Chapter 13: Punishing Ai Wanhua

He fixed Li Yi with a vicious glare, his tone sinister as he said, "Li Yi, I'll give you one last chance. One hundred taels of silver and twenty mu of prime farmland—if you know what's good for you, hand Yun Niang over to me and you'll never have to worry about food or clothing again. If you refuse, then today will be your last."

"If you want my life, let's see if you have the skill." Li Yi replied coolly.

"Enough talk. Get him!"

Ai Wanhua let out a furious roar, and the hangers-on at his side surged forward. The villagers behind Li Yi raised their farm tools, ready for battle. At that moment, Li Guo and the other youths came running back. Seeing Ai Wanhua bullying their teacher’s wife, they picked up stones and sticks, prepared to join the fray.

Li Yi grabbed Li Guo, who was leading the charge, and said coldly, "Don't get involved. These thugs are nothing to me."

Ai Wanhua mocked him, "You’re courting death. Kill him—if anything happens, I’ll take the blame!"

The hangers-on, little more than local ruffians emboldened by Ai Wanhua’s support, no longer had any scruples. They rushed forward.

Li Yi was not afraid of violence. Instead of retreating, he stepped forward, seized one man by the hair with lightning speed, and drove his knee into the man's face. The fragile nose collapsed instantly, thick blood spurting from mouth and nose as the man dropped limply to the ground.

Without sparing him a glance, Li Yi caught an incoming fist with his left hand, a cruel smile flickering at his lips. With his right, he punched savagely at the man's shoulder socket. Bone cracked audibly, the man let out a miserable scream, and a moment later a sharp elbow strike knocked him unconscious.

Breaking bones and knocking men senseless with ease, Li Yi's ruthless methods shocked the remaining thugs. They drew their knives, shouting threats with forced bravado, but none dared step closer.

Li Yi paid them no heed. With a spring of his foot, he shot forward and smashed his fist into another man's face. Blood and teeth spattered. Spinning around, he caught a stabbing knife, twisted the attacker’s wrist until it snapped, and sent him flying with a kick.

The last two thugs trembled, clutching their knives. Li Yi didn’t even bother looking at them, simply walking past as if they didn’t exist.

"Li—Li Yi, how dare you—"

Ai Wanhua's voice quavered. Suddenly, he turned to flee, but the courtyard gate was already blocked by villagers.

Seeing his men writhing on the ground with broken limbs, Ai Wanhua’s knees buckled and he sank down.

"Li Yi, I was wrong. Please, be magnanimous..."

As he spoke, he suddenly flung a handful of yellow dirt into Li Yi’s eyes and in the same motion flicked a blade from his folding fan, stabbing viciously at Li Yi’s chest.

The northwest was a harsh, chaotic land; Ai Wanhua was no stranger to violence. This was a cunning move, swift and unexpected—few would survive it.

But Li Yi’s senses were preternaturally sharp. He caught Ai Wanhua’s wrist with a twist, breaking it outright.

Pampered and soft, Ai Wanhua had never known such pain. With a scream, he dropped his fan.

Li Yi showed no mercy. He planted a hard kick on Ai Wanhua’s knee. Pain and terror wrenched an inhuman howl from him.

"Li Yi, how dare you harm me! Have you forgotten who I am? Do you know who my father is?"

Li Yi snorted, "If you want to know who your father is, you’d better ask your mother."

With that, he raised his hand and slapped Ai Wanhua hard across the face.

Ai Wanhua, his words slurred, attempted to protest.

Li Yi slapped him again.

"From the Ai family, are you?"

"You—"

Smack!

"Raising the interest, are you?"

"Spare—"

Smack!

"Coming for my life, is that it?"

One slap after another, Li Yi beat Ai Wanhua until his cheeks were swollen and his face resembled a pig’s head.

Li Zijin hurried forward to restrain Li Yi, alarmed. "Yi, stop! One more hit and he’ll be done for."

Great-grandfather, trembling, also stepped forward, sighing, "Yi, enough. If you kill Ai Wanhua, all of Lijiazhuang will pay with their lives."

Though the other villagers were seething with hatred, none dared take Ai Wanhua’s life.

Li Yi hesitated, then lowered his hand.

Ai Wanhua glared at Li Yi with venom, mumbling, "Li Yi, I will never let you off."

Rage flared in Li Yi’s chest. He picked up an axe, striding to Ai Wanhua.

"You won't let me off? Then I might as well kill you now and join the rebels—let your father see what he can do about it!"

Faced with the sharp axe, Ai Wanhua was utterly terrified. He no longer dared mouth off and forced a pleading expression onto his swollen face.

"Li Yi, Master Li, please spare me. I won’t dare again."

"Spare you, so you can harm me once more?" Murder flickered on Li Yi's face.

Ai Wanhua was so frightened he wet himself, kowtowing desperately. "I’ll never dare again. I won’t ever cross you."

Li Zijin clung to Li Yi, persuading him earnestly, "Yi, show mercy where you can. You mustn’t kill Ai Wanhua."

Great-grandfather sighed as well: "Li Yi, let him go. Today’s lesson is more than enough."

Li Yi glanced at the anxious faces of the villagers. Killing Ai Wanhua in a fit of rage and joining the rebels might be satisfying, but dragging them all down was not his intent.

Since he could now protect himself, it was wiser to spare Ai Wanhua for the time being and bide his time to grow stronger.

Li Yi cast the axe aside and said coldly, "Fine. Then write a confession stating you forged documents, harbored evil intentions, and attempted to forcefully seize Yun Niang. Do that, and I’ll spare your miserable life."

Ai Wanhua let out a long sigh of relief and hastily agreed.

Once Ai Wanhua and his thugs had signed and sealed the confession, Li Yi accepted it and let them go.

But watching Ai Wanhua leave, battered and humiliated, Li Yi knew the man was as venomous as a snake and would never let this go.

Yet Li Yi was unafraid. He looked at the villagers behind him—so long as these humble folk stood united, the Ai family was nothing but a paper tiger.

With that thought, he turned and bowed deeply to the assembled villagers.

"Thank you all for your help today. I was reckless and brought trouble upon you."

Elder Liu replied, "You’re a son of Lijiazhuang. How could we stand by and do nothing for our own?"

"That’s right. Ai Wanhua has bullied good families long enough. It’s about time he got a taste of his own medicine."

"Well done, Yi! Watching you fight made us all proud and delighted," a villager called out.

The others laughed heartily—usually it was the Ai family bullying them, but today they had finally vented their anger.

Only great-grandfather sighed, "Yi, you’ve made a mortal enemy of Ai Wannian now. You must be careful from now on."

Li Yi understood the old man’s concern and nodded. "I understand."

"Don’t be afraid, Yi. If the Ai family dares come again, we’ll all come out and stand with you," another villager shouted.

"Stand with him? More likely get buried with him."

Before Li Yi could respond, Hunter Liu strode over, his face grim.

"Master Ai is a high official retired to his native place. Even the county magistrate shows him respect. Now Li Yi has offended the Ai family and injured their second son—he’s brought disaster upon us all."

The villagers, who had been jubilant, sobered at once. They looked at Liu, worry clouding their faces.

"Liu, don’t go frightening people," Li Zijin said quickly.

"Frightening people? Let me ask you all—if the Ai family buys off the authorities and has the young men sent to transport grain to Fugu County or build city walls in Mizhi County, will you go or not?"

Conscription for corvée labor was a deadly burden—none of the villagers wanted to go, but none dared refuse.

Hunter Liu glared at Li Yi, stepping forward and jabbing a finger at him. "Back on Chai Mountain, I could see you were reckless and lawless. Now, instead of handling things quietly, you’ve roped everyone in and beaten up the Ai family’s second son, making him hate all of Lijiazhuang. I say you’ve brought this down on us just to shield yourself!"

At those cutting words, some villagers' eyes changed instantly, and murmurs broke out among the crowd.