The Eight-Hour Workday Drove the Empress Mad

"Damn it! I killed the city lord! Who's going to stop me?" A burly, one-eyed man with a face full of scar tissue slams his bloodstained ghost-head saber onto the table with a clang. The whole tavern falls silent. He is the notorious bandit known as "One-Eyed Wolf," whose name has topped the wanted list for three years. Just as he's about to bask in the fearful looks around him, he notices a young man at the next table frowning at him. "Hey, kid, what are you staring at? You looking to die...?" Before One-Eyed Wolf can finish his threat, he suddenly feels as if someone has grabbed him by the throat. He recognizes the young man's face, the very face that has appeared in all his nightmares. It is the portrait on the empire's highest-priority wanted poster, belonging to the legendary number-one lackey of the Empress! "Thud!" His legs give way, and he slides off his stool onto the floor, his face ashen. "Y-Your... Lord Yama..." Bei Miao sighs and sets down his cup of wine. "Could you keep it down? You're ruining my enjoyment of this meal." He points at the hourglass on the wall and says helplessly, "More importantly, it's my time off. I only work eight hours a day. Arresting you is part of the job, and I only do that during work hours." The demon clans of the northern frontier breach the passes, and flames of war spread everywhere? "Sorry, submit your work plan to my page tomorrow after I get in." The Dragon King of the Eastern Sea tries to seize the throne, flooding the divine capital? "Relax. Once I've finished this jug of wine, it'll still be fifteen minutes before I clock in." The Empress's bedchamber is under attack, and her life is in danger? Bei Miao slams the table, furious. "How dare they disturb my vacation! Wipe out ten generations of their family!"