The sun was high in the sky when Li Miao woke up from his bed and stretched.
Hmm…
This stretch lasted an incredibly long time, a full half an incense stick’s worth. Only then did Li Miao let out a long breath, shiver, and get out of bed, putting on a robe.
He had worked overtime for far too long last night, causing him to fall asleep directly. He didn't even know how he had returned.
He walked out of his room and waved to a young girl watering flowers in the courtyard: “Xiaosi, come here.”
Xiaosi heard the call, turned to see him smiling on the steps, and then scurried over, saying anxiously, “Master, you’re finally up!”
“It’s almost past Chen Shi (9 AM), and the yamen’s roll call was an hour ago! If you don’t make it today, this month’s emolument will be deducted again!”
Li Miao said indifferently, “Let it be deducted. I can just grab a few handfuls from the treasury any day, and that’ll be enough for us to eat.”
He had no qualms about taking money from the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards)’s treasury because that money was originally his.
“Master, you always say that, but the money is spent before it even reaches home!” Xiaosi said, feeling wronged.
“Alright, alright, alright.” Li Miao felt a bit embarrassed at this point. He had originally wanted to invite Xiaosi out for some breakfast, but seeing her serious expression, he couldn’t bring himself to tease her anymore.
“Fine, I’ll go to the yamen for roll call right now. Once I get some silver, I won’t put it in my pocket. I’ll have your Hai Gege bring it directly to you, how about that?” Li Miao said playfully.
Xiaosi’s face instantly flushed red. She didn’t say anything, just turned and ran into the house with quick steps.
“That little girl, can’t keep her around.” Li Miao watched with a smile, went back to his room, put on his clothes, and slowly walked out the door.
The current dynasty was called Great Shuo. It was largely similar to the Great Ming of Li Miao’s previous life, with minor differences in details.
There were similarities, such as the emperor’s surname being Zhu, the existence of the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), Eunuch’s wielding power, and factional disputes among civil officials.
There were differences, such as not being as rigid as the Great Ming. The division of markets and residential areas was not as strict, allowing Li Miao to leisurely pick up some snacks to eat while walking to the yamen.
For example, this world had real martial arts.
Crossing the River on a Single Reed and Striking an Ox Through a Mountain were real, and even ageless appearance and limb regeneration were not fabrications, but a widely accepted consensus among Jianghu practitioners.
And as for how well Li Miao had cultivated his martial arts after more than thirty years in this Wuxia world?
Heh—let’s just say he achieved a small accomplishment.
He was at a level of invulnerability to blades and spears, imperviousness to water and fire, ageless appearance, and being indestructible. He was half a martial arts legend, not worth mentioning.
And if you ask why Li Miao could cultivate martial arts to this extent.
One reason was his bone structure. Li Miao’s bone structure wasn’t just good; it was excessively good, to the point where Damo Patriarch would shed tears upon hearing of it, and Sanfeng Zhenren would be startled upon seeing it. Simply relying on this bone structure, even if Li Miao had stubbornly focused on a single internal cultivation method, he wouldn't be far off from his current level.
Of course, bone structure determines the lower limit. At the level of a top-tier master, what often determines the upper limit is comprehension.
Didn't Yang Guo, with only one arm left, learn from a mute great bird and still comprehend the Melancholy Palms? And Great Hero Guo had more divine arts and ultimate techniques than brain cells, but he used Dragon Subduing Eighteen Palms for half his life and never seemed to come up with anything new.
It is clear that to reach the grandmaster realm of founding a school, comprehension is the decisive factor.
As for Li Miao’s comprehension, it was only average, very average.
To what extent was it average—let’s put it this way: suppose there was a young hero with extraordinary talent,
This young hero’s sect had a disciple with ordinary talent,
This disciple went down the mountain and encountered a bandit who had taken to the hills,
This bandit had a small leader under him who robbed homes and plundered,
This small leader had a lackey who waved flags and shouted behind him,
This lackey had a dog at home that could shake hands and sit down—Li Miao’s comprehension was pretty much on par with that dog.
This was not an insult to Li Miao, but a factual assessment. His “average” was not “average among Jianghu people,” nor was it “average even among ordinary people.”
It was “average among mammals.”
Perhaps some might say, isn't comprehension just IQ? Is Li Miao's brain similar to a dog's?
No, comprehension is not equivalent to IQ, at least not in the Great Shuo martial arts world.
What is called comprehension is actually closer to “compatibility.” The same person might have strong comprehension for one martial art but be completely dense for another.
And some martial arts prodigies have high compatibility with almost all martial arts. Li Miao, on the other hand, had extremely low compatibility with all martial arts.
Because he had to use a modern person’s mindset to understand those profound, sometimes even illogical, concepts.
Commonly known as “cognitive hindrance.”
He could change his beliefs, he could change his perception of the world, but it was very difficult to shake the way of thinking that had been practiced for decades and was already deeply ingrained.
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This shook his foundation for understanding all martial arts.
Fortunately, he was a cheater.
Relying on a golden finger that had neither text descriptions nor mission releases, which was more like a special physique than a cheat, Li Miao spent twenty years painstakingly cultivating himself to the level of half a martial arts legend.
As for the details of this golden finger, they will be explained later.
For now, Li Miao walked with a dignified stride, eating as he went, and wandering around while eating. He deliberately lingered until the sun was directly overhead before finally arriving at the Town Subduing Office’s yamen gate.
By this time, it was almost break time, and the street in front of the Town Subduing Office’s yamen was empty, as few people were willing to pass by the experts who specialized in raiding homes and exterminating families. The two Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) on duty at the gate were also enjoying the peace and were currently squinting their eyes, resting.
From afar, a young Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) saw Li Miao in casual clothes, chewing something, looking exactly like a idler, leisurely making his way towards the Town Subduing Office’s yamen, and was about to step forward to question him.
Before he could open his mouth, the older one beside him took a swift step, darting like an arrow to Li Miao’s side, bowing and scraping as he spoke.
“You’re here, Qianhu. You worked hard last night. Commander said that if we saw you, we should tell you to hurry and see him.”
Li Miao was still chewing something and couldn't speak. He pulled out a string of candies from a small bag in his hand, slapped them into the older Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards)’s hand, and like coaxing a child, raised his hand to pat his shoulder, then entered the yamen.
After Li Miao had walked out of sight, the young Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) finally spoke: “Brother, which Qianhu was that? Why did he come at this hour, and in casual clothes?”
Although there were levels within the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), there were also distinctions in subordination. Generally, only direct superiors would be addressed by their title without their surname. For example, only one’s direct Baihu would be called “Baihu” directly; those not directly subordinate would be called Wang Baihu, Zhang Centurion, and so on.
But just now, the older Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) clearly called him Qianhu directly, without adding any surname.
Moreover, the internal rules of the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) were strict, even the two Tongzhi set an example by being meticulous. Where did such an idle Qianhu come from, only showing up for work at noon?
The older Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) pulled out a piece of paper from his embrace and carefully wrapped the string of candies Li Miao had given him before speaking.
“Remember this master’s face. From now on, when you see him, just call him Qianhu. Do whatever he tells you to do, and pretend you don’t see whatever he does. Did you remember?”
“He is the oldest, most well-connected, most unconventional, and has the most days off in our entire Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards), Li Miao, Li Qianhu!”