One day, when Li Chang'an returned to Li Family Village from the disaster-stricken area, he found his home surrounded, three layers deep, by fully-armed government soldiers.
Seeing this, Li Chang'an's heart suddenly jumped in alarm.
'In this day and age, being targeted by the Government Office is never a good thing. After all, a squad of heavily armed soldiers certainly isn't here to present me with the 'Ten Most Inspiring Heroes of Yaoqing' award.'
Therefore, he wisely hid himself and did not approach rashly.
Before long, another, even more menacing-looking contingent of soldiers arrived on the road. They filed into the Daoist temple, searched for a while, and finally carried out all the medicinal herbs he had purchased to prevent the plague.
After taking an inventory, they finally withdrew.
'These soldiers truly came with ill intent.'
Li Chang'an didn't know how his parents were doing. He remained silent and turned to a neighbor's house to ask for news.
The moment he showed his face, the villagers of Li Family Village paled.
One of them glanced around. Seeing no one else nearby, he quickly pulled Li Chang'an aside and said urgently, "Chang'an, you have to run! Master Wang from the south of town reported you for colluding with rebels and poisoning the people by selling medicine without a license. Magistrate Chai has already arrested your parents!"
Upon hearing this, Li Chang'an's expression instantly darkened.
Master Wang from the south of town had made his fortune through usury and buying up the commoners' farmland at low prices. He was a notorious major landlord in Sanhuang County.
Normally, there was no grudge between him and Master Wang, so there should have been no reason for such a vicious move.
But over the past few months, Li Chang'an had been traveling from street to street, healing the sick and saving lives. Not only were his medicinal soups sold at extremely low prices, but he often gave them away for free. On top of that, their effects were immediate.
This had directly thwarted Master Wang's plans to make a huge profit from the plague.
Ruining someone's fortune is like murdering their parents. The feud between them was now immense.
Master Wang had tried to cause trouble for them several times before, but both he and Lü Changning had discreetly rebuffed him each time.
After all, neither Li Chang'an nor Lü Changning were pushovers, daring to travel the Jianghu so openly.
Although Master Wang was furious, there was nothing he could do about them.
Things had finally quieted down recently, and Li Chang'an had thought Master Wang had seen reason. He never expected the man had gone to call for backup, holding back to unleash a killing blow!
'When the plague was rampant and corpses littered the ground, I didn't see these "upright officials" show their faces. The entire local government system of Sanhuang County was almost completely paralyzed back then.'
'The County Magistrate led the charge in fleeing to the countryside for safety, leaving the entire County Magistrate's Office practically deserted.'
'The only thing the Imperial Court did was bite the bullet and lock down Sanhuang County Town at the height of the plague, doing its utmost to protect the local landlords and gentry.'
'Now, just a few days after the plague has passed, the County Magistrate is acting all high and mighty.'
'He's settling scores after the fact.'
'Fuck, this son-of-a-bitch world!'
'So good people deserve to have a spear pointed at them?'
A nameless rage burned in Li Chang'an's heart. He had originally planned to cause as little trouble as possible before coming of age, but now that fire had unknowingly grown to a fever pitch.
'If I don't vent this anger, I'll never find peace of mind in this lifetime!'
Seeing his face as dark as water, the villager who brought the news quickly tried to placate him. "Chang'an, whatever you do, don't be reckless! We've all talked it over. If that Dog County Magistrate dares to harm your parents, the people from all the surrounding villages will storm his County Magistrate's Office!"
Hearing this, many other villagers from Li Family Village chimed in, "That's right! If anyone dares to harm the parents of our savior, we'll fight them to the death!"
Looking at the indignant villagers around him, Li Chang'an felt a flicker of gratitude. But after a moment's thought, he shook his head and said, "I appreciate everyone's sentiment, but when more people get involved in something like this, its nature changes completely. I have no intention of dragging you all into this!"
'Inciting the common people is definitely not an option,' he thought. 'After all, this is a High Martial World. A mob storming the County Magistrate's Office would be seen as treason, which would only make matters spiral out of control.'
'Besides, if a proper County Magistrate's Office could be overrun by a group of commoners with no strength to even truss a chicken, how could the Yaoqing Imperial Court possibly have established its rule over the vast and prosperous Central Plains?'
Although the fury in Li Chang'an's heart had reached its peak, he knew that the more critical the situation, the calmer he needed to be.
Otherwise, a single small oversight could lead to a monumental disaster.
After forcing himself to calm down, Li Chang'an quickly came up with a plan.
First, he ordered a few of his convenient disciples to go to the county town and gather information. Then, without stopping to rest, he found Lü Changning and told him everything that had happened.
After hearing the whole story, Lü Changning gave a wry smile. "I warned you not to get too close to me. You just wouldn't listen. Regretting it now?"
While the two were practicing medicine, Lü Changning had all but explicitly revealed his identity as a rebel to Li Chang'an.
At the time, Li Chang'an had merely smiled without saying a word.
Now, although it was unclear how the news had leaked, 'colluding with rebels' was a crime serious enough to have Li Chang'an's entire family sent to the public execution grounds to be beheaded.
The key was that Li Chang'an couldn't even refute it, because he really *was* close to a rebel!
Seeing Lü Changning's somewhat helpless expression, Li Chang'an grinned, revealing a row of stark white teeth. "Heh, how hard is it to frame a commoner?"
"The real issue here is that our medical practice cut off Master Wang's path to wealth. It's not about whether I actually colluded with rebels. Even if I hadn't, Master Wang could have made it so I did. All it takes is fabricating a charge!"
Lü Changning knew he was right, of course. His expression immediately grew serious. "So, what are you going to do? And what can I do to help?"
"I heard the Rebel Army is planning to capture a county town to use as a base, right?" A cold smile formed on Li Chang'an's lips. "You just need to take this news back to your master. He'll definitely know what to do."
Hearing this, Lü Changning asked, his voice tinged with shock and uncertainty, "What are you planning to do?"
Li Chang'an smiled. "You've probably never heard this saying before, but when a certain country claims you have weapons of mass destruction, you'd better actually have them!"
Lü Changning frowned, clearly not understanding.
But this wasn't the first time Li Chang'an had spoken in riddles, and Lü Changning was used to it. He nodded solemnly. "Alright. I'll set out right away. You should be able to handle things on your own for now, right?"
Li Chang'an nodded.
After Lü Changning hurried away, Li Chang'an returned to his home, which had been ransacked by the soldiers. He shoved aside a pile of broken bricks and tiles in the corner and pulled out a longsword that gleamed with a cold light.
'Didn't those bastards, born but not raised, accuse me of colluding with rebels?'
'Then they can't blame me for truly going all the way down this dark path!'
To be honest, if this matter hadn't crossed his bottom line, Li Chang'an would never have bared his fangs before his own wings were fully grown.
But now that he had decided to act, he couldn't afford to hesitate or hold anything back!
...