Start with acting, and you'll achieve immortality!

At dawn, just as the sky was beginning to brighten.

Outside the south gate of Xiyun County, a grain transport convoy escorted by twenty yamen runners was creaking and groaning as it drove out of the city gate.

The cart was loaded with the last fifty shi of tax grain remaining in the county government's treasury after this year's autumn harvest.

This batch of grain should have been transported to Jiangning County last month, but it has been delayed until now by Magistrate Chen Rang with various excuses.

Now that Hu Lie has run out of food, Chen Rang is afraid that this mad dog will rush into the city and bite indiscriminately.

Only then did he reluctantly take out the grain, intending to send it to the post station at Shilipo outside the city and hand it over to the grain receiving official sent by the prefecture.

The convoy had traveled less than three miles when a sharp whistle suddenly rang out from the dense woods on both sides of the official road.

Hundreds of bandits wielding steel knives surged out of the forest like a tide, surrounding the convoy.

The leader was Hu Lie

He carried a nine-ringed broadsword, his face contorted in a ferocious grimace.

His eyes were bloodshot, like those of a ravenous beast.

"I planted this tree, I opened this road! If you want to pass, leave your toll!"

One of the henchmen shouted at the top of his lungs.

The head constable protecting the grain was a seasoned veteran; he recognized Hu Lie and quickly stepped forward, smiling obsequiously and bowing.

"So, this batch of grain is tax grain that the county government is going to hand over to the prefecture. We hope that you will do us a favor. Magistrate Chen will definitely repay you handsomely in the future."

"A generous reward? I want it right now!"

Hu Lie kicked the head constable to the ground, then plunged his nine-ringed broadsword into the ground, the blade humming loudly.

"Shut the fuck up! Leave the food, and you can get out!"

The constables were so frightened that their legs went weak. They dropped their weapons and scrambled back into the city.

A few of the bolder ones even tried to protect the grain carts and retreat.

The black-robed figure behind Hu Lie moved.

Miao Jun extended his withered, bony finger and pointed it in the air.

A visible burst of azure energy, like an arrow released from a bow, instantly pierced through the chest of a constable.

The constable collapsed into a pool of blood without even letting out a scream.

The other constables were so terrified they fled in a panic.

Miao Jun killed one person in a single move, without even lifting an eyelid, as if he had merely crushed an ant.

Hu Lie looked at Miao Jun's methods, a hint of fear flashing in his eyes, which then turned into fanaticism.

He laughed heartily and directed his henchmen to push cart after cart of grain into the mountains.

……

The back hall of the county government

Magistrate Chen Rang was holding a bowl of ginseng soup, slowly savoring it.

A yamen runner rushed in, stumbling and crawling, and knelt down with a thud.

He cried out, "My lord! Something terrible has happened! The tax grain has been robbed!"

"Snapped!"

The ginseng soup bowl in Chen Rang's hand fell to the ground and shattered into several pieces.

He completely ignored the fact that the finest ginseng soup had spilled all over the floor.

"What did you say?!"

Chen Rang grabbed the constable by the collar, his voice trembling.

"Fifty bushels of tax grain, all of it has been robbed!"

"It's Hu Lie from Black Wind Stronghold! He also has a sorcerer master with him who can kill one of our brothers with a single finger!"

The constable, with a mournful face, embellished his account of what he had seen in the forest.

Chen Rang released his grip and slumped into the armchair, his face ashen.

Robbing tax grain is a capital offense!

Prefect Chen Boyong already harbored resentment towards him, and now that this has gone wrong, he's definitely going to lose his official position.

"Rebellion! Rebellion! This Hu Lie has really eaten the gall of a bear and the heart of a leopard!"

Chen Rang was trembling with rage, pointing at the door and roaring.

"Men! Gather the troops and wipe out Black Wind Stronghold!"

Several trusted advisors quickly stepped forward to dissuade him.

"My lord, please calm your anger! Hu Lie has a celestial master by his side; how could we mere mortals possibly be a match for him?"

"Yes, sir, launching a direct attack on Black Wind Stronghold would be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock. This matter needs to be carefully considered."

Chen Rang slammed his fist on the table in anger, but there was nothing he could do.

His gang of yamen runners were only good at bullying ordinary people on a regular basis.

If you really send them to fight bandits, they'll run faster than anyone else.

Just then, a calm and unhurried voice came from outside the door.

"Lord Chen, it's not worth getting so worked up over such a trivial matter."

Li Ping stepped into the back room with a faint smile on his face.

Upon seeing Li Ping, Chen Rang was furious and pointed at him, cursing...

"Li Ping! How dare you show your face in front of me! If it weren't for your personal grudge with Hu Lie, things wouldn't have come to this!"

Li Ping wasn't annoyed. He simply found a chair, sat down, and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Your Excellency is mistaken."

"Hu Lie's robbery of tax grain constitutes the heinous crime of treason, which is no longer a personal feud between me and him."

"If this matter reaches the ears of the Prefect, how do you think he will handle it?"

Chen Rang's face turned pale, and cold sweat beaded on his forehead.

Li Ping took a sip of tea and continued slowly.

"The only course of action now is to make amends for past mistakes."

"Sir, you only need to issue a warrant for the suppression of bandits, classifying this matter as a government-led bandit suppression operation."

"I, Li, though unworthy, am willing to share your burden, sir, and lead men to wipe out the Black Wind Stronghold and reclaim the tax grain."

Chen Rang looked at Li Ping suspiciously.

"You? What do you have to fight bandits with? Just those few dozen ragtag followers under your command?"

"I don't have many men under my command, but they are all brave and willing to fight to the death."

Li Ping put down his teacup, his tone calm yet exuding an undeniable power.

"Furthermore, I have already sent someone by fast horse to inform Inspector Ren of this matter."

"Lord Ren said that he fully supports the bandit suppression campaign, and anyone who disagrees can be executed first and reported later."

Li Ping is just using someone else's name to intimidate others.

Ren Junyuan is in Jiangning; he has no time to deal with these petty matters here.

But Chen Rang didn't know

All he knew was that Ren Jun was the prefect's protégé and represented the prefect's will.

Chen Rang hesitated.

Send Li Ping to suppress the bandits; if they win, the credit will go to him.

Even if they lose, it's Li Ping's men who die, it has nothing to do with him.

This deal is a win-win situation no matter how you look at it.

"Very well! I'll give you that chance!"

Chen Rang slammed his hand on the table, immediately picked up his pen and wrote a document to suppress the bandits, then stamped it with the county government seal.

"Li Ping, I hereby appoint you as the head of the bandit suppression force. Effective immediately, you are to mobilize all the county's constables and militia to completely annihilate Hu Lie's gang!"

Li Ping took the document, a cold smile playing on his lips.

This is the document he wants.

With it, he could legitimately mobilize all available resources.

After leaving the county government office, Li Ping immediately instructed Qian Duo to post notices.

In the name of the county government, they conscripted able-bodied men from the city, promising them generous rewards.

He then sent Hu Jiu to the mountain villages and hunter's strongholds outside the city to convey the order to suppress bandits.

Those mountain people and hunters, who had long suffered from the oppression of Black Wind Village, harbored deep resentment towards them.

Now that the government has stepped in and there's a generous reward, naturally everyone will follow suit.

In less than half a day, nearly two hundred people had gathered in front of Li Ping's residence.

There were yamen runners from the county government, able-bodied young men from the city, and mountain hunters carrying hoes and hunting forks.

Standing on the steps, Li Ping looked down at the dense crowd below and felt a surge of pride.

These people were mostly a mob drawn by the bounty; expecting them to fight the bandits head-on was unrealistic.

But it's enough for shouting encouragement and bluffing.

The real killing blow came from Shi Gan's forty elite soldiers and the inescapable trap he had already laid.

Into the night

The study in Li Ping's residence was brightly lit.

Li Ping stood in front of the map, his brows furrowed.

Miao Jun's strength exceeded his expectations.

To kill a living person with a single finger—such skill is far beyond the reach of ordinary Qi Refining cultivators.

A direct confrontation would inevitably lead to defeat.

"Looks like we need to add some spice."

Li Ping took out several blank talisman papers from his pocket and then took out a box of cinnabar.

He took a deep breath and slowly channeled the faint wisp of spiritual energy within his body into the tip of his pen.

What he wanted to draw was a low-level talisman array called the "Bewitching Array," recorded in the "Small Heavenly Circuit Qi Guiding Technique."

Although this formation has no offensive power, it can draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to create illusions, causing people to lose their way within a small area.

Ordinary swords and traps are of limited effectiveness against a cultivator like Miao Jun.

Only by using the power of the talisman array to trap and weaken him can victory be achieved.

Outside the window, the wind and snow started again.

Li Ping bent over his desk, writing each stroke with focused concentration.

Tomorrow's battle will be the most dangerous one.

Win, and the world will be your oyster.

To lose is to be doomed forever.