Chapter 148 - 47: Someone Even More Arrogant Than Gu Zhan
Snowflakes drifted down, piling thickly all over the Hundred Households Office.
Gu Zhan followed that gap-toothed old man to the East Courtyard of the Hundred Households Office.
"Lay the cards, lay the cards! Lost? Cough up the money!"
"Six, six, six! Five-card high..."
"Drink up, drink!"
"..."
As soon as he stepped into the gate, he heard a burst of raucous noise. All kinds of laughter and shouting echoed, and mixed in with it were voices of women.
Gu Zhan immediately frowned.
Nowadays, the Embroidered Uniform Guard of Great Xia really had fallen into a local organization, subordinate to the Prefecture Government. The special imperial rights as the Emperor’s Personal Guard and supervisors of officials were all gone, but locally, they’d been left with the power to suppress the Martial World. Later, the local Government Office even handed over the Inspection Bureau’s authority to maintain order to the Embroidered Uniform Guard as well.
At this point, the Embroidered Uniform Guard was, in name, a bit like the police station of later times.
Even before, in Linjiang City, the Embroidered Uniform Guard had already become a shield for the rich, but at least, on the surface, they still maintained some pretense of order.
Gu Zhan knew Yunxi’s Embroidered Uniform Guard was corrupt,
But he didn’t expect it to be this rotten,
Not only drinking and gambling in the Hundred Households Office, but actually hiring prostitutes too,
This wasn’t even about corruption anymore,
They simply didn’t give a damn about the Embroidered Uniform Guard!
The old man saw Gu Zhan’s face darken, and quickly said, "Lord, Pingyang City has always been like this. You’ll get used to it in time..."
Gu Zhan ignored him, marched right up and kicked open the main doors with a loud "Bang!"
There were a dozen husky men in the main hall,
Some groping women while playing cards, some gulping wine, and some, more outrageous still, openly flirting with whores in front of everyone.
With the door kicked open, a clamor exploded,
"Who the hell is that? Kicking the door open in this freezing weather!?"
"What dumb bastard’s eaten shit,"
"Shut the damn door, is it not cold enough for you!?"
"..."
The whole group turned and stared, all looking puzzled when they saw Gu Zhan.
One man yelled at the old fellow beside Gu Zhan, cursing, "Elder Huang, what the fuck are you doing, bringing people in here? If he wants a case handled, tell him to pay one hundred taels of silver first—come back tomorrow! Hurry up and get lost with your guy!"
Elder Huang laughed awkwardly and said respectfully, "Sirs, this... isn’t here for a case. He’s the new Lord Thousand Households, just arrived!"
The words had barely fallen,
The main hall went silent for a moment.
Then, a man with his shirt stripped off gave the half-naked woman in his arms a pat, then called out to Gu Zhan, "So it’s Lord Thousand Households—sorry for not welcoming you earlier. Thing is, Lord, today the brothers are all a bit occupied. You’ll have to make do for the night yourself. Tomorrow the Lords Hundred Households will set you up. Make yourself at home, and close the door on your way out—it’s cold!"
Gu Zhan narrowed his eyes and shouted, "All of you, get dressed and get the fuck outside, now!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Gu Zhan kicked a brazier, sending a cloud of burning charcoal flying toward the men, who screamed and scrambled to their feet in shock.
"Are you out of your fucking mind!?"
"Son of a bitch!"
"Fuck your mother..."
The Embroidered Uniform Guard thugs erupted in curses, everyone spewing filth from their mouths.
Gu Zhan’s face was grim,
He’d never seen Embroidered Uniform Guards with such utter disregard for rank—even when he’d chopped down several Shangguan himself, at most folks spat out curses when dying. On normal days, they still gave their superiors basic respect.
Charcoal from the brazier was scattered everywhere,
No one could stay put anymore; they all jumped up one after another.
The leader grabbed a Flying Fish Robe exclusive to Chief Banners, threw it over his shoulders, his face dark. This must be the Chief Banner Zhang Elder Huang mentioned.
"Lord Thousand Households, what’s the meaning of this?" Chief Banner Zhang said coolly.
Immediately, the rest of the dozen Embroidered Uniform Guards closed in behind Chief Banner Zhang, faces thunderous.
At this sight,
Elder Huang beside Gu Zhan gulped in fright, quickly tugging Gu Zhan’s sleeve and whispering, "Sir, maybe just apologize and let this go..."
Gu Zhan shook him off, looked at Chief Banner Zhang and said coldly, "What, you think I have to answer to you for my actions?"
Chief Banner Zhang sneered, "Lord Thousand Households, you sure like playing the tyrant, but you’ve brought your act to the wrong place. In Pingyang City, there’s never a shortage of officials—worst comes to worst, we’ll just swap you out."
Gu Zhan chuckled, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "Impressive, really impressive. I thought I was the cockiest bastard around, but I see Pingyang City just opened my eyes. Guess I’ve been too restrained!"
As soon as he finished,
Gu Zhan reversed his grip and drew his saber. Instantly,
The only sound in the hall was a clear "shing" before the saber’s flash streaked through the room,
a breath of silence, and then,
With a wet splatter, Chief Banner Zhang’s body exploded apart, split into jagged pieces. Blood sprayed everywhere, leaving everyone in the room shocked out of their wits.
No one knew how to react, just blank-faced with confusion,
"Ah!"
"Murder—there’s been a killing..."
"..."
The next moment,
the voices of the whores in the room erupted in panicked, hysterical screaming!
"Shut up, all of you, and get on your knees!"
Gu Zhan unleashed his cultivation and roared. The sound was so powerful it made everyone’s ears ring with stabbing pain.
With a heavy thump,
The man closest to Gu Zhan was shaking all over, face splattered with blood, eyes wild with terror. At Gu Zhan’s roar, he dropped to his knees, scared witless.
A moment later, the other ten or so Embroidered Uniform Guards all dropped to their knees, too.
"Lord, spare us!"
"Lord, we beg for mercy!"
"..."
Gu Zhan narrowed his eyes, wiped his blade clean, and said coldly, "Get your clothes on, then get outside and kneel!"
The Embroidered Uniform Guards frantically threw on their clothes, and after a scramble, all ran out into the courtyard and knelt in the snow.
Gu Zhan took a chair out under the eaves, sat down, put his feet up, watching the snow swirl outside and the men shivering in the snow, then gestured for Elder Huang to pour tea.
Snowflakes fluttered; the group kneeling in the snow was shivering, not daring to move. Gu Zhan crossed one leg, sipped hot tea, then pointed at a few men and ordered, "Go notify all Chief Banner Councillors and Hundred Households to come see me here, now."
"Yes, yes, at your command!"
"Right away, sir!"
As a few men were reaching the gate, they suddenly stopped,
An old man wrapped in a brocade robe entered with hands behind his back, cupped his fist, and said, "Respectfully, Lord Thousand Households. I am Advisor Liu from the official records Room. Sir, you arrive and immediately start killing and punishing men—isn’t that rather inappropriate..."
He never finished the sentence,
Advisor Liu’s head flew off into the snow, eyes still wide with confusion.
The body fell hard, blood splashing everywhere,
and everybody in the courtyard was stunned.
"What kind of dumbass are you? You think you have the right to tell me how to do things?"
Gu Zhan calmly slid Horizontal Saber back into its scabbard, picked up his tea, gently blew on it, and looked over at the Embroidered Uniform Guards by the door, speaking softly: "What are you standing there for? Go call the others!"