The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 435 Hunting and Killing
Zhu Shoujing led the worshippers in a life-or-death struggle against Anqi.

Tang Lanzhou waited for the Imperial Guard leader to return to reinforce them. They were heading to Jiangmi Lane, preparing to wipe out the civil officials in the Da Shuo court.

Meanwhile, on the other side, An Ziyang and Mei Qinghe were also committing murder.

Kill the Jianghu people.

If Tang Lanzhou's operation was a large-scale, clustered, and highly efficient mass slaughter, then what the two of them did was most in line with the reputation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard—searching, interrogating, and slaughtering.

To use an analogy, if civil officials are like sheep, they will gather together and use their combined power and connections to defend themselves when faced with a crisis. Then,江湖人 (jianghu people) are like birds, who will scatter and fly away as soon as they sense danger, using others as their "cushions" as if by lottery.

There is no inherent superiority or inferiority between the two. The power of officials lies in the collective and in authority, while the power of江湖人 (jianghu people) lies in the individual and in force. Their reactions in times of crisis are simply based on their own habits.

However, for the killer, it is obviously much more troublesome to kill someone from the underworld than to an official.

Fortunately, this is the capital city.

The stronghold of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

With Zhu Zai's order, countless Jinyiwei guards, who were holed up in the Jinyiwei headquarters, spread out along the streets like a flock of crows leaving their nest, spilling blood and wails on every street.

As for An Ziyang and Mei Qinghe, they had no time to care about the underlings of those second- or third-rate sects.

They're going to catch the real big fish.

Bathed in the midday sun, An Ziyang walked slowly into an inn, his hands behind his back. Two white-haired, hunched-backed retainers followed behind him, each carrying a large iron box.

"Qianhu."

As one of the Imperial Guards bowed and separated his hands, sticky streaks of blood were pulled out from between his gloves.

"The interrogation yielded results."

“Last night, the female disciple whom Liu Jin possessed was from the Kunlun Sect and was among the first to arrive in the capital. Moreover, judging from the timing, they had already set off before the news from Yingzhou reached the Kunlun Sect’s territory.”

An Ziyang twirled his fingers, his brow furrowing.

"Kunlun Sect, what is the relationship between that woman and Qiao Cailian?"

The Imperial Guard lowered his head.

"Qiao Cailian is the master of the current leader of the Kunlun Sect, and that woman is the Kunlun leader's own daughter... Last night, the leader also died at His Majesty's hands."

An Ziyang raised an eyebrow.

To be honest, ever since he started following Li Miao, whether intentionally or unintentionally, his little actions have become more and more like Li Miao's.

"The Kunlun Sect is a long-established sect, and in terms of its foundation, it is the strongest after Shaolin and Wudang. If it were just rumors spread in Yingzhou, it shouldn't have made them risk their Heavenly Being and Sect Leader."

"That woman from last night alone couldn't have created such a grand spectacle."

"Among these martial arts figures, there is more than one clone of Liu Jin."

An Ziyang turned around and waved.

The Imperial Guards inside the room raised their blades in unison and slashed down at the person kneeling on the ground.

wow-

Blood splattered and flowed along the ground.

"Liu Jin's ability to create clones is limited. To get so many martial arts figures to come to the capital, he would need at least seven or eight clones. He certainly wasn't after the scene from last night."

"Ah, that's just right."

"Let's just round up Liu Jin's clones and kill them all at once."

An Ziyang walked out of the inn, and dozens of Imperial Guards lined up on both sides, bowing and clasping their hands in unison.

An Ziyang raised his hand and pointed.

"Give this commander a thorough search, street by street, house by house, kicking down doors and searching. No need for interrogation, just kill anyone with scars, calluses on their hands, or flesh on their skin."

"It doesn't matter whether you're innocent or not. Since you dared to join in this fun, you'll have to leave your life behind."

"Go ahead and kill! I, the commander, will take the blame for all the lives lost!"

The Imperial Guards all accepted the order.

"Yes!--"

They turned, mounted their horses, and dispersed along both sides of the street. By then, the killings inside the house were also finished.

The Imperial Guard who had just spoken to An Ziyang walked to An Ziyang's side and asked in a low voice.

“Chief, sweeping like this will only sweep out some small fry... The real threat comes from those famous sects, and perhaps they even have Celestial Beings who haven’t shown themselves yet.”

An Ziyang glanced at him.

"What you can think of, do you think I, the commander, cannot think of?"

He raised his hand and flipped it over, bringing his palm to the man's face.

The man was startled when he saw it.

In An Ziyang's palm were more than a dozen Gu worms that looked like silkworm cocoons.

"Commander, what is this?"

"An improved version of the love potion, bred by Commander Li. A mother and child pair of potions, no need to plant them for a lover, used for positioning."

An Ziyang waved his hand, and the dozen or so Gu worms were tossed into the air and fell back into his palm. Then, as if they had been woken up, they began to shake their heads in An Ziyang's hand.

The Imperial Guard was puzzled. After watching for a while, his eyes widened in surprise—the worms shook for a moment and then all pointed their heads in the same direction!
An Ziyang flicked his hand and put it away, sneering.

“Last night, when the coffin was being carried, a dozen or so fools came to help. I thought they were quite simple and honest, so I didn’t let His Majesty take their lives… But I left these location-tracking Gu worms on them.”

"I had thought that if they really left, I would decide not to pursue their sect. But unexpectedly, these dozen or so Gu worms pointed in the same direction."

"They didn't leave; they actually gathered together."

An Ziyang's smile grew increasingly sinister.

"A dozen or so people from different sects witnessed His Majesty's massacre last night, and instead of fleeing, they gathered together?"

"I, the commander, would like to see—who gave them the audacity."

"Clean up all the small fish and shrimp for me, and the two stewards will prepare the larger fish!"

--------

Mei Qinghe slashed horizontally with her sword, severing the head of the person in front of her. The corpse, still clutching its weapon, crashed to the ground.

She didn't look, but stepped over the pool of blood and continued on.

All around were crowds fighting, and in the distance, the deafening roar of a battle between heaven and man kept exploding in my ears.

Mei Qinghe pushed through the crowd and fixed her gaze on a woman hiding in the corner.

The woman looked very young, with a baby face and a still-growing figure. She was hiding in the corner, covering her ears with her hands and trembling uncontrollably. Even the long sword at her waist was loosely slipping out halfway.

Rather than calling her a江湖人 (jianghu person, someone from the martial arts world), it's more accurate to describe her as a frightened child.

But Mei Qinghe was not careless at all.

She approached slowly, her sword intent aimed at the woman's vital points.

"Stop pretending."

"You are Liu Jin."

The woman didn't react at all to Mei Qinghe's words; she just buried her head even lower, like an ostrich unwilling to face reality.

Mei Qinghe continued coldly.

"Although I am not good at scheming, I practice the sword technique personally taught by the Commander. He hoped that I could break free from the shackles of the Five Signs of Decay of Heaven and Man, so he added a lot of his understanding of sexual cultivation to it."

"Ever since I began practicing this sword technique, everyone in the world has become a sword in my mind, regardless of appearance, based solely on intuition."

"I have only ever seen one sword like yours, with a rusty blade, a pungent smell, and a twisted body like a snake, but without a hilt."

Mei Qinghe said slowly.

"That sword is called Liu Jinyi."

As she spoke, the woman's trembling stopped.

(End of this chapter)