Harvest

After Wu Shirong got a clear look at the person who had arrived, his face instantly turned deathly pale, and he cried out in a trembling voice.

"Guild Leader Wu, where does your son think he's going? I don't believe I've ever offended you. How dare you bring Shui Gaoge to South Ridge City to harm me? Tell me, what should I do with you? Should I do this?"

"Crack!"

With a slight squeeze of Zhao Ping'an's right hand, Wu Xiangtian's slender neck shattered in his grasp. He was dead beyond any doubt.

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

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

"Poison Wolf Sting!!!"

Wu Shirong's eyes instantly turned bloodshot. His face twisted with rage as he lunged at Zhao Ping'an.

Two foot-long, sharp spikes shot from his sleeves, gleaming with an eerie green light. They were clearly coated in poison.

Several inches of true qi shimmered along their tips as they stabbed straight toward Zhao Ping'an's chest.

"Clang!"

With a crisp clash of metal, Zhao Ping'an stopped Wu Shirong's Poison Wolf Sting with two fingers. The spikes couldn't move an inch.

"What a dull trick..."

Zhao Ping'an murmured. He grabbed the two spikes and, before Wu Shirong could react, drove them straight into his heart and neck.

"Ugh... I... can't..."

Black blood immediately spilled from Wu Shirong's mouth. His face flushed red as he let out a few feeble groans, then collapsed. He was dead beyond any doubt.

Zhao Ping'an watched it all calmly, his expression unchanged.

After entering the city, he had taken Mistress straight to Zhao Residence without stopping.

Then he went directly to the City Lord's Mansion, ordering them to dispatch the City Guard to surround every Poison Wolf Gang outpost in the city and seal all the gates, allowing people in but not out.

Once that was done, he rushed straight to the Poison Wolf Gang's headquarters in the city. There, he happened to see Wu Xiangtian walking out with a box in his arms.

He didn't recognize the man, but Wu Xiangtian had a guilty conscience. The moment he saw Zhao Ping'an, he tried to flee, only to be caught at once.

When the Poison Wolf Gang members saw this, they all demanded that Zhao Ping'an release their young gang leader, revealing the man's identity in the process.

And so, what followed unfolded.

Zhao Ping'an hadn't bothered killing the Poison Wolf Gang's ordinary members. Wu Shirong was the culprit behind the whole affair.

Now, both Wu Shirong and his only son had died at Zhao Ping'an's hands. All that remained was to kill the followers who were utterly loyal to Wu Shirong, and the matter would be settled.

As for the Poison Wolf Gang's assets, one-tenth would go to the City Lord's Mansion as a fee for running errands. The rest would all be his.

"They really are loaded. So many Gold Notes, and they're all from Sihai Money House. Tsk, tsk... What's this? Qi Gathering Pills? I'll save them 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 part of Wu Shirong's fortune. His true assets were likely far greater.

But he couldn't be bothered to look for them. There would be plenty of professionals to help seize the wealth later.

That evening, South Ridge City was rocked once again. The Poison Wolf Gang, a top power second only to the City Lord's Mansion and the two great clans, was thoroughly purged.

Every shop and outpost was swept clean.

With so many people talking, one rumor after another spread in every direction.

Yet every story revolved around one person—Zhao Ping'an.

The exact reasons differed from one account to the next, but every faction had its own informants. In the end, they all pieced together roughly the same story.

The Poison Wolf Gang had taken part in the kidnapping of Zhao Xiuyun.

The gang's sudden downfall made the various powers in South Ridge City raise their estimation of Zhao Ping'an and those close to him yet again.

They were now listed among the people one must never offend, even above the City Lord's Mansion.

Of course, every cloud had a silver lining. With the Poison Wolf Gang gone, the factions that had long since reached saturation all began to stir.

The gang's real source of wealth wasn't its shops and outposts. How much money could those bring in over a year?

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

Its true income came from wildly profitable, illicit businesses: gambling houses, brothels, underground banks, protection rackets, information networks, and countless other ventures.

Now, a vast hole had opened up in that market.

Zhao Ping'an had no time to dabble in illicit businesses. Money was just a number to him. As long as he had enough, that was all that mattered.

Early the next morning, Zhao Xiuyun slowly woke. She stared blankly at the familiar scene before her, unable to come to her senses for a long while.

"I'm... back?"

"Mistress is awake! Mistress is awake!"

Mu Yunmeng, who had kept watch for most of the night, instinctively glanced at Mistress on the bed. She froze. Only when Zhao Xiuyun blinked did Mu Yunmeng excitedly shout.

Although Zhao Ping'an had said Mistress had only been drugged and was in no danger, none of them had been able to fully relax. Now that Mistress had finally woken, everyone who hurried over after hearing the news was overjoyed.

Zheng Hetong had also woken from his unconscious state the previous night. After drinking some blood-replenishing medicine and seeing his wife safely returned, he had fallen asleep again with a relieved expression.

The commotion woke him, too.

Zhao Xiuyun was in no serious danger. She was merely weak from going so long without food or water and from the fright she'd suffered.

After drinking a large bowl of Ginseng Snow Lotus Porridge and learning that Zhao Ping'an had carried her all the way back from outside the city by himself and healed her husband's injuries, she was finally able to relax.

But Butler Fu's death weighed heavily on her, too. She just didn't want to show it in front of everyone.

Perhaps only time could soothe her grief.

Zhao Ping'an wasn't at Zhao Residence. He had only returned midway to check on Master and Mistress before hurrying away again.

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

That was all the retirement money he'd set aside for Master and Mistress. Not a single coin could go missing.

It wasn't until the following evening that Zhao Ping'an finally drove five horse-drawn carts back to Zhao Residence, escorted by two squads of City Guards.

"Once you've unloaded all the boxes from the carts and set them in the courtyard, you can return and report back!"

Zhao Ping'an jumped down from the carriage and called out to the two squads of City Guards, thirty men in total.

"Yes, sir!"

Soon, the men carried one large box after another off the carts and arranged them neatly in the middle of the courtyard.

The scene quickly drew several of his senior disciples and Zhao Xiuyun, who had already recovered.

"Ping'an, what are all these boxes?"

"Mistress! These are some things seized from the Poison Wolf Gang. They're nothing important. How are you feeling now? Have you seen a physician?"

Seeing Mistress Zhao Xiuyun walk over with the other senior disciples, Zhao Ping'an hurried forward and supported her by the arm, asking with concern.

A wisp of True Essence from his palm slipped silently into Mistress's body as he carefully examined her once more. Just as before, he found nothing wrong.