Druid Fairy

Chapter 124 Big Trouble

"To destroy something, first make it go mad."

Thinking of his younger brother's words, Li Ping'an took a deep breath and lowered his voice: "Liang Xianguan is like a mad dog now. The more we resist, the fiercer he bites. We should go along with him, flatter him, and make him think that our Li family is completely afraid and completely submissive. Make him think that he is the king of Yunshui County! Only when he completely lowers his guard can we find his weakness."

“I’ll handle this. Brother, you take care of the people.”

“Alright.” Li Pingfu nodded. Although he was a martial artist, he was not an impatient person. He would endure the momentary anger and plan for the future. He always had great faith in his two younger brothers’ abilities.

The next day.

The Li brothers donated silver and voluntarily took on part of the food for the construction site, claiming it was to "share the burden of the immortals and pray for the well-being of all people."

This action completely put Liang Xianguan at ease.

He sat high in the county government office, brimming with smug satisfaction: 'Hmph, they thought the Li family was some tough nut to crack, but faced with my ruthless methods, they've become nothing more than groveling dogs!'

He increasingly felt that he was the undisputed local tyrant of Yunshui County, and the Li family was nothing more than the fattest pig he raised in his yard, ready to be slaughtered at any time.

The thrill of being in control made him feel elated, and he almost forgot about his injuries and the vague unease in his heart.

…………

The altar was under construction for several months, and before we knew it, another autumn had arrived.

Inside the Li family mansion, a loud cry brought a glimmer of life to the somber atmosphere.

Zhao Sisi gave birth to a baby boy successfully.

When Li Pingcan took his second son from the midwife, a strange feeling welled up in his heart.

The baby in his arms had a pink face and soft skin, yet he could sense an invincible, sharp aura emanating from this little life.

The aura was so pure that all the metal objects in the delivery room, such as scissors, copper basins, and gold and silver jewelry, emitted a soft "humming" sound.

"Could this kid be a born swordsman?!" Li Pingcan was both surprised and delighted.

The birth of your bloodline has strengthened the power of the Druid Dojo.

You have mastered a new skill: Bloodline Inheritance.

[Selectable inherited skills: Oak Stick Technique (98% compatibility), Swarm Growth (45% compatibility), Glowing Mushroom (33% compatibility)]

"Rubber stick technique? This skill sounds... kind of like a brute's attack?"

Li Pingcan stroked his chin, looking at the 98% compatibility score with a wry smile.

"Fine, fine, he's my own flesh and blood, I won't mind." He immediately chose the [Rubber Stick Technique].

A barely perceptible stream of light entered the baby's forehead, and the panel refreshed again.

[Bloodline inheritance successful!]

[Your descendant 'Li Mengjin' has acquired the bloodline ability: a natural swordsmanship.]

This ability is derived from the 'Oakstick Technique'. Your descendant possesses an unparalleled affinity with all 'weapons'; even ordinary tree branches can be transformed into deadly weapons in his hands. This ability will continuously upgrade as your descendant grows and cultivates.

"You can use the rubber stick technique like this?" Li Pingcan asked, somewhat surprised.

He thought he had just lit a "fire stick" for his son, but the panel was upgraded to a "Xuanyuan Sword" instead!
"Weapon affinity, so I'll call you Li Mengjin!"

The good news spread, and the entire Li family mansion was abuzz with excitement.

Li Rongzhou stood with his hands behind his back, trying his best to maintain the dignity of the head of the family, but the slightly upturned corners of his mouth and the occasional glances at the swaddled baby had already betrayed his inner excitement.

"Cough, not bad, loud voice, strong hands and feet, a sturdy and good lad," he said with a dry cough.

Xie Yuan also brought five-year-old Li Mengze to visit. She gently held Zhao Sisi's hand, asked about her health with concern, and brought over a bowl of nourishing chicken soup that had been prepared in advance.

"Mengze, come see your younger brother," Xie Yuan called softly.

Li Mengze, who had been quietly standing to the side, was tilting his little head, studying something with a serious expression. Hearing his mother call him, he came back to his senses and curiously toddled over with his short legs.

When he saw his baby brother in swaddling clothes, a strange light flashed in his clear eyes that could see through good and evil.

In his view, the aura surrounding ordinary people is soft, warm, or dark, carrying a variety of emotional colors.

But the younger brother in front of him was radiating a dazzling golden light that he had never seen before.

The light carried no attributes of good or evil, only pure sharpness, like a peerless divine sword drawn from its sheath, making him instinctively want to squint.

"Little brother... Liang." Li Mengze uttered the two words in a childish voice, reaching out his little hand to carefully touch Li Mengjin's cheek.

Li Mengjin seemed to sense his brother's closeness and grinned, revealing his toothless little mouth. He instinctively waved his little hand and grabbed his brother's finger.

Li Mengze exclaimed "Ah!" as he felt a force completely disproportionate to his size coming from his younger brother's small hand, making it impossible for him to pull it back for a moment.

Instead of being annoyed, he found it novel and fun, and reached out with his other hand to gently tickle his younger brother's palm.

Seeing his two sons interacting harmoniously, Li Pingcan felt slightly relieved. Xie Yuan had raised her sons very well, and the couple lived in harmony, bringing peace and tranquility to the household.

…………

With the birth of Li Mengjin, the Emerald Dream expands once again.

The white jade lotus in the center of the lake, after its blooming flowers withered, produced a lotus seedpod full of plump lotus seeds.

The lotus seeds inside the lotus pod are like the embodiment of the Daoist temple, similar to the core fragments of the "Dao Foundation" that the Holy Lord buried in the past.

Most importantly, these lotus seeds are manifestations of a jade dream and cannot be detected in reality.

“If I were to mix the lotus seeds into the altar… it might be possible to reverse the Heavenly Gang and use it to suppress Liang Zhiyuan’s ‘Foundation Building’ power.”

Li Pingcan hesitated to make a move against Liang Zhiyuan because he was worried about the power of the Foundation Establishment cultivator. Even a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator would be no match for a "fake Foundation Establishment" cultivator.

But if we can quietly take control of the altar and sever the connection between Liang Xianguan and the fate of the Great Yu Kingdom.

Thinking of this, he summoned his "ant army".

Liang Xianguan was a master of formations. There were formations around the altar, and any powerful individual would be suppressed by the formations.

The ants crawling on the ground are weak and pitiful, and will not trigger the formation.

"Go." Li Pingcan gave the order.

Countless ants, smaller than dust particles, carried lotus seeds, barely larger than their own bodies, like a black tide, silently seeping into the vast underground.

They buried the lotus seeds deep underground, hidden in the tiny pores of wood, and even mixed them into the mortar used for building walls. With the blessing of the power of dreams, these lotus seeds instantly transformed into dreamlike phantoms.

After Li Pingcan finished doing all this, he looked at the altar that was about to rise from the ground and a profound smile appeared on his face.

"Immortal Liang, go ahead and build. The higher and more magnificent you build, the harder you will fall in the future."

This prayer altar, which gathers the wishes of all people, no longer belonged to Liang Zhiyuan from the very first stone laid.

…………

Winter passed and spring arrived, taking several months.

The prayer altar, which rose from the blood and sweat of countless people, was finally completed in the very center of Yunshui County.

The altar is 33 feet tall and is made entirely of polished, dark blue-black boulders. It consists of nine layers, each building upon the previous one, creating a magnificent and imposing structure that soars into the sky.

The altar is carved with intricate and mysterious cloud patterns for blessings and mythical beasts for warding off evil, exuding a solemn and awe-inspiring aura that cannot be profaned.

The day of the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven.

Liang Xianguan ordered that the whole city be decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, and that brand-new red carpets be laid on both sides of the official road.

The people of the city were ordered to go out and “watch the ceremony” to show that “all people are of one mind”.

They stood on both sides of the street, but their expressions were all different.

Some genuinely hope that this festival will bring divine protection and ensure favorable weather and abundant harvests in the coming year.

Some stared blankly, their eyes vacant, as if everything before them was irrelevant to them. But many more were the families of the men forcibly conscripted from their households; their eyes held deep unease, yet they could only force smiles under the watchful eyes of the constables.

There were also the laborers who had been dismissed from the construction site. They were ragged and pale, and months of intense labor had already worn them down to a state of near-human condition.

"The auspicious time has come!"

With a resounding announcement from the master of ceremonies, Liang Xianguan, dressed in a brand-new, magnificent official robe and wearing a purple-gold crown, slowly walked up to the highest level of the altar amidst a crowd of admirers.

With a solemn face and compassionate eyes, he addressed the heavens and the people, reciting the prepared eulogy aloud.

The voice was powerful and resonant, filled with reverence for Heaven and concern for the people. If someone unaware of the situation heard it, they would surely think it was a patriotic and benevolent official who cared deeply for his people.

"Today, with one heart and one mind, we build an altar to pray for blessings, wishing that Heaven blesses the Great Yu, that the weather be favorable, the harvest be plentiful, and the country be prosperous and the people at peace!"

After reciting the sacrificial text, Liang Xianguan took out the "Cloud and Water Mirror," representing the authority of the county, from his sleeve and held it high. He poured his own magical power into it without reservation, chanting incantations and activating the core formation of the entire altar!

"start!"

At a command, countless array patterns on the altar suddenly lit up, emitting a deafening buzz.

An invisible force of attraction emanated from the center of the altar, drawing the thoughts of tens of thousands of people in the square below.

Thousands of colorful strands of spiritual energy rose from the crowd, converging like rivers flowing into the sea, forming a visible torrent that surged toward the "Cloud and Water Mirror" at the top of the altar!
Upon seeing this, Liang Xianguan finally revealed a smug smile.

He could clearly feel streams of pure willpower flowing into his limbs and bones through the transformation of the "Cloud and Water Mirror," nourishing his Dao foundation, which had been damaged by the use of the "fake elixir."

‘It’s done! ’

He was overjoyed. 'As long as I absorb the power of the people's wishes, not only will my injuries be fully healed, but my cultivation will also improve by one point!'
However, his smug smile froze completely on his face before it could last for three breaths.

He was horrified to discover that the torrent of psychic energy surging towards him had changed halfway through!
In the torrent, nearly half of the light threads were quietly drawn by an invisible, gentle natural force, tinged with a faint emerald green, and then, like a clay ox sinking into the sea, bypassed his "Cloud and Water Mirror" and disappeared without a trace!
His altar, which he built at the cost of countless people's hard-earned money and even at the cost of infamy, has become a tool for others to benefit!

"puff!"

Liang Xianguan felt a sweet taste in his throat, and a mouthful of blood could no longer be suppressed, so he spat it out!

"Who is it!? Who on earth is it!?"

No matter how hard he scanned with his divine sense, he couldn't find any suspicious fluctuations of magical power. That power was gentle yet vast, omnipresent, as if the very world itself was opposing him!

This unprecedented humiliation caused him to completely lose his mind.

Unable to find the mysterious adversary, he vented all his anger on those he considered "suspicious."

"Guards!" Liang Xianguan's voice was hoarse and distorted. "Arrest all the artisans and officials involved in building the altar! Interrogate them thoroughly!"

He instructed his trusted county magistrate: "Immediately take men to search and confiscate the Li family's escort agency and all their shops! I suspect they are spreading rumors and plotting something sinister! Investigate thoroughly! Don't let any suspicious person escape!"

Better to kill a thousand innocent people than let one thief who might steal his luck go free!
A blessing ceremony that he personally lit ended abruptly with an absurd and bloody arrest farce.

A sudden storm descended.

…………

The atmosphere at the Li family mansion was so heavy it was almost palpable.

When news came that the Li family's security escort agency and several shops in the city had been raided and confiscated by the county magistrate and his men, the entire Li family fell into a deathly silence, followed by an uncontrollable panic.

"How could this happen? Why would the authorities raid our shop for no reason?"

"I heard... it's related to that prayer altar, that our Li family is plotting something..."

"What should we do! That county magistrate is notoriously ruthless. If we fall into his hands, we'll be lucky to escape with our lives!"

The servants whispered amongst themselves, their faces filled with fear. Even the usually composed Madam Qin showed a hint of worry on her face.

At this moment of widespread anxiety, Li Ping'an slowly walked out of the study. He was still dressed in a blue robe, his face calm and his eyes clear, as if the storms outside had not affected him at all.

"What's the panic?" His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a reassuring power. "The sky hasn't fallen yet."

He first whispered a few words to Li Pingfu, who nodded in understanding and immediately went to restrain his family members, especially instructing the women to stay in the backyard, act as if they were frightened, and stay inside, but not to panic.

Afterwards, Li Pingfu summoned Xie Xiaodao and several of his most trusted brothers and whispered a few instructions to them.

Within half an hour, a new "version" began to circulate in teahouses, taverns, and streets throughout Yunshui County.

"Have you heard? The county magistrate raided the Li family's shop. Is he settling a personal score for them?"

"That's right! I also heard that the county magistrate has been eyeing those shops for a long time, and he's looking for an excuse to seize them and turn them into his own property!"

Rumors spread like wildfire, cleverly diverting a pot of muddy water about "malicious intentions" into the ditch of "personal grudges."

After doing all this, Li Ping'an changed into a proper set of clothes, prepared a generous gift, and said to Li Pingfu in a deep voice, "Brother, I'm leaving the family to you. I have to go to the Mu family."

"Okay, be careful in everything." Li Pingfu nodded emphatically.

Without delay, Li Ping'an took a carriage and quietly drove towards the Mu family's mansion in the city under the cover of night.

The Mu family mansion was brightly lit. Although the head of the Mu family, Mu Hong, was somewhat surprised to see his son-in-law visit so late at night, he immediately received him in his study.

In the study, the scent of sandalwood is wafting.

Mu Hong took a sip of tea and asked unhurriedly, "My dear son-in-law, did you encounter any considerable trouble during your late-night visit?"

His tone was calm, revealing neither joy nor anger, but Li Ping'an knew that his father-in-law was weighing the situation, assessing whether the Li family still had any value worth taking.

"My dear father-in-law, you are wise to see the truth."

Li Ping'an bowed respectfully, his face showing no sign of panic, but rather a confident smile. "I have come today not only to seek your help, but also for the sake of the Mu family."

"Oh?" Mu Hong raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Tell me about it."

"Liang Xianguan's actions today are aimed at my Li family, but who knows if he won't target the Mu family's business in Yunshui County tomorrow?"

Li Ping'an got straight to the point, "Your father-in-law understands the principle of 'if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold' better than I do."

Mu Hong smiled noncommittally: "Does my son-in-law want my Mu family to go head-to-head with a celestial official who holds the seal of office for the sake of your Li family? This deal doesn't seem very worthwhile."

“A head-on confrontation is the act of a reckless fool.” Li Ping’an shook his head. “What I want is for my father-in-law to help me thoroughly muddy the waters of Yunshui County!”

He lowered his voice, his eyes gleaming with wisdom: "Liang Xianguan's greatest asset right now is his position as 'county magistrate.' But if under this magistrate's rule, trade routes are disrupted, prices soar, public resentment rises, and even the supply of 'preserved peaches' to be offered to the imperial court becomes unstable due to 'local unrest'... what do you think the officials of the prefecture will think of him?"

Mu Hong's pupils contracted slightly, and his hand holding the teacup froze in mid-air.

He instantly understood Li Ping'an's intention.

This kid is going to use the Mu family to undermine Liang Xianguan's power!

The Mu family's connections and business routes span several prefectures. While it would take some effort to achieve this, it was not an insurmountable task.

"That is indeed a solution."

Mu Hong pondered for a moment, "But you have to give me a reason to cause trouble for my Mu family."

Li Ping'an said, "After suffering this setback, Liang Xianguan is eager to amass wealth to recover, and his appetite will only grow larger. Once Liang Xianguan is overthrown, the power structure of Yunshui County will inevitably be reshuffled. At that time, a huge vacuum will appear in both commercial interests and official connections."

Liang Xianguan, being backed by the imperial court, was not on the same level as the Mu family.

He reasoned with them and appealed to their emotions, saying, "After all, Nianhe and Nianjun call you their maternal grandfather. The Mu family may not take Liang Xianguan, who is a behemoth in the eyes of the Li family, seriously."

Mu Hong couldn't help but think of his well-behaved granddaughter and grandson, and sighed inwardly, "Getting old makes you soft-hearted."

He relented and said, "Tell me, what do you want me to do?"

"It's very simple."

Li Ping'an made up his mind: "Father-in-law, you only need to use the trade routes to try to raise the prices of necessities such as salt, iron, cloth, and grain in Yunshui County by 30% in the next one or two months. At the same time, write to old friends and acquaintances in the prefecture and say that Liang Zhiyuan, the magistrate of Yunshui County, is tyrannical and oppressive, causing merchants to be afraid to travel and all industries to decline."

"To remove the fuel from under the cauldron and then add fuel to the fire, that's a good idea."

Mu Hong clapped his hands and said, "Alright, I agree to this. But this is all the Mu family can do for the Li family. As for the rest, the Li family will have to bear it themselves."

(End of this chapter)