Looking at Li Ping'an, who was smiling faintly, these four people all realized a great crisis.
They were sent by the Zhang Family specifically to target Li Ping'an, hoping to confirm whether An Ruoyi was hiding nearby.
After all, Zhang Tiepeng was killed by an assassin who came to deal with Li Ping'an; if Li Ping'an could kill Zhang Tiepeng, Zhang Sangou, and Zhang Shulin, none of them would believe it.
So the only possibility was An Ruoyi!
But at this moment, these four people finally understood that it wasn't at all as their Patriarch Zhang Jinhu had thought; Li Ping'an himself simply possessed such capabilities.
Li Ping'an squatted in front of them and said, “Don't just stare blankly, gentlemen. Hurry up and tell me, do you want to live or die? Don't waste my time.”
The leader was still somewhat composed and said, “You bandit, you've occupied our farmland and now you want to kill us to silence us. Is there no law for you?!”
“I'm sorry, that's not the answer I'm looking for.” Li Ping'an moved his hand.
The sickle swept past the man's throat, and crimson blood spurted out, splattering the Face of the person on the left, turning it bright red.
The warmth and bloody smell hit him hard, making him terrified, “I want to live, I want to live, I want to live.”
Li Ping'an said, “Tell me, what did the Zhang Family send you here to do?”
He wasn't certain of these people's identities.
However, at present, apart from the Zhang Family, there was no one else who would deliberately seek him out here.
And Li Ping'an naturally couldn't just ask, 'Are you sent by the An Family?' He had to take the initiative and seize the upper hand, to prevent them from spouting nonsense.
Indeed, upon hearing Li Ping'an's question, the man said, “The Patriarch… the Patriarch sent us to destroy your farmland.”
Li Ping'an shook the sickle, “Your answer isn't complete.”
“Pfft~” The sickle fell, claiming another life.
The other two were instantly scared out of their wits. Was this still the widely known good-for-nothing son-in-law of the City Lord's Manor?
This was too ruthless; he showed no mercy.
One sentence, one life!
“Zhang... Zhang Tiepeng died, and An Ruoyi happened to disappear for many days. Zhang Tiepeng died while looking for trouble with you.”
“Zhang Jinhu guessed that An Ruoyi might have killed him and then hid, so we came here to force her to show herself.”
“That's how it is, we're telling the truth.”
The two of them, one after another, spoke the plain truth.
Li Ping'an nodded, “Very good, that's the answer I wanted.”
“However, you came to harm me, you are enemies. I can't be merciful to enemies, can I?”
As his voice fell, Li Ping'an swung the sickle in his hand, ending their lives.
Hei Hei covered his eyes with his small paws, indicating it was too cruel to watch.
“Stop acting, you bit off someone's wrist, why didn't you cover your eyes then?”
Li Ping'an glared at Hei Hei in annoyance, then used a rope to tie the four together and dragged them away...
The next day, at the Zhang Family's mansion, the old butler hurried to Zhang Jinhu and said, “Patriarch, it seems something has happened again.”
Zhang Jinhu asked, “What is it?”
The old butler said, “Yesterday, I arranged for four Qi Condensation Realm Seventh Layer experts to go to Da Huai Village, but they haven't returned yet.”
Zhang Jinhu said, “Take people to search for them. Start from Da Huai Village and search the surrounding area. Report back immediately with any news.”
“Understood.” The old butler nodded.
Walking out of the discussion hall, he gathered ten Zhang Family disciples and twenty manor guards, all mounted on strong horses, and headed straight for outside the South City Gate.
At the City Lord's Manor, An Lan also received the news.
He assumed the Zhang Family had found some clue and also arranged for twenty guards, led by Huang Jinye, to go there.
At Da Huai Village, Niu Niu was leisurely eating grass, and Li Ping'an, restless, was teasing the dog.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of horse hooves approaching from afar, and they all looked up towards the mountain path.
Before long, Old Butler Liu Zhang and his thirty-one men appeared in their sight.
They saw Li Ping'an and also the cornfields, all safe and sound.
This scene made Liu Zhang realize that the four people sent out yesterday must have met with trouble.
Otherwise, these cornfields wouldn't be undamaged!
“Giddy-up~” Liu Zhang spurred his horse closer to Li Ping'an and said, “Young Master Li, you have excellent taste. These cornfields are very well cultivated.”
Li Ping'an chuckled, “So many of you, is there something you need?”
Liu Zhang glanced around and said, “A few of our Zhang Family guards stole some money and ran away. We came to look for them. I wonder if Young Master Li has seen them?”
He was cunning.
With one sentence, he distorted the purpose of those four people.
“No.” Li Ping'an shook his head and chuckled, “This is a poor and remote place; if they stole money from the Zhang Family, they probably wouldn't come here to buy land.”
Liu Zhang looked at the others and waved his hand, “Start searching from here.”
“Yes.” The thirty men acknowledged the order, dismounted, some went to the long-abandoned Da Huai Village, others went elsewhere.
There were also some who wanted to enter the cornfields.
Li Ping'an stopped these people and said, “Liu Zhang, I don't care if you're looking for someone, but if you want to enter my cornfields, that won't do!”
“Hmph~” Liu Zhang snorted lightly, “Young Master Li, we are here to look for someone. The cornfield is such a large area, it's easy to hide a few people.”
Li Ping'an shook his head, “If so many of you ruin my crops, what then?”
Liu Zhang was very generous, “Name your price. Our Zhang Family will buy these cornfields.”
He was old and cunning; the more Li Ping'an resisted, the more he wanted to search.
Li Ping'an smiled, “It's true that your Zhang Family is rich, but do you think this Young Master lacks money? Do I care about that little bit of money?”
“In short, you cannot search these cornfields. If you want to search, then kill me.”
Liu Zhang looked at two of his subordinates and said, “It's too hot today. Please invite the City Lord's Manor's live-in son-in-law to a cool place.”
“Yes.” The two men stepped forward, pressing closer.
Li Ping'an's eyes narrowed slightly, the sickle in his hand tightened, Hei Hei's back fur bristled, and Niu Niu also lowered his head.
“Giddy-up~ Giddy-up~” Just then, Huang Jinye arrived with his men, “Butler Liu, it's quite lively here today.”
Upon seeing Huang Jinye and the guards arrive, the two thugs who were pressing towards Li Ping'an immediately stopped in their tracks.
Not to mention them, even Liu Zhang and Zhang Jinhu wouldn't dare to openly lay a hand on Li Ping'an.
Liu Zhang cupped his hands in a salute and smiled, “Commander Huang, are you here on official business?”
Huang Jinye said, “The City Lord is deeply saddened by Zhang Tiepeng's death. Upon learning that so many of your Zhang Family members have left the city, he speculated that you must have made a discovery.”
“Therefore, he ordered us to come and support you.”
These words were all true, but when Liu Zhang heard them, they were completely misunderstood.
In this situation, Liu Zhang came to believe that the entire matter was done by An Ruoyi, and An Lan, worried about An Ruoyi, sent people to follow along.
Huang Jinye approached Li Ping'an and said, “Son-in-law, is something happening here?”
Li Ping'an nodded, “They are using the excuse of searching for Zhang Family traitors to destroy my cornfields. These are what I painstakingly planted; they cannot be destroyed.”
Huang Jinye looked at Liu Zhang and smiled, “Butler Liu, speaking of our Son-in-law, many people might not recognize him, but who in the entire city doesn't know his capabilities?”
“It's rare for our Son-in-law to be so serious about something, and he has put in a lot of effort for this. He certainly regards these cornfields as his life, and the City Lord and Young Miss both strongly support him.”
“Therefore, no one can destroy these cornfields. Your Excellency, it would be best not to make things difficult for us!”
Liu Zhang's eyes narrowed slightly, “What if we insist on searching today?”
Huang Jinye chuckled, “Giving you Face, the Zhang Family has money, power, and backing.”
“Not giving you Face, your Zhang Family is taking advantage of the chaos of the East Border war to plot rebellion!”
A simple sentence directly intimidated Liu Zhang; with the emperor far away, City Lord An Lan was undoubtedly the local emperor!
Just then, a Zhang Family disciple rushed over, “Butler Liu, bloodstains were found in the forest over there…”