The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 319 "A dying man's words are good"

The old man explained his origins, and when the passerby heard the name "Kongming Sect" and saw that the other party was kind and righteous, he gradually calmed down.

The Kongming Sect is indeed the largest and only righteous sect in the Jianghu of Guangxin Prefecture.

Some people might find it contradictory: if those three disciples could commit such a despicable act as killing innocent people and claiming credit without any remorse, why does this passerby seem to trust the name of the Kongming Sect?
Actually, this is not contradictory.

The wealthy man surnamed Wu, whom Li Miao encountered in Pingshanwei at the beginning of his journey through the martial world and who had taken a Miao witch as a concubine, is actually a good example to explain this bizarre situation.

Does he care about human lives? No, in his eyes, a few lives are nothing more than "commodities" that can be bought with money. Was his rise to power legitimate? No, his family accumulated their fortune through cunning and plunder, and every inch of land was stained with blood.

But he also did good deeds and restrained his servants, trying not to "go too far." If a major disaster or epidemic occurred, he would even lose money to distribute porridge and provide relief, making him seem like a truly benevolent person.

This is what is meant by "those who have stable property have stable minds".

For the Kongming Sect, the hearts and minds of the people are the foundation for their long-term survival in Guangxin Prefecture. They have no need to behave as disgracefully as those unorthodox peasants.

So those three disciples really were acting on their own, which is why the passerby calmed down upon hearing the name "Kongming Sect".

When he recounted to the old man everything he had seen at the tea stall, the old man's expression immediately turned grim.

He had come here in search of his own disciple's whereabouts. After hearing the passerby's description, how could he not guess that the one who had been beheaded was his own disciple?

Ignoring the passerby's continued conversation, he turned around, mounted his horse, gave a sharp shout, and led his disciples to gallop towards the tea stall.

After traveling only a few miles, the old man soon spotted the dilapidated tea stall by the roadside in the distance.

He dismounted, drew his sword, and unsheathed it all in one smooth motion.

Enraged and filled with murderous intent, the old man didn't stop, using his lightness skill to lead his disciples forward!
The area outside the tea stall was a mess, with tables, chairs, teapots, and other items knocked over by fleeing passersby.

The tea stall was open on all sides, and even before he got close, the wind carried the strong smell of blood to the old man.

When they reached a distance of about fifty feet, the old man could see the situation in the tea stall clearly—two corpses lay on the ground, and judging from their figures, they were his own disciples.

There are four other people at the tea stall.

A woman stood by a tree outside, sword in hand, a blade of grass dangling from her mouth, resting with her eyes closed. Two men sat around a table in the center of the tea stall, heads bowed, seemingly engaged in something, occasionally exchanging hushed conversations.

The last person sat at a table on the outskirts of the tea stall, leaning against it and casually sipping his tea. Seeing them approach, he smiled and raised his teacup in a gesture of greeting, as if nothing had happened.

The old man's veins bulged, and his eyes twitched incessantly.

After doing something like this, why aren't you running away!
They even greeted me!

audacious in the extreme!
He suppressed his anger, strode to the outside of the tea stall, glanced at the woman outside to confirm that she did not know martial arts, and then turned around and said in a deep voice.

"I have a question for you all, please answer truthfully."

He pointed to the two corpses on the ground.

"Did you kill these two disciples of my Kongming Sect?"

The two people busy at the table completely ignored him, not even glancing at him, their hands never stopping.

The man sitting to the side drinking tea smiled and shook his head.

"You asked the wrong question, how are we supposed to answer it?"

The old man's brows furrowed even more as he spoke in a deep voice.

"What's wrong?"

"The numbers are wrong."

The man shook his finger.

"First, not three, but two. Can't you tell I don't know martial arts? If you want to ask, you should ask those two busy people. Don't drag me into your Jianghu affairs."

"Secondly... are you two done yet?"

A crisp snapping sound came from the table in the center of the tea stall.

The two people who were busy working on the other side stopped at the same time, looked at each other, and answered in unison.

"All right."

"How is it 'good'?"

Gao Anyu scratched his head sheepishly.

"Uh... I hit it a little too hard. It seems like I punctured something, and it stopped breathing right away."

Cao Hanyan sighed.

"The liver, Brother Gao, you've punctured the liver."

Upon hearing this, the old man suddenly realized something, stared intently at the table behind the two, and was immediately stunned. He then involuntarily took half a step back, his temples bulging with veins!

The disciples behind him stared wide-eyed, and some of the younger disciples even covered their mouths, almost vomiting.

As Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu turned around, they finally revealed what was on the table—it looked like a person!
If it weren't for a pale yet familiar face staring wide-eyed in their direction, they would hardly have recognized it as a person!

If the remaining portion on the table were weighed, it's hard to say whether it would even weigh eighty pounds! That's why Cao Hanyan and Gao Anyu were able to block it completely!
A mournful cry came from behind the old man.

"Uphold righteousness!"

One of the female disciples was about to rush over when she was held back by the others. She struggled and cried uncontrollably.

At this point, Li Miao continued speaking.

"Secondly, it wasn't just two disciples of your Kongming Sect who died, but three... Oh, actually, there were only two when you first arrived. It's a pity you asked questions too slowly, which wasted some time."

"If you ask the right question, I won't have to correct you, and I won't have to waste time. What's this guy's name, Young Master Bei? Maybe he can survive."

"Oh dear, what a pity."

He took a slow sip of tea and smiled.

"Look, it's all your fault."

Li Miao's opening remarks were just as aggressive as An Ziyang's. The only person in the world who could withstand his sharp tongue was the deceased Xing Chi; how could this old man possibly endure it?

Swish!
The old man stepped forward and thrust his sword straight at Li Miao!
This sword strike was unleashed in fury, showing no mercy! It was a vow to take Li Miao's head!

They were in front of Li Miao in an instant!
Li Miao, however, paid no attention and didn't even glance at the tea leaves, continuing to pour tea for himself.

With a clang, a black ruler extended from the side and intercepted the longsword!

"You think I'm dead? You'd try to lay a hand on my Uncle Li right in front of me?!"

"Brother Cao, leave the old man to me, you go and take care of the rest!" The two weapons crossed and rubbed against each other in mid-air, circling several times, sparks flying! During this process, a faint, low humming sound gradually rose in intensity.

The old man's expression turned solemn, and he suddenly withdrew his sword and retreated swiftly!

"what?"

Gao Anyu caught up in a flash, and swung the black ruler down at the old man's head!
The old man dodged to the side, refusing to engage. Gao Anyu, however, showed no intention of avoiding him. The black ruler, at his waist, suddenly changed direction, transforming from a vertical slash to a horizontal one, encompassing the entire plane.

The old man then raised his sword to block and deflect the force of the black ruler, momentarily halting the attack. He then withdrew again, avoiding Gao Anyu's move, and his longsword, from below, pierced through the side of the black ruler into Gao Anyu's arms, aiming straight for his armpit!

Gao Anyu tried to retract his attack and block, but it was too late!

Gao Anyu smiled coldly.

With a "ding," in the blink of an eye, Gao Anyu flicked his wrist, and the black ruler moved upward along his arm. He then grabbed the front end of the black ruler and used the hilt of his sword to block the old man's sword!

Although Gao Anyu's martial arts appear to be primarily a swordsmanship, its foundation lies in this black ruler. The black ruler is unsharpened, its strokes straight and horizontal, naturally allowing for techniques that ordinary longswords simply cannot execute!

Seeing that he could not achieve anything, the old man twirled his longsword and tried to attack Gao Anyu's flank again, but it was blocked by the black ruler.

The two then became entangled and exchanged more than ten blows.

Gao Anyu grew increasingly puzzled as the fight progressed, and taking advantage of a lull in his opponent's attacks, he suddenly asked a question.

"Old man, do you recognize this weapon of mine?"

Although Gao Anyu was mad, he wasn't stupid. The moment they exchanged blows, the old man, upon hearing the unique buzzing sound emanating from the black ruler, immediately withdrew swiftly. In the subsequent exchanges, Gao Anyu clearly sensed that his opponent was deliberately avoiding clashes between his weapon and the black ruler!

Ever since he began his journey through the martial world, his use of the black ruler to break opponents' weapons has been infallible, and no one has ever noticed it. At most, they can only defend themselves after suffering a loss. This is the first time someone has fought him for nearly twenty moves and still managed to keep their weapon intact!
This is definitely not something that can be done with just experience in the underworld; the other party must know something!
Perhaps they had seen similar methods before, or perhaps they had seen someone use weapons before!

The old man didn't answer at all, and his moves became even more ruthless. He not only had a new grudge against the three disciples who were killed today, but judging from his expression, he also seemed to have some old grievances from the past!
"You actually knew! You still have a grudge against this weapon of mine, don't you!"

Gao Anyu said excitedly.

"Fine, fine! I'll see how much you know!"

"Take this 'Ink Dragon Severing the Mountain' move!"

The black ruler tumbled in the air, instantly transforming into a black dragon that swiftly and fiercely struck down at the old man's head!
The old man remained calm and unhurried, advancing instead of retreating. He directly burrowed under Gao Anyu's arm, raising his longsword and thrusting it towards Gao Anyu's upper arm like a snake spitting its tongue!

"You can break it again!"

Gao Anyu became even more excited. He moved his feet and twisted his arms to avoid the old man's sword, letting out a sharp shout!
"Let's try this 'Mysterious Coffin Suppressing Soul' move again!"

The black ruler rotated, seemingly sealing off the space around the old man, and several black phantoms sealed off the space around him!
The old man snorted coldly and his long sword struck repeatedly, each strike precisely at the point where the black ruler's force was weakest, breaking Gao Anyu's moves in an instant!
"A thousand peaks stand in awe!"

"Snowflakes in the Vast Ocean!"

"The crows soar through the sky!"

Gao Anyu shouted repeatedly, his hands moving incessantly, unleashing unique moves that were completely unrelated to ordinary swordsmanship! The old man remained silent, breaking through each of these moves one by one!

Not only were his weapons intact, but the techniques he used to break through the opponent's defenses were also executed with ease and fluency—as if he had practiced these techniques countless times and knew them by heart!
Despite being defeated in several moves, Gao Anyu did not lose heart; instead, his expression became even more excited!

"You've seen more than one!"

He kept working with his hands, speaking excitedly.

"You've seen these moves of mine more than once, and you've even secretly figured out a way to counter them!"

"With your talent, it would take you several years to break these moves. Not only have you broken several of my moves, but you have also mastered the art of breaking them perfectly... You would never have put in so much effort if it weren't for something extremely important!"

"Who are you! Do you recognize me?!"

"Tell me! Tell me!"

The old man's expression shifted between anger and uncertainty upon hearing Gao Anyu's words.

The moment they clashed, he recognized the weapon in his opponent's hand. His first thought was that his opponent had come after him because of a past grudge and had killed his disciple.

But judging from Gao Anyu's words... it seems that the other party has no idea where his inheritance comes from, and even has to ask him about it!
The old man quickly made up his mind.

The feud over the three disciples can be put aside for now. They were just three mediocre disciples with average talent, whose potential was only second-rate. Their deaths would be painful, but they wouldn't be a serious loss.

If we can seize the weapons and inheritance from the other party through this matter... those are inheritances and superb martial arts that can lead directly to the "Celestial Being" realm!
With this, he would gladly risk his own life, even if it meant sacrificing his own disciple's life!
Once he made up his mind, he was about to speak.

"you--"

"Little Gao, how come you've forgotten what I just taught you so quickly?"

He had barely finished speaking when he was interrupted by Li Miao's lazy voice.

Gao Anyu's ears twitched. While fighting the old man, he asked, "Uncle Li, please speak!"

"I just told you the key to this interrogation: don't be soft-hearted, use all your methods, and then listen to what the other party has to say."

Li Miao spoke slowly and deliberately.

"The same principle applies before interrogation."

"You haven't even hit him yet, so what's the point of asking him questions? His life isn't even in your hands, which means you have no bargaining chips to exchange with him. Why are you even listening to what he says?"

"When dealing with malicious people, if they are unwilling to confess, then beat them until they do. Even if they are willing, you have to skin them alive first before their words have any credibility."

Li Miao said to Gao Anyu with a smile.

There's a saying, "A dying man's words are good."

"Think about it the other way around. If you don't beat him to the point of near death first, how can he possibly speak kindly?"

Gao Anyu suddenly realized and said excitedly.

"Uncle Li! I understand!"

Cao Hanyan, who was beating up the other disciples of the Kongming Sect one by one with a knife, turned pale and almost couldn't hold back her words.

Brother Gao, what have you realized?
Is it really possible to interpret "a dying person's words are good" like this?!

Can you please not be so quick to understand?

The old man's face darkened, and he had no choice but to swallow back the words he had just prepared.

After Gao Anyu said "I understand," he stopped talking.

Before making his move, he called out his name, which was actually a deliberate attempt to let the old man know what move he was using, so as to test whether the other party really recognized his martial arts.

Now that he has "realized" it, he naturally won't do that anymore, and his moves immediately change!
The old man instantly felt the pressure on his hands suddenly increase!
Gao Anyu no longer uses those rigid, standard moves that seem to have been copied from a manual! Every move he makes is fluid and effortless, and he changes his moves in an instant!
He held back, his hands brimming with murderous intent, ready to break all four of the old man's limbs! Then he would use all the interrogation techniques Li Miao had taught him to extract information about his origins and background!

(End of this chapter)