I just reached the maximum level, and you want me to be a puppet emperor?

Chapter 621 You are the person with the weakest backing among all the people I've beaten up these past few days!

This burly man was named Zhou Liang. He was a notorious local bully in Han Tie Guan. Relying on his cousin, Zhou Meng, who was a garrison captain, he was usually domineering and arrogant. He was also the most troublesome of Ren Ling's many suitors.

He spotted Ren Ling chatting and laughing with Li Chen on the second floor at a glance, and was immediately consumed by jealousy. He led his men upstairs and pointed at Li Chen's nose, yelling, "Where did this pretty boy come from?! How dare he touch the woman I've set my sights on? Are you tired of living?!"

Ren Ling's expression changed, and she quickly stood up to try and persuade him, "Mr. Zhou, you've misunderstood. These two are..."

Before he could finish speaking, Zhou Liang reached out to push Ren Ling aside and grab Li Chen's collar.

Li Chen's eyes turned cold. Without even standing up, he casually picked up a wine dish from the table, flicked his wrist, and the remaining wine in the dish mixed with the dish itself, hitting Zhou Liang's nose with the precision of a hidden weapon!
With a sharp crack, accompanied by Zhou Liang's pig-like scream, blood streamed from his nose, and he staggered back a few steps.

"Damn it! Get him! Cripple him!" Zhou Liang roared incoherently, covering his nose.

Just as his henchmen were about to make a move, Li Chen moved swiftly. Everyone saw a blur, followed by several muffled thuds. The seemingly fierce henchmen were sent flying backward in various contorted postures, smashing through the stair railings and tumbling down the stairs, howling in pain.

Zhou Liang was terrified. Pointing at Li Chen, he shouted, his voice trembling with fear, "You...you dare hit me?! My cousin is Zhou Meng! He's the garrison captain of Han Tie Pass! You're dead!"

Li Chen then slowly stood up, walked to Zhou Liang, looked down at him, and said in a calm tone with a hint of chilling sarcasm: "Zhou Meng? Ha, you are the person with the weakest backing among the people I have beaten up in the past few days."

These words were like ice water poured over his head, instantly choking Zhou Liang's scream in his throat.

He suddenly recalled the unbelievable rumors circulating in the pass recently: the mysterious captain who beat up the Khan's nephew, kicked the general's son, and whom even the military supervisor Wang dared not provoke—could this be the man standing before him?!
Zhou Liang's face instantly changed from anger to terror, then from terror to deathly pale, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.

He never dreamed that he would encounter this ruthless person here. Since he dared to hit even these people, who did he think he was?
Li Chen was too lazy to bother with such a minor character, so he said, "Go to the military prison yourself, understand?"

Zhou Liang immediately kowtowed repeatedly, a red mark instantly appearing on his forehead: "Understood, understood! Thank you, sir, for giving me this opportunity! Thank you, sir, for your mercy!"

After saying that, he scrambled out of the tavern, dragging his still wailing subordinate along, looking as if a vengeful ghost was after him.

As a local strongman, Zhou Liang knew exactly what was going on.

He knew that although his cousin Zhou Meng, who had a powerful backer, was a figure of some importance in Han Tie Guan, he was nothing compared to the ruthless man in front of him who had attacked even the Khan's nephew and nobles of the capital.

Fighting them would be a sure way to lose; competing in terms of background would be a dead end.

This man's decision to let him turn himself in was actually giving him a way out; at least he could walk into the jail cell.

In the military camp, Zhou Meng, a garrison captain who had just finished his patrol, was taking off his armor and hadn't even had a sip of hot tea when he saw his good-for-nothing younger brother leading a group of bruised and battered men running over in a flustered and anxious manner.

When Zhou Meng saw their disheveled appearance and panicked expressions, his heart skipped a beat, and a nameless anger surged up within him.

That bastard must have caused trouble outside again. I'll have to clean up his mess myself!
He glared at Zhou Liang and demanded angrily, "What trouble have you gotten into now?!"

Zhou Liang looked miserable, his voice trembling: "Brother, I... I accidentally offended Brother Cheng. Brother Cheng... he told me to come to the jail myself."

"Brother Cheng? Which Cheng?" Zhou Meng hadn't even reacted when his expression changed drastically, his pupils contracted sharply, and his voice rose eight octaves, "Commander Cheng Li?! You've messed with him?!" Seeing his younger brother Zhou Liang nod, he abruptly stood up, his anger instantly replaced by fear. He didn't even bother to scold him, grabbing Zhou Liang's arm, "Come on! Come with me to the jail right now! Quickly!"

Zhou Meng personally escorted Zhou Liang, practically running, to the military prison. The paperwork was completed quickly, and he personally watched as the jailer found Zhou Liang a relatively clean single cell.

Inside the cell, the other spoiled brats who had been imprisoned earlier, such as the Khan's nephew, were still lying groaning in the haystack like dead dogs.

When they saw that Zhou Liang had actually walked in by himself, and that Zhou Meng had personally instructed them to "keep an eye on him," they couldn't help but look at him with surprise and even a bit of admiration.

To offend King Yama and still manage to get in unscathed, this kid must have some connections.

Zhou Liang felt these gazes and was filled with lingering fear. Only then did he belatedly realize that cold sweat had soaked through his inner shirt, and he was even more grateful that he had chosen to obey.

After a brief commotion, the Forget-Me-Not Tavern gradually returned to calm, but the guests' eyes kept glancing respectfully towards the private rooms on the second floor.

Ren Ling stood by the table, her delicate body trembling slightly. Her beautiful eyes were wide open, staring incredulously at the composed Li Chen before her. Her red lips parted slightly, and she tried to speak several times but no sound came out.

It turns out that the legendary demon, the center of Han Tieguan's recent discussions, the person she was just gossiping about and warning others to stay away from, is actually this "Brother Cheng" in front of her!
"What are you afraid of?" Li Chen looked at her pale face and found it somewhat amusing, so he softened his tone. "I don't eat people."

Ren Ling finally came to her senses, waving her hands frantically, her cheeks flushed with nervousness and shame. Her voice was even softer and more tender than before, even stammering slightly: "Master Cheng, I... I didn't mean that at all. I had no intention of offending you. I just heard it from others..."

She was so anxious that she was almost incoherent, afraid that Li Chen would misunderstand and think she was talking about him behind his back.

Li Chen waved his hand dismissively, gesturing for her to sit down: "Don't worry about it, it's just casual conversation. I just had some things I couldn't stand, so I did them."

During the ensuing conversation, Ren Ling gradually relaxed.

She listened as Li Chen occasionally mentioned some injustices at the border, his tone calm yet exuding an undeniable air of righteousness.

This deeply moved Ren Ling, and her eyes couldn't help but reveal deep admiration.

She had witnessed many despicable things and suffered grievances, but she could only swallow them silently or deal with them by maneuvering and avoiding them, just like she did with Zhou Liang.

Most people around her dared not speak out against injustice. She had never seen anyone like Li Chen, who was of such high status (in her eyes, a captain was already a very important official), who would actually take action against injustice and uphold justice with swift and decisive means.

Her gaze toward Li Chen gradually filled with admiration, and when she turned to Tuoba An Yu, it was filled with undisguised envy: "Sister An Yu, you are so lucky to be able to marry a hero like Master Cheng."

Tuoba Anyu took in Ren Ling's changing expression and saw that she was already feeling the stirrings of love, so he smiled gently.

Seeing that it was getting late and they had drunk enough wine, she warmly took Ren Ling's hand and invited her, "Sister, we still have a few jars of aged Shaoxing wine from the southern border. It tastes quite good. Since we get along so well today, why don't you come to my house for a while and try some of that fine wine?"

(End of this chapter)