A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

Ji Zuodao's curses were extremely vulgar and crude, full of the kind of reckless swagger typical of street thugs in Jinghai.

But Qiqi stood behind him, without fear.

She listened quietly, her little hands clutching Ji Zuodao's clothes tightly.

After Ji Zuodao finished cursing, his chest was still heaving violently, like an enraged bull.

Just as he was about to hurl a few more insults, a small hand suddenly took his.

The hand was small, soft, and a little cold.

Ji Zuodao paused for a moment, then lowered his head.

Qiqi was looking up at him with her little face upturned. In her big eyes, there was no sadness or fear, only a reassuring and trusting light.

"It's alright, brother, before Qiqi fell asleep..."

"The Empress Dowager came secretly once and issued an imperial edict to Qiqi."

"She told Qiqi to forget her responsibilities and forget everything after she woke up."

Qi Qi's voice echoed softly in the twilight, like a gentle evening breeze:

"I will live not as a princess of the Ming Dynasty, but as Qiqi, and live a happy life."

She suddenly laughed as she said this.

The smile was faint, yet it carried a heartfelt satisfaction and joy, like a ray of sunshine filtering through the clouds on a winter's day.

"Qiqi is living a very happy life now."

"Therefore, Qiqi will carry out this edict for the rest of her life."

In the distance, Zhu Cheng looked into Qi Qi's clear eyes and felt as if his heart had been squeezed tightly.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but the words caught in his throat.

He found himself unable to say anything.

He clutched the talisman in his hand; the runes on it were still faintly glowing, as if mocking his futile efforts.

He gritted his teeth, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke, his voice carrying a dryness he himself didn't even realize:

"Qiqi, drawing away the dragon's energy won't kill you."

He paused, as if organizing his thoughts, his voice carrying a cautious, almost pleading tone:

"You will only continue to sleep. A hundred years from now, you will awaken again."

"I can swear an oath to the heavens. When you awaken again, I will offer this secret realm to you with both hands."

"You deserve all of this."

"I just want to restore the Ming Dynasty to its former glory."

His voice trembled slightly, carrying a hint of expectation and a plea he himself was unwilling to admit:

"The future of the Ming Dynasty is in your hands."

Qi Qi looked at him and remained silent for a few seconds.

Then, she shook her head.

The movement was small, but very firm, without the slightest hesitation or wavering.

"Qiqi slept for a long time."

"Qiqi doesn't want to sleep anymore."

"The future of the Ming Dynasty has nothing to do with Qiqi."

"Perhaps Qiqi is selfish."

Her voice carried a touch of childlike innocence, yet also a clarity that even adults might not possess:

"But as long as she's with her brother and with Doggy, Qiqi is willing to be a selfish, bad child."

"Hahaha!"

Ji Zuodao suddenly burst into laughter, the sound echoing through the empty passageway, carrying a kind of unrestrained, flamboyant, and undisguised joy.

He laughed so hard he almost fell over, tears welling up in his eyes, and Zhu Cheng's face grew darker and darker with laughter.

After he finished laughing, he bent down, picked up Qiqi, and let her sit on his arm.

Qiqi naturally wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her little face against his shoulder like a kitten that had found its nest.

Ji Zuodao, holding Qiqi, looked at Zhu Cheng with that smug smile on his face and a smug tone in his voice:

"As expected of my sister!"

He reached out and gently brushed Qiqi's nose: "Good! Selfishness is good! It just so happens that your brother is super selfish too!"

"What do you call this? Birds of a feather flock together!"

Qiqi hugged his neck, nodded her little head, and earnestly echoed, "Yes, we're family."

Zhu Cheng stood opposite, watching the scene of the two, one big and one small, enjoying a family time, and felt like a clown.

A clown who had meticulously prepared a show for a long time, but the audience didn't buy it at all, and even applauded and booed him in front of his face.

He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, to explain something, to salvage something.

But Ji Zuodao didn't give him that chance at all.

Ji Zuodao held Qiqi in one arm and waved his other hand impatiently, as if shooing away a buzzing fly:

"Alright, alright, stop dawdling. What's wrong? Want to do something bad but feel guilty?"

"I know what you're trying to do. You want Qiqi to sacrifice herself so you can feel better, right?"

He clicked his tongue, shook his head, and his tone was filled with undisguised sarcasm:

"Want to be a gentleman? No ability. Want to be a villain? No guts. Bah!"

He paused, then slowly added another blow:

"That Ming Dynasty's door-calling emperor had more guts than you."

These words were like a poisoned dagger, piercing Zhu Cheng's heart with deadly precision.

Zhu Cheng's face immediately darkened.

His face was as black as the bottom of a pot, so evenly and thoroughly black.

The doorman called for the emperor.

These four words are the most vicious curse on the Zhu family, even more vicious than cursing their ancestors for eighteen generations.

Zhu Cheng told himself to stay calm and composed, and not to stoop to the level of this bastard.

But his fists were clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

He gritted his teeth and forced out a sentence: "Ji Zuodao, don't go too far."

Ji Zuodao held Qiqi in his arms, his face beaming with a triumphant and unrestrained smile, like a domineering flower blooming in the sunlight:

"I'm taking her away today."

"Let's see who dares to stop me."

Zhu Cheng stood there, silent.

He kept his head down, making it impossible to see the expression on his face.

Only his shoulders were trembling slightly.

After a long while, he suddenly laughed.

The laughter was low and soft, carrying a self-deprecating tone, a sense of relief, and a resolute determination that came from finally making a decision.

He looked up at Ji Zuodao, a complex smile on his face:

"Yeah, I've already made up my mind, so what am I still hesitating about?"

His voice was very soft, as if he were talking to himself.

Then, his expression suddenly changed, and that gentle and refined mask finally shattered completely.

Instead, there was a cold, emotionless decision.

He raised the jade seal in his hand, his voice rising abruptly in the twilight, carrying an undeniable air of authority and ruthlessness:

"Where are the Ming troops?!"

His voice boomed through the empty passageway like rolling thunder, carrying far and wide:

"—Catch the traitor!"

The words had barely left his mouth—

"boom--!!!"

The entire Forbidden City seemed to come alive.

Those golden-armored guards who had been standing motionless like statues on the city walls, in front of the palace gates, and along the passageways all moved at the same instant.

Their movements were perfectly synchronized, as if they were being guided by the same invisible thread.

The halberds were laid flat, the swords were drawn, and the bows and crossbows were strung.

The clanging of metal against metal, in the twilight, coalesced into a cold, surging wave after wave.

Thousands upon thousands of Ming soldiers in golden armor emerged from the shadows from all directions, completely surrounding the passage where Ji Zuodao and Qi Qi were located.

Their gazes were no longer the empty, mechanical, and programmed stares they had before.

Instead, it carried a cold, focused, and target-locked killing intent.

Ji Zuodao stood in the middle of the passageway, holding Qiqi in his arms, surrounded by thousands of golden-armored Ming soldiers.

He didn't move.

He simply stood there, a slow smile creeping onto his lips.

That smile carried an excitement, an anticipation, and a sense of exhilaration at finally being able to unleash its full potential and get things done.