's not three years, it's not three months.

It was three days.

The River Elder possesses the complete Six Paths of Celestial Cultivation Techniques, which he began planning from the founding of the Great Shu Kingdom. He also has no shortage of methods for cultivating celestial beings or even directly bestowing initiation upon them. No one can be certain how many alien celestial beings he has under his command.

Anyway, it's definitely more than Da Shuo.

Most of the imperial celestial beings gathered in Nanjing have lost their fighting strength. Even Mei Qinghe has to fight the enemy while heavily injured. Meanwhile, the offensive of the alien celestial beings shows no signs of abating.

"No."

Tang Lanzhou made a decision quickly.

Something has to be done.

He mustered all his strength and barely managed to lift his upper body.

Just making that movement left him breathless.

By the time he put his feet on the ground, more than a cup of tea's time had passed. Just as he was about to stand up, holding onto the edge of the bed, he suddenly heard voices coming from beside him.

"Master Tang...you can't move around right now..."

Tang Lanzhou looked in the direction of the sound and saw two figures sitting up on the bed closest to him. Both of them were wrapped in bandages. One was missing an arm, and the other was missing half of his face. He looked closely for a long time but still couldn't recognize them.

"Who are you two?"

"That's what the man with the missing arm said."

“We met the night before last, Mr. Tang. My name is Deng Baixuan.”

"That's what the woman with half her face said."

"Liu Baiyun greets Lord Tang."

Tang Lanzhou then realized that the two were the former leaders of the Hengshan Sect and the Huashan Sect who had rushed to the aid of the capital.

only……

"I remember there were more than two people that night..."

Tang Lanzhou hesitated before speaking.

Deng Baixuan immediately smiled wryly.

"Does Master Tang mean Zhou Yingxue and Gao Ling?"

"That night we went to support Commander Zheng Yi. Gao Ling was struck by a palm and was critically injured; she's lying on the bed to your right now. As for Sect Leader Zhou Yingxue..."

He hesitated.

Liu Baiyun coldly continued the conversation.

"Sect Leader Zhou took a sword for me and is now dead."

Deng Baixuan sighed.

The four leaders of the Five Mountains Sword Sect, along with Gao Ling, joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard together. They were similar in age, martial arts skills, status, and duties, and over the years had become close friends. However, unexpectedly, Zhang Jingfeng and Zhou Yingxue died one after the other overnight.

What he never expected was that Zhou Yingxue, who used to compete with Liu Baiyun and would often cause her trouble, would actually risk her life to save Liu Baiyun... After Zhou Yingxue's death, Liu Baiyun never smiled again, and her whole body constantly exuded a chilling killing intent, which is why he dared not mention this matter.

After listening, Tang Lanzhou sighed.

"When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact."

"We are both risking our lives to do things, and we never know when we might meet our deceased friends again... so there's no need to be sentimental at this time."

After saying that, he was about to stand up.

Deng Baixuan quickly replied.

“Master Tang, Qinghe just said that if you get out of bed and walk around, you won’t live more than half a day.”

Tang Lanzhou ignored him, stood up with a burst of strength, let out a long breath, and slowly straightened his body.

"I've wanted to die for a long time, it's no big deal."

"I have some things to do... Where are the Tiger Tally and the Imperial Seal?"

Deng Baixuan was still recovering from serious injuries and had just woken up from his coma. When he saw Tang Lanzhou staggering towards him, he disregarded his injuries and quickly got up, enduring the pain, to support Tang Lanzhou.

"Lord Tang... the tiger tally is not in Nanjing, but the imperial seal is."

He turned his head and saw Liu Baiyun also get out of bed, squatting in the corner of the wall, taking down a brick, taking out a wooden box from the exposed hole, and then turning around and walking over.

"The Imperial Seal, Duke Tang."

"Where are you going?"

Tang Lanzhou opened the wooden box and grabbed the jade seal.

"Shanhaiguan".

Deng Baixuan was taken aback. "Shanhaiguan... Lord Tang, Shanhaiguan has already fallen!"

Tang Lanzhou nodded.

"I know."

"But the Tatars entered the pass in haste. Judging from the speed of their advance, they certainly couldn't kill everyone. At most, they could only scatter the people."

"I can't get involved in matters concerning the celestial beings, and I can't solve the problem of the old man on the river either. The only thing I have is this old face—after decades of ups and downs in officialdom, most officials in Da Shuo recognize my face. With the imperial seal, that should be enough to gather some manpower... Let's see if we can delay the Tatar army's entry into the pass."

"Now half of the Tatar army has arrived in the capital, and the other half is tied up by the two garrison commanders, Prince An. I will gather some men to replace them. Even if the old man from the river comes to kill me, he can only kill an old man like me."

Tang Lanzhou said in a deep voice.

"No matter how strong the Celestials are, they can't kill many people; the River Elder is just one person, capable of breaking through a city, but not of defending it."

"Even if I can only hold off the Tatar army for one day, I can buy Lord Li one day of time."

Deng Baixuan hesitated.

“But…Master Tang, given your current condition, even without your personal journey, the bumpy road…you probably won’t make it to Shanhaiguan.”

Tang Lanzhou smiled wryly.

"If the person can't come... then the head will do."

He pointed to his head.

"With my head, a senior cabinet minister, here, it will be enough to tell the soldiers who have been routed on the border... that the Great Shuo has not fallen, and the Central Plains have not perished."

"I just don't know if the two sect leaders are willing to risk my life for this."

The two sect leaders exchanged a glance.

Liu Baiyun suddenly clasped his hands in a fist salute.

"It's what you wish for!"

Deng Baixuan hesitated for a moment, then sighed.

"Everyone knows that the current leader of my Hengshan Sect is Lord Li's confidante... My Hengshan Sect has long been tied to Da Shuo, and as the former leader, I no longer have the chance to stay out of it."

"not to mention……"

He raised his hand and touched his amputated arm.

"I must avenge Brother Zhang and Sect Leader Zhou."

Tang Lanzhou nodded.

"it is good!"

"There's no time to lose. While the alien celestials are all tied up with the Imperial Guards, let's get out of the city immediately!"

Liu Baiyun helped Tang Lanzhou up, while Deng Baixuan drew his sword.

The three of them were about to leave.

Suddenly, a weak voice came from behind.

"Please wait a moment, gentlemen."

Deng Baixuan and Liu Baiyun turned around.

Then Gao Ling propped herself up on the bed and stretched out her hand in this direction.

Her injuries were more severe than the other two... Large patches of skin and flesh were clearly missing between her chest and abdomen, and her breathing was labored; her lower abdomen was also badly damaged.

"I am of no use to you for the time being... Take my internal energy cultivation."

Gao Ling said hoarsely.

"Hurry, I won't be awake for long."

Deng Liu and Gao Ling exchanged glances.

After the three joined the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they all practiced the internal energy cultivation techniques created by Li Miao, which were suitable for swordsmanship, so passing on their skills was feasible. However, Gao Ling did not practice the Wedding Dress Divine Skill, so if her skills were passed on, her martial arts would truly be ruined, and she would not be able to recover even if her injuries healed.

Moreover, after losing all her martial arts skills, the injuries on her body could very well cost her her life.

But neither of them said much.

One of them stepped forward and took one of Gao Ling's hands.

After a cup of tea, the two let go of each other's hands.

Gao Ling's face was as pale as paper, and she collapsed weakly back onto the bed.

Her internal energy was completely destroyed, and her injuries made it impossible for her to hold on any longer.

She whispered before losing consciousness.

"Kill more people for me, for Brother Zhang, for Sect Leader Zhou..."

Immediately, she closed her eyes.

Therefore, Liu Baiyun and Deng Baixuan did not nod.

The two turned around and carried Tang Lanzhou on their backs.

Using his lightness skill, he avoided the deafening roar of the battle between heaven and man, and headed north.

(End of this chapter)