Chapter 84: Chaos
Chapter 84: Chapter 84: Chaos
Chen Li returned home, his gaze calmly falling upon the scene in the courtyard.
He said nothing about the squabbling between his children or Shouyue’s clumsy Fist Technique.
In his years of martial arts practice, he focused on one principle: brute force creates miracles.
He rarely used finesse.
Of course, a weapon is an extension of one’s fists and feet.
By this point, his Qiankun Qi Wandering Dragon Staff had already reached Great Success, so he naturally had a deep understanding of how to generate and channel Power.
But when it came to Fist Technique, he was truly no match for his eldest son, Shouheng.
Regarding the details of the Five Directions Twenty-Four Solar Terms Wuxiang Fist, his eldest son, Shouheng, was indeed more proficient than him.
Shouheng had practiced this fist for many years and had already developed Fist Intent, so his standards for it were naturally extremely high.
Of course, it wasn’t that Shouyue was slow.
Chen Li knew very well that Shouyue, just like him, was not on the path of External Cultivation.
Her Inner Breath had now manifested, but her control over the nascent Inner Qi in her Dantian was still unrefined. With every punch and kick, she subconsciously mobilized her Inner Breath. This caused her Power to fluctuate unpredictably, making coordination difficult. She would either use too much force or find her strength failing midway.
Lacking a foundation in External Cultivation—specifically, the rigorous training in the Refining Strength stage that builds extreme control over one’s muscles, bones, and sinews—meant she would inevitably struggle more during the initial phase of integrating Inner Qi with her Fist Techniques.
...
"Master! This is bad! Master! Something terrible has happened!"
The peaceful moment was shattered by the sound of hurried, frantic footsteps and a terrified shout.
The hired hand, Chen Pi, came panting and scrambling into the courtyard. He didn’t even bother with etiquette, his face deathly pale and his voice sharp and distorted with fear.
Everyone stopped what they were doing in an instant, their gazes snapping in unison toward the panicked Chen Pi.
Song Ying stood up, holding her child. "Chen Pi? What is it? Why are you in such a panic? What happened?"
Chen Li’s gaze also turned to Chen Pi, his eyes narrowing slightly as he waited for him to continue.
"Master! Madam! Young masters and young miss! It’s terrible! Water Bandits! A huge horde of Water Bandits has come ashore! They’re raiding the villages, stealing grain and killing people!"
Chen Pi gasped for air, his chest heaving violently. It took him a moment to catch his breath, his face still etched with terror as he cried out in a choked voice.
"What?"
Shouheng and Shouye’s expressions changed drastically. Their eyes instantly sharpened, and they subconsciously clenched their fists.
Shouyue’s small face turned pale in a flash, and she instinctively moved closer to her mother.
Song Ying hugged the young son in her arms tightly and instinctively leaned toward Chen Li.
Chen Li’s brow furrowed sharply. A cold glint flashed through his eyes and vanished as he asked in a deep voice, "Don’t panic! Chen Pi, speak clearly! What’s going on? Where did you hear this?"
Chen Pi swallowed a few times, forcing himself to calm down. In a jumbled and roundabout way, he finally managed to explain the whole story.
It turned out that a few days ago, Widow Wang, who was close with Chen Yongxiao, had come to Chen Li, telling him bluntly that Chen Yongxiao had disappeared.
Chen Li, of course, already knew the man had fallen victim to Bai San.
But he still feigned surprise, gathered a number of clansmen, and opened the door to Chen Yongxiao’s house.
After a search, everyone finally discovered the already decomposing body in the latrine.
After a simple cleaning with water, they found his neck had been broken by strangulation. Chen Li immediately sent Chen Pi to the County Magistrate’s Office to report it to the authorities.
Unexpectedly, when Chen Pi arrived at the Government Office to report the case, the government constables there couldn’t be bothered the moment they heard it was a murder.
They casually registered it, said they were aware of it, told him to have the clan deal with it themselves, and sent him on his way.
Chen Pi found this extremely strange. For a murder case like this, any normal Government Office would have surely sent constables to investigate.
He only found out after asking around that a few days ago, the two thousand soldiers from the Riverway Government Office had gone to suppress the bandits. They had fallen for the Water Bandits’ feigned retreat tactic, suffered a major defeat, and sustained heavy casualties.
Seeing that the government troops were severely weakened, the Water Bandits took the opportunity to launch large-scale raids ashore, plundering, burning, and killing in the villages along both banks of the Lishui River.
The officials in the County Magistrate’s Office were now overwhelmed. How could they possibly spare any attention for an unsolved murder case?
When Chen Pi heard this, he felt as if he’d been struck by lightning. A cold sweat instantly soaked his back, and he immediately rushed back.
To be safe, he had taken a detour through the riverside Zhang Family Manor to check things out. From a distance, he saw thick smoke billowing from the village. He could vaguely make out fierce bandits with gleaming broadswords burning, killing, and looting, while the sound of wailing shook the heavens.
At that moment, his scalp tingled with fear and his legs went weak. He couldn’t think of anything else; he just gritted his teeth and scrambled desperately all the way back to Lingxi.
"Master, what do we do now?"
Chen Pi asked, his face crumpled in tears.
He had just gotten married last year and didn’t even have a son yet, so of course he was panicking.
After a brief moment of contemplation, Chen Li said, "Go find a few people and tell the clansmen to gather at the ancestral hall for a meeting."
Seeing the clan leader so composed, Chen Pi felt slightly more at ease and quickly ran off to do as he was told.
Soon, the Chen Family Ancestral Hall was packed to the brim with clansmen who had rushed over after hearing the news.
When Chen Pi tremblingly recounted what he had seen and heard at the County Magistrate’s Office, the defeat of the government troops, and the news that the Water Bandits were burning, killing, and looting villages along the river, the ancestral hall instantly erupted in chaos.
"What? The government troops were defeated?"
"The Water Bandits are coming?"
"Heavens above! What... what are we going to do!"
The crowd of clansmen was thrown into a panic, and everyone feared for their own safety.
Noisy discussions and anxious arguments mingled together, creating a chaotic mess.
"Quiet!"
Chen Li’s low shout was not loud, but it instantly silenced all the noise.
All eyes focused on him.
"Right now, our only way out is to save ourselves!"
Chen Li said in a deep voice, "The Government Office is now powerless to protect us. We must rely on ourselves for our own protection. I propose we immediately form a group of Village Braves, train them as quickly as possible, and prepare for the worst."
As soon as he said this, some voices of agreement rose from the crowd, but many others still looked hesitant and uncertain.
Although the autumn harvest was over, it was almost time to plant the rapeseed.
If the able-bodied men were pulled away for training, who would look after the fields?
The training would consume time and energy with no tangible benefits, so naturally, some people were not very enthusiastic.
Chen Li took in everyone’s expressions and understood perfectly. ’After all, compared to an unknown danger, many of them are still only concerned with their own little plots of land.’
He immediately added, "Training the Village Braves will not be without compensation. All those selected will be given two full meals of dry rice every day of training! After twenty days of training, each person will receive an additional two shi of grain as payment!"
"Two shi of grain? And full meals?"
A commotion went through the crowd, and many people’s eyes lit up.
These terms could be called extremely generous.
However, someone immediately raised a question: "Brother Li, this... all this grain, where will it come from? We’re not going to have to donate grain from our own families again, are we?"
Chen Li had already anticipated this question. He said calmly, "Uncle Yongxiao met an unfortunate end, and the grain stores in his house are quite abundant. The Government Office has no time to deal with it, and he has no direct heir to inherit his estate. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I propose we use his family’s stored grain as resources for the Village Braves to prepare for battle. I ask the clan elders to decide on this matter together."
Use the grain from Chen Yongxiao’s house?
Everyone was stunned for a moment, then they all nodded one after another, feeling that it made sense.
Soon, the results of the vote were in.
Unsurprisingly, it was nine to zero.
After all, no one would refuse the chance to solve their own problems at someone else’s expense.
"I’ll sign up!"
"Count me in!"
"Brother Li, I’ll join too!"
After the decision was made, volunteers flocked to sign up. More than two hundred people registered on the spot.
Chen Li’s gaze swept over the people who had signed up. Some were nearly fifty years old, clearly just trying to fill the numbers. He immediately selected the one hundred most able-bodied and reliable men to stay.