There were still three days until the Five Mountains Alliance Meeting.
Li Miao had been having a pretty good few days.
The work state he had always pursued, "You just need to be here," he finally got to experience these past few days.
All the meals were freshly prepared in the Mount Tai Sect's small kitchen; he could order whatever he wanted, regardless of the time.
The private residence Zuo Lishan arranged was also quiet, and no one dared to disturb him.
All other errands were handled by Liu Baiyun and Gao Ling.
One was the Headmaster of the Mount Hua Sect, and the other was an Elder of the Mount Tai Sect; both were seasoned veterans, thoroughly understanding the thoughts and needs of the people on the mountain at this time.
With their experience and status, and with Li Miao's backing, they had systematically advanced matters over the past few days, especially since Zuo Lishan dared not show his face.
At this moment, only the forces from Mount Heng, Heng Mountain, and Mount Song remained on the Mount Tai Sect, along with a few local small and medium-sized powers that relied on the Mount Tai Sect for their livelihood. Everyone else had been scared away by the two of them.
They just had to wait three days for the Five Mountains Alliance Meeting, round up the remaining people, and this task would be complete.
In the small courtyard, there was a rocking chair, and Li Miao was half-reclined on it, with some seasonal fruits and refreshments on the table beside him.
Creak—creak—
Li Miao had his arms crossed, one leg tucked beneath him, and the other dangling to the ground, rocking idly.
"The Xiaoluo, Niaohui, and Jianliao points of the Hand Shaoyang Sanjiao Meridian—the true qi is flowing too fast through them," Li Miao said lazily, his eyes closed.
Mei Qinghe, who was sitting cross-legged on the ground nearby, instinctively adjusted her true qi circulation upon hearing this.
These past few days, Li Miao had primarily been guiding Mei Qinghe in cultivating her internal energy, and it was now largely complete.
However, the internal energy cultivation method modified by the Plum Blossom Bandit was too aggressive, leaving some hidden injuries in her meridians, which required Li Miao to make some fine adjustments to Mei Qinghe's microcosmic orbit. Only after such nurturing could she gradually recover.
Suddenly, Li Miao opened his eyes and frowned, "Xiao Si?"
Without any discernible movement, Li Miao vanished from Mei Qinghe's sight in an instant.
At this moment, a hundred meters away from the small courtyard, Gao Ling was grasping Xiao Si's hand, using her light footwork to rush over.
Suddenly, Li Miao appeared before them in a blur.
Gao Ling released Xiao Si's hand and called out to Li Miao, "My Lord."
Upon seeing Li Miao, Xiao Si suddenly burst into tears, "Grandpa!"
Xiao Si herself had no martial arts skills, and her bones and muscles were only slightly stronger than an ordinary person's. After several days of jostling on horseback, coupled with her worry about her lover's predicament and the injuries from the backlash of the love Gu, she was already at her limit.
Seeing Li Miao at this moment was like a daughter who had suffered grievances outside seeing her father; she let out a sigh of relief, her vision blurred, her legs gave way, and she fell forward.
Li Miao flashed forward, embracing Xiao Si, one arm around her waist, the other on her back, slowly transferring true qi into her.
"There, there. I'm here," Li Miao gently comforted her for a few moments, then turned to Gao Ling and said.
"Elder Gao, call all our people over."
With that, he turned and walked into the courtyard with Xiao Si.
Xiao Si was momentarily dazed, but gradually regained consciousness after Li Miao transferred true qi into her. She immediately cried to Li Miao, "Hai Gege is in trouble!"
In a few words, she recounted what had happened over the past few days: Wang Hai had been tracking the Ming Cult's Left Emissary, leaving her in Jinan Prefecture. A eunuch from Shuntian Prefecture arrived, and she came to report the news, but her love Gu was damaged halfway, indicating Wang Hai was in trouble, so she came for help.
The love Gu was the thing Ge Pu Shi was preparing to refine for Wu Yuanwai. It consisted of a mother and child Gu, usually a token of love given by a woman practicing Witchcraft in Miaojiang to her lover.
This item had three functions: Firstly, a man who received the love Gu could never again have intercourse with any other woman, or he would immediately be poisoned to death.
Secondly, the mother and child Gu had a mysterious connection, allowing them to know each other's location.
Thirdly, no matter how far apart they were, if the child Gu was injured, the mother Gu would react.
Judging by the condition of Xiao Si's mother Gu, Wang Hai was already severely wounded and in mortal danger.
Li Miao listened to Xiao Si's account, his brows immediately furrowing.
By this time, the Mount Hua Sect disciples and Liu Baiyun had received Gao Ling's message and had gathered in the small courtyard.
Li Miao extended his hand to Xiao Si, "Don't panic, give me the mother Gu."
Xiao Si raised her hand to her nose, and a centipede the length of her pinky finger crawled out of her nose. Once out, its head lifted high, pointing in one direction.
Li Miao took the Gu worm and tapped Xiao Si's neck with one finger.
Xiao Si softly collapsed into Li Miao's arms.
"Headmaster Liu."
Li Miao looked up and called Liu Baiyun, placing Xiao Si in her arms: "Take her, all of you immediately descend the mountain now, pack your luggage and dry rations, and find a secluded place to hide at the foot of the mountain."
"Before the Five Mountains Alliance Meeting, do not contact anyone, and do not let anyone know your location."
"Depart now."
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Liu Baiyun saw Li Miao, who usually seemed so calm and unconcerned, now frowning as he spoke, and knew the situation was dire. Without further ado, she immediately nodded in agreement and turned to instruct everyone to pack their luggage.
Mei Qinghe had not spoken much with Wang Hai, but she had developed a fondness for the innocent and lively Xiao Si during their journey, and they had long since become like sisters.
At this moment, she was already wholeheartedly devoted to Li Miao, and also worried that Xiao Si would be sad if something happened to Wang Hai. So, she proactively stepped forward and asked Li Miao, "My Lord, are you going to save Brother Wang?"
"Do you need me to go with you?"
Li Miao waved his hand, "No need. I won't be riding a horse; I'll be traveling by light footwork. Your true qi is insufficient, you won't be able to keep up with me."
"You all take good care of Xiao Si. I will definitely be back before the Five Mountains Alliance Meeting."
Li Miao turned his gaze towards the Mount Tai Sect's main hall.
"However, before I go, I need to settle things here first."
Given Wang Hai's martial arts, to be injured to such an extent, it must have been a well-known master from the Ming Cult.
Either a Banner Master, a Protector, or one of the two Emissaries.
The delay in the Five Mountains Sword Sect's task until now was primarily due to two reasons: first, to release information and scare away those not deeply connected to the Mount Tai Sect, to avoid overdoing things and causing dissatisfaction with the imperial court in the martial arts world.
Second, to openly expose the Mount Tai Sect's collusion with the Ming Cult at the Five Mountains Alliance Meeting, leaving no room for others to criticize the imperial court.
Thirdly, it was actually waiting for Zuo Lishan to seek help from the Ming Cult.
Now, Shuntian Prefecture had sent eunuchs, clearly intending to seize credit. And Wang Hai had already fought a battle with the Ming Cult's high-ranking members.
These three reasons were no longer very important at this point.
But Li Miao knew that he couldn't leave the Mount Tai Sect in this state and only focus on saving Wang Hai.
No matter how incompetent Zuo Lishan appeared before him, he had truly surpassed the peak martial arts level at this moment. Once Li Miao left, there would be no one to restrain him.
A madman practicing evil arts, once unrestrained and colluding with the Ming Cult, who knew what kind of trouble he would cause.
Trying to do two things at once often leads to neglecting one for the other.
First, kill Zuo Lishan, then go save Wang Hai.
A moment later, Liu Baiyun and her group had packed their luggage and were heading down the mountain.
With his decision made, Li Miao immediately used his light footwork and sped towards the Mount Tai Sect's main hall.