Chapter 183: Lofty Pawns

Chapter183: The Swan-Goose and the Common Soldier

The burly man saw his attitude turn cold all of a sudden, and scratched his head in some embarrassment. "It's nothing much, just that the brothers saw a lot of regulars running off to that other place, and they're worried about the shop's business."

"Are you worried the proprietor won't be able to pay out on time?"

Gu Yong pierced straight through the man's thoughts with a single sentence, speaking rudely: "These matters aren't for you to worry about. Just do your proper jobs well. Don't go thinking wild thoughts all day long; having a divided heart is no good thing!"

"If Little Gu puts it that way... haha, fine!"

The burly man laughed loudly, a savage ferocity suddenly rising on his face. His figure erupted violently, a fist smashing Gu Yong into the ground!

*Bang!* Followed by a sweeping kick to the chest.

Gu Yong fell into the rainy mud, his body curling like a cooked shrimp, hands clutching his abdomen, retching up mouth vomiting great gulps of sour bile.

"You son of a bitch are just a stinking pimp, what are you acting all high and mighty for in front of me? A divided heart? Pah!"

The burly man spat disdainfully. "Really think you're the boss? You're nothing but a piece of trash who had his chip dug out! Acting loyal in front of me, I'd say you're looking to die!"

Half of Gu Yong's face was submerged in the filthy water, the intense pain nearly making him faint.

The source of this pain wasn't just the beaten areas, but mostly came from the back of his skull.

Gu Yong raised a trembling hand, feeling inch by inch along his cheek toward the back of his head.

The skin under his fingers was extremely rough, then a depression a good two inches square suddenly appeared there.

Through the fragile skin, his fingertips could still clearly feel the blood flowing within... even the trembling brain tissue.

Even if his eyes couldn't see, Gu Yong knew clearly just how horrific this wound was.

I clearly remember this was from a robbery slash, why does he say someone dug out my chip?

Chip... I originally had a chip?

Being berated publicly by a pimp made the burly man feel he'd lost face.

Especially the mocking gazes of the companions around him, which fueled his anger further. One kick after another, he stomped viciously on Gu Yong.

"Don't think just because the boss bought you for fifty thousand treasure notes you're more precious than us. Daring to lecture me, today I'll show you my power!"

I was bought?

Who sold me?

Gu Yong hugged his head, his eyes revealing deep bewilderment.

Another foot stomped down, his face ground into the sewage, a cluster of fine, dense bubbles immediately foaming at his mouth and nose.

"Mmph..."

The burly man moved his twitching foot away, crouched down, grabbed Gu Yong by the hair and hauled him up to a sitting position, grinning savagely: "What did you say? Speak louder!"

"I... I... who am I?"

Gu Yong's eyes were hollow, blood mixing with slurred syllables spraying out bit by bit.

*Slap!*

A heavy backhand landed on his cheek, and even more blood gushed from Gu Yong's mouth and nose.

"Old Wang, ease up a bit, don't beat him to death. This kid is the proprietor's gold-medal pimp; careful the proprietor comes looking for trouble."

Among the thugs watching the show, someone spoke up to persuade him.

"Afraid of what? This shop's going to close sooner or later anyway. I'll just go apply at that new place near Luohan Temple later; I don't believe he'd dare come find trouble there!"

The burly man replied indifferently, raising his hand again and shaking him violently!

*Slap! Slap! Slap!*

Successive heavy blows plunged Gu Yong's consciousness into a trance.

He struggled to open his heavy eyelids, but could only see a shaking, overlapping, blurred world.

His vision swayed with his shaking head; when it swept past the alley entrance, he vaguely saw a figure holding an umbrella, standing straight there.

Those eyes look so familiar.

Why... do I want to dig them out so badly?

"Who the hell are you, stand back if you're watching the fun."

"Don't want trouble then scram. I'm warning you, don't meddle in other people's business!"

"Ah!!"

In the trance, Gu Yong felt the hand clamping his throat suddenly let go.

Without the external force, his body slumped in the rainwater, swaying back and forth.

He gritted his teeth, ten fingers suddenly digging into the cracks of the ground, forcing himself not to fall back into the rainwater.

Suddenly, a dense, warm rain fell on his face, bringing a faint glimmer of light back to Gu Yong's dimming vision.

This time Gu Yong finally saw clearly; those extraordinarily familiar eyes were right before him.

"Who am I?"

"Gu Yong." The owner of those eyes replied coldly.

"Oh, so my name is Gu Yong, then I am me?"

"Not you."

The smile just rising on Gu Yong's lips froze abruptly. "Then... then who am I?"

"Once the scion of a noble clan, Gu Yong; today, a common soldier, a mere pawn."

The clear, cold voice was like a sharp blade stirring into his brain. The bone-gnawing pain made Gu Yong's eyes nearly split, blue veins bulging on his face.

In this instant, countless fragmented memories tumbled rapidly in his mind, finally freezing on a chip ripped out alive, draped in shreds of flesh.

The wound on his skull now felt like a branding iron, igniting all the blood in his body.

"I am Gu Yong!"

On Gu Yong's blood-smeared face, a pair of pupils suddenly turned scarlet!

He threw back his head like a wild beast, baring a mouthful of blood-red teeth, and roared at the sky!

"Gong... Qing... Hong!!!"

*Pfft!*

The roar cut off abruptly.

A head rolled from the shoulders, splashing into the sewage a step ahead of the headless corpse.

Li Jun rose slowly, extending his fingers out from under the umbrella, waiting for the blood to be washed clean before turning and leaving this gloomy alley.

Behind him.

Ambiguous lamplight shone on terrified eyeballs, shattered limbs drifting with the current.

The sewer outlet was blocked by broken mechanical parts; the already decrepit drainage system paralyzed completely. Rainwater with nowhere to go rose at a visible speed.

Watching a ground full of food about to be ruined, the wild cat crouched on the roof ridge could bear its hunger no longer, and leaped down.

In a single bound, it returned to its original spot, Gu Yong's severed head clamped in its jaws.

It circled the head once, finally discovering a depression.

Deeming this a convenient entry point, it raised its sharp claws and tore away that thin layer of scalp.

The feral cat, poised to feast, stared with phosphorescent green eyes, gazing in baffled confusion at the pulsing red dot deep within the cavity.

"Meow."

Boom!

The upturned eaves shattered, blood-slicked stones hurtling in all directions.

The Peace Hotel opened its doors.

Zou Sijiu, sitting cross-legged, looked at Li Jun as he entered. "Resolved?"

Li Jun did not answer, but the thick stench of blood clinging to him explained everything.

Zou Sijiu keenly sensed that Li Jun's mood seemed less than pleasant.

But that was normal; a man who had just escaped a conspiracy, only to suddenly discover another's web spun around him—who could accept that?

"You miscalculated." Li Jun suddenly spoke.

Zou Sijiu looked stunned. "What?"

"Who is scheming against me, I do not care."

Li Jun said indifferently: "A man may die, but he should not be toyed with."

Hum.

The defense system within the doorway suddenly activated of its own accord, flashing red light illuminating Zou Sijiu's somewhat bewildered face.

Cold sweat instantly soaked Zou Sijiu's back; his hands flew through gestures in the air, forcibly shutting down the defense system.

"Big Bro, don't be rash, I'm friendly!"