Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

The sun was blazing on the bluestone path outside the county government hall.

Li Ping strode out the gate with a pigeon-toed gait, casually plucked a branch from a willow tree by the roadside, and played with it in his hand.

Qian Duo caught up from behind, panting, carrying an empty wooden box in his hands, his face full of dejection.

"My lord, as you instructed, I went to the back hall to ask the magistrate for that register and the document regarding the change of residence. Guess what happened?"

Qian Duo wiped the sweat from his forehead and grimaced.

Li Ping whipped the roadside weeds with a willow branch.

"Chen Rang claimed illness and refused to see you, having his men send you away?"

"You are truly a brilliant strategist!"

Qian Duo nodded repeatedly

"The magistrate's steward is blocking the door, saying that the magistrate has been frightened and is resting."

"When I mentioned the Inspector's name, the steward rolled his eyes and said in a sarcastic tone..."

"The Inspector is far away in Jiangning City, busy with countless affairs of state. How could he have time to concern himself with a few scraps of paper from our poor, remote village? And he even said..."

"What else is there to say?"

"They even said that you, sir, think you're some kind of imperial authority just because you're holding a chicken feather."

Qian Duo shrank back, afraid that Li Ping would get angry.

Li Ping stopped, tossed aside the willow branch in his hand, and suddenly laughed.

"What a ridiculous example of making a mountain out of a molehill!"

He knew exactly what was going on in his mind.

Three days ago, he brought up Ren Jun's name, and Chen Rang and Zhao Heng were so frightened that they didn't dare to breathe.

Today, even a butler dares to openly mock you.

What does this tell us?

This shows that these old foxes have finally realized what's going on.

Ren Jun has been gone for too long, and Jiangning City is too far away.

A borrowed tiger skin is still just a borrowed one; as time goes by, the wind will blow it away and expose its true nature.

Back to the new house in the east of the city

Li Ping went straight into the study and closed the door tightly.

He took out the warm, smooth communication jade talisman from his inner pocket.

This thing has been completely silent ever since Ren Jun left, like a worthless piece of glass.

Li Ping sat cross-legged on the couch, mobilizing the faint vortex of energy within his body, and infusing a wisp of pale blue spiritual energy into the jade talisman.

A faint white light emanated from the surface of the jade talisman, flickering a few times as if it might go out at any moment.

After a long while, a very faint, somewhat weary voice came from the jade talisman.

"Zizhi"

It was Ren Jun's voice.

Li Ping leaned closer to the jade talisman and whispered...

"Senior brother, there's been some trouble in Xiyun County."

"The county magistrate Chen Rang and the registrar Zhao Heng conspired to steal Hu Guan's records."

"I have dirt on them, but they don't seem to care about my senior's name anymore."

The voice from the other end of the jade talisman was intermittent, mixed with noisy background sounds, as if someone was arguing fiercely.

"Zizhi... Jiangning City is in chaos."

"The teacher's political enemies launched an attack in the imperial court, and several powerful families in the county joined forces to force him to abdicate."

"I'm currently tied up in official documents and cases, and I can't get away at all."

Ren Jun took a breath and spoke faster.

"You'll have to shoulder the burden of things in Xiyun County yourself."

"Remember, as long as the green hills remain, the grass will grow tall."

"If we really can't hold on any longer, we should take my brother and sister-in-law into the mountains to hide."

"Remember, under no circumstances should you come to Jiangning City! This place is a den of dragons and tigers!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the white light on the jade talisman flickered twice and then went completely dark.

Li Ping, clutching the dull jade talisman, sat on the couch in a daze for a long time.

Distant water cannot quench a nearby fire

The powerful figure behind him isn't about to collapse, but he himself is in dire straits and has no time to care about the clerk in this small county town.

"It's better to rely on yourself than on others."

Li Ping stuffed the jade talisman back into his pocket and gave a self-deprecating laugh.

He pushed open the study door and walked into the courtyard.

Shi Gan was squatting beside the whetstone in the corner of the yard, diligently sharpening the short knife.

Qian Duo sat on a small stool to the side, holding a roasted sweet potato in his hand. He switched it from his left hand to his right because it was so hot.

"Come here, everyone."

Li Ping waved.

The two quickly stepped forward.

Li Ping took out the one hundred tael silver note that Bai Fu had given him from his pocket and slapped it on the stone table.

Let's take stock of our current resources.

Qian Duo took a bite of sweet potato and answered indistinctly.

"My lord, we have this house, the official seal of the document room, and copies of the original documents you copied."

"The house belongs to Chen Rang, the official seal belongs to the imperial court, and the copy of the register can only be used to disgust people, not to kill them."

Li Ping bent his finger and tapped the table.

"We only truly belong to ourselves in three things."

He held up one finger: "My cultivation level is at the minor stage of Qi Induction, plus a bunch of low-quality talismans that could explode at any moment."

He held up a second finger: "The dozen or so black market crossbows under Shi Gan's command."

He held up his third finger: "Those dozens of families from Yefuling who were on the verge of starvation and fled."

Shi Gan scratched his head, looking puzzled.

"Sir, what can we do with all this stuff?"

"Zhao Heng is at the Qi Refining stage, and the Bai family even has an old monster at the Foundation Establishment stage."

"Our numbers aren't even enough to fill a gap in our teeth."

"If it's not enough to fill the gaps between your teeth, then we'll stretch those gaps until they burst."

Li Ping picked up the cold tea on the table and took a sip.

"Since the tiger skin is leaking, we'll have to grow our own fangs."

"From today onwards, we will no longer rely on others' momentum; we will create our own."

Li Ping pushed the one hundred tael silver note in front of Shi Gan.

"Shi Gan, take this money and go to the black market."

"Don't buy any of those fancy stuff, just buy pig iron, arrowheads, and the cheapest healing herbs."

"After buying it, deliver it to Yefuling overnight."

Shi Gan's eyes lit up

"Sir, are you going to arm those runaways?"

"A hungry wolf, once it has eaten its fill of meat, is a hundred times more ferocious than a domestic dog."

A cold glint flashed in Li Ping's eyes.

"Tell Lao Shuan to pick out the strongest man in the village and train him with a short crossbow as hard as he can."

"Then have the remaining elderly, weak, women, and children dig pits, set traps, and bury tripwires on the only road leading into Wild Fox Ridge."

Qian Duo swallowed hard, forgetting all about eating the sweet potato.

"Sir, are you going to war? And with whom?"

Li Ping stood up and looked at the gradually darkening sky.

"Zhao Heng suffered a great loss in court today, and Chen Rang also seized the records."

"He's probably like a mad dog right now, eager to bite."

"He messed up the official rules; next, he'll definitely use the rules of the underworld."

Li Ping patted Shi Gan on the shoulder.

"Go do it. Tell Lao Shuan to turn Wild Fox Ridge into an iron turtle shell."

"If Zhao Heng dares to hire bandits to seek revenge, I will turn Wild Fox Ridge into their mass grave."