Chapter 18: Should Good People Be Pointed at with Guns?

On this day, when Li Chang'an returned to Li Family Village from the disaster zone, he discovered to his shock that his home had been completely surrounded, tier upon tier, by heavily armed government troops.

Witnessing this, a sudden jolt of alarm struck his heart.

In these troubled times, being targeted by the authorities was never a good sign; after all, a cohort of fully armed soldiers brandishing weapons could hardly be here to present him with a 'Top Ten Heroes Who Moved the Demon Qing' medal.

Consequently, he wisely went into hiding, choosing not to advance rashly.

Before long, another contingent of even more ferocious government troops arrived from down the road, filing into the Taoist temple to search it for a time before ultimately hauling out all the anti-epidemic medicinal herbs he had purchased.

Only after documenting everything did they finally withdraw and depart.

These soldiers had indeed come with ill intent.

Li Chang'an was left entirely in the dark regarding his parents' situation, so he held his tongue for the moment, turning instead toward a neighbor’s house to gather information.

The very instant he showed his face, the expressions of the Li Family Village folk shifted drastically.

One villager glanced warily to the left and right, and seeing no one else around, hurriedly pulled him to the side, saying urgently, "Chang'an, you must flee immediately! Squire Wang from the south of the city reported you for conspiring with rebels and poisoning the populace by selling unlicensed medicine. Right now, County Magistrate Chai has already arrested both of your parents!"

Upon hearing this news, Li Chang'an's face instantly grew grim and dark.

Squire Wang from the south of the city had built his fortune on usury and acquiring the villagers' land at depressed prices, making him a notoriously powerful landlord in Sanhuang County.

Under normal circumstances, Squire Wang harbored no personal enmity toward him and would not have resorted to such underhanded methods.

Yet over these past few months, Li Chang'an had traveled from street to alleyway to heal the sick and save lives; not only did he sell his medicinal broths at extremely low prices, but in many instances, he even distributed them free of charge, and their efficacy was instantaneous.

This had directly shattered the calculations of Squire Wang, who had fully intended to reap a windfall from the epidemic.

To sever a man's livelihood is akin to murdering his parents, and thus a deep, bitter feud had instantly been forged between the two.

Squire Wang had previously caused trouble for them on several occasions, but both times they had quietly turned his advances away.

After all, whether it was Li Chang'an or Lyu Changning, anyone who dared to boldly roam the wilderness was bound to be formidable.

Though consumed by raging fury, Squire Wang had been left entirely powerless against them.

Things had finally quieted down for a spell recently, and Li Chang'an had assumed Squire Wang had at last seen reason, never imagining that the man had actually gone to fetch reinforcements, holding back only to deliver this fatal blow!

When the epidemic was rampant and the ground was littered with starved corpses, not a single one of these honorable official lords had stepped forward; at that time, the grassroots administrative system of the entire Sanhuang County was virtually paralyzed.

The county magistrate had taken the lead in fleeing to the countryside for sanctuary, leaving the yamen nearly deserted.

The sole action the imperial court took at the height of the raging plague was to brace themselves and blockade Sanhuang County, expending every effort to protect the local gentry and landlords.

Now, a mere few days after the plague had passed, the county magistrate had found his grand air once more.

He was staging a retaliatory strike after the fact.

Dammit, what a wretched, dog-mothered world!

Must a good man always have a gun pointed at him?

An anonymous fury burned within Li Chang'an's breast; originally, he had intended to stir up as little trouble as possible before reaching adulthood, but now, this fire had inadvertently swelled to an unstoppable crest.

If he did not vent this grievance, he would never find peace of mind for the rest of his life!

Seeing his expression turn as dark as stagnant water, the informant hurried to soothe him, "Chang'an, you mustn't be impulsive. We have already conferred among ourselves; if that dog of a magistrate dares to harm your parents, the folk from all the surrounding villages will storm his yamen!"

Hearing these words, many of the nearby villagers from Li Family Village chimed in together, "Exactly! If anyone dares to lay a hand on the parents of our savior, we will fight him to the death!"

Looking at the righteously indignant villagers around him, Li Chang'an felt a touch of warmth in his heart, yet after a moment's reflection, he shook his head and said, "I deeply appreciate everyone's kindness, but once too many people get involved in this sort of matter, its very nature changes completely. I have no wish to implicate you all!"

Inciting the masses was out of the question; this was, after all, a world of high martial arts, where a crowd gathering to storm a county yamen would be deemed high treason, only causing the situation to spiral further out of control.

Furthermore, if a dignified county yamen could be overrun by a throng of defenseless, ordinary commoners, how could the Demon Qing court have ever established its footing upon the prosperous and vast lands of the Central Plains?

Though the fury in the depths of Li Chang'an's heart had burned to its absolute absolute limit, he knew that the more perilous the situation, the cooler he had to keep his head.

Otherwise, a single minor oversight could invite an absolute catastrophe.

Forcing himself to calm down, a plan quickly formed in his mind.

He first instructed a few of his nominal disciples to head into the county seat to gather information, and then, without losing a single moment, he sought out Lyu Changning to recount the entire affair from beginning to end.

After listening to the whole sequence of events, Lyu Changning offered a bitter smile and said, "I warned you back then not to walk too closely with me, but you refused to listen. Do you regret it now?"

While they were practicing medicine and treating patients, Lyu Changning had given Li Chang'an every implicit hint regarding his status as a rebel.

At the time, Li Chang'an had merely smiled without uttering a word.

Though it remained unknown how the secret had leaked out now, 'conspiring with rebels' was a charge severe enough to send Li Chang'an's entire family to the vegetable market execution ground to be beheaded.

Crucially, Li Chang'an could not even refute it, because he truly had been close with a rebel!

Seeing Lyu Changning's apparent helplessness, Li Chang'an smiled, revealing a row of stark white teeth, and spoke, "Heh, is it ever difficult to frame a commoner?"

"The crux of this matter lies in the fact that our medical practice severed Squire Wang's source of wealth, not that I actually conspired with rebels. Even if I hadn't, Squire Wang could simply make it so, inventing any charge he pleased!"

Lyu Changning naturally knew he spoke the truth, so he pulled back his expression and said solemnly, "So, what do you intend to do, and what can I do to help?"

"I hear the rebel army has recently been plotting to seize a county seat to use as a base, haven't they?" A cold arc traced the corner of Li Chang'an's mouth as he spoke, "You only need to take this news back to the old master; he will surely know what must be done!"

Upon hearing this, Lyu Changning asked with a hint of suspicion and uncertainty, "What are you planning to do?"

Li Chang'an smiled faintly. "There is a saying you might not have heard: when a certain country claims you possess weapons of mass destruction, you had better damn well have them!"

Lyu Changning frowned, evidently failing to comprehend the riddle.

However, Li Chang'an playing the mystifier was nothing new, and having long since grown accustomed to it, Lyu Changning nodded solemnly. "Very well, then I shall set out immediately. You should be able to manage on your own for the time being, yes?"

Li Chang'an nodded.

Once Lyu Changning had departed with hurried strides, Li Chang'an returned to his home, which had already been turned completely upside down by the soldiers. Pushing aside the fragments of bricks and tiles piled in the corner, he retrieved a longsword that gleamed with a chilling light from beneath them.

Didn't this pack of mothered-but-unraised beasts claim he was in league with rebels?

Then they could hardly blame him for truly walking this dark path to the very end!

To tell the truth, had this matter not crossed his ultimate boundary, Li Chang'an would absolutely never have bared his fangs prematurely before his wings were fully grown!

But now that he had resolved to strike, there could be no looking back, nor any shred of reservation!

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