Harvest

Upon seeing the face of the newcomer, Wu Shirong's complexion instantly turned deathly pale, and he cried out in a trembling voice.

"Chief Wu, where was your esteemed son planning to go? I don't recall ever offending you, yet you dared to lure Shui Gaoge to South Ridge City to harm me? Tell me, how should I deal with you? Should it be like this?"

"Crack!"

With a gentle squeeze of Zhao Ping'an's right hand, Wu Xiangtian's slender neck was instantly crushed to pieces, leaving him dead beyond any doubt.

"No!!! Tian'er!!!"

"Zhao Ping'an, you'll die a miserable death! I'll fight you to the death!"

"Poison Wolf Sting!!!"

Wu Shirong's eyes instantly flooded with blood, his face twisted with fury as he lunged at Zhao Ping'an.

From both his sleeves, two foot-long sharp spikes shot out, gleaming with an eerie green light, clearly coated with lethal poison.

At the tips of the spikes, several inches of true energy emerged, stabbing straight toward Zhao Ping'an's chest.

"Clang!"

With a crisp sound of metal clashing, Wu Shirong's [Poison Wolf Sting] was directly blocked by two fingers Zhao Ping'an extended, frozen in place.

"Boring tricks..."

Zhao Ping'an muttered, grabbing the two spikes and, at a speed Wu Shirong couldn't even react to, drove them straight into his heart and neck.

"Ugh... I..."

Black blood immediately trickled from the corner of Wu Shirong's mouth, his face flushed red as he groaned a few times before collapsing to the ground, dead beyond any doubt.

Zhao Ping'an watched all of this calmly, his face utterly expressionless.

After entering the city, he had wasted no time in sending his Mistress to the Zhao Residence.

Then he had gone straight to the City Lord's Mansion, ordering them to dispatch the City Guard to surround all branches of the Poison Wolf Gang within the city and seal off every gate, allowing entry but no exit.

After finishing that, he had flown without pause to the Poison Wolf Gang's headquarters in the city, just in time to see Wu Xiangtian walking out of the gang's base carrying a box.

He didn't recognize the man, but Wu Xiangtian, guilty as charged, tried to flee the moment he saw him, only to be caught directly.

When the Poison Wolf Gang members saw this, they all shouted for Zhao Ping'an to release their young chief, exposing his identity on the spot.

Then came the scenes that followed.

Zhao Ping'an had no interest in killing the ordinary gang members; the true culprit of this incident was Wu Shirong.

Now that he and his only son had died by his hand, all that remained was to kill off those loyal to him, and everything would be settled.

As for the Poison Wolf Gang's assets, aside from giving one-tenth to the City Lord's Mansion as a handling fee, the rest would be his.

"They really were wealthy, with so many gold notes, all from Sihai Money House, tsk tsk... And this? A Qi Gathering Pill? Just right to leave for Senior Disciple Brother."

Looking at the neatly stacked banknotes and a delicate jade bottle inside the wooden box, Zhao Ping'an nodded in satisfaction.

Of course, he knew this was only a portion of Wu Shirong's wealth; his actual assets were likely far greater.

But he couldn't be bothered to search for them; there would be plenty of professionals to help scour the assets later.

That evening, South Ridge City was once again rocked by violent upheaval. The Poison Wolf Gang, a top-tier force second only to the City Lord's Mansion and the two great families, was thoroughly purged.

All their shops and branches were wiped out in one fell swoop.

With many tongues wagging, all sorts of rumors spread like wildfire.

But every single one revolved around one person—Zhao Ping'an.

The specifics were debated endlessly, but every faction had its own informants, and in the end, they all pieced together a rough outline of the story.

The Poison Wolf Gang had been involved in the kidnapping of Zhao Xiuyun.

The sudden destruction of the Poison Wolf Gang made every faction in South Ridge City once again elevate the status of Zhao Ping'an and those close to him.

They were now listed as people even more untouchable than the City Lord's Mansion.

Of course, every cloud has a silver lining. The disappearance of the Poison Wolf Gang stirred up all the already saturated factions, making them restless.

A gang's real source of wealth wasn't those shops and branches—what was a year's profit from those?

The Poison Wolf Gang had been the underground emperor of South Ridge City.

Their true revenue came from high-profit gray industries: gambling dens, brothels, underground loan shops, protection fees, intelligence networks, and so on.

And now, a massive gap had opened up in these industries.

Zhao Ping'an had no time to dabble in gray businesses; money was just a number to him, enough to use was fine.

The next morning, Zhao Xiuyun slowly woke up, staring dazedly at the familiar scene before her, unable to snap out of it for a long time.

"I'm... back?"

"Mistress is awake! Mistress is awake!"

Mu Yunmeng, who had been keeping watch most of the night, habitually glanced at her Mistress on the bed and suddenly froze. It wasn't until Zhao Xiuyun blinked that she shouted in joy.

Although Zhao Ping'an had said that his Mistress had only been drugged with a sleeping potion and was in no real danger.

The others still couldn't help but worry. Now that their Mistress had finally woken up, everyone who rushed over upon hearing the news was overjoyed.

Zheng Hetong had also woken from his coma the previous night. After taking a blood-replenishing medicinal decoction and seeing his wife return safely, he had fallen back into a deep, relieved sleep.

Now, he too was roused by the commotion.

Zhao Xiuyun's body was not seriously harmed—only weakened from prolonged dehydration and some fright, leaving her a little frail.

After drinking a large bowl of Ginseng Snow Lotus Porridge and learning that Zhao Ping'an had carried her back from outside the city on his own, and had also healed her husband's injuries, she immediately felt at ease.

But Butler Fu's death weighed heavily on her heart. She did not want to show it in front of others.

Perhaps only time could soothe her pain.

Zhao Ping'an was not at the Zhao Residence. He had only returned midway to check on his master and mistress before hurrying away again.

He needed to keep an eye on the City Lord's Mansion.

That was all retirement money he had set aside for his master and mistress—he could not let a single ounce go missing.

It was not until the evening of the next day that Zhao Ping'an drove five wagons, escorted by two squads of City Guards, slowly back to the Zhao Residence.

"Unload all the chests from the wagons into the courtyard, then you may return and report your mission!"

Zhao Ping'an jumped down from the wagon and shouted loudly to the two squads, thirty City Guards in total.

"Yes, sir!"

Soon, large chests were carried down from the wagons by these men and neatly arranged in the center of the courtyard.

This scene quickly drew the attention of several senior and junior brothers, as well as Zhao Xiuyun, who had recovered.

"Ping'an, what are these chests?"

"Mistress! These are some things we seized from the Poison Wolf Gang—nothing of great use. How are you feeling now? Have you seen a pharmacist?"

Seeing his mistress Zhao Xiuyun walking over with the other senior and junior brothers and sisters, Zhao Ping'an immediately stepped forward, supporting her arm, and asked with concern.

A wisp of True Essence from his palm silently entered her body, carefully probing once more—but just like before, he found nothing.