The fairy forced me to marry into her family, so I retorted by throwing myself into the Pool of Fate

As they were talking, Li Ping strode in, his eyes fixed on the male cultivator.

The male cultivator shuddered and instinctively took a half-step back. Seeing that he was blocking Li Wang and the other man, he asked, his voice trembling with fear, "Who are you?"

"You don't know?" Li Ping smiled faintly.

The male cultivator was unaware of Li Ping's background, and seeing how confident he was, he dared not make a move.

Li Ping chuckled and turned to reassure him, "Second Uncle, it's alright now."

Li Wang nodded slowly, but his brows remained furrowed, revealing his worry.

Li Yan, on the other hand, was relieved to see Li Ping arrive. She skipped and jumped into his arms, complaining that he should have come sooner.

Upon hearing the three talking, the male cultivator's expression suddenly changed, and he became arrogant again: "So it's you all in cahoots."

"You dare to scare your grandpa? Be careful, or I'll make sure you never leave this Twin Peaks Market."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Wang's expression changed drastically. He subconsciously wanted to apologize, but Li Ping stopped him by raising his hand.

Without turning his head, Li Ping took out a jade token from his storage bag and tossed it to the male cultivator, saying in a cold tone, "Take this and go call the market manager."

The male cultivator initially didn't take it seriously and even intended to mock him, but after seeing the sign clearly, his expression changed drastically.

In an instant, his previous arrogance vanished, and he quickly bowed deeply, his tone respectful and obsequious: "I was unaware of the elder's arrival, please forgive me."

Li Ping completely ignored him, only lowered his head to rub Li Yan's head and whispered to her with a smile.

The male cultivator stood still, not daring to breathe loudly or utter a word.

After waiting for about half an incense stick's time, seeing that Li Ping still ignored him, he was at a loss.

Left with no other choice, he could only give Li Wang an apologetic look.

Li Wang ultimately didn't want to escalate the situation, so he pointed at the male cultivator.

"What are you standing there for? Didn't you hear what I just said?" Li Ping turned his head and glanced at him, his expression unfriendly.

"Elder, this..."

The male cultivator stammered and refused to take a step until Li Ping uttered a harsh remark, at which point he slunk away.

Li Wang hesitated, then pulled Li Ping aside, saying, "Nephew, if this gets out of hand, it won't be easy to handle, will it?"

"Second Uncle, you can rest assured and leave everything here to me."

Seeing that Li Ping remained calm and composed, Li Wang finally felt relieved.

He stared at Li Ping for a moment, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes, and patted him hard on the shoulder: "Not bad, you've already reached the fourth level of Qi Refining."

Li Ping chuckled, saying that he hadn't suffered at the Mu family's house.

After exchanging pleasantries, the three of them went to the small courtyard behind the shop.

"Why did the price of this perfectly good shop suddenly increase?" Li Ping asked.

Li Wang shook his head and sighed softly, "I've inquired, and we're the only ones raising prices in this area."

"Oh? It seems they came specifically for us." Li Ping said thoughtfully.

Li Wang, with his keen mind, immediately realized: "Could it involve internal strife within the Mu family?"

Li Ping nodded without saying anything more, so as not to worry his second uncle.

Li Wang wanted to ask and help his nephew share the burden, but he worried that he was not up to the task and would only cause trouble. In the end, he sighed helplessly.

Just then, a commotion came from outside the shop.

An old man walked in slowly, looking calm and composed, followed by three disciples of the Mu family.

Among them was an old acquaintance of Li Ping.

"Mu Feng, you're here too?" Li Ping smiled, already having made up his mind.

"I accepted the mission to guard Shuangfeng Market. Is that not allowed?" Mu Feng said.

"I have no say in your affairs. But with you here, I imagine all the Jiexiu will flock to Shuangfeng Market." Li Ping sighed softly, seemingly worried about the future of the market.

Mu Feng had never been treated with such sarcastic remarks before. He was furious and suddenly stood up, ready to retaliate.

But at that moment, the old man beside him held him down.

The old man smiled slightly, his gaze falling on Li Ping: "This is the first time I've seen you marry into my family, young friend. I've heard people say you're eloquent and quick-witted, and seeing you today, it's certainly true."

Ignoring the malice in the old man's words, Li Ping simply asked, "May I ask who this senior is?"

"I almost forgot to mention, I am Mu Yi, the steward of Shuangfeng Market," the old man said.

"I am blind and did not know that he was Shi'an's father. Please forgive me."

Li Ping bowed respectfully, and then, in full view of everyone, gently pulled away Mu Feng, who was still angry, and then stood next to Mu Yi.

Unaware of the relationship between the two, the others exchanged bewildered glances.

Even Mu Feng, who knew the inside story, was completely baffled, not knowing what Li Ping was up to.

Li Ping leaned close to the elder's ear and whispered, "Elder, why are you so late? I've been bullied here."

Mu Yi looked at Li Ping strangely, and subconsciously took a small step to create some distance.

But Li Ping didn't give him a chance and leaned in again to complain.

Seeing this, Mu Yi looked impatient and deliberately said loudly, "I am here today and will definitely handle this matter fairly. Just say what you have to say, there's no need for this."

Having achieved his goal, Li Ping pointed at the male cultivator from before: "Elder, he arbitrarily bullied merchants in the market and deliberately raised the rent for our shop, making things difficult for us."

Upon hearing this, the male cultivator panicked and looked to Mu Yi for help.

"Is this true?" Mu Yi asked.

"Elder?"

The male cultivator had unspeakable bitterness in his heart and could only mutter to himself.

Didn't you guys make me do it? Why are you turning around and punishing me?

Mu Yi snorted coldly, his tone leaving no room for argument: "You've dared to act so recklessly. Your salary for the next six months is off."

"Huh?" The male cultivator was dumbfounded and didn't know how to react for a moment.

Li Ping watched coldly, knowing it was a minor punishment to deter a major incident and to resolve the matter peacefully.

"Young friend, are you satisfied?" Mu Yi asked.

"I leave it all to you, senior," Li Ping said, cupping his hands in greeting.

Mu Yi nodded and returned the jade token that Li Ping had given him: "Yuebai gave you this jade token, which means he values ​​you highly. But I warn you, don't take it for granted and act arrogantly. If I find out, I will punish you severely."

"I understand."

"That's excellent."

After the old man finished speaking, he led his men away.

After the others had gone, Li Wang quickly approached Li Ping, his face showing worry: "This person..."

Li Ping raised his hand to stop them. He looked at Li Yan and asked with a smile, "Are you hungry?"

Li Yan nodded, then hesitated, as if she wanted to say something but stopped herself.

"It's alright, let's go to Jieyoufang for a good meal first."

Upon hearing this, Li Yan's eyes lit up, and the worry on her face vanished.

The three of them arrived at Jieyoufang, requested a private room on a high floor, and ordered a table full of spiritual dishes.

Li Yan was already hungry and buried her head in her food, while Li Wang looked worried and didn't touch his chopsticks at all.

"Second Uncle, do you still want to keep the shop open?" Li Ping asked.

Li Wang nodded, looking troubled: "I've run this shop for so long, and I've finally built up a few regular customers. If they just leave like this, all my hard work will be wasted..."

"Life won't be easy if you stay in Shuangfeng Market," Li Ping interrupted.

"I know, but..." Li Wang sighed softly.

"Have you ever thought about opening a shop on Crescent Island?"

"Crescent Island?" Li Wangdao said, "Compared to Twin Peaks Market, Crescent Island is definitely much better. But it is, after all, the Mu family's territory. Not only is the rent expensive, but shops are also hard to come by."

He paused, then said earnestly, "Ping'er, I know you're capable; setting up a shop shouldn't be a problem for you, but wouldn't the cost be too high?"

"Second Uncle, have you forgotten my identity?" Li Ping chuckled. "Mu Yuebai's Daoist partner, a mere shop is nothing to me."