The next morning, Chen Changsheng and his sons built a doghouse behind the Courtyard House. When Chen Changsheng brought Howling Heaven out, both children were stunned!
It was the first time they had seen such a majestic-looking hound. They were extremely curious about Howling Heaven's drastic change in appearance and crowded around, petting him all over.
If it weren't for the fact that Howling Heaven was now highly intelligent and restrained by Chen Changsheng from harming the family, as a Spirit Monster, he would have long since grown annoyed and bared his sharp claws to resist the children's rubbing!
While Chen Changsheng and the others were playing with the big dog in the yard, a conspiracy against his family was being quietly plotted in a wild field outside Kaoshan Village.
"Brothers, the Chen family only has one eleven-year-old brat who has entered the Skin Refining Realm. All three of us are at the Skin Refining stage, and we're older than that brat. Killing him will be as easy as turning over a hand!"
Liu Ergou leaned against a large tree, reclining tiredly as he spoke with a piece of foxtail grass in his mouth.
"Chen Changsheng's house has a thousand taels of silver; everyone in the village saw it. Once we kill that martial arts-practicing brat, won't that silver be ours for the taking?"
Ferocity and greed flashed in Liu Ergou's eyes. Beside him were two fair-weather friends from the county seat. They had practiced martial arts like him but stopped at the Skin Refining Realm, unable to advance further. Unwilling to work honest jobs, they became thugs in the county seat.
"Hmm. Ergou has a point. A thousand taels of silver—if we each get three hundred, it'll be enough to live it up at the Yihong Courtyard for half a year!"
A short, fat man nearby agreed immediately, his eyes seemingly already seeing the days of luxury in the county seat after taking the silver.
"But, I heard Chen Changsheng is close with Wang Yong, and that Wang Yong is a Second Level Martial Artist..."
A skinny man with a pockmarked Face showed a look of hesitation. After all, a Second Level Martial Artist could easily crush them!
"Haha, don't worry. That Chen Changsheng is a simpleton. He built his mansion on the mountain. If we move at night, even if they beat gongs, the people in Kaoshan Village won't hear a thing. That fellow Wang Yong won't find out!"
Liu Ergou laughed and spoke with disdain. Hearing this, the pockmarked man also made up his mind.
"Let's do it! It's fat meat delivered to our mouths; we'd be fools not to eat it!"
At this moment, Liu Ergou suddenly said seriously: "One more thing—we only kill the two older children. Chen Changsheng and his third son must be kept alive. I need to use that child to force out the method for growing the tea!"
"If Chen Changsheng can run a business worth a thousand taels a year, then I, Liu Ergou, can do it too!"
The other two thugs nodded after hearing this. They didn't object to Liu Ergou's proposal; after all, if Liu Ergou sold the tea, they would get a share too!
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Late at night, with Howling Heaven guarding the house, Chen Changsheng could finally sleep peacefully.
At this time, Liu Ergou and the other two quietly crept up the mountain and arrived in front of the Courtyard House.
"Go, climb over the wall!"
The three of them coordinated with each other and put in quite a bit of effort before finally scaling the three-meter-high wall of the residence.
The moment they landed, Howling Heaven, who was resting in the backyard, suddenly opened his eyes. Sensing strangers in the house, he immediately let out a long howl as Chen Changsheng had instructed!
"Damn it! We're exposed, he has a dog!"
Liu Ergou cursed inwardly when he heard the dog bark, but he wasn't too worried. It was simply a matter of a sneak attack turning into a frontal assault!
Could that one eleven-year-old Chen Chuanwu block the three of them?
Liu Ergou sneered, no longer sneaking around, and walked openly into the yard.
Meanwhile, Chen Changsheng, hearing Howling Heaven's bark in his sleep, understood it meant someone had entered the house.
"Yi Lian, take the third one and stay in the room. Eldest, Second, come out with me to see!"
Chen Changsheng scrambled up quickly, called his sons, grabbed a kitchen knife from the kitchen, and went into the yard.
"Liu Ergou, what is the meaning of coming to my house in the middle of the night?"
Chen Changsheng narrowed his eyes and asked coldly when he saw the knife-wielding Liu Ergou and his accomplices.
"Heh, a stinking farmer like you doesn't deserve to live in such a large courtyard!"
Liu Ergou first casually looked around the Courtyard House, then spat on the ground and said fiercely:
"Hand over the silver and write down the method for growing the tea, and I'll spare your life. Otherwise, your whole family dies today!"
Chen Changsheng knew things couldn't be settled peacefully today, but he still wanted to fish for some information from Liu Ergou, so he asked patiently:
"Even if I give you the tea-growing method, you have no land to plant it. Who asked you for it? Is it the Liu Family?"
Liu Ergou was secretly surprised; he hadn't expected Chen Changsheng to be quite shrewd.
That's right! This tea-growing method was indeed wanted by the Liu Family. The Liu Family had promised that once they got the method, they would give Liu Ergou a cut of the tea sales every year.
"You ask too many questions. Just tell me, are you going to give me, Liu Ergou, this Face or not?"
Although Liu Ergou didn't admit it directly, Chen Changsheng guessed it pretty accurately from the other's expression. It seemed the mastermind was indeed the Liu Family.
"Give you Face? What Face do you have? A creature loathed by both man and dog, who angered his own father to death—you don't deserve to mention Face!"
Having obtained the information he wanted, Chen Changsheng stopped being polite and responded to Liu Ergou with direct sarcasm!
"Stinking farmer, I'll slaughter you!"
As soon as Liu Ergou heard Chen Changsheng expose his past, he couldn't hold back and charged at Chen Changsheng with his knife!
"You dare touch my father? I'll have your dog life first!"
Chuanwu, who had been standing by, could no longer suppress his killing intent. He charged forward with his staff!
It had to be said that Chen Chuanwu was indeed a martial arts talent. He wielded the staff with ferocity and power, his Aura imposing.
Liu Ergou was actually somewhat outmatched. He became more alarmed as they fought, secretly marveling at the boy's freakishness, and quickly called for help!
"Come help me, this kid is tough!"
Hearing Liu Ergou's words, the fat man charged forward with his knife. Chen Chuanwu didn't panic; with a flick of his staff, he kept both of them at bay, fighting them to a standstill!
Seeing that the two of them couldn't take down Chen Chuanwu, the pockmarked man nearby cursed him as a Prodigy and was about to go up to help!
Chen Changsheng knew that dealing with two people was Chuanwu's limit. After all, he excelled at fist techniques; using a staff didn't allow him to reach his peak level.
Thus, Chen Changsheng stepped in front of the pockmarked man at the right time and said with a smile:
"Outnumbering the few doesn't fit the rules of the Jianghu!"
The pockmarked man was already worried about the other two failing. Seeing Chen Changsheng blocking his path, he gritted his teeth and cursed:
"You old fossil, you dare get in the way? I'll finish you off first!"
With that, he charged at Chen Changsheng with his knife. Just then, a gust of wind whistled past, and a cold gleam flashed momentarily under the moonlight.
Clang!
The pockmarked man's right hand, which was holding the knife, was instantly severed.
In front of Chen Changsheng, a white-haired Xiquan hound, its size comparable to a leopard, paced slowly, its cold green pupils staring intently at him!
"Ah! My hand! How did my hand fall off!"
At this moment, the pockmarked man's ferocity had vanished, replaced only by panic and terror!