The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 321 Sick
Before the echo of Li Miao's previous sentence had faded, the group of five rushed over with their weapons, engaging Gao Anyu, who had stood up and blocked their path, in battle.

The people of Da Shuo, who had coexisted with the "Jianghu people" for thousands of years, surged out of the inn like a tidal wave in just a few breaths. Some of them even left their meal money on the table before leaving.

Several copper coins were tossed on the table, spinning with a buzzing sound.

Li Miao reached out to stop Cao Hanyan, who wanted to get up to help, and squinted as he examined the five people fighting Gao Anyu.

If I had to describe it in one word, it would be "unremarkable".

He was dressed plainly and had an ugly appearance. His five weapons were all different in design, but they were all either longswords or sabers, completely lacking any distinguishing features. His skill level was also unremarkable, second or third-rate.

The only noteworthy thing is that these people were covered in dust, and as they moved, puffs of dust would rise from their bodies. They must have been traveling not long ago and hadn't had time to dust themselves off after entering the city.

However, Gao Anyu had only been wandering the world for half a year after losing his memory, and he was ruthless. He didn't have many enemies left alive. How could he have run into him in Yushan County by such a coincidence?

Gao Anyu, on the other side, was also puzzled as he fought. The opponent's martial arts were really not distinctive, they were all common, and their lineages were different, making it really difficult to recognize them by their martial arts.

So he had no choice but to keep hitting while glancing at the other person's face.

Fortunately, while these people were otherwise unremarkable, their five faces were each uniquely ugly. The more Gao Anyu looked at them, the more familiar they seemed. After a moment's thought, he finally realized and said...

"Oh, it's you."

He tilted his head and looked at the five people opposite him with a puzzled expression.

"What, you don't want to live anymore?"

The story of Gao Anyu's grudges with these five people dates back to half a year ago, shortly after he woke up in the mountains.

Back then, Gao Anyu was even more "inhuman" than he is now. Coupled with a blank mind, he knew nothing about the martial world or human relationships, and could only wander aimlessly around the surrounding villages and towns like a headless fly.

One day, they bumped into the hometown of these five people.

Actually, back then, their group consisted of six people, and they were considered "well-known" in the underworld, known as "Crippling Meteor".

"Meteor" refers to these five people.

"Guai Zi" refers to the eldest brother who died at the hands of Gao Anyu.

Anyone familiar with the underworld slang would immediately understand what these people were up to – “guaranteeing” in slang means human traffickers.

As for the "meteor," in the eighteen weapons, it refers to the meteor hammer. The hammerhead, being hard and black, also symbolizes that these people are engaged in "hard work."

In other words, it's the dirty work of abducting people and then draining their energy and spirit so they can be sold off.

Some people might find it strange—these people have made a name for themselves as human traffickers in the underworld, so why aren't there any righteous sects or chivalrous heroes who want to rid the people of this scourge?

Yes, but not many.

These individuals weren't involved in ordinary human trafficking. They belonged to a more sophisticated group within this industry, performing fewer tasks but focusing solely on capturing "young lotus roots"—that is, beautiful women—and selling them to brothels with official connections.

Not many people were arrested, so not many people were harmed. The "clients" had official connections, so those prestigious sects were hesitant to target them, fearing trouble with the authorities.

Therefore, only a few wandering martial artists and lone swordsmen could easily deal with them, given their martial arts skills.

Through these unscrupulous means, the group amassed a considerable fortune, buying land and property in their hometown and successfully achieving "class advancement," becoming quite wealthy. They also established connections with the local government, and their lives were relatively smooth sailing.

Just six months ago, the "kidnapper" in "kidnapper meteor" had nothing to do, so he took a few servants and went out into the street and strolled around leisurely.

The local people all knew what kind of person he was and didn't want to offend him, so they all avoided him when they saw him coming. He was used to this treatment and just swaggered forward.

As he walked, a beggar came towards him. He kept his head down, didn't turn, and walked straight towards him.

The kidnapper also found it novel and looked closely.

The beggar was dressed in rags, covered in leaves and dirt, as if he had just crawled out of the mountains. His hair was disheveled and covered his face. The only thing he had was a wooden sword sheath hanging at his waist, which looked like it had been carved from a piece of wood at random.

Upon seeing the scabbard, the "crippled man's heart leaped into his throat.

If someone has weapons, they're probably a江湖人 (jianghu person, a person of the martial arts world). Since they're a江湖人, why would they inexplicably appear in his territory and walk straight towards him? They might be here to "eliminate evil and protect the righteous path."

As for the beggar's outfit—there's never a shortage of masters in the martial arts world who like to engage in "performance art," and dressing up as a beggar is a very common choice.

So he took another closer look, and his heart jumped again.

Because he couldn't tell what material the exposed hilt of the wooden scabbard was made of—neither gold nor silver, neither copper nor iron, but a jet black with cloud patterns engraved on it. Just by looking at its shape, he knew it wasn't the work of an ordinary blacksmith.

If your weapon is good, your martial arts skills are generally not too bad either.

A master dressed as a beggar walked straight toward him with his head down. What else could he be planning to do?

Let's eliminate demons and uphold justice!
As an expert who has been deeply involved in the human trafficking industry for nearly 20 years, "Kidnapper" has a clear self-awareness.

His face remained impassive, but his hand had already secretly reached for his weapon at his waist. While pretending to chat casually with the servants, he kept a close eye on the beggar out of the corner of his eye, silently counting the distance.

Five zhang (approximately 10 meters) is not stable enough.

Three zhang, or let's get a little closer.

One zhang... Why isn't the other side making a move? It's about to crash into my arms!
He gritted his teeth: "I'm not waiting anymore! I don't care if you're here to see me or not, I'll strike first! I'll kill you, and then I can sleep peacefully tonight!"

When the beggar walked straight towards him, almost touching him, he smiled kindly, waved his hand, and made way for him.

When the beggar's profile came into view—he suddenly struck! A poisoned plum blossom dagger, cold and silent, pierced towards the beggar's side!
He bought this poison from the Tang Clan at a high price; if it even scratched the skin, the other person would surely die! The plum blossom thorn was about to stick to the beggar's clothes, just an inch away from killing him on the spot!
But then a "ding" sound was heard.

The plum blossom thorn was stopped by a pitch-black ruler. Gao Anyu turned his head blankly to look at the horrified "hook" and asked in confusion.

"Are you sick?"

(End of this chapter)