In the first month of the year 2340 in the Yaoqing King Calendar, Li Chang'an turned seven.
After occupying the Sanhuang County Magistrate's Office and beheading a few members of the gentry, he reorganized his troops and postured as if he were about to start confiscating their properties.
For a time, the whole of Sanhuang County was in a state of panic, where every shadow seemed to hold an enemy.
The gentry who received the news all flew into a panic.
The Rebel Army was reorganizing its forces, ready to make a move, yet not a single one of the representatives they had sent to the County Magistrate's Office to negotiate had returned. What did that mean?
It meant the negotiations had failed.
The Rebel Army had made up its mind to make a complete break with them!
At first, the gentry were still wary.
After all, the situation was too strange to be a coincidence.
But when their scouts returned with the news that the Rebel Army numbered just over a thousand men at most, and that their leader was a mere child who hadn't even hit puberty, the expressions on all the gentries' faces changed, becoming quite a spectacle.
'With that little strength, how dare they?'
'Had they not considered that this kind of scorched-earth tactic would cause all the gentry of Fengzhou Prefecture to unite against them?'
They knew they didn't even need to defeat the Rebel Army. They just had to gather their men and hold out for a while. Once the Imperial Court's forces were mobilized, the rebels would have no choice but to beg for mercy and scatter in a desperate flight.
After repeatedly confirming the authenticity of the news, the gentry felt they had been insulted—an unprecedented insult!
Under the threat of the Rebel Army, this group of normally scheming and tight-fisted gentry reached a rare consensus. They decided to unite and teach the rebels a lesson they would never forget.
The wealthy among them contributed money, those with grain gave grain, and those with men provided men. In just half a month, they had armed a private army of nearly a thousand soldiers!
The majority of this private army's cannon fodder consisted of disaster-stricken commoners from nearby, while the smaller elite force was made up of retained Guests and professional household guards.
Because they had heard that the Rebel Army might have Extraordinary martial arts experts hiding in their ranks, the gentry also went to the neighboring Qingpu County to hire several Martial Artists from dojos and some retired veterans to put on a show of training their ragtag mob.
Of course, having a group of Martial Artists deal with a bunch of mud-legged peasants would be far too extravagant.
Therefore, these hired Martial Artists and retired veterans were mostly just there to serve as mascots.
Unless an overwhelmingly powerful Martial Dao expert actually appeared among the rebels, they would not take action. Their presence was more symbolic than practical, intended purely to "stabilize the army's morale."
With these multiple layers of insurance, the gentry's confidence immediately swelled.
They had already made up their minds. The moment the Rebel Army dared to set foot in their sphere of influence, they were prepared to immediately resort to violence and completely drive out this insolent bunch of peasants!
The upper echelons' confidence soared, and the lower ranks were greatly encouraged as a result.
The numerous private soldiers rubbed their hands together in eager anticipation, just waiting for the Rebel Army to deliver themselves to their doorstep.
After all, their landlord masters had promised a reward of one tael of silver for every rebel killed!
Men die for wealth as birds die for food.
They were backed by the high-walled manors of the gentry, fighting a group of peasants who had traveled far and were exhausted from running for their lives. The silver was practically free for the taking!
...
However, just as the various factions were eagerly awaiting his next move, Li Chang'an, who was expected to act, did nothing. Instead, he laid low in silence.
He spent his days in the County Magistrate's Office, poring over the dozens of confiscated Cultivation Techniques and Ultimate Techniques, so utterly captivated that he seemed to have forgotten the outside world entirely.
His behavior soon sparked criticism throughout the Rebel Army.
Many of the Rebel Army's minor leaders even went to Wang Su, urging him to revoke Li Chang'an's authority and take command of the army once more.
Although Wang Su himself trusted Li Chang'an, even he couldn't help but feel a little uneasy now.
After all, ever since they had executed the gentry who had come to "negotiate," the Rebel Army and the entire gentry class of Sanhuang County were now in a fight to the death.
Normally, the Rebel Army should have immediately mobilized its troops and, with lightning speed, caught the gentry completely off guard.
That way, they might have been able to plunder the assets of a few wealthy households.
Who makes a threatening posture only to hesitate and delay, squandering the perfect opportunity for battle, like Li Chang'an was doing?!
Thus, after waiting for the better part of a month, even Wang Su couldn't hold back any longer. Staring at Li Chang'an, who was buried in his Martial Arts Techniques, he bristled and demanded, "What are you waiting for? If you don't make a move soon, the opportunity will be lost!"
At this, he probably realized his tone was too harsh and changed his approach. "The gentry from all over have already assembled a force of nearly a thousand men. If we drag this out any longer, the Imperial Court's troops will arrive. You still want to save the common people? How are you going to do that?"
"Master, I know you're anxious, but please, don't be. Isn't it a good thing that the gentry are gathering their forces? Otherwise, with them scattered everywhere, how could I possibly wipe them all out in one fell swoop?"
Li Chang'an put down the scroll in his hand and continued with a smile, "As for the Imperial Court's troops, as long as we can properly manage our home base here in Sanhuang County, they won't be able to do anything to us in the short term... Besides, I'm still waiting for someone. Until the person I'm waiting for arrives, all this talk is meaningless!"
Hearing his reply, Wang Su was taken aback. He then asked, somewhat uncertainly, "Waiting for someone?"
A smile played on Li Chang'an's lips as he stood up and nodded. "Master, your timing is perfect. Let's go welcome the guests who have been waiting for quite some time!"
Before his voice had even faded, he abruptly pushed off with his right foot. His body became a blur as he shot toward a dark shadow in the distance!
BANG!
A muffled explosion echoed as wood splinters burst from the shadowy area, followed by a slightly pained grunt.
Li Chang'an didn't stop. His body once again blurred into an afterimage, and in a few flickers, he thrust a palm strike toward the ceiling beams.
In the beams above, a shadow that had appeared empty suddenly stirred.
A figure clad in black darted out, seemingly trying to escape.
However, Li Chang'an's Shadowless Step was simply too fast. Coupled with the element of surprise—a deliberate attack against an unsuspecting foe—how could he possibly allow the figure to escape so easily?
Taking a few quick steps, he caught up to the fleeing Black Shadow and slammed it to the ground with a fierce palm strike!
Only after doing all this did Li Chang'an come to a halt.
Calmly dusting off his clothes, he glanced toward several other shadowy corners and said, "Since you're all here, why bother hiding? The rest of you don't need a personal invitation, do you?"
At his words, the air fell silent for a few seconds. Then, several more men in black, wielding eerie blue daggers, rushed out from those corners, pouncing on Li Chang'an in a coordinated attack.
Li Chang'an snorted coldly. His hands shot out like Lightning, grabbing one of the men in black and using him as a human Shield to block the other attacks, which were brimming with cold killing intent.
PSHCHT!
The eerie blue daggers were coated in a potent poison. The moment they pierced the body of the man being used as a human Shield, droplets of foul-smelling, tainted blood trickled out.
Seeing five or six figures suddenly appear in the previously empty County Magistrate's Office, Wang Su, who had been completely oblivious until now, finally understood what was happening. His expression turned grim as he said, "To deploy so many Small Banner Officers at once... you people from the Prison Control Department are truly going all out!"
...