Chapter 159: Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

Chapter 159: Luring the Snake from its Hole

Hongya Mountain, the Peace Hotel.

Located within the Open Gate of the Northwest Qian Palace, the layout and furnishings of the house resembled a medical clinic.

Zhao Qingxia, sunk into a coma, lay upon an operating table, attended by two 'Medical Yǎnrén' dressed in green jackets and skirts.

These 'Yǎnrén' were not the same thing as the bionic humans Li Jun had encountered before.

Measured by the most intuitive Baochao currency, one was in heaven, the other on earth.

The concept of bionic humans had spread from the Western Barbarians; they were imported goods.

Although these assembly-line products touted the slogan of high quality and low price, and their factory prices were not high, their behavioral patterns were extremely rigid. They operated solely according to pre-set logic loops; there was no such thing as true sentience, and the scenarios in which they could be applied were extremely limited.

Moreover, the subsequent wear and maintenance of bionic humans was likewise no small expense. Thus, in the Great Ming Empire with its vast population base, such imports were not favored.

Because, when all was calculated, a real person turned out to be cheaper than a fake one.

And in the Great Ming Empire, which upheld 'working smart' over 'working hard,' even at the grain transport docks where only brute labor was needed, human relations and worldly wisdom played a part.

Sometimes, being rigid and by-the-book meant a sharp drop in income.

So the Empire's major conglomerates preferred to continue the 'hereditary occupation system' that had been passed down for thousands of years, to ensure a steady stream of the labor they needed.

The so-called 'Yǎnrén,' however, were authentic, homegrown products of the Great Ming Empire; their manufacturing method was entirely different from the Western Barbarians' bionic humans.

Tracing the Yǎnrén to their source, they were actually real people. Only, their native consciousness had been lost within the Yellow Millet Dream, leaving behind only a physical shell.

Upon obtaining these 'living dead,' the maker would download a specific character consciousness from a specially customized Yellow Millet Dream, usurping the nest, forming a Yǎnrén.

Just like the two Medical Yǎnrén currently treating Zhao Qingxia; they had once followed Li Shizhen to study for many years within the Yellow Millet Dream, and their medical skills were exceptionally superb.

In the Great Ming Empire, only the Mohists, who mastered the 'Ming Ghost' technique, and the Yin-Yang School, capable of 'Summoning Souls,' could produce such multi-functional, multi-category Yǎnrén.

Even the Buddhist and Daoist sects, who grasped the Buddha Lands and Grotto-Heavens, could not achieve this.

However, whether intentional or not, the manufacturing method of Yǎnrén was far too cruel. And with the slightest carelessness, the downloaded Yellow Millet characters would suffer cognitive deviations, easily giving rise to so-called 'Yellow Millet Demons,' disturbing social order.

Therefore, after the New Donglin Party won the 'Great Court Debate' and seized control of the court, they issued a decree banning the manufacture of Yǎnrén.

But according to Zou Sijiu's explanation, the fundamental reason the New Donglin Party did this was not to protect the status of 'Ming People Supreme.'

Rather, it was because the technical threshold for Yǎnrén was too high; they could not get a cut of the profits. To suppress the Mohists and the Yin-Yang School, they ordered the ban.

So nowadays, Yǎnrén are almost unseen on the market, extremely rare even in the underground black market, and every single one is of immense value.

"Big Bro, our business ain't done yet, and you send over this many casualties. That puts me in a real spot."

Zou Sijiu looked at the Mohist Armor Core of the Horse King in Li Jun's palm, his expression bitter. "This is a Mo Eight Peak Mohist Armor Core, and going by your words, it's a divine artifact with extremely high sentience. The difficulty of repairing it..."

"Deduct the cost from my share."

Zou Sijiu said quietly: "Big Bro, you agreed upfront that there'd be no charge."

Li Jun's expression froze instantly; he remembered he had indeed said just that.

But there was no other way now; he could only shear this sheep, Zou Sijiu.

"Then let's say I owe you the money. That works, right?"

Zou Sijiu sighed, glancing at Zhao Qingxia on the operating table without changing expression, lowering his voice: "Actually, for this kid to possess such a divine artifact at Mo Eight, his status in the Heaven's Will Society is definitely not low. We could totally contact the Heaven's Will Society to take them off our hands."

Li Jun replied indifferently: "I'm afraid it was the Heaven's Will Society that sold them out this time."

"Tsk tsk tsk." Zou Sijiu clicked his tongue at this, shaking his head. "Never thought the Heaven's Will Society would sell out their own people too. Damn it, is there any morality left in this world?"

"Morality weighs a thousand catties, but it can't beat four taels of gold." Li Jun's tone was cold. "Don't sit there sighing over the times. When do you plan to move on the Qixia Group?"

Zou Sijiu pinched his fingers, looking mysterious: "Wait another half month. I divined a hexagram these past few days; the omen shows the seventh day of the seventh month is an auspicious day to act."

Li Jun found a chair and sat down, cutting him off directly. "Cut the mumbo jumbo. Speak plainly."

"No ritual sense, and you'll eventually incur heavenly punishment." Zou Sijiu frowned, muttering under his breath.

"What did you say?"

"Nothing. I mean, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month is the Virtue La Day, one of the Daoist Five Fasting Festival Days. I got word the Qixia Group will hold a grand Daojiao ritual that day."

"These old Daoists claim it's to pray for blessings for the people of Chongqing Prefecture," Zou Sijiu's expression was contemptuous, "but actually it's to launch their newly developed Bigu Paste and Life-Extending Elixir."

"So you're planning to move at the launch event?"

Li Jun's brow twitched. "Everyone else does sneak attacks when least expected. Why do you always pick a crowd to stir up trouble?"

"Don't you worry, I've planned it all out."

Zou Sijiu said eagerly: "Perhaps to drum up popularity, the Qixia Group's Daojiao ritual has no invitation threshold this time, so the number of believers attending won't be small. And this time they'll also open the Yellow Millet Grotto-Heaven, letting believers enter for a free spiritual roam."

"When the time comes, I'll mix into the crowd and wait for a chance to blow up their Yellow Millet Grotto-Heaven."

"Humiliated publicly before a vast crowd," Zou Sijiu chuckled darkly, "with that old Daoist Dongyangzi's explosive temper, he'll hate me to the bone, he'll definitely pursue and kill me."

Li Jun picked up the thread: "So you want me to ambush him halfway?"

Zou Sijiu nodded: "Exactly. My 'Luring the Snake from its Hole' tactic might be simple and crude, but I've simulated it many times; the success rate isn't low."

Admittedly, Zou Sijiu's plan was indeed very rough. But with only him and Li Jun, this simple, direct method was actually easier to execute.

Those extremely meticulous plans might be safer, but they required vast energy and wealth to slowly unfold.

Given the current state of Li Hua and the Horse King, they simply couldn't wait that long.

Li Jun pondered for a moment, then suddenly asked: "You're using yourself as bait. Are you confident you can escape the flying sword of a Dao Seven Golden Core cultivator?"

"If it were an old-school True Sword Immortal cultivating both body and spirit, I definitely wouldn't dare."

Zou Sijiu ran both hands along his temples, slicking back his hair, combing that pompadour into perfect place, a look of arrogance rising on his face.

"Too bad that old geezer Dongyangzi is an Idealist who only cares about consciousness. Even if he's a full Sequence higher than me, relying on that wireless flying sword of his to catch me inside the Qimen Dunjia... it's still not that simple!"