The Orchid Sect is one of the eight trades outside the martial world, which is what we usually understand as prostitutes. These women make a living by selling their bodies. Although this is the most despised profession among the countless trades in the martial world, it is also the most indispensable.

In society, it’s possible to do without corpse drivers from Xiangxi, or craftsmen who make mechanical devices. If these professions disappear, no one would find it strange. But the Orchid Sect is the one trade that never vanishes.

From ancient times to the present, no matter how much the authorities crack down, no matter how the world judges them, the Orchid Sect’s business has always flourished, and in 1992, it was even more rampant in southern cities.

Of course, not all women working in entertainment venues are members of the Orchid Sect.

On the contrary, eight or nine out of ten of those hostesses working in nightclubs are not from the martial world. The Orchid Sect has its own special mark: a phoenix often embroidered on the lapel of their clothes.

Even though he led a group of people in the begging trade, Elder Baker still looked down on those women of the pleasure quarters. So when he heard Luke's words, there was a trace of anger in his voice.

“Boss, I, Luke, make a living with these eyes of mine. How could I be mistaken?”

Luke tilted his head back and downed a glass of liquor, smacked his lips, and then said, “Isn’t that slut the PR manager for the big tycoon in our area? If she’s not from the Orchid Sect, Boss, you can gouge out these eyes of mine!”

Don’t be fooled by the beggars’ lack of social status—people either despise or pity them—but for people like Elder Baker, they live more comfortably than most.

As a high-ranking member of the southern beggars’ sect, Elder Baker had already become a millionaire a few years ago. And as their business expanded, they were raking in money every day, amassing a huge fortune of dirty cash.

As part of the group that got rich alongside the era of reform and opening up, people like Elder Baker were naturally no strangers to the pleasure scene. The big tycoon Luke mentioned owned the most luxurious nightclub in their city.

Elder Baker actually knew that PR manager, but a few days ago, when he was attending the old man’s funeral, he was too busy socializing to get a good look, unlike Luke.

“Damn it, the Liu family is going too far!”

Thinking that, in the eyes of the Liu family, people like them were worth less than some prostitutes, Elder Baker could no longer suppress his anger. He slammed his glass down on the table and said, “Luke, go buy the tickets, we’re leaving today. Damn it, even if our faces aren’t worth much, we don’t need to kiss up to others!”

“Come on, Boss, since we’re here, we should at least take something back with us!”

Seeing that he had successfully provoked Elder Baker's anger, Luke grinned smugly and said, “Big brother, since we made the trip, let’s just take a couple of people back. You’ve been eyeing the market over by the Pearl River, and we’re short on manpower right now.”

“That’s right, big brother, Luke is right.”

Hearing Luke's words, a man of about thirty-five or thirty-six nodded and said, “There are lots of Hong Kong and Macau people over by the Pearl River, and they’re generous spenders. If we take over that territory, the whole Pearl River Delta will be ours.”

“Oh? Second brother, you think so too?” Elder Baker turned to look at him.

The man speaking was Brian Clark, originally from the Xiangxi region. In his youth, he got caught up in the chaos of those ten years, committing all sorts of crimes. Later, unable to stay in his hometown, he went to that coastal city and met Elder Baker.

“Big brother, if we grab a couple of kids, cut out their tongues and break their legs, then dump them at the customs gate, we can make at least a thousand or eight hundred yuan a day. I think it’ll work.”

Brian Clark looked decent on the outside, but was full of wicked schemes. He was the number two in the beggars’ sect, often acting as the strategist and coming up with many vicious, heartless ideas.

Elder Baker thought for a while, then shook his head and said, “But the distance is too far. What if something happens on the way?”

It wasn’t that Elder Baker was some kind of good person, but the key was that Cangzhou was thousands of miles from their city, and it would be hard to bring people back.

Chapter 0008: Blinded by Greed

“Big brother, that’s easy to handle.”

Hearing Elder Baker's words, Luke showed a trace of viciousness on his face. “When the time comes, we’ll puncture the kids’ eardrums and feed them mute medicine. After they get on the train, we’ll give them knockout drops. They probably won’t wake up until we get there. Once we’re on our turf, what’s there to be afraid of?”

Luke was the one responsible for searching for vagrant children in cities across the country. He had already brought back at least twenty or thirty kids this way, so he was quite experienced.

Seeing that Elder Baker was tempted, Luke continued, “Big brother, since the Liu family treated us like this, there’s no need to save face for them. Once we leave, we’ll be far away and never have to deal with them again.”

“That’s true. Luke, so, do you have a target yet?”

Elder Baker was getting interested by Luke's words. After all, they always traveled by sleeper train, and no one would suspect anything if they brought a few kids along.

“Big brother, for this, we’ll need to find a local kingpin.”