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Chapter 374 The Evil Beggar
Meng Hao was stunned for a moment, then flew into a rage.

"It's just a few days late, and you're already planning to kill someone?"

But the beggar laughed.

“Brother, you’re mistaken. It’s just missing some organs, how could it possibly kill you? Besides, you chose what you were handing over to, you could have just found some places that weren’t really useful.”

Judging from his expression, this man was completely fearless, and as soon as he finished speaking, the beggars around him surrounded him with the same sinister smiles.

Meng Hao coldly drew his sword.

Seeing that the situation was becoming increasingly tense, Horn sighed again and stepped forward.

But this time he neither tried to persuade nor tried to break up the fight; he only said one sentence.

"Tell Yu Sanzhi that Chahara has come to visit. If he doesn't want his whole family to die, he should let us in right away."

This time, the beggar was stunned for three or four breaths, looking at Horn as if he were a madman, and then suddenly burst into a burst of wild laughter.

“Interesting. This is the first time in years you’ve dared to threaten the boss like this. Brothers, let’s go. But remember not to break him too badly, because the boss will have to see it for himself later.”

The beggar wasn't worried about anything else—he knew his gang leader's personality well. Even if these two guys were really there to do things, they were basically dead the moment they said those words.

In fact, if the boss saw this, he would be even more ruthless.

However, just as those people were about to surround him, Horn suddenly shook his head and then, as if very reluctantly, took out a small string of beads.

The beggar initially wanted to mock him, wondering if the guy had been listening to too many storytelling performances and really thought he was some kind of all-powerful imperial guard.

However, looking at the string of beads, for some reason, he had a strange sense of familiarity. It was as if someone had told him about this before, but he couldn't recall it no matter what.

As he watched his men slowly surround them, and the two men didn't even offer the slightest resistance, this feeling grew stronger and stronger, to the point that he couldn't help but shout out.

"stop!"

His subordinates were quite obedient, stopping all their movements instantly, but they also turned around and looked at him with suspicion.

As his memories became clearer, he finally remembered a sentence his eldest brother had once said.

A stern warning.

Holy crap, this is serious!

In an instant, the beggar's expression became extremely interesting.

It was a sudden realization, a moment of helplessness, a sense of terror, a panic, and finally...

It all turned into flattery.

"Come, come, gentlemen, it was my fault for being blind and not recognizing your greatness. I beg you, gentlemen, to forgive my mistake this time."

His men were quite taken aback by his sudden change of heart, but he quickly slapped them across the face.

"What are you looking at! Can't you see that these two gentlemen have been waiting here for so long? Get out of the way!"

Immediately, he bent down and, mimicking a human, made a gesture of invitation.

"Come, come, sir, please come in. I'll show you the way!"

His initial arrogance followed by obsequiousness was utterly ridiculous. Meng Hao seemed a little dazed, but Horn had already gone inside first.

As soon as I entered, I immediately smelled the scent of blood.

The room looked like an ordinary workshop, with poor lighting, relying on a few lit candles for dim illumination. The smell of blood lingered, mixed with the faint stench of entrails.

In this situation, only one word came to Meng Hao's mind.

Slaughterhouse.

The beggar, with a fawning smile, spoke to the two of them.

"I'm sorry, gentlemen. Today is the start of work, and I don't know where the boss is on his inspection tour. I can only lead you to search room by room. Are you in a bit of a hurry?"

Horn nodded casually.

"No rush, as long as we can see each other today, that's fine."

"Alright then, in that case, please follow me closely—this place is a maze of interconnected roads, and we've even put up some special disguises, so it's easy to get lost if you're not careful."

Soon, the beggar led them to a room after several turns.

Here, the smell of blood has become almost tangible.

He didn't knock, but just casually pushed the door open and asked.

"Hey, is the boss here?"

However, what answered him was a piece of blood-red coarse cloth thrown at him.

"You bastard, you almost scared me to death! Don't you know we do delicate work? What if I, your grandpa, made a mistake and you couldn't afford to pay for it?!"

The beggar wasn't annoyed. Instead, he chuckled and took the cloth, licked it with his tongue, and then said...

"What kind of delicate work is this? It's not much different from butchering a pig. By the way, have you seen the boss? Do you know where he is?"

"Boss? He already inspected this place a long time ago. As for where he is now, you're asking me? I haven't left this house since this morning."

At this moment, Horn and Meng Hao also came in.

Horn remained calm, his expression unchanged. However, Meng Hao frowned immediately upon entering the room, and his expression grew increasingly grim as he habitually scanned the room.

Upon seeing them, the beggar turned and pulled over a man wearing a cowhide apron, then said with a smile.

"Let me introduce you, gentlemen. This is our craftsman. Because he always smells bad, you can call him Stinky Feet Zhang."

"You little brat, are you asking for a beating? I already told you if you dare call me that again, I'll skin you alive."

However, Meng Hao did not watch the two of them making a scene.

He simply turned his gaze to the table in front of 'Stinky Feet Zhang'.

Lying on the platform was a man—judging from his slightly overweight appearance, he must have come from a well-off family. However, his face was extremely pale, and his eyes were fixed on the two of them, as if he wanted to ask for help, but all he could make was a twitching sound like a frog on its deathbed.

Below, the man had already been disemboweled.

The rusty iron hook sliced ​​open the man's body, exposing his bloodied chest and abdomen to the air.
Most of the items had already been picked out and neatly arranged on the cutting board next to them.

Seeing Meng Hao's gaze, the beggar offered an explanation.

"Is this the first time you two have met? This is a business we've had for a long time. Because many fellow practitioners need various organs as materials for their cultivation, we occasionally seek out high-quality meat for our purposes—for example, this bone marrow, which is an essential ingredient in the Five Nectars of Tantric Buddhism. Those masters order an extremely large quantity every year, but they require it to be taken from a living person. And then there's this person's gallbladder and stomach; those guys from the Ghost Walker Sect usually pay a high price for them."

Before he could finish speaking, Meng Hao coldly interrupted, "Were you planning to do this to us just now too?"

The beggar shamelessly said...

"Tsk, wasn't that a misunderstanding? If I had known your identities earlier, I wouldn't have dared to offend you even if you gave me eight lives. Since the boss isn't here, let's go check out the next place."

—The smell of blood was less intense in the second room, but the screams suddenly became extremely violent.

In the corner of the room were several cages, some of which were clearly belonging to children who had fled famine or been trafficked. Most of them had lifeless eyes and were crying bitterly, while a few were already soiled with excrement and urine.

That's not their fault.

There was still a platform in the room, on which a boy was tightly chained, wailing incessantly. A man, also wearing a leather apron, was holding a saw, circling the boy several times, measuring his arm—

Next, align it and saw it off.

(Censored.)
Then, it aimed at another one.

Meng Hao suppressed his nausea and asked again.

"Is this also what you're selling?"

The beggar answered with a smile.

"Sir, you must be joking. An arm isn't a pig's trotter. Who would we sell it to if we cut it off?"

"Then what are you doing?"

"Sir, have you ever heard of forced labor or mutilation?"

"never heard of that."

"Then let me explain it to you now."

The beggar pointed to the child who had already fainted.

"Sir, think about it yourself. If you happen to have a few copper coins, and two beggars are begging from you at the same time, one of them is able-bodied and has a rosy complexion, while the other is a disabled and emaciated child, which one would you give alms to?"

Meng Hao said coldly.

"You mean"

"That's right, this is also an old tradition of our Beggars' Sect. Every time we get our hands on a virgin, we sell the girls directly to brothels, and we sell the boys if we can sell them. If we can't sell them, we keep them and make them into these things specifically for making money."

"Can"

Meng Hao wanted to say something more, but a calm, almost emotionless voice came from the side.

"gone."

When his superiors give orders, Meng Hao has no choice but to obey.

After that, they went through several more rooms, each one utterly disgusting, each one far beyond what a normal person could imagine, and could only be described as inhumanly horrific.

Meng Hao gradually got used to it, while Huo En seemed to have seen him many times before, his face showing not a single expression.

Only when they reached the last house did a man covered in blood and gore, whose face was no longer recognizable, speak.

"You mean the eldest brother? He just left, he should be back in the main hall by now, right?"

The beggar's expression instantly became incredibly interesting. He glanced at Horn and the other man behind him, and in the end, he could only force a smile.

"Um, I'm really sorry to have taken up your time, it's just so unfortunate. But there's one advantage—at least that place is much quieter than here."
-
The beggar is right about that.

The main hall is located in the inner courtyard, and it seems to be where these people live. It is specially separated from those 'workshops' and is also far away from the lingering screams and stench of blood.

When the beggar led them into the house, the man known as "Yu the Three-Fingers," also known as Chief Yu, had been notified and was already waiting there for a long time.

To be honest, after witnessing so many cruel and bloody events, Meng Hao had expected to see a ruthless butcher radiating murderous intent, or a vicious middle-aged man with a sinister face. But the man before him...
This was truly beyond his expectations.

Sitting in front of him was a middle-aged man with a fair complexion and a kind face.

The other person was dressed simply and meticulously, exuding a scholarly air. He looked like a scholar with some academic achievements, rather than a leader of a beggars' clan who had committed countless evil deeds.

Could this be a mistake?

However, Horn's actions immediately refuted this idea.

He straightened his back and finally showed a professional smile.

"Long time no see, Chief Yu."

The middle-aged man's smile was also very friendly.
"Is this Chahar? Hey, you people always have a different facade every time I meet you. I remember the last time we met was five or six years ago, wasn't it?"

"Yes, at that time we were together besieging the remnants of the Heavenly Calculation Clan. The bravery of our leader at that time has always been remembered by both the imperial court and me."

"Alright, alright, that was so long ago. Besides, I gained quite a few benefits back then. At least I managed to get my hands on the inheritance of the Heavenly Calculation." The middle-aged man waved his hand—and only then did Meng Hao notice that this man's right hand indeed only had three fingers. "Let's not waste any more words. Just say what brings you here."

Horn didn't mince words and said...

"The purpose of my visit to the gang leader this time is very simple; it was arranged by the Empress Dowager."

However, before he could finish speaking, Yu Sanzhi frowned.

"The Empress Dowager?"

"Yes."

Then this person's expression changed instantly.

"We can't help you, we can't help you. We're just lowly thugs, doing nothing but thugs. How could we possibly get involved in your court's important affairs? I want to live a few more years, I really don't want to get into trouble and die so young. Guards, show them out!"

However, Horn did not move. He waved away the beggar who approached him and then calmly said.

"Chief Yu is too modest. Although you are just holed up in the small city of Zhangping, as far as I know, you have quite a lot of influence. It's one thing to be low-class, but over the years you have gathered a lot of evil factions. At least in the entire northern region, you are practically the only one who can be called the boss in the underworld."

Yu Sanzhi's expression suddenly turned cold, but he immediately chuckled.

"As expected of the last hounds of the Qing Dynasty, you guys have a really keen nose. I reckon you would have obeyed me ten years ago, but now... I don't really want to say anything unpleasant. After all, we're still friends, so let's part ways amicably. Xiao Wu, what are you standing there for? Didn't you hear what I said? Show them out."

Horn's expression gradually turned cold, but he still managed to say something in the end.

This sentence instantly made the room so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"Chief Yu, it's alright if I leave this time, but if I leave, I'm afraid your plan to raise evil spirits for your own use will be exposed."

(End of this chapter)