I glanced at Mr. Tang. Whether what he said was true or not, there was nothing more I could ask him; I wouldn't get anything out of him.
Li Erwa, seeing that I didn't answer, asked again.
I was left with no choice but to respond, "He's disturbing the feng shui here and causing trouble for you all. How you handle it is up to you."
I didn't say it outright, but my meaning was clear: If someone is causing harm to you, how should you respond? I shouldn't need to explain.
But Li Erwa scratched his head and said, "How about we take him back to the village head for handling?"
I was truly speechless. I almost wanted to give him a step-by-step lesson. Just a single swing of the hoe and all this would be over. Why all the talk?
Luckily, Xu Dafan wasn't as slow-witted as Li Erwa. He understood my meaning, lit a cigarette, and said, "Break his legs and toss him by the roadside."
"Got it!" Li Erwa was a bit slow, but once he understood, he was quick to act.
Seeing they were about to make a move, Lai Youwei started rolling around in panic on the ground. The others rushed in to hold him down, and the scene resembled slaughtering a pig during the New Year.
Breaking his legs was exactly what I wanted, but I couldn't show it too obviously. I subtly turned my body to the side.
Xu Dafan took a few puffs from his cigarette, then turned to Mr. Tang, saying, "What Li Shifu just said is clear enough. Since you've been misled, we won't hold it against you. Take your people and leave."
Xu Dafan's approach was just what I wanted.
It's said that common folk should not meddle with the affairs of the powerful, nor should the poor mess with the rich.
No matter how skilled Lai Youwei was, once he entered the village, he wouldn't be able to stir up much trouble.
But Mr. Tang was a different story. He had money, connections, and plenty of people. Even if someone lost their life, he could use money to resolve it.
On the other hand, we couldn't afford to waste time or energy on such things.
Mr. Tang didn't expect us to let him go. He froze for a moment, then glanced at Lai Youwei.
Lai Youwei quickly shouted, "Mr. Tang, say something! Give these villagers some money so they won't break my legs!"
Mr. Tang hesitated, but when he saw me squinting my eyes and tightening the blood dagger in my hand, he understood and didn't say another word. He simply left, along with his six bodyguards, without even bothering to take his things from the camp.
Once Lai Youwei realized there was no hope, his attitude changed. He glared at me and said, "Li Yang, if my legs are broken today, this debt will be on your head. You'd better think carefully. When my master arrives, things won't be so easy!"
I was leaving tomorrow. Why should I be afraid of him?
When I returned to the city, could his master even come after me?
I turned my body and pretended not to hear him.
Li Erwa and the others went back to their task, holding Lai Youwei down like a pig being slaughtered. Lai Youwei screamed like a pig, too.
I glanced out of the corner of my eye and saw Li Erwa raising the hoe. A heavy weight lifted off my chest.
But just as Li Erwa was about to strike, an angry shout rang out from the forest. A small stone flew through the air and struck Li Erwa's arm.
The impact was so strong that it caused Li Erwa to lose his grip on the hoe. It fell to the ground as he clutched his arm and looked toward the direction of the shout.
From the woods, a young man in a blue robe, with a burlap cloth draped over his shoulder, stepped out, looking furious. He pointed at Xu Dafan and the others, shouting, "Hillbillies! You dare to harm someone from the Ma Yi Sect?"
When Lai Youwei saw the newcomer, he shouted, "Master, save me! Li Yang wants to kill me!"
I furrowed my brow. I hadn't expected his master to arrive so quickly. Lai Youwei was also a master at turning the tables and blaming others. It was almost like a professional escape artist.
And his boasting skills were top-notch too. I figured when he said his master could capture Huang Jiu, he must've been referring to the old Huang Jiu from before.
But there were many things in the Orthodox Daoist Sect that could deal with evil spirits, so I couldn't be careless.
Moreover, his ability to throw stones at such high speed made me wary. If those were flying knives instead of stones, they could be deadly.
Once Mr. Tang and his group left, Huang Jiu squatted back on my shoulder.
I walked up to Xu Dafan and the others, signaling for them to put down their farming tools. I looked at the young man and said, "Your disciple has caused trouble by cultivating a drought demon on the Qianlong position, which has harmed the villages around here."
I wanted to see how the so-called righteous sect would handle such an issue when their disciple had made a mistake.
In my opinion, even if they just made a show of handling it, they should at least give me a proper explanation.
But the young man, hearing my words, smiled and said, "That's just hearsay. Besides, our Ma Yi Sect handles its own affairs. Even if our disciple made a mistake, it's not for outsiders to punish him."
I frowned. Was this a case of collusion?
I felt disgusted, but since I didn't want to cause any more trouble, I considered dropping the issue.
However, when Lai Youwei heard his master defending him, he began shouting, "Master, I was just trying to help Mr. Tang find a feng shui site. I didn't expect him to hit me. Now he's falsely accusing me of raising a ghost!"
Huang Jiu couldn't hold back and cursed, "You little brat! You can say such things? I really wasted my time raising you. I should have thrown you down the sewer when I had the chance!"
Huang Jiu's scolding was very satisfying to me.
The young man coldly snorted and said, "A beast like you should be careful. One day you might just drop dead without warning."
In the past, if anyone had called Huang Jiu a beast, he would have exploded.
But now, with his eyes narrowed, he asked, "What? Are you saying that Mr. Jiang from the Demon Hunter List has no filter when he speaks? Or should we go back to the city and I'll bring him along to prove it to you?"
The Demon Hunter List was a respected group, and no one would want to provoke them.
Hearing Huang Jiu's words, Lai Youwei's master turned to look at him.
Lai Youwei was clever enough to quickly clarify the situation, recounting what had happened at the Su family's graveyard.
"Ridiculous!" Lai Youwei's master scolded. He then turned to me, smiling and cupping his hands, "I'm Lai Youfu. My disciple made a mistake earlier, and I apologize. The bet was just a joke. Let's forget about it."
Lai Youwei suddenly became so cooperative, which made me suspicious. Plus, the ghost servant still hadn't appeared, which made me uneasy. I didn't want to drag this on any further.
As for breaking Lai Youwei's legs, I'd leave that for later.
I subtly nodded to Li Erwa, signaling him to release Lai Youwei.
Once the belt was loosened, Lai Youwei scrambled up and limped over to Lai Youfu's side.
I cupped my hands and said, "May the mountains stay green and the waters flow forever. Farewell until we meet again."
I turned to leave with Xu Dafan and the others.
But just as we had taken a few steps, Lai Youwei suddenly called out, "Wait!"
I stopped, and Lai Youwei, now emboldened, said, "I'll let the past be, but what about the accusation that I raised a ghost?"
Huang Jiu was enraged and stood up, asking, "You think just because you say it's over, it's really over? What do you want?"
Lai Youfu said, "A bet is a small matter, but we, the Ma Yi Sect, are a prestigious and righteous sect. If the rumor about raising ghosts spreads, it could have serious consequences!"
Li Erwa had already figured out that the two were just picking a fight. He rolled up his sleeves and said, "Li Yang, don't bother arguing with them. Let's just deal with them!"