Why did you provoke that old man? He's a reincarnation of a deity!

When Xiao Nian returned to Mizhou City, the sun was already high in the sky.

Upon returning to Mizhou City, he first retrieved the box from the dilapidated temple. He now believed that this sealing technique could be opened with just a little spiritual power.

Inside the box were indeed letters from the Li family secretly contacting forces outside the region, as well as some other letters. For Xiao Nian, these things were of no use at the moment.

"More than a month has passed, and that kid Xiaoshan hasn't led the Li family to dig up this box. Or has the Li family forgotten about me?" Xiao Nian murmured.

Xiao Nian slowly walked through the market entrance, leaning on his cane, just like an ordinary old man.

……

The Xiao family's old, dilapidated house.

Several men dressed as yamen runners were standing in the courtyard. One of them, a tall and burly man who was in charge, kicked over the swill bucket by the door, spilling sour and smelly soup and water all over the ground.

"What right do you have to search our house? We are legal residents of Great Xia!" Meng Delin's voice trembled as it came from the courtyard.

"We now reasonably suspect that you have a highly lethal alien weapon in your home that is not registered in the Great Xia!" The tall, burly man shoved Meng Delin aside, and Meng Delin staggered and bumped into the door frame, drawing blood from his forehead.

Zhou rushed over and hugged her husband, shouting, "Help! Soldiers are bullying people! They're breaking into a private home in broad daylight!"

"What are you yelling about! We're just conducting a search, and we have a search warrant, specially approved by the prefect. Search us!" The tall, burly man waved his hand, ordering the soldiers to go inside.

"The prefect said that unless you hand over that old scoundrel Meng from your family, you will all be taken back in handcuffs today."

"But we haven't heard from him for over a month. We've already cut ties with him," Zhou cried.

"Did Old Meng leave anything here? We suspect he possesses highly lethal alien weapons that are not registered in Great Xia!" the tall, burly man questioned at this moment.

When Meng Xiaoshan went to the Li family with his grandfather last time, he was very surprised to see that the Li family not only did not lay a hand on Meng Chenhai, but also gave him money. In the blink of an eye, he lost track of Meng Chenhai. After that, Meng Chenhai did not appear again for more than a month.

At this moment, I remembered that night when Grandpa seemed to have dug up a box in the dilapidated temple. Could it be that thing?

"Grandpa said we can't tell anyone. Should I tell them now? If I do, Grandpa might die again because of me." Meng Xiaoshan was very hesitant. He hated his drinking grandfather, but when he saw that his grandfather seemed to have really died in that dilapidated temple that day, he felt an indescribable pain in his heart.

The yamen runners and a few servants rushed in, ransacking the place, overturning bedding, and smashing dishes. They were constantly breaking things and searching for something, while Meng Xiaohe huddled in a corner crying. Meng Xiaoshan's tightly clenched hands loosened again; he still hoped his grandfather would live.

Seeing their once-improving house shattered after her husband was beaten and vandalized, Zhou went completely mad. She rushed at the constables, crying and cursing, "Don't think I don't know! It was that damned Li family who ordered you! Those damned old bastards! My grandfather committed sins, and now our whole family has to pay for them!"

People around them kept pointing and whispering.

"The Li family is far too domineering."

"It is said that his position as prefect was bought with money."

"Yes, yes, I heard that his family has cut ties with Lao Meng. It's not fair to let family members suffer the same fate."

Seeing that the surrounding people were talking louder and louder, the tall, burly man turned around and threatened:

"Talk is talk, and jokes are jokes. Don't make fun of the Li family, or I'll treat you all as spies and bring you all back."

Meng Delin struggled to his feet, his eyes red, and roared, "You're trying to drive my whole family to their deaths!"

"Force you to your deaths?" The tall, burly man leaned closer, sneering softly. "Your old codger grandpa stole something and ran away. The sins of the father must be paid by the son—it's only right! Turn it upside down! Turn it inside out!"

"Besides, what's the difference between you dying and a litter of dogs dying on the street?"

Zhou rushed over and slapped the tall, strong man's arm: "You only have the ability to bully ordinary people. If you have the guts, go bully the rich! The Li family is so rich, yet they still owe that old man his wages."

"Get lost!" The tall, burly man impatiently raised his hand, about to slap him.

"Don't hit my mother!" Just then, Meng Xiaoshan blocked the man's hand with his own.

The two sides remained deadlocked for a while.

"The strength of a cauldron?" The tall, strong man was somewhat surprised. At the age of fourteen, without any systematic training, he already possessed the strength of a cauldron. This child had a promising future, but unfortunately, he was born into a poor family.

The head constable, having at least entered the Body Tempering stage, felt embarrassed after a brief moment of distraction, realizing he had been blocked by a young punk. So, he used his left hand, gathering all his strength, and slapped him across the face.

"roll."

This slap was delivered with full force during the Body Tempering stage. If it had hit Meng Xiaoshan, he would have been bedridden for at least half a year. But who would care about a poor kid like him?

With a soft "bang," the slap had no effect as expected; it was blocked by a bare wooden stick.

"Have you searched enough?" an old voice came from the owner of the stick.

The tall, burly man turned around and saw the other man's wrinkled face staring coldly at him, his gray hair disheveled by the wind.

"Old Meng?" the tall, burly man blurted out.

"So you old codger didn't die after all." The tall, burly man turned around and grinned maliciously.

Xiao Nian was half the height of the tall, strong man, who simply looked at him indifferently.

"Death? No one can kill me yet."

A moment of silence fell over the courtyard. The tall, burly man, enraged, thought, "What's this old geezer pretending for? Does he really think he's some kind of hermit?" He sneered, "You old codger, what are you pretending for?"

"Smack."

A slap. So fast that no one saw it.

The tall, burly man's face immediately swelled up on one side, and he staggered a couple of steps before crashing into the wall, spitting out a bloody tooth.

Everyone in the courtyard was stunned.

That was a Body Tempering stage martial artist! He was just sent flying like that?

"Were you going to hit my precious grandson like that?"

The tall, burly man was still in a daze, his head buzzing, while the constables who were searching for things were all dumbfounded.

Zhou's cries caught in her throat. Meng Delin gripped the doorframe, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets. Meng Xiaoshan stared blankly at his grandfather's withered, bony hand—the very hand that had just slapped a strong man half a meter away.

"You dare to lay a hand on someone from the government?" Another servant drew a short stick from his waist and rushed forward.

Without even thinking, Xiao grabbed the short stick that was smashing down on him with his backhand and twisted it gently.

With a "crack," the short stick broke in two. The servant was thrown forward by the momentum, but Xiao Nian dodged to the side, hooked the stick with her foot, and sent the man sprawling face-first into the mud.

The entire movement was fluid and seamless, taking less than two breaths.

Xiao Nian dusted off his hands, looked down at the tall, burly man still standing there in a daze, and slowly said, "Go back and tell Li Chenggang. You can mess with me, but don't touch my family."

He shook his gray beard and declared loudly, "If I ever see anyone harassing my family again, may they be punished like this stick!"

Xiao Nian stomped the short stick into dust with one foot!

The tall, burly man scrambled to his feet, trembling, not even daring to pick up the broken tooth from the ground. With a wave of his hand, he and several servants tumbled and scrambled away. The neighbors watching outside the courtyard fell silent.

Everyone on Caishikou Street witnessed something today.

That drunken old madman Meng, who could only crawl after being beaten by his students, slapped a martial artist in the Body Tempering stage away.

This will become their topic of conversation for the whole year.

Meng Xiaohe rushed over and hugged Xiao Nian: "Grandpa, you're back."

Zhou was still in a daze.

After his initial shock, Meng Delin accepted it. His father had protected him long ago, and now he had simply returned.

Meng Xiaoshan looked at his grandfather with eyes full of admiration.