The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 493 Farm
"Speak of it."

On the muddy official road that had just thawed in early spring, Wu Mingxiao, riding his horse, turned to ask Li Miao.

"Brother Li, if we're going back to Dengzhou, shouldn't we head north, through Nanjing, into Shandong? Why do we seem to be heading northeast, towards Zhejiang?"

Li Miao sat slouched on his horse and said lazily.

"What, in a hurry?"

Wu Mingxiao waved his hands repeatedly.

"No, no, I was just asking."

Li Miao then smiled and said.

"Have you forgotten that you haven't wiped your own butt clean yet?"

Wu Mingxiao was taken aback, then suddenly raised his hand and smacked his head.

The events in Fukang County were so outrageous for him that his mind was still preoccupied with the sordid affairs of the Huang family, and he almost forgot about what had happened to him.

The matter of his family being wiped out, including his magistrate, is still unresolved.

Li Miao helped him deal with a group of pursuers, but that was far from all. There might still be someone chasing after them, or even setting up an ambush on their only route, waiting for them to run into them.

Heading straight towards Dengzhou would be like walking into a trap.

Taking a detour can actually save you a lot of trouble.

Wu Mingxiao nodded, feeling that he understood.

Zhao Ying, who was standing next to her, smiled silently.

She knew that Wu Mingxiao thought Li Miao was trying to avoid trouble, but putting aside the fact that Li Miao had caused such a commotion in Fukang County, the three of them had been traveling on the official road the whole way without concealing their whereabouts. How could they be avoiding trouble?
Rather, it's more accurate to say that the Japanese are active at sea, and the closer they get to the coast, the more serious the Japanese threat becomes... Li Miao's detour to the northeast is not to avoid disaster, but rather to try to wipe out the thieves in one fell swoop, right?
But Zhao Ying was no longer the naive girl Li Miao had first met. Knowing the saying that the more she said, the more mistakes she would make, she didn't say anything at all, and just rocked the baby in her arms.

"Wow--"

As they rocked the child, he suddenly opened his eyes and started crying.

Children this age need to be fed every one or two hours, and they are clearly hungry right now.

Before Zhao Ying could speak, Li Miao waved his hand.

"I've been traveling for half a day, and I'm exhausted."

"There seems to be a village up ahead. Let's rest there for a while."

So the three of them rode forward, and after about a quarter of an hour, they arrived outside the manor. They dismounted and led their horses toward the gate.

This is a farm, the land owned by a landlord from the nearby city. It is usually managed by a trusted steward, and tenants cultivate the land and pay rent. Due to the existence of the Great Shuo Jianghu (江湖, a term referring to the martial arts world of the Northern Wei Dynasty), the farm is usually guarded to prevent passing Jianghu people from robbing them of their money.

The three men were dressed in ways that suggested they were ordinary people, and Wu Mingxiao had a knife at his waist. Before they even reached the entrance of the manor, someone called out from afar.

"Gentlemen, please wait a moment."

"Could you please state your name and purpose of visit?"

The sound grew louder as it approached, and a short, stocky man carrying a whistle ran over, smiling kindly at the three of them.

"Gentlemen, this is the property of Dayan Hall. If you are fellow martial artists passing through, Dayan Hall will naturally welcome you with open arms. However, we would like you to state your names so that we can inform the elders of our sect and avoid being scolded by our elders for neglecting our distinguished guests."

Wow—Wu Mingxiao was stunned by this whole set of words.

Look at what it means to be human.

Wu Mingxiao was a hothead, and Zhao Ying was a woman, so naturally Li Miao had to give the reply.

He stepped forward and said with a smile.

"The wandering heroes of the martial arts world: Li Sen, Wu Mingxiao, and Zhao Ying."

"I'm just passing by and have nowhere to stay. I'll ask for a bowl of tea and a place to stay for the night. I'll leave at dawn."

As he spoke, he raised his hand and handed over a silver ingot.

The short, stocky man's expression had initially relaxed slightly upon hearing the words "wandering martial arts master," but upon seeing the money, he immediately became much more enthusiastic.

"Easy to say, easy to say."

"Please follow me. There are no delicacies here, but we have plenty of simple tea and wine. I hope the three of you don't mind!"

Li Miao smiled and waved his hand. "If you don't mind, just eat it."

The short, stocky man choked for a moment, gave Li Miao a strange look, but didn't take it to heart. He smiled and led the three of them into the farm, introducing the farm as they walked.

“My surname is Gao, and my given name is Lei. It seems I have a connection with Brother Li.”

Gao Lei drew the character "森" (sēn) in the air with his finger, then drew the character "磊" (lěi), and said with a smile.

"This is the farm of my Dayan Hall. I am a steward in the sect. Some time ago... heh, I made a small mistake and was sent here. Actually, it's a good way to relax."

"However, I'm surrounded by farmers every day and rarely see any fellow travelers from the martial world. It's quite frustrating. It's fate that I've met you three today. How about we have a drink and a chat, and I can show you some hospitality?"

Li Miao has no problem with it.

As the group walked forward, a man suddenly appeared from the front. He was tall and thin, with a long face and a sword at his waist. He questioned them with an unfriendly expression.

"Senior Brother Gao, who are these people?!"

"You've brought in outsiders again!"

Gao Lei was smiling, but his face fell when he saw this person.

"Wu Zhi... what's it to you!"

"If you have something to say, say it; if not, go play with your balls!"

The horse-faced man's face darkened.

"you!"

"Gao Lei, I call you senior brother, and you really act like one! You came to me with your skills, and it was only because our master thought you had a decent character that he accepted you. How come you still can't shake off this bandit mentality!"

"If you don't change, your master won't tolerate you next time!"

Gao Lei didn't hesitate at all and still grinned.

"Go play with your eggs."

"Last time I hit you on the left side, it swelled up for three days, and you even walked with your toes pointing to the left. Now you still dare to bastard in front of me? Believe me or not, I'll hit you on the right side!"

The horse-faced man named Wu Zhi blushed and tried to speak.

Gao Lei raised the stick in his hand.

He instinctively took a step back, raised his sword to block his groin, and realized that Gao Lei was just trying to scare him before he was furious. However, he didn't dare to actually fight him, so he could only glare at Li Miao and turn to leave.

"Ah."

Li Miao narrowed his eyes and flicked his wrist.

"what!"

Wu Zhi suddenly screamed in pain, his front foot slipped, and he did a split. Just then, the long sword at his waist swung down to his groin, the scabbard slamming into the ground and sticking upwards.

"Holy crap!"

Wu Zhi collapsed to his knees with a thud, clutching his groin with both hands, his face turning deathly pale as he rolled around in agony.

Gao Lei was taken aback at first, then suddenly turned to look at Li Miao.

"Uh, brother?"

Li Miao flicked her nails and said with a smile.

"The Foot Jueyin Liver Meridian passes through the genitals, and the Foot Shaoyang Meridian encircles the pubic hair."

"I've controlled the pressure, so only the right side will swell, about three to five times its normal size, enough for your junior brother to play with for a while."

Gao Lei's eyes widened suddenly.

Then, a sudden surge of joy, as if saying "Who says there are no friends on the road ahead?" welled up in his eyes, and he burst into laughter.

"Hahaha, Brother Li is quite a remarkable person!"

"Come on, let's go! No need to go to the guest rooms, let's go to my room and have a good drink!"

(End of this chapter)