Druid Fairy

Chapter 42 Buying the murderer
bingo!

Top case in the county!
The entire Peach Blossom Village was in an uproar.

They were all from the same village, and everyone knew that Li Ping'an was a brilliant student, but who would have thought that he would become the top scholar in the county?

"This is the God of Literature descending to earth!"

"The Li family is going to be rich! Alas, why is my son such a good-for-nothing?"

"Isn't the second son of the Li family a sure thing to become a scholar? He'll be able to get a government job from now on!"

The people of Peach Blossom Village were overjoyed. They knew that there was an unwritten rule that those who ranked first in the preliminary examination were exempt from the prefectural examination and went directly to the provincial examination, and were almost guaranteed not to be rejected by the examiners.

"Great news, wonderful news! I can tell at a glance that your Ping An is a promising young man."

The old village chief, leaning shakily on his cane, was proud of his foresight back then. The thirteen-year-old "scholar" would one day pass the imperial examination and become a celestial official, becoming the immortal's right-hand man!

With a beaming smile, he called out to Li Rongzhou, "Hurry up and get the reward money for the messenger!"

"Great! I'm getting too excited!"

Li Rongzhou quickly gave the reporter two taels of silver in red envelopes from inside the house, and then took out a handful of copper coins to share the good fortune with the villagers.

The crowd cheered "Congratulations!" repeatedly, filling the air with a joyful atmosphere.

Madam Qin smiled and called to her youngest son, handing him a handful of copper coins. "Can'er, go to the school quickly to tell your second brother the good news. Give these copper coins to your second brother's classmate."

"Yes!" Li Pingcan replied loudly, his eyebrows dancing with excitement.

My second brother is currently a student who has passed the preliminary examination, so he is exempt from the prefectural examination. Once the provincial examination is over, he will be a registered scholar.

No wonder I heard magpies bringing good news this morning; it turns out it came true here. From now on, if magpies fly by again, I won't allow Xiao Hei to scare them!
…………

Licun Academy.

"Second brother, you've passed the county examination with top honors! Father, Mother, and eldest brother are overjoyed and are all waiting for you to come home!"

Li Pingcan lightly knocked on the door of the study and happily delivered the news.

A commotion broke out in the classroom as the students looked at Li Ping'an, their expressions filled with envy and excitement.

It's a great honor to be the top county official at such a young age, and to have attended the same school as me!
They even got some copper coins to soak up some of the scholarly luck; this was a huge win.

"Not bad, not bad." A slight smile appeared on Master Xie's stern face as he stroked his white beard. "Ping An, you should go home now."

"Yes, Master Xie."

Li Ping'an remained calm and composed. He first bid farewell to his teacher, then to his classmates, before leaving the school.

My second brother is so calm and composed; he truly lives up to his reputation as a top student!
Li Pingcan was inwardly amazed.

But when Li Ping'an stepped out of the threshold, he swayed and almost tripped over it, looking embarrassed.

Li Pingcan immediately burst into laughter.

It's definitely not because my second brother was too excited that he didn't see the threshold!
…………

"Second brother, if you're happy, then be happy. There's no need to pretend to be reserved."

On the way home, Li Pingcan suppressed a laugh.

Li Ping'an glared angrily at his younger brother, Li Pingcan, who looked back defiantly. The two brothers' eyes met, and they both burst out laughing.

"Haha, I'm the top scorer!"

Great.

Years of effort and anxiety have finally come to an end. My mind is at peace, and I feel happy. The flowers in this world seem more fragrant, the sky is bluer, and the birds in the distance are flapping their wings and soaring high and far.

Li Pingan relaxed completely.

However, having gotten used to the exams, this moment of ease was short-lived. He quickly rallied his spirits, determined to give his all in the final hurdle to becoming a scholar—the provincial examination. "Second brother, do you have any bad relationships with people at the academy?" Li Pingcan suddenly asked.

Li Ping'an's expression turned serious. He knew that his younger brother never spoke without reason. After thinking for a while, he said, "Although I am arrogant, I am good at studying and treat my classmates well. I have no enemies, except for Li Yuan, the son of the wealthy Li family, who is my only adversary."

After the Purple Gold Blood Centipede incident, he secretly sabotaged Li Fang's younger brother, Li Yuan, and taught him a lesson.

Li Pingcan nodded. From Mushroom's surveillance perspective, he saw Li Yuan staring at his second brother's back with a gloomy and fierce gaze, just like Li Fang had done back then.

'Could we strike first and eliminate Li Yuan immediately?'

As soon as the idea came to mind, Li Pingcan dismissed it. His second brother and Li Yuansu had always been at odds, and at this critical juncture, if something happened to Li Yuansu at the school, his second brother would easily be implicated.

If we want to take action, it's best to find the right opportunity, do it quietly and cleanly, and in short, we can't implicate my second brother, this rising "new star"!
'First, have Xiao Hei monitor Li Yuan's movements, then look for an opportunity. Li Yuan isn't the problem, not even the wealthy Li family is the problem, but that cousin, the Immortal Official…'

No one knows whether the celestial official can use magical artifacts to employ celestial methods and trace the clues back to the Li family.

Back home, Li Pingcan told his father, elder brother, and second elder brother about the incident. The family became more vigilant and decided to wait for the right opportunity.

…………

"Li Ping'an must be crippled!"

At home, Li Yuan thought to himself with a sinister glint in his eyes. Right now, Li Ping'an was already making it hard for him to breathe. If Li Ping'an really became a scholar, he would be even more unable to hold his head up!

As the youngest son of the wealthy Li family, Li Yuan was greatly favored. This favor reached its peak three years ago after Li Fang made a mistake that led to the disappearance of the Purple-Gold Blood Centipede.

Now, the wealthy Li family regards their youngest son as the heir to the family business.

He summoned the guards in his household and said, "Find me a Qi and Blood Realm expert so that I can break Li Ping'an's legs on his way to the provincial examination."

Without a leg, one cannot take the imperial examinations. The Great Yu Dynasty had a rule that people with disabilities were not allowed to become officials of the gods.

The guard asked in bewilderment, "Since you dislike Li Ping'an so much, why don't you kill him and end it all?"

"Killing him isn't that easy."

Li Yuan snorted coldly, "I want him to suffer while he's alive. Once his leg is broken and he's useless, let's see if his family will still want him!"

The eldest brother became useless, lost his father's favor, was completely abandoned, left to his own devices, and his life and death were ignored.

Killing Li Ping'an is too easy; he wants to drink and eat meat while embracing Li Ping'an's tragic fate so that the more he eats, the more delicious it becomes!
……

"Young Master Li, we have found a powerful man. He is asking for forty taels of silver."

"What? Forty taels of silver? Damn it, why don't they just rob us?"

Li Yuan gritted his teeth and secretly sold several pieces of fine porcelain from his home to raise forty taels of silver. He then instructed the guard, "Do a good job, and you'll be rewarded afterwards."

The guard was filled with gratitude. "Thank you so much, Young Master Li!"

……

"Afterwards? Who cares about afterwards? I want it now."

The guard sneered, took the thirty taels of silver, and said to his gang members, "Here's ten taels of silver. Find me a martial arts expert to break someone's legs. Yes, both legs! Do a good job, and there'll be a reward!"

The brother was deeply grateful, saying, "You truly are my good brother, always thinking of us when there's work to be done! I'll definitely do my best!"

……

"Go, find two of your underlings and tell them that the higher-ups are giving two taels of silver to break someone's leg."

……

In the desolate wilderness, inside a dilapidated Taoist temple, someone arrogantly addressed the filthy refugees who had fled there, saying, "Here are ten steamed buns for you, to break Li Ping'an's legs."

……

(End of this chapter)