Chapter 9: 9
The gate closed behind him . Li Qingshan looked around as if he had not noticed the tense atmosphere in the courtyard . Instead, he made his way over to caretaker Liu’s table . It was located right before the hall, located under the largest elm tree in the centre of the courtyard . It was the main table, and everyone who sat at that table had status in the village .
To caretaker Liu’s left and right were village head Li and the witch . They were the three people with the most authority in the village . There were also some elders of the village seated there too, with the only young people being village head Li’s two sons, Li Hu and Li Bao . They were both broad-shouldered and stalwart . They glared at Li Qingshan .
Caretaker Liu’s gaze shifted away slightly . After just a dozen or so days, Li Qingshan seemed to have become a different person . Caretaker Liu was unable to pinpoint exactly where Li Qingshan was different, but he was simply different from before . He just had an additional aura about him .
Village head Li remained dignified but his gaze was hostile, while the witch was filled with undisguised hatred .
Normal villagers would no longer be able to remain within the village if they had offended any single one of them, let alone all three at the same time . Their only choice would be to lower their heads and apologise . However, Li Qingshan would never lower his head .
There were many rules to a feast within the village, stressing everything from seating arrangement to sitting posture . Li Qingshan saw how the other tables were full and only this table had some room, so he sat there boldly . He said, “Why aren’t you eating? Have you all been waiting for me?”
No one answered him . Li Hu and Li Bao squeezed over from the left and the right, each grabbing one of Li Qingshan’s shoulders and pressing down on it .
Although Li Qingshan was young and had a tall stature just like the two of them, he was skinny, nowhere near as wide as the two of them . If it were in the past, just one of them could have easily dealt with him . Even now, Li Qingshan would only be able to handle one of them at a time, with two being potentially too difficult .
Li Qingshan frowned and grabbed their wrists . He tore them off his shoulders while using the Ox Demon Forges its Hide . Like a huge water buffalo stretching its muscles and bones, he moved left and right .
Li Hu and Li Bao only felt an intense pain from their wrists before they collided with Li Qingshan . They immediately lost their balance and fell off the bench .
The two of them were furious from the humiliation . They did not even care about the dust on them as they leaped to their feet .
Clang! A knife had been stabbed into the table, and everyone’s movements halted as well . Under the sunlight that filtered through the leaves, the blade of the knife flickered with a hazy light .
Li Hu and Li Bao immediately became afraid of approaching him . They were both sons of the village head, and they were pampered because of that . They could use their personal strength to harass the meek, but it was not worthwhile for them to risk their lives .
Li Qingshan gripped the knife with one hand as he rested a foot on the bench, leaning forward and looking at caretaker Liu as he chuckled . “Caretaker Liu, that’s not how you receive a guest . Even if there are any grievances of life and death that must be settled, it’s not like it can’t be settled after being fed . Don’t waste this table full of food . ” When he reached there, he actually stopped feeling nervous .
Before caretaker Liu could respond, the workers at the tables in the surroundings all agreed with him . To them, eating was obviously the most important matter! If they began fighting, who knows how many dishes and bottles of alcohol would go to waste . They did not believe the stingy caretaker Liu would prepare another table of food and wine for them . “Yeah, yeah . Caretaker Liu, we haven’t even eaten breakfast yet! We’ve been utterly starving since a long time ago . Where would we get the energy to fight?”
“I didn’t even get to eat last night . If I don’t eat some now, I won’t be able to last any longer . ” As a worker added as he gulped forcefully .
The tense atmosphere immediately became rather strange . Even Li Qingshan had no idea how to react . He started to wonder why he had been afraid of these people .
Caretaker Liu became bright red . He had set up this feast for two reasons . First, to stun Li Qingshan, and secondly, to give some benefits to the workers just in case they would not exert themselves .
He was determined to replicate what the stories had detailed, planting five hundred armed men and signalling them to take down Li Qingshan at the smash of a cup . However, he forgot that the people at his command were not disposable guards or soldiers, but farmers down to the very core .
Li Qingshan looked at caretaker Liu with a happy smile . “What a coincidence! I happened to have not eaten anything last night either, so I’ll just be candid now . ” He grabbed a roast chicken and began eating .
Ever since he began practising the Ox Demon’s Fist of Great Strength, his appetite had become astonishing . He only used around a dozen or so days to finish off a water deer that weighed over fifty kilograms . The black ox had not even managed to catch something new in time . The roast chicken disappeared into his mouth in the blink of an eye . With him at the lead, the workers could not care anymore . They all lifted their chopsticks and buried their faces in the food . For a moment, the only sound left in the courtyard was the sound of eating .
Village head Li was both furious and afraid . He trembled all over as he shot a glance at caretaker Liu . Aren’t you supposed to be very clever? Hurry up and come up with something .
Was there anything that caretaker Liu could come up with? He only shot a glance back . If I get the workers to act right now, they would hate to put down what is in their mouths right now . If Li Qingshan charged over and attacks me first with his knife, what am I supposed to do? Your sons look pretty tough most of the time, so why’d they become so soft now?
On that table, they only had caretaker Liu and a group of old people, so they could probably all be knocked over by a single kick from Li Qingshan . They felt like they had suddenly become stranded on a lone island, forced to face this vicious person alone . They were all trembling in fear .
With the rage of a common person, blood splashes five steps away . 1
Li Qingshan behaved like there was no one around him . He enjoyed the jug of alcohol all by himself . The village alcohol was weak in the first place, so there was basically no taste to it . As a result, he called out, “Bring me a big bowl!”
However, no one answered him . Li Qingshan produced a displeasured ‘hmm?’ and caretaker Liu quickly ordered someone to bring a big bowl . Li Qingshan filled it up and downed the whole thing in one stroke, “Satisfying!”When the workers saw how he drank so brazenly, they admired his courage, so there were actually quite a few cheers for him .
Li Qingshan had eaten quite a lot of oily and greasy food in the past few days, so now that he downed this scorching booze, he felt extremely satisfied . He did not stop, drinking three bowls in succession .
Li Qingshan let out a drunken burp and clasped his hands at everyone . “Everyone has eaten and drunk well, so don’t forget about caretaker Liu’s kindness . Any grievances can be settled after eating . Even if you end up on the path to the netherworld, you can’t be a starving ghost . ”
Afterwards, his gaze turned into a glare, and he looked at the people on the main table . “Why aren’t you eating?” With the rush of drunkenness, his killing intent was roused as well . If people kept looking to make things difficult for him, he would no longer have any peace in the Crouching Ox village . He might even fall for a plot concocted by them sometime . As a result, he might as well kill a few of them now, seize some of their belongings, and travel far away . There was probably no one in the village who would be bold enough to stop him .
Originally, Li Qingshan was only risking his own life to come to this banquet . There was even some bravado to this, yet he ended up calling caretaker Liu’s bluff and bravado . He had temporarily reversed the situation in his favour, altering his intentions drastically in the process . He could not help but think of what uncle Lei Feng had said, “Difficulties are like a spring . They are strong when you are weak . ” He also thought of what the founding ancestor Mao had said, “Imperialism is all but a paper tiger . ” Yep, landowners were all but a paper tiger .
While caretaker Liu was rather bad at scheming, he was good at reading people . As soon as he saw Li Qingshan’s expression, he knew that the young man was ready to kill . He could no longer maintain his act of shrewdness and sweat began to cover his forehead .
A few of the village elders were utterly terrified . They did not want to be glutted ghosts either! They explained to Li Qingshan in a hurry that regarding the family separation, all they did was show up as a formality . They had no idea about the inside story . Some of them stood up trembling, wanting to bid farewell and leave .