“Dong~”
Zhang Tiepeng landed, a bit dazed from the fall.
His arm was bleeding profusely and throbbing with pain, while his internal organs also sent sharp pangs, giving him a suffocating sensation.
Heihei and Niuniu stood together.
They were both full of hostility, staring intently at Zhang Tiepeng.
Li Ping’an walked over, holding his sickle, and chuckled, “Look at you, if you want to kill me, just kill me. Why are you lying on the ground with your Face covered?”
“Also, didn’t I tell you today that Zhang Shulin and Zhang Sangou were both killed by me? Why don’t you ever listen?”
“It would have been so much better if you had brought more people.”
Zhang Tiepeng was in pain, angry, and filled with regret.
By now, he finally understood that the other person hadn't lied at all, and he wasn't useless either.
He glared at Li Ping’an and roared, “You, you, you’ve been hiding your true abilities all along! You’re truly sinister and cunning!”
“That’s not right,” Li Ping’an shook his head slightly, “I just want to Cultivate my land properly. It’s you who insisted on bothering me. How am I sinister and cunning?”
“However, while I am neither sinister nor cunning, I am not a kind person either. You’ve been marching down the path of self-destruction, so I must fulfill your wish.”
As his voice fell, so did the sickle.
This tool, typically used for cutting grass, was quite effective at slitting a throat.
In the forest.
Li Ping’an took the items from Zhang Tiepeng’s personal bag and directly threw him into a deep mountain gully.
With this threat removed, the days ahead would be much easier, but this matter was certainly not over.
After all, it was unrealistic to assume that no one knew Zhang Tiepeng had come to kill him.
What surprised Li Ping’an the most were Heihei and Niuniu; they had been born less than a month ago, yet they were terrifying…
Three days later.
The Zhang Family could no longer sit still; they dispatched a large number of people to search all over the mountains.
Five days later, they found Zhang Tiepeng’s corpse, already unrecognizable and reeking to high heaven.
City Lord’s Mansion.
An Lan summoned everyone to investigate the matter.
After all, Zhang Tiepeng was on the imperial payroll, stationed at the South City Gate, and completely under the City Lord’s command.
In the Zhang Family’s council hall, the atmosphere was somber.
The Family Head, Zhang Jinhu, had an extremely gloomy expression; as the Family Head of one of Tiankui City’s three great Families, he was naturally a ruthless man.
At this moment,
The old butler walked over and said thoughtfully, “Family Head, we have news.”
Zhang Jinhu spoke, “Speak.”
The old butler said, “Everyone knows that Young Master has always been concerned about An Ruoyi, and it’s well-known that he often targets Li Ping’an.”
“A few days ago, Young Master spent a fortune hiring an assassin to kill Li Ping’an, but for some reason, Li Ping’an is still alive and well.”
“Furthermore, Zhang Sangou and Zhang Shulin were also instructed by Young Master to spend the night outside the city to destroy Li Ping’an’s cornfield. Since then, they have not reappeared.”
Zhang Jinhu frowned and said, “Are you implying that my son’s death is related to Li Ping’an?”
The old butler shook his head uncertainly, “That’s unclear. This old servant wouldn’t dare to jump to conclusions.”
“However, according to the South City Gate guards, a few days ago, Young Master stopped Li Ping’an and asked about Zhang Sangou. Li Ping’an said at the time that he had killed both Zhang Sangou and the other man.”
Zhang Jinhu snorted coldly, “He could kill Zhang Sangou?”
The old butler said, “Everyone who heard those words at the time, just like the Family Head now, didn’t believe it, thinking Li Ping’an was just trying to save Face.”
“But one point is worth suspecting: the City Lord’s Young Miss, An Ruoyi, is very kind to Li Ping’an. She used to go out every day to deliver food, but recently she has been missing for many days.”
Upon hearing this,
Zhang Jinhu narrowed his eyes slightly, “What has that An Lan fellow investigated?”
The old butler said, “He has been focusing on the bandits in the mountains and those vagrants, but he has found no clues.”
Zhang Jinhu ordered, “Arrange for some people to go outside the city tonight. Have them disguise themselves and go find Li Ping’an.”
“I want to see if it was An Ruoyi who did it. Her disappearance is too coincidental…”
Da Huai Village.
During these eight days, the heavens were very cooperative; there wasn’t a single drop of rain.
Li Ping’an watered every four days, earning 200 Cultivation points. As for the remaining 10, they were all used to replenish his spiritual power.
His luck was quite good.
It seemed he triggered a critical hit; three times he received 5000 spiritual power, and once he received 10000 points, for a total of 60,000 available!
Heihei and Niuniu were also chubby.
However, without corn essence to feed them, they grew a bit slowly, and their strength didn’t increase quickly.
The corn in the spiritual field was growing very well.
Although it had already been harvested once and was planted a month later than this batch, it was already catching up quickly.
Based on the situation, it might mature at the same time, with only the last ten mu being relatively late.
“Thirty mu of corn, two mu of spiritual field, there will definitely be a great harvest.”
It was dusk.
Li Ping’an lay flat under a tree, swinging his legs. The evening breeze was already cool, and the feeling was very comfortable.
Heihei rode Niuniu, wandering around like a herding dog.
As darkness fell, someone arrived.
Four burly men, each with a waist knife.
“Woof woof~”
Heihei barked twice, and Niuniu tilted her head, glanced at the men, then calmly lay down on the ground.
The four burly men walked over, and the leader said in a deep voice, “Kid, who told you to Cultivate land here?!”
Li Ping’an chuckled, “Is it your Family’s land?”
“Yes, it’s my Family’s land!” The man replied, speaking without a trace of shame.
Li Ping’an held out his hand, “Evidence?”
“Damn it, what I say is evidence!” The man said fiercely, waving his hand and ordering, “Destroy all this corn for me!”
As his voice fell.
The other three drew their battle knives and walked towards the cornfield.
“Stop!” Li Ping’an raised his sickle, blocking the men, and said indifferently, “Your Excellency, what exactly do you want to do? Why not just say it? Don’t impersonate people from Da Huai Village. I’ve lived here for several years, and I’ve never seen you.”
Of course,
This was a lie.
Li Ping’an had not lived here, but from the way those men drew their knives, they certainly didn’t look like villagers.
“Damn it, get out of my way!” Someone cursed angrily and reached out to push Li Ping’an.
“Bang~”
Li Ping’an made his move, knocking one down with a punch.
Then, he moved like lightning, heading straight for the other three, and with just a few swings of his fists, he knocked all of them unconscious on the ground.
“Woof woof~”
Heihei was about to speak, but Li Ping’an was too fast, leaving her no chance to act. She barked and jumped around, seemingly complaining about something.
After searching them and finding nothing, Li Ping’an turned to Heihei, “Stop barking. Go fetch those useless sacks.”
“Woof woof~”
Heihei turned and left, quickly returning with some sacks that still smelled of horse manure.
Li Ping’an cut the sacks with his sickle, making simple ropes, and tied the four men securely. Then, he slapped each one awake.
Opening their eyes,
All four men looked bewildered.
They were Cultivators, true, but far less powerful than Zhang Tiepeng. They had been knocked out too quickly earlier to understand what had happened.
Li Ping’an spoke, smiling faintly, “Gentlemen, do you want to die, or do you want to live…?”