After Chen Shi and Li Tianqing left, Qingzhou fell into chaos for a while. Taking advantage of the turmoil, some people attempted to act like local tyrants—bullying the weak, seizing women, and fencing off land. However, men disguised as the Red Horse Bandit quickly hunted them down and killed them.
Afterward, the legends of the Red Horse Bandit spread throughout Qingzhou. Both in the cities and the countryside, people talked about how the Red Horse Bandit had appeared somewhere yet again to slay some villain.
For a time, Qingzhou unexpectedly settled into peace.
On the second day of the new year, an emissary from the Li Family rushed to Qingzhou. To his surprise, he discovered that while major officials like the Qingzhou regional inspector, the salt commissioner, and the military commander had been slain and the prefectural yamen burned down, the common people were living and working in peace, happier even than when those officials were in power.
After a brief investigation, the emissary quickly uncovered the news that Li Tianqing and Chen Shi were the Red Horse Bandit. He immediately activated a Thousand Mile Sound Talisman to contact the Quanzhou Li Family, declaring, "Li Tianqing and Chen Shi have destroyed the power in Qingzhou and won the hearts of the people. It will likely be difficult to continue cultivating spirit herbs here. If Li Tianqing returns, capture him at once!"
"Li Tianqing?"
Upon receiving this news, the Quanzhou Li Family was greatly shocked and hurriedly reported the matter to the lineage's patriarch, Li Xiaozai. Hearing this, Li Xiaozai's expression shifted slightly, and he issued an order: "Immediately detain Li Tianqing's parents! Furthermore, his grandpa, Li Jindou, must also be detained!"
The affair in Qingzhou was no small matter. It concerned not only the lives of several ancestors of the