"The Embroidered Uniform Guard is handling business. Those who don't want to die can kneel down now."
Li Miao said.
Undoubtedly, this was blatant insult. Especially for people of the Jianghu who valued face more than life, this kind of taken-for-granted contempt was more difficult to accept than a drawn blade.
The blue veins on the necks of several Inner Sect Disciples in the room bulged.
Of course, no one knelt, but no one dared to retort.
It was because of Li Miao's waist token as a Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
First, execute; then, report to the Emperor. The Emperor's special permission. If one or two Embroidered Uniform Guards came to your door, there would still be room for attaching oneself to, making connections, and bribing. But when this kind of Imperial Court lackey appeared at your doorstep in a large group, it meant that you were someone the Emperor had nodded to kill.
Even though the Jianghu and the Imperial Court had been at arm's length since ancient times, it didn't mean you could boldly shout, "I am not Your Majesty's subject." Only if you maintained appearances would you have your own interests.
Not giving the Embroidered Uniform Guard face was not giving the Imperial Court face, which was not giving the Emperor face.
Now, if you wanted to be the first to step forward for your own face and cause trouble, the Sect Leader would also kill you, this unfilial and unrighteous person, with a single palm strike to give the Imperial Court face.
This was the thought of the Sect's disciples. And the lone Green Forest Way and Underworld figures were simply afraid of the Embroidered Uniform Guard's violence.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard were orphans without parents, selected from a young age for their talent. The materials for their Cultivation Methods and strengthening their muscles and bones were no less than those of the Inner Sect Disciples of Famous Sects, and they often engaged in dangerous activities. They had talent, Cultivation Methods, and sweat, and they didn't lack experience in life-and-death combat.
It could be said that each of the dozen or so Young Men in Black Clothes blocking the door had the level of Enter the Hall in both internal and external cultivation. And if you were to pick people from the Jianghu with similar internal and external cultivation to fight, few could survive against these people.
Kneeling was impossible, and fear was also real, so the atmosphere became tense.
Li Miao saw that no one responded for a long time, but he wasn't annoyed. He just chuckled, "Oh, stubborn person."
Yan Xiaosheng, who had been holding his Wine Cup for a long time without moving, coughed a few times, revealing his signature amiable smile. He came down from the main seat and walked towards Li Miao, smiling as he walked, "Officer, Officer, I don't know where my shop has offended you. I apologize to you."
Before he could finish speaking, halfway through his walk, someone flashed out from behind Li Miao, staring at him coldly, forcing him to stop.
Li Miao didn't even look at him and walked a few steps into the room. The line of Embroidered Uniform Guards guarding the door also followed forward like a wall, forcing the few people sitting at the door to quickly dodge. In the chaos, some tables, chairs, and bowls were knocked over, making a loud crashing sound.
Of course, some of them, who were self-important or for the sake of face, didn't move.
Li Miao walked to a table, looked down, and suddenly realized, "Isn't this Hero Gu of the Huashan Sect?"
"Clear Wind Sword" Gu Jiao stood up and cupped his hands towards him, neither servile nor overbearing, "Sir."
"Hero Gu, instead of practicing swordsmanship at the Mountain Gate, are you here to visit relatives in the Imperial City? Or visit friends?"
"Visiting friends."
"Oh, what friends are you visiting? Are they in this room?" Li Miao asked seriously.
He seemed to be asking casually, but he couldn't answer casually. Every question from the Embroidered Uniform Guard could be deadly.
Gu Jiao was silent for a long time, hesitated again and again, and finally let out a sigh, saying, "No, not here."
"That's good. I heard that your beloved daughter has been slightly ill these past few days. Shouldn't Hero Gu hurry back to see her?"
This sentence made Gu Jiao, who had made a name for himself in the Jianghu with the "Clear Wind Sword," turn pale.
This sentence could be understood as: I know who you have, and what's going on with them recently.
Of course, it could also be understood as: You wouldn't want your beloved daughter to really get sick, would you?
Li Miao leaned over, lowered his voice, and said in a low voice that almost everyone in the room could hear, "You wouldn't kneel."
“Let you roll, you should roll, right?”
Gu Jiao's complexion was extremely ugly. He gritted his teeth and hesitated for a moment, looked at Li Miao, then looked at Yan Xiaosheng, and finally raised his sleeve to cover his face and ran out the door. The Huashan Sect's disciples also followed behind and ran out together.
Li Miao didn't care, and turned to point at someone else's name, "Hero Hu of the Caobang, I've heard of you for a long time."
Hu Shuang's complexion was ugly. He stood up, clasped his fists towards Yan Xiaosheng, and said, "Let's go." Then he led several of the Caobang's personnel out the door.
These two were the most influential people in the room. When they left, the remaining people from the Second or Third-rate sects in the room also hurriedly stood up together and ran out behind Hu Shuang.
The Embroidered Uniform Guards blocking the door cleared the way. They were coming for Yan Xiaosheng this time and didn't bother dealing with these people.
In a short while, the originally bustling Tavern was empty, leaving only a few Green Forest Way and Underworld wanted criminals who were being watched closely by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Yan Xiaosheng, Da De, one of Yan Xiaosheng's underlings, and the two thugs who had been beaten half to death.
Li Miao walked inside to the main seat, stretched out his leg, hooked a chair, and sat down.
He raised his hand and greeted Yan Xiaosheng, who had been standing there for a long time, "Leader Yan, come, sit, sit."
Yan Xiaosheng sat down opposite Li Miao, and the sound of fighting came from behind.
It was Da De, who saw the situation was not good and wanted to rush out the door to escape. He was hit in the face with a scabbard by the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and half a tooth was spat out. Then he was pressed to the ground, with a foot on the back of his head. At this moment, his mouth and nose were buried in the ground, and he was constantly making a muffled whimper.
Yan Xiaosheng didn't dare to look back, and Li Miao didn't care. He waved his hand in that direction.
Chh—
The sound of blood spraying was heard, and a long, narrow blade pierced through the neck. Not long ago, Da De, who had been showing off his power and beating people to death, twitched his limbs a few times and then made no sound.
The two thugs who were disposing of the bodies were directly scared unconscious.
Li Miao didn't show any reaction. He had been in the Embroidered Uniform Guard for twenty years. For him, the death of a person in front of him was as normal as breathing.
He picked up the Wine Pot, poured a cup for Yan Xiaosheng, and poured a cup for himself.
"Leader Yan, you know you can't live, right?"
Yan Xiaosheng's complexion was ashen, and he nodded.
The Embroidered Uniform Guard came to his door, and they were still looking for a Underworld leader like him. It was either confiscation of his family's property or destroying his sect. When Li Miao spoke, his last sliver of wishful thinking also vanished.
Li Miao nodded and continued, "This time, it was originally the job of a Centurion, not for me, a Clerk Commander, to do."
“But we checked Leader Yan's business and found that it was very extensive. Brothel （, Brothel ）, Underlings （, Underworld ）, swindling （, and gambling dens ）, you've made a lot of money over the years, right?”
Yan Xiaosheng was from the Underworld. At this moment, he knew that this hurdle couldn't be overcome, so he no longer had an amiable expression. He revealed his unruly nature and picked up the Wine Cup and drank it all in one gulp.
He raised his sleeve and wiped his mouth, and said with ridicule, "I'm just earning a hard-earned living. The big money is still taken by people like you, Sir."
“Yes, yes, that's how it is. So I came over.” Li Miao poured another cup for Yan Xiaosheng.
“According to reason, your Martial Arts is also at the level of a Second-rate Sect Leader. If you were outside, you might be able to be a local tyrant. But in this Yanjing, if you want to do business so widely, it's still a little short just relying on Martial Arts.”
“We also found out that you're involved with a lot of people. It's easy to cause trouble if we confiscate your property, and it's too much trouble.”
“But we want both your life and your money.”
“So, I, the Commander in charge of money, came here to talk business with you.”