The woman set her opium pipe on the table, her face full of indignation as she spoke.
"That Lord Lu must have nothing better to do! Not only do we not have cheap opium anymore, but those damn mud-legs are all getting some backbone. Who the hell do they think they are?!"
She snorted, the corners of her mouth turned down. "If I wasn’t the one putting food on their table, they would have starved to death on the streets long ago!"
"And now look! Every single one of them dares to talk back to me. The other day, my own maid had the nerve to tell me, ’Lord Lu said you’re not allowed to hit people.’ Ptui! Who does she think she is?!"
As soon as she said this, the others around her chimed in with agreement.
A man with a fat head and big ears slammed his hand on the table. "Exactly! That Lord Lu is deliberately trying to make our lives difficult!"
"When did things not go smoothly for us in the past? And now? We have to sneak around just to have a smoke, like we’re common thieves!"
Another man, with a sharp chin and hollow cheeks, chimed in, "Isn’t he just giving away piles of silver to the paupers? Those mud-legs should spend their whole lives grubbing for food in the dirt. Why is he backing them up? It’s a downright sin!"
"He’s right!" Upon hearing this, most of the people nodded in agreement.
Master Ji narrowed his eyes, took another puff from his pipe, and said with a nostalgic look, "I miss the days of the Yin Dynasty and the Daxia New Country. Everyone lived and worked in peace back then, and the Western masters were so agreeable. How did things get so chaotic?"
"Back then, we could smoke what we wanted, play how we wanted. Who dared to control us?"
Boss Lu also nodded. "All we can do now is hope that His Majesty the Emperor in the north sends a grand army to conquer Yun Port City soon. It would be great to go back to being masters."
"Then, these mud-legs will have to obediently bow their heads again and go back to doing what they’re told."
Another plump, wealthy-looking woman sneered, "That’s right. And that Lu Yun has also made a mess of the Western masters’ concessions."
"Well, now he’s done it. I hear the Western Countries are sending their warships here soon."
"Hmph, let that Lu Yun stir up trouble. It would be best if he stirred Yun Port City into ruin! I have my papers from the Honorable Consul, anyway. When the time comes, I’ll just hide inside the Consulate. What can anyone do to me then?"
After a round of loud laughter, many picked up their opium pipes again and began puffing out clouds of smoke.
The people here were basically Yun Port City’s biggest beneficiaries of the old system. They were either Foreigner’s Agents who did business for westerners, earning money from the blood and sweat of Daxia’s common folk.
Or they were wealthy landlords, hoarding hundreds of acres of land while their tenant farmers worked themselves to death and still couldn’t get enough to eat.
Or they were corrupt officials, who had managed to rake in enormous fortunes in a place like Yun Port City.
In the past, they had lorded over this place, swaggering about and treating human lives like dirt. They lived a life more carefree than an Immortal’s.
They were flanked by entourages when they went out and returned home to fine clothes and lavish meals. If they took a dislike to someone, they’d crush them underfoot. If they saw a pretty girl, they’d snatch her away. Who dared to say no? Who dared to even look twice?
But ever since the Lu Family took control of Yun Port City, those days were gone forever.
All the gangs had been wiped out. Countless opium dens had been shut down. And as for those masters who bullied others with their power, they were either arrested or executed.
Now, the Lu Family even backed the common folk at the bottom. If anyone was bullied, they could report it at any time.
They still remembered how, not long ago, some masters who treated their servants as less than human, beating and killing them at will, were dragged out and publicly executed by firing squad.
Making an example of them like that truly terrified the high and mighty masters of Yun Port City.
In the days that followed, the servants in every household held their heads high. They walked with a new spring in their step and were no longer ordered about at whim as before.
But fear was one thing, and their habits were another. They still had to smoke their opium, and life had to go on. As long as Lu Yun was around, they didn’t dare stick their necks out or even speak too loudly.
But some of them believed Lu Yun wouldn’t be around forever. One day, everything in Yun Port City would go back to the way it was.
The paupers would be paupers again, and they—and their descendants—would be masters again.
However, these people would not get the chance to see if that belief held true.
Suddenly, a loud BANG! A heavy iron door was kicked open and slammed into the wall with a deafening crash.
The impact made the entire basement tremble. Then, soldiers led by Zheng Zhishan poured in one after another.
In the blink of an eye, a hundred men had surrounded the entire underground opium den, completely sealing every exit.
The few thugs guarding the door were used to throwing their weight around in the underground den, relying on Boss Lu’s influence. They had a few lives on their hands, too.
They had just thought of resisting when dozens of guns mercilessly riddled them with bullets.
When the opium-smoking masters heard the gunshots, they were scared out of their wits.
The same people who had just been lounging on soft couches, puffing out clouds of smoke, holding court, and cursing up a storm, were now completely silent.
Most of them rolled off the couches and lay trembling on the floor like dead pigs. Others simply buried their faces in their arms, closed their eyes, and pretended to be dead.
The den’s owner, Boss Lu, actually tried to resist, quickly fumbling for a pistol from under his couch.
But before he could even raise it, another volley of gunfire riddled him with holes.
Only then did Zheng Zhishan raise a hand. "Cease fire!"
The gunfire stopped abruptly, and the basement fell silent. Zheng Zhishan stood in the center of the main hall, his gaze sweeping over the people lying on the floor.
"Take them all back for investigation."
Those who were only guilty of smoking opium would be confined until they kicked the habit. As for those who had committed heinous crimes or abetted evil—well, a new batch of souls would soon be hurrying down the road to the underworld.

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