When Li Xiao saw Li Dashan looking at two-and-a-half-year-old Li Chang'an, his brow twitched, and he too looked over.
However, one look was all it took to give him a terrible fright.
His own grandnephew was covered in blood!
In Li Xiao's presence, Li Chang'an was on his best behavior. Feigning a look of lingering terror, he said, "Granduncle, just... just now, a Dog Demon rushed in from the side of the courtyard. Several men tried to fight it, but the Dog Demon moved like a shadow. With one swipe of its claw, it slit the throats of several uncles!"
At these words, Li Xiao calmly approached Han the Eighth's corpse for a look. When he saw the smooth, clean slash, his brow furrowed even more deeply. He asked, his voice filled with suspicion, "This wound looks like it was made by a sharp blade. Are you sure they were killed by a Dog Demon?"
Both Li Dashan and Huang Xiaoru faltered, unable to utter a word for a long moment.
Li Xiao let out a heavy cough and raised his voice. "What exactly happened here? Tell me the truth!"
Several neighbors, having heard the commotion, were already peeking in from the gateway, craning their necks to see.
After all, the racket from the Li Family home had been so loud, it was impossible to hide it from the neighbors.
Li Dashan's face flushed crimson. He glanced at Li Chang'an one more time, and only after seeing the boy give no reaction did he finally speak. "This... all of this... was Chang'an's doing!"
"Huh?!" Hearing this, Li Xiao at first thought he must have misheard.
He replayed the words in his mind several times before confirming he hadn't misheard. He couldn't help but draw in a sharp, cold breath.
Afraid that Li Chang'an would be misunderstood, Li Dashan quickly explained, "It's like this... Chang'an said he met a Daoist who taught him some Immortal Techniques. Today, that bastard Han the Eighth was trying to force our family to its death. Chang'an couldn't hold back and used those Techniques... and this is what happened!"
Li Dashan didn't dare hide anything any longer and told Li Xiao the whole story from start to finish.
However, after listening to Li Dashan's explanation, the expression on Li Xiao's face grew even more colorful. He looked completely dazed, as if he were listening to a tale from a Celestial Book.
Of course, it wasn't that he was unworldly.
Quite the opposite. In his youth, Li Xiao had traveled the Jianghu and knew a great deal about the legendary Martial Artists who could cleave gold and shatter stone with a single strike.
But it was precisely for this reason that he found the story so unbelievable. After hearing Li Dashan's account, his first, subconscious reaction was that the man was spouting nonsense.
From what he knew, not even the most renowned, long-established Martial Artists of the Jianghu could fight several grown men at the tender age of two, let alone slaughter them all!
That was why his reason told him this was impossible.
And yet, all the bizarre evidence before his very eyes, directly or indirectly, seemed to prove the truth of Li Dashan's words.
Li Xiao took a deep breath, pushing the chaotic thoughts from his mind. He looked at Li Chang'an in the middle of the courtyard and asked, "Did you really do all this?"
Li Chang'an nodded, admitting it frankly.
'I can't possibly cover this up on my own. I have to get my whole family, maybe even the whole village, involved. Only then might we find a sliver of a chance to survive.'
Hearing the boy admit it himself, Li Xiao felt his scalp go numb, even though he had already steeled himself for the answer.
After a long silence, he suddenly turned. Under the anxious gazes of the villagers outside, he slowly shut the courtyard gate. Only then did he walk back to Li Chang'an's side. "In that case," he said, "show your granduncle what you're capable of."
Li Chang'an nodded again.
With a wave of his hand, he produced a ceramic shard he must have picked up earlier.
WHOOSH! The shard shot out like a cannonball, punching another hole in the already-dead corpse of Han the Eighth at his feet.
Gazing at the gory, mangled wound, Li Xiao was finally, completely convinced.
He stared at Li Chang'an for a long moment. Stooping, Li Xiao said thoughtfully, "Such a clean wound... anyone can tell this was a revenge killing. Your story won't hold up under a real investigation!"
"The wound is indeed strange," Li Chang'an agreed with a nod and a smile. "Then, Granduncle, what do you think would make it look like a Dog Demon was responsible?"
The expressions on Li Dashan and Huang Xiaoru's faces were clearly uncomfortable.
They were both simple, honest farmers. Seeing their own son lie so brazenly, without even a change in expression, made their faces burn with shame.
Li Xiao said nothing. He turned and stared intently at Li Dashan and Huang Xiaoru for a long moment. After confirming their clothes were neat and free of any bloodstains, he turned his gaze back to the deceptively harmless-looking Li Chang'an, studying him for just as long.
Suddenly, he spoke. "We'll dump the bodies on the barren mountain outside the village. Then we'll find a few stray dogs. If we create a good Disguise and pay the tribute silver we owe, we should be able to handle the County Magistrate!"
Li Xiao was as cunning as they come—so old and shrewd it was no exaggeration to call him a sly old fox. He quickly came up with a viable plan.
If word got out that these men had died in Li Family Village, not only would Li Dashan be in trouble, but the entire village would be implicated. And as village head, he would undoubtedly bear the brunt of it and have to face Magistrate Chai's fury directly.
Therefore, it didn't matter where or how Han the Eighth had died—as long as it wasn't in Li Family Village.
Li Chang'an hadn't expected his village-head granduncle to arrange things so capably in such a short time, and he couldn't help but nod.
Leaning on his cane, Li Xiao was about to leave when he suddenly turned back. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "Dealing with Magistrate Chai will be the easy part. Han the Eighth was a useful man, but he was still just one of his dogs—not irreplaceable. Plenty of people would be thrilled to hear he's dead."
"But Han the Eighth has two brothers in the neighboring county who run a martial arts academy. If they hear the news and come to investigate, they'll be much harder to deal with!"
Li Chang'an thought for a moment. "That's fine," he said. "I'm more worried they *won't* come. What does it matter if they show up at our door? I'll just kill them, too!"
An intense killing intent radiated from him as he spoke.
He clearly wasn't joking.
Li Xiao could feel a truly demonic calm and decisiveness emanating from his grandnephew. After a moment of thought, he nodded. "Very well. We'll proceed with this plan for now."
A muscle in his cheek twitched. Giving Li Chang'an one last, profound look, Li Xiao said nothing more. He didn't ask any more questions, either. He simply turned and left to find some reliable men for the job.
This was a serious matter. If they handled it poorly, heads would roll at the execution grounds. He had to find people who could keep their mouths shut.
Villages in this era had one major advantage: most of the residents were related by blood or marriage, making for a tight-knit community.
When it came to many things, a quiet word between neighbors was all it took to present a united front to outsiders.
Besides, everyone hated Han the Eighth down to their bones. Hearing that he was dead, they were beyond ecstatic—mere celebration wouldn't be enough to express their delight!
...