Back in Medicine Valley, Li Ping'an took Old Ox and Run Tu with him and turned the valley's soil one last time.
Then he put everything in the storeroom in order.
Only after packing his few belongings did he leave.
"Boss, are we really leaving Shushan?" Run Tu asked, puzzled.
"We'll see."
Leaving Shushan was merely an excuse Li Ping'an had given.
In truth, he only wanted to leave Heaven-Reaching Peak.
He wanted no involvement with the Lin father and daughter.
Trouble was coming to Heaven-Reaching Peak, and major trouble at that.
He went to the Myriad Affairs Pavilion and asked Xiaodao to find him a temporary place to stay.
Xiaodao laughed. "Brother Li, stop kidding me. You're doing so well on Heaven-Reaching Peak. If anything, I ought to come join you."
Li Ping'an showed him his luggage, and only then did Xiaodao realize he wasn't joking.
"Brother Li, what happened?"
Li Ping'an smiled without answering.
He spent the afternoon putting his new house in order.
Most important were the dozen or so young hens, dozen or so ducks, and five sheep Li Ping'an kept.
There was also a litter of adorable little rabbits.
Building new homes for them took Li Ping'an an entire night.
He also cleared all the weeds around the house.
He turned the soil and planted fruit trees and some flowers and grass.
On the third day after he moved into his new home, the little-girl-looking Elder Qingfeng came to see Li Ping'an, riding a gourd.
"I heard you quit. What happened? Was someone bullying you?"
Elder Qingfeng puffed out his barren chest, flat as a plain stretching a thousand miles.
Li Ping'an gave a vague reason.
He didn't want to say much to others about this matter.
No one understood better than Li Ping'an