The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 275 Inn
Its daybreak.

Liu Chengxuan and Wen Lianrong slowly opened their eyes and saw each other's hair covered with cold sweat and bloodshot eyes.

"Brother...you haven't been able to enter into tranquility either."

Wen Lianrong smiled bitterly.

"How can I enter... It's good enough that I didn't go crazy."

Liu Chengxuan didn't even dare to look at the wooden house.

It was not until this moment that they realized the true meaning of what An Ziyang said last night: “the noise was not pleasant to hear.”

squeak-

Suddenly, the small door of the wooden house was pushed open, and An Ziyang walked out slowly and stretched.

The two who had already stood up took a step back when they saw An Ziyang coming out, and their hands unconsciously touched the hilt of the sword. It was not that they wanted to draw the sword, but holding the hilt in their hands could give them a sense of security.

"Master... Lu Yu..."

"Sorry to bother you two with your rest."

An Ziyang turned his head and smiled kindly.

"I asked him all night. At first I thought he was just being stubborn, but later I realized he was just being naive. He was pushed around by others and just climbed up the ladder without even considering his own abilities."

"What a pity this face is all wasted."

"Oh, by the way, you two are going to Songshan for a banquet, right?"

Liu Chengxuan nodded.

"Yes."

"Why not go together?"

An Ziyang smiled.

"I asked Miss Lu last night, and they have already linked up with each other, waiting to cause trouble on Mount Song, and they have all learned the art of disguise."

"Among them, there are clear numbers as to who will replace whom."

Liu Chengxuan immediately realized that something was wrong.

"That is to say..."

"Yes."

An Ziyang smiled.

"Your troubles are far from over. The closer you get to Songshan, the more people you will run into who have been replaced."

"Although no one knows about the deaths of Lu Yu and Xu Bing, if you two reveal even the slightest flaw in front of these replaced people, at least ten evil masters will come to silence you immediately."

"It is not impossible that there may be top masters among them, or even the legendary 'celestial beings'."

"With your martial arts skills, you are doomed to fail."

An Ziyang said with his hands on his sleeves.

"It just so happens that I am also somewhat interested in what these people are planning. Since you two have been involved in this matter, why not go with me. At least under the extreme situation, I can ensure that you two will have no worries."

"how?"

Liu Chengxuan and Wen Lianrong looked at each other and fell to the ground.

"Thank you very much, sir. I don't know your name, but if you need anything in the future, our Huanhua Sword Sect will obey you."

An Ziyang waved his hand and smiled mischievously.

"Who I am, you will know it naturally when you arrive at Songshan. And you two don't need to thank me. There are many people who have been replaced by evil ways. I came here specially to save you. In fact, I am just doing my duty and being loyal to the people who entrusted me."

"If you two want to thank someone, you should thank him instead of me."

Liu Chengxuan didn't understand.

"Uh... I don't know which hero it is..."

An Ziyang blew a whistle, and the sound of horses neighing came from the dense forest in the distance, followed by the sound of horse hooves approaching this side at a rapid speed.

He then smiled.

"Last year, when Master Xingchi passed on his position, some people from your sect came to pay their respects. Wasn't Brother Liu the leader that day?"

"Do you still remember the old friend?"

Liu Chengxuan's eyes suddenly widened.

"Hero Li!?"

An Ziyang climbed onto the horse, smiled and nodded.

"Exactly."

"He is currently on Mount Song. After learning about this, he specifically asked me to bring my old friend up the mountain. It is actually just a side job to investigate the evil ways."

"He asked me to tell Brother Liu a message."

An Ziyang smiled.

"'How can a Mid-Autumn Festival banquet be held without the company of old friends?'"

"'Do you still remember the words 'see you again in the rivers and lakes' that we said that day?'"

"'My dear friend, you have had a hard time in the past six months. I have prepared some good wine to help you wash away the dust of the world.'"

Looking at Liu Chengxuan again, he was stunned for a moment.

Then, he couldn't help but choke up.

Over the past six months, there has been no word on whether the master is alive or dead, and the sects that were on good terms with the master in the past have not only refused to lend a helping hand, but have instead been adding insult to injury, gradually encroaching on the disciples and territory of the Huanhua Sword Sect.

The disciples in the sect are all useless, and only Wen Lianrong can share some of the burden for him. In order to support the Huanhua Sword Sect, this second-rate disciple has truly experienced the ups and downs of life and has given up his fantasy about the martial arts world.

He has come this far just to hold on for the sake of his master and his sect.

At this moment, someone reached out and pulled him out of the abyss, said "thank you for your hard work" to him with a smile, asked someone to protect him, prepared good wine for him, and said they wanted to help him wash away the dust.

Suddenly, he seemed to have someone to rely on and an outlet to talk to. All the ups and downs of the past six months came flooding back to his mind.

This feeling, whether it was grievance, relief, gratitude, or joy, made his eyes sore and he almost burst into tears.

Wen Lianrong stepped forward, took his hand and squeezed it hard.

Liu Chengxuan then took a few deep breaths and managed to suppress his restless mood.

An Ziyang then smiled.

"I've got your message, you two. Don't keep him waiting too long."

"Let's set off immediately."

Liu Chengxuan nodded vigorously.

--------

August 12, the 24th year of Jiajing.

Henan Provincial Administration Commission, Nanyang Prefecture, Tang County.

Liu Chengxuan looked around and was amazed.

He had been to Tang County before. It was not a big county, nor was it rich. Usually, not many people from the underworld came here to make a living. But now, as soon as he entered the city, four or five groups of people from the underworld with swords and knives appeared on both sides of the road, all looking at the three of them.

All these people were heading towards Mount Song.

An Ziyang lowered his voice and chuckled.

"You two, this place is less than 500 miles away from Songshan. With the speed of a first- or second-rate expert, you can reach Songshan in one or two days."

"Before today, perhaps because we had not entered the city, or perhaps because those who were plotting to cause trouble on Mount Song had not yet gathered together, we did not run into any trouble."

"But from now on, you two have to be careful."

"If they wanted to test whether you had been replaced, they wouldn't wait until we got to Songshan to do it. It would probably be today or tomorrow."

An Ziyang seemed to be talking to the two people, but in fact the hilt of the sword on his waist was faintly pointing at a group of gangsters on the side of the road, leading Liu Chengxuan and Wen Lianrong to look.

"That group of people is not right."

Liu Chengxuan understood and pretended to talk to An Ziyang. He glanced at the group of people and observed them for a moment, then frowned.

"Mr. An, what's wrong?"

"Smell, clothing, weapons."

An Ziyang smiled.

"There is a strange fragrance on them."

"You two may have had little contact with the Tang Sect's poisons. Only the Tang Sect's members can smell this smell. This is a backup plan left by the Tang Sect to prevent its members from being harmed by the poisons they sell."

"As long as I smell this smell, I know these people are carrying Tang Sect's poisons. And they are not ordinary stuff. It must be a bag of good stuff worth a hundred taels of silver."

Liu Chengxuan suddenly realized.

"I see."

"People who can afford to use such poisons cannot have clothes and weapons as shabby as theirs."

An Ziyang smiled and nodded.

"Yes."

"Not everyone can buy the Tang Sect's poison. If you want to buy something worth dozens of taels of silver, you have to buy a few taels of silver worth of garbage a year. If you want to buy a package of poison worth hundreds of taels of silver, you have to buy dozens of taels of silver a year."

"Ordinary poisons can be digested naturally by the Tang Sect's internal energy. Only those poisons that are outstanding will secretly bury this strange fragrance as a defense. To buy this kind of thing, you must at least spend hundreds of taels of silver in the Tang Sect first."

"But these people still have their clothes patched up, and they don't even remove the rust from their weapons."

As they were talking, the three of them had already passed the tavern where the group of people were.

"When the three of us entered the city, other people in the martial arts world would take a look at us, but this group of people didn't even look up. It was too deliberate."

An Ziyang smiled.

"Tonight, I think there will be blood."

The three of them were talking when they arrived outside an inn.

He dismounted from the horse, handed the reins to the waiter, and the three of them walked into the inn.

As soon as they came in, several eyes moved back and forth between the three of them.

Suddenly, someone laughed out loud.

"Are you a fellow from the Huanhua Sword Sect? Are you going to the banquet at Songshan too?"

Liu Chengxuan turned his head and looked.

Sitting on a long table was a tall and burly man with his front open, revealing a palm-wide pubic hair. He had a bald head and arms as thick as Liu Chengxuan's thighs.

A nine-ring broadsword was leaning against his leg.

After he said this, the other people in the martial arts world silently turned their eyes away from observing Liu Chengxuan and the other three.

"Hero Qi!"

Liu Chengxuan showed a look of joy. This person was a first-class master of the righteous way who was on good terms with the Huanhua Sword Sect, and was also one of the few people who would lend a helping hand to the Huanhua Sword Sect in the past six months.

Knife maniac, "Qi Shuyun".

That's right, although this man looks like a mountain king, his name is as elegant as a woman's. He is on good terms with the Huanhua Sword Sect because he is often ridiculed by people in the martial arts world because of his name, so they feel a sense of sympathy.

The three of them walked over and sat down with Qi Shuyun.

After reminiscing about the past and drinking three rounds of wine, Qi Shuyun suddenly lowered her voice and spoke in a low voice.

"You two, have you encountered any trouble along the way?"

Liu Chengxuan's face turned serious.

"Hero Qi?"

Qi Shuyun nodded.

"It seems that you two have also been ambushed before, and so have I. If I hadn't improved my martial arts skills during this period and hadn't learned some tricks, I would have almost died."

He reached out and tore open his clothes, revealing the bandaged wound on his waist.

"It was just a little bit away from breaking the kidney."

"I interrogated him roughly and learned some information."

"There is an evil conspiracy here."

After saying that, he suddenly turned around and looked at An Ziyang.

"Speaking of which, I haven't greeted this young master yet. I wonder what your name is, what sect you belong to, and why you are traveling with the Huanhua Sword Sect?"

There was doubt in his words, and his hand was slowly reaching for the hilt of the knife.

Liu Chengxuan quickly stopped him.

"Master Qi, Master An is definitely not a bad guy. The two of us were able to reach Tang County alive because an old friend asked Master An to protect us."

Qi Shuyun then slowly withdrew her hand, but did not give up her doubts and continued to ask.

"Who entrusted it to you?"

Liu Chengxuan said.

"Li Miao, Hero Li."

Qi Shuyun thought for a moment before speaking in astonishment.

"But it was Master Li who presided over the ceremony for Master Xingchi's passing last year? Hasn't he been absent from the martial arts world for nearly a year? How did you recognize him?"

Actually, Li Miao only appeared in public twice, once in Tai'an and once in Shaolin. The names of "Four Seasons Thousand Households" and "Li Miao" have become famous all over the world, but no one has officially linked them together.

After Liu Chengxuan said this, Qi Shuyun finally understood.

"In this case, you have only met Hero Li once."

"It was only a one-time encounter, but he asked Master An to escort you two to meet at Songshan Mountain, and he saved your lives."

"He is truly worthy of being the person entrusted by Master Xingchi. I wonder how charming he is! Even if I could only meet him once, this trip to Songshan would be worth it!"

An Ziyang gave Qi Shuyun a mischievous look and laughed to himself.

"All right."

He put down his glass and chuckled.

"The three of you have already reminisced about the past, and you all know the evil plot. You should know that it is probably not easy to leave Tang County."

"Tonight, there may be bloodshed."

Qi Shuyun's expression also became serious.

"Yes, as far as I know, there are many top-notch evil masters who were implicated in this incident."

"If there were only two of you from the Huanhua Sword Sect, they would probably only send a few of the best. But with me, they might even send the best masters!"

Having said this, Qi Shuyun slapped his thigh.

"Alas, I was only concerned with reminding you to be careful, but ended up dragging you into my trouble."

With that said, he was about to get up.

"In that case, I will leave first and see if I can lure away some evil masters for you. You better be careful!"

"If I am lucky enough to survive, we will meet on Mount Song!"

After that, he got up and left.

Just as he was about to take a step, he found that he couldn't move.

Qi Shuyun looked down and saw that An Ziyang had reached out and grabbed him, pinching his pulse. A powerful and domineering internal energy poured into his meridians, calming his movements.

"Master Qi, it seems like you will also be to Master Li's liking."

"The one he likes must not die in front of me."

An Ziyang smiled.

"Don't worry, nothing will happen with me here."

"Eat in peace."

"You will all arrive at Songshan in one piece and see Hero Li."

--------

That night.

Liu Chengxuan, Wen Lianrong, and Qi Shuyun sat at the table, drinking tea intermittently, their hands tightly grasping their weapons, their eyes occasionally glancing outside the door and window, they were all extremely nervous.

Suddenly, footsteps were heard outside the door.

The three of them were on full alert, ready to stand up and fight at any time.

squeak-

The door was slowly pushed open, An Ziyang walked in, looked at the three people, and chuckled.

"Three of you, there's no need to be so nervous."

He closed the door, walked to the table and sat down, poured a cup of tea, took a sip, and turned to look at Qi Shuyun.

"By the way, Master Qi, how is your inner strength progressing?"

Qi Shuyun didn't understand why An Ziyang suddenly brought up this matter, but she knew he wouldn't make a fuss, so she answered truthfully.

“First-class and top-notch level.”

"But, I have no school or sect, and the mental method I practiced is not advanced. The quantity is sufficient, but the quality is not good. I have been stuck at the first-class level for many years and have not made any progress."

Having said this, he let out a long sigh.

"Birth and opportunity have blocked many geniuses. With my age and realm, no one would accept me even if I brought my skills to a master. I can only watch others reach the top while I waste my time day by day."

“I am ashamed.”

Upon hearing this, Liu Chengxuan was about to say a few words of comfort, but An Ziyang just chuckled.

"Don't worry, Qi Xia's chance may come today."

The other three people were all confused.

An Ziyang didn't explain. He turned his head to look out the window, sniffed a few times, and smiled.

"It smells pretty good. These people spent a lot of money in the Tang Sect."

"They are coming. Judging from the footsteps, there must be at least a dozen people, at least two of them are top-notch. Moreover, in addition to the strange fragrance I smelled during the day, there is also the smell of Tang Sect's poison."

Liu Chengxuan said in astonishment.

"Tang Sect Poison Pill!? Can this thing be bought?!"

An Ziyang smiled.

"Ordinary people can't buy it. As far as I know, most of the Dandu sold by the Tang Sect in recent years is in my hands. This thing is not easy to store, and it will basically lose its toxicity after a year."

"From the smell, this person used a lot of things to replace the original poisonous grass in his hand. The toxicity is much less than the original one. It should be homemade."

Liu Chengxuan's face looked extremely ugly.

Homemade erysipelas?

This thing is the secret of the Tang Clan. No one in the world has seen it a few times, not to mention that the materials in it can be "replaced" to make a weakened version of the poison.

This person must know the formula of the poison, and he must be very good at making poison. Combined with what the old escort leader told him when they just set out from Huanhua Sword Sect, about the "Iron Palm Gang exterminating the whole family".

The identity of the visitor is about to be revealed.

"The abandoned disciple of Tang Sect, 'Erosion Heart Green Bag'."

"Tang, He."

Evil ways, top masters.

And he is a top master from the Tang Sect.

Judging from the way An Ziyang dealt with Xu Bing and Lu Yu, I'm afraid most of his skills are in poisons and traps. It's okay to deal with others, but I'm afraid he is not up to the task of dealing with Tang He, the abandoned disciple of the Tang Sect.

Liu Chengxuan sighed and looked at An Ziyang.

"Master An, if things don't go well, just run away."

"Please give my apologies to Mr. Li."

An Ziyang waved his hand and smiled.

"Don't, don't."

"If you were dead, I wouldn't dare go to see him. You'd better go and tell him in person."

"Alright, the three of you, have some tea. I'm going to go out and meet this abandoned disciple. In a way, I'm clearing the house."

After saying that, he stood up, stopped the three people's actions, walked out of the room, and stood in the aisle of the inn.

This inn has been bought by An Ziyang, and even the owner and the waiters have left, so there is no need to worry about accidentally hurting others.

An Ziyang looked towards the stairs.

Footsteps approaching slowly.

Several people walked up the stairs and looked at An Ziyang. They had weapons in their hands, reflecting the moonlight brightly.

An Ziyang showed a smile.
"I have been waiting for a long time for a distinguished guest to come to my house."

He turned to look at one of the middle-aged women and gave a mischievous smile.

"Tang He, you seem to be living a comfortable life these years since you rebelled against the Tang Sect."

"Today, this elder will work hard to clean up the sect for the sect master."

He raised his hand, extended an index finger, and slowly hooked it at Tang He, who had a gloomy expression.

"Uh-huh-huh."

"Come here~"

(End of this chapter)