White-Robed Chief

When lanterns lit up the streets at dusk, Chu Li returned to the courtyard of the inn he was staying at.

Xiao Qi, Lu Yurong, and Fa Yuan were waiting. When they saw that he returned safely, they greeted him with smiles.

“Did you manage to change your commission?” Lu Yurong asked.

Chu Li shook his head. “How can it be so easy? The mayor’s a stubborn man who insists that everything goes his way.”

“Looks like we’ll have to make another move.” Lu Yurong grinned. “Remember, you owe me again!”

Chu Li responded, “Forget it, I dare not use your help.”

“Oh?” Lu Yurong cast a sidelong glance at him. “Are you going to let Third Lady do it on her own then? Third Lady and I have quite a good chemistry, am I right, Third Lady?”

Xiao Qi ignored her goading. She asked calmly, “Chu Li, what do you want me to do?”

Chu Li only smiled. “You can stay out of this, I’ll settle it myself.”

Lu Yurong looked at him curiously. “He must be extra cautious now, it’ll be impossible to kidnap that fella without being noticed. The protectors in Town Defense Prefecture are inadequate, I say I’ll just barge in and teach him a lesson, in case he becomes so full of himself that he’ll step on you like you’re a ladder!”

Xiao Qi lifted her head up slightly.

She thought that it was a great idea too. Even if Chang Gui had a thousand schemes against them, his efforts would be futile since he was incapable; should they break through with force. Once he realized this, he would stop provoking and shaming Chu Li.

She despised Chang Gui very much as she knew how vicious he was. She wanted very badly to teach him a lesson to let him know that he could not just humiliate or use anyone as he wished.

Fa Yuan suggested, “Let me do it.”

Even though Chu Li’s martial art had been negated, he was a master who was on par or even superior to Fa Yuan. He could not stand seeing Chu Li being shamed.

Chu Li smiled. “None of you will have to do anything. I’ll do it my way without using any force, force won’t be of much use in this situation.”

“What exactly are you going to do?” Lu Yurong scoffed. “Acting mysterious and all!”

“Allow me to give you a hint.” Chu Li smirked. “You’ll find out tomorrow.”

Lu Yurong rolled her eyes at him.

On the other hand, Fa Yuan placed his palms together and shook his head.

…

As the light of the morning sun began coming into view, everywhere was still dark, by which only a glimpse of light could be seen in the sky.

Chang Gui’s grandson, Chang An was a beautiful little boy. At that moment, he was sleeping soundly on his bed.

His mother, Xiu Yun carried him tightly in her arms as she was afraid that if she hugged him lightly, she would lose him.

Four grandmasters guarded outside, where one was on the rooftop and three were at the corners of the walls. They were very prepared for any sneak attack.

Without moving an inch, they appeared to be half-awake and were extremely alert of their surroundings.

All of a sudden, footsteps were heard. It was Chang Gui who entered the courtyard slowly.

“Master.” The four grandmasters greeted him with fist salutes. It was Chang Da and the others.

Chang Gui waved his hand. “Any movements?”

“No.” The four of them shook their heads at the same time.

Chang Da then said, “We guarded here the whole night, but there weren’t any movements, it looks like they’ve retreated.”

“Mm.” Chang Gui nodded.

Initially, he expected activity yesterday night, that Chu Li would send people to force an attack on them. Now, it seemed like he got it wrong. He wondered, ‘What exactly is Chu Li up to?’

Upon hearing the noise, Xiu Yun woke up too. She called out, “Father.”

“Xiu Yun, did An Er sleep well?”

“He slept soundly all night.”

“Mm, that’s good.”

“Ah!” All of a sudden, Xiu Yun shrieked.

Right away, Chang Gui dashed into the room without caring about the fact that men and women should keep a distance away from each other. He saw Xiu Yun staring straight at a silver bracelet on the table.

“Xiu Yun, what’s wrong?” Chang Gui quickly asked.

When the little boy, Chang An was awakened by the noise, he rubbed his eyes as he sat up and pouted his lips as he wanted to cry. “Mother…”

However, Xiu Yun’s face turned pale as she kept staring at the silver bracelet.

“Xiu Yun!” Chang Gui immediately yelled at her again.

Xiu Yun quickly responded, “Father, someone was here last night!”

“Mm?” Puzzled, Chang Gui looked at her. “Could it be the silver bracelet?”

“When I was knocked out yesterday, my silver bracelet was gone.” Xiu Yun pursed her lips together, then continued with a trembling voice, “Yesterday night, before I slept, I still felt sad because the silver bracelet was a gift from An Er’s father, which was passed down by his grandmother. It’s such a pity that I lost it, but now it suddenly appeared!”

Chang Gui’s face darkened. “You’re saying that someone was here yesterday?”

“Yes!” Xiu Li nodded her head firmly.

Chang Gui walked to the table, then picked up the silver bracelet. Beneath it, there was a flower petal with dew on it.

At once, he looked gloomier. “Chu Li!”

“Father, was it Chu Li?” Xiu Yun immediately asked.

Chang Gui waved his hand. “Don’t bother, and don’t bring An Er out today!”

“Yes.” Xiu Yun nodded right away.

She thought to herself, ‘Even if he asks me to bring An Er out to play, I won’t do it, it’s too unsafe! Who knows if I’ll be able to bring An Er back safely if someone makes another move on us again!’

Chang Gui walked toward the bed and caressed Chang An’s head.

“Grandfather… I want to ride a horse!” Chang An reached his hands out.

Chang Gui chuckled. “When you’re done eating, we shall go ride a horse, okay?”

“Okay!” Chang An agreed.

Chang Gui stroked his head again gently, then left the room.

Once he returned to the main hall, his face became extremely cloudy as he furrowed his brows while stroking his beard.

Chang Da asked softly, “Master, should we go beat Chu Li up?”

“Forget it!” Chang Gui scoffed. “That fella is really living up to his reputation, he has bizarre skills! Notify him that his commission has changed to Town Defense Prefecture, he need not come here.”

“Yes,” Chang Da replied and then asked, “Are you letting him off then?”

“When his companions leave, we’ll teach him a lesson then!” Chang Gui sneered. “I doubt I can’t take out a fella whose martial art is crippled!”

“Yes.” Chang Da laughed. “Master, you’re very wise. A real man is one who can do both, advance and retreat!”

“Stop flattering me, go notify him now!” Chang Gui harrumphed.

Chang Da did a fist salute, then left.

…

When Chu Li sent Chang Da off with a fist salute, Lu Yurong looked at him in shock.

On the other hand, Xiao Qi knew that he used his divine power.

God’s Limbs allowed him to arrive at the little boy’s house soundlessly, where he vanished right after placing the silver bracelet. It gave a sufficient scare factor.

Since he could place the silver bracelet without being noticed, it would be easy to place any other items there. Unquestionably, he could also kill someone. It was a warning to Chang Gui that his grandson’s life could be controlled by Chu Li, which was only in a flash of thought.

Lu Yurong grinned. “It’s a pity that I didn’t get to witness a great show!”

Fa Yuan placed his palms together and chanted Buddha’s name as he thought, ‘At least his image is protected.’

Whenever he imagined Chu Li sweeping the streets, he felt awful.

Chu Li mentioned, “He’s only staying within his bound for the time being. Once you leave, he’ll play tricks again. Next time, I must give him a memorable lesson so that he’ll never have evil thoughts anymore!”

“Let’s leave today then, let him play his tricks as soon as possible!” Lu Yurong laughed.

She turned to look at Xiao Qi. “Third Lady, how about you?”

Xiao Qi replied, “I’ll leave after a few days.”

“Oh, are you together already?” Lu Yurong gave a meaningful smile. “Third Lady, you’re being too outspoken, aren’t you? After all, you’re the third lady of High Duke’s Public House, you should be pure and noble.”

Chu Li expressed snappily. “Don’t talk so much!”

Lu Yurong added, “Chu Li, you’re benefiting from your misfortune. You used Third Lady’s generosity by gaining her sympathy, and using the opportunity to make her stay.”

Chu Li was unhappy. “Do you want to stay too?”

“Are you going to make me stay?” Lu Yurong giggled and raised her brows flirtatiously.

Xiao Qi frowned at her.

Upon seeing her, Chu Li quickly declined. “Have a safe journey, I won’t be sending you off!”

Subsequently, Fa Yuan placed his palms together. “We’ll bid our farewells then, we’ll be here to visit you in a few days.”

“Go on, go on.” Chu Li gestured.

He was looking forward to their leaving as he wanted to spend time with Xiao Qi.