Suddenly, there was a knock at the door, and Chen Ping'an felt his hair stand on end, his scalp tingling.
Chen Er'ya, who was busy in the kitchen, also heard the knocking and ran out, her hands still wet.
Chen Ping'an gave Chen Er'ya a look, quickly put the stone in a corner of the courtyard wall, and then quietly walked to Chen Er'ya's side.
With his current strength, he could easily do this, and the people outside the courtyard gate wouldn't notice at all.
Bang!
The horizontal beam propped against the courtyard gate broke, and the gate was pushed open.
"What are you doing inside? No one came to open the door for so long!"
Several people surged in from outside the courtyard gate, the one speaking was a dark-skinned, wild-bearded Pockmarked Liu. He first scanned the area, then glared fiercely at Chen Ping'an and Chen Er'ya by the kitchen door.
"You!"
Chen Ping'an's face darkened as he looked at the group.
"The monthly payment was already made yesterday! What are you doing, being so overbearing!?
Chen Ping'an's voice was not soft, and anger appeared on his face.
In that brief moment, he quickly scanned the Pockmarked Liu who had entered. He only recognized one familiar face: Fei Zi, Little Tiger Lord's confidant.
Little Tiger Lord wasn't here! This meant that the other party hadn't traced the matter back to him. His secret hadn't been exposed.
At this moment, his most correct reaction was to explode on the spot, without the slightest pretense or compromise. If he were to act evasive, it would be easier for them to become suspicious. After all, he and Pockmarked Liu had a conflict yesterday; if he were to back down now, it would be illogical.
Although Chen Ping'an was slender, his Aura at the moment was quite intimidating. The Pockmarked Liu, who had initially looked fierce, showed a hint of surprise on his face upon seeing Chen Ping'an's reaction, appearing somewhat at a loss.
Bullies who prey on the weak!
Chen Ping'an sneered inwardly.
"You! Again and again, you break my family's door. You act without any regard, roughly and overbearingly. Are you really trying to force me to my death! No matter how down and out I, Chen Ping'an, am, I am still a temporary Yamen Runner of the Nanquan Lane Garrison Office. Today, if you don't give me a reason! Even if it comes down to going to the Nanquan Lane Garrison Office, I will still demand an explanation from your Little Tiger Lord!"
Chen Ping'an's face was dripping with gloom, as he stared intently at the few people in front of him.
His outburst, however, left the few Pockmarked Liu somewhat at a loss. Backed by the Tiger Head Gang, they were always feared and respected wherever they went. They had never experienced anything like this.
Furthermore, Chen Ping'an kept bringing up his identity as a temporary Yamen Runner of the Nanquan Lane Garrison Office, threatening to take the matter to the Zhenfu Division, acting as if he had reached his limit and was ready to go all out.
With Chen Ping'an acting this way, coupled with the terrifying Aura of the Zhenfu Division, the Aura of the few immediately weakened completely.
"Chen Family Boy... Chen Xiaoge, don't get agitated, let's talk this over properly. We came here today to..."
Fei Zi, the Pockmarked Liu, forced a smile, trying to ease the tension.
However, before he could finish his sentence, Chen Ping'an forcefully interrupted him.
"Talk this over properly? Do your actions just now look like you want to talk properly!? You broke my door, and you still want me not to be agitated. There's no such Dao! There's no such Dao in Lihua Lane, and there's no such Dao in Nanquan Lane either!"
"Now, you!" Chen Ping'an's eyes were like lightning, filled with rage: "Get out of my house!"
"You!"
Fei Zi felt as if his throat was clutched by Chen Ping'an, unable to utter appropriate words for a moment.
"Chen Family Boy, how dare you! How dare you speak to us like that! Do you know who we are?"
A Pockmarked Liu next to him, forcing himself to be brave, rolled up his sleeves and shouted loudly.
"Who cares who you are? No matter how deep or great your background is, is it greater than the Zhenfu Division, greater than the da gan law!"
Chen Ping'an laughed in extreme anger, sneering twice at the group.
"da gan law, Article 178: Those who break doors and commit violence shall be flogged thirty times and imprisoned for five years! You few! Do you want to challenge the authority of the da gan law! If you don't get out now, you won't be able to get out even if you want to!"
The Pockmarked Liu who was speaking had his face flushed red, choked and unable to speak.
That's right, no matter how big the Tiger Head Gang was, could it be bigger than the Zhenfu Division, bigger than the da gan law! They didn't understand the da gan law, but when Chen Ping'an said it, the look on his face left them no choice but to believe him.
"Chen Xiaoge, we..." Fei Zi finally recovered and tried to speak, only to be met with a single word from Chen Ping'an.
"Scram!"
Hearing this, Fei Zi's expression turned cold. He fiercely jabbed his finger forward in Chen Ping'an's direction.
"Good, you just wait for me! Let's go!"
"Good, I'll wait!"
Chen Ping'an sneered, appearing utterly fearless.
Fei Zi glared fiercely at Chen Ping'an, his face full of rage, and led the other Pockmarked Liu away.
Watching them leave, Chen Ping'an glanced at the half-painted marks on the courtyard wall, feeling a slight relief.
Fortunately, they didn't come in to check.
There was no need for Chen Ping'an to be told the purpose of their visit; he knew it was about Pockmarked Liu. They probably wanted to interrogate him about something. They wanted to gain the upper hand first, to give him a warning, so he would cooperate fearfully.
It's just a pity they found the wrong person!
Originally, he was willing to swallow his anger because he didn't have the strength yet. At that time, his martial Dao hadn't even begun, and if they really fought, he might not have been a match for the experienced Pockmarked Liu.
But now... he was at Qi Blood Third Stage. With martial power, courage was naturally born!
A mere few Pockmarked Liu, he truly wasn't afraid!
He hadn't expected that when he became tough, the other party would actually show weakness.
Indeed, a bunch of weaklings who bully the soft and fear the hard!
However, judging by their demeanor, this matter was probably not over yet.
Their quarrel just now wasn't quiet, and the surrounding neighbors must have basically heard it. If Fei Zi and his group really left in such a dismal way, doing nothing, it would probably affect the prestige of the Tiger Head Gang.
Therefore, they would definitely do something next. This time, they should have gone to get reinforcements.
The identity of a temporary Yamen Runner, when not taken to the extreme, was only slightly better than an ordinary person. But if it was truly taken to the extreme, Chen Ping'an was a person of the Nanquan Lane Garrison Office.
People from the Nanquan Lane Garrison Office were not someone a few Pockmarked Liu could offend.
"Nannan, don't worry, your brother is here for everything." Chen Ping'an comforted Chen Er'ya.
"Mm." Chen Er'ya nodded heavily: "I believe in brother."
In the situation just now, with her brother by her side, she didn't feel scared at all.
Chen Ping'an picked up the stone and continued painting the marks on the courtyard wall. By the time he finished, Chen Er'ya was almost done washing the dishes.
Chen Ping'an took a chopping knife from the kitchen and then ran into the house to bring out a chair. He placed the chair in the center of the courtyard, directly facing the entrance. Then, holding the chopping knife, he sat on the chair facing the main door, in a grand manner, quietly waiting for the Tiger Head Gang to arrive.
"I want to see if this Tiger Head Gang dares to defy the law under the jurisdiction of the county city!"