Chapter 190: Hidden Poison Arrow: Martial Master's Covetousness

The ancient characters rubbed onto Zhou You's body, 6 complete, 8 incomplete.

Among the 14 characters, even the one in the worst condition was clearer and more intact than the one auctioned off.

According to his guess, that previous Tuopian might have undergone secondary, tertiary, or even multiple reproductions.

In metal and stone seal carving, having passed through many hands from ancient times to the present, damage is inevitable.

The first-generation Tuopian is the most complete; someone then invited a skilled craftsman to perform a secondary restoration, which was placed on vessels or stone walls for appreciation and collection, and the version rubbed a second time was already somewhat distorted, and so on, gradually twisting the original appearance of the characters.

Many tiny details were lost in the process of being copied over and over again.

From a professional perspective, Zhou You judged that the true value of that Tuopian was less than 10% remaining.

Even so, it still caused a sensation at the Doujichang, and rumors were spreading everywhere about someone becoming instantly wealthy.

"Nothing left to see!"

Seeing Zhou You about to leave, the martial artist surnamed Ji hurriedly tried to keep him, "Brother Lu, in such a rush to leave!"

"Stay a few more days; tomorrow there is a life-and-death fight, the day after there is a place of tenderness, I guarantee you'll have your eyes opened."

Zhou You waved his hand to decline, "No, I've already had my eyes opened on this trip to Fucheng, I need to set off and return."

"Then let me see you off!"

Zhou You looked at him strangely, "Don't you have your own business?"

The martial artist surnamed Ji felt a thud in his heart, realizing he was too eager and had triggered the other party's alertness, so he hurriedly explained, "Don't misunderstand, I happen to be going out of the city on business tomorrow."

"No need, I'll leave once I've packed up, the time is uncertain."

After watching Zhou You leave, the martial artist surnamed Ji's gaze sank, becoming gloomy and cold.

A moment later, he arrived at a private room in the Doujichang, where 4 people were already waiting inside.

"How did the networking with Du Yan Lu Zhigang go?"

The young man speaking held a folding fan and wore a jade ring at his waist, his eyes long and narrow like a phoenix's; he was a rare handsome man.

When he asked, the tone was strikingly that of a superior to an inferior.

The martial artist surnamed Ji lowered his head, his posture very low, "The other party is very vigilant, I couldn't get any words out of him, he is a thorny character."

Although he had a small notoriety, in front of this young master, it was simply a case of the minor meeting the major.

The dashing young man was named Hua Zhuomo; beneath his beautiful skin was a villain who stopped at nothing, greedy and lustful by nature, taking the cruel abuse of women as his greatest pleasure in life.

He had latched onto a young master from a certain branch of the wealthy Lan family in the city; the two were birds of a feather, offering up many methods of lewd pleasure.

For example, releasing starving vicious dogs to chase young girls, letting them run wildly barefoot through thorn bushes.

Their bodies, white as jade, were either slashed bloody by sharp thorns or chewed to shreds by the vicious dogs.

The vicious dogs were not guilty for eating people, but if a girl dared to fight back and kill a dog, she would be shot dead on the spot.

If hatred could be turned into substance, Hua Zhuomo, this accomplice who acted as a tiger's paw, would have long since been crushed to smithereens.

"Du Yan Lu Zhigang, heh!"

Hua Zhuomo beckoned the martial artist surnamed Ji to his side, "I have a useless junior brother; he doesn't have much skill, but he's better at causing trouble than I am."

"He couldn't make it in Fucheng, so he went to that small place, Gongliang City, to forage, but unexpectedly he capsized in the gutter and fell."

"The one who killed him was Lu Zhigang."

The martial artist to the side laughed obsequiously, "Perfect, let's not let him leave; we'll avenge Brother Hua's junior brother."

"I don't give a damn about avenging that piece of trash."

Hua Zhuomo cursed, "There is a bounty in Gongliang City; the reward for Lu Zhigang is as much as 100,000 taels."

"How about we kill him this time and make a small fortune?"

So that was the real purpose.

Hua Zhuomo went to great lengths to act as a dog for others, but at best he was just a high-class plaything; the noble young masters were not stupid and only treated him as a diversion, never intending to use him for anything important.

He was used to spending money lavishly and was relatively strapped for cash. He had gathered a group of notorious martial artists around him, pondering ways to find paths to make money.

Coincidentally, a few days ago, a martial artist from Su Cheng saw Zhou You appear nearby and reported it to Hua Zhuomo.

Hua Zhuomo was cold-natured by birth and didn't care about his cheap junior brother, but he was very envious of his junior brother's bounty.

"It's settled then; we'll strike outside the city tomorrow, capture Lu Zhigang alive, shave him into a human stick to put in a pickle jar, and squeeze out every bit of oil."

The martial artist surnamed Ji interjected, "Brother Hua, rest assured, I've observed him secretly; Lu Zhigang's aura is definitely that of someone carrying a huge fortune; he looks at everything with a sense of composure."

"When he heard the prices during the transaction, he didn't show any surprise; he must be exceptionally wealthy."

Hua Zhuomo nodded, "It's settled then; his Poison Palm is powerful, we must prepare some measures."

As the few were discussing, someone suddenly spoke in their ears, "How about counting me in?"

The voice was very close, as if someone were standing behind them whispering in their ears, but there was clearly no one behind them.

The tightly closed door of the private room instantly became like paper, easily torn into two halves.

The uninvited guest transmitted his voice first and then appeared, startling Hua Zhuomo and the others into standing up in unison and assuming defensive stances.

"So it's Elder Gao!"

Hua Zhuomo breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the visitor.

The uninvited guest was a Primary Martial Master with graying hair, black spots on his face, and thick, knobby knuckles.

The key was that this martial artist surnamed Gao was a wanted criminal in Fucheng, Gao Laozhuang.

He had originally been supported by a wealthy family and lived without worry, but he had a conflict with a member of that family.

As a Gate Guest, no matter how much one is respected, one is ultimately an outsider hired; the wealthy family naturally favored their own kin.

Over time, Gao Laozhuang bottled up a belly full of anger, feeling he could no longer endure it.

One day the conflict escalated, and he exploded on the spot, tearing the family member he had a feud with into two halves; driven by malice, he didn't stop there and killed every man, woman, and child of that branch, leaving not even a chicken or dog alive.

Before killing them, he didn't waste the opportunity, and with his old waist, he plowed through the female relatives of the other party one by one.

At the time, he had the confidence to do this because the predecessors of the Mowun Stronghold were a shining example; if you can't make it, you can always become a mountain king.

Plus, he had a past friendship with the Great Leader, so if he defected, he could surely become a leader of some sort!

However...

Change is always one step faster than plans.

The day after the killing, news arrived that the Cloud-Touching Stronghold had been destroyed.

Gao Laozhuang was completely stunned; once the bow is drawn, there is no turning back, so he could only walk this path to the end.

The wealthy families reacted swiftly, plastering the entire city with wanted posters for him, and everywhere were martial artists looking to take his head to claim the reward.

Hua Zhuomo rolled his eyes twice, "If Old Gao wants to join us, we warmly welcome him."

"Join you, heh, look at yourself to see if you're worthy; I'll sit back and split the loot, taking only a cut, not participating."

Gao Laozhuang said arrogantly.

Hua Zhuomo stared at him, remembering that this old thing also had a bounty of 70,000 taels of silver! He laughed heartily, "Deal, Old Gao, sorry for the trouble, just hold the line for us, and after it's done, we'll give you 50 percent."

"70 percent."

Hua Zhuomo's few accomplices were furious; if pushed too far, they would just tear off the mask.

The one surnamed Gao couldn't see the light of day, so at worst, they would just part ways.

The Doujichang was inconvenient; once they left here, there would be plenty of ways to deal with him.

"70 percent it is, Old Gao, happy to cooperate."

One conspiracy, two groups of people, harboring seven or eight ulterior motives, joined together, brewing a plot in the shadows.

(End of this chapter)