The Villain's Counterattack

Not long after, the four owners of the manor woke up one after another and found themselves back on the ground. Lin Pingzhi had changed his clothes and was drinking and eating, and there seemed to be nothing unusual.

"Mr. Lin, what was the result of the previous battle?" Huang Zhonggong was convinced of Lin Pingzhi's strength. He was able to fight back and forth with Ren Woxing. In the end, he and others were knocked unconscious, but he seemed to be fine. He was indeed extraordinary.

"Of course, this young master won." Lin Pingzhi glanced at him, his chopsticks twitching lazily as he spoke, "Although I was a bit tricky and took advantage of Mr. Ren's restricted hands, I still won. However, that old man was unwilling to teach me martial arts, so you must compensate me for this loss."

Huang Zhonggong, Hei Baizi, Tu Biweng and Dan Qingsheng looked at each other in disbelief, not believing that this boy could really win. However, when they carefully recalled what they saw outside, it seemed that this boy did have the upper hand in the end, and he could attack or defend. However, Sect Leader Ren was restricted by the chains, and it was estimated, possible, or perhaps he really could not beat him.

"Look, the 'Guangling San', 'Ou Xue Pu', 'Xue Qing Tu', 'Xian Xinglv Tu' and 'Sui Yi Tie' are all here. It's not impossible for me to lend them to you, but I have a condition." Lin Pingzhi pointed at those treasures, and the four people became alert at the same time. This kid has never been one to suffer losses, so there must be something important.

"As long as you come to me, these four will be gifts to you. Then I will set up an academy in the overseas fairyland. The four of you will be respected and treated as guests of honor by many nobles. At the same time, you will have endless treasures that you have never seen before, or even dared to imagine. How about it?" Lin Pingzhi started recruiting four great sages again.

Huang Zhonggong and the others looked at each other, not understanding why this boy suddenly called them together and brought up the old matter, even though they had clearly refused it before.

"I'm used to living a leisurely life, but I'm getting old this year. I don't want wealth and fame. I just want to spend the rest of my life in peace and contentment at this farm. I appreciate Mr. Lin's kindness." Huang Zhonggong finally rejected Lin Pingzhi's recruitment. This kid had unfathomable martial arts skills, but it was a pity that he had no choice.

Lin Pingzhi suddenly changed the subject and asked, "Does Mr. Ren in the dungeon have any grudge against you? He's such a skilled martial artist, yet you've trapped him underground and tortured him. Aren't you afraid he'll escape and seek revenge?"

Huang Zhonggong and the others shook their heads slightly, and finally Dan Qingsheng spoke up, "Brother Lin speaks his mind, but there are some things that can't be said lightly. Mr. Ren was once a great hero in the martial arts world, but he has a violent temper and kills people at will. He is a great demon. As for escape, it is unlikely. The chains made of fine steel are so strong that they cannot be easily broken. Moreover, there are layers of doors that cannot be broken by human power."

Lin Pingzhi pointed at them and was speechless. "This prison wasn't designed by you, was it?"

"My brothers and I are obsessed with music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and we are indeed not proficient in the art of mechanism. Is there any particular trick to this?" Huang Zhonggong suddenly had a bad premonition.

"Mr. Ren is a martial arts master. To be honest, I can't beat him." Lin Pingzhi's words made the four friends from Jiangnan nod their heads repeatedly. This kid was quite honest. He avoided people and no longer boasted like before. It turned out that he was really defeated.

"Mr. Ren's martial arts skills are better than mine, but yours are slightly inferior to mine. If Mr. Ren rushes out, are you sure you can resist him? Or will you be knocked unconscious by his shout like before?" Lin Pingzhi's words seemed a bit slapped in the face, and the four of them could only admit that they were indeed no match for his opponent.

"As for the layers of portals and mechanisms you mentioned, hehe, since Mr. Ren is alive and well, it means that someone delivers meals to you every day. I guess the four of you take turns or the head of the manor delivers them personally, right?" Lin Pingzhi asked deliberately speculating, but the four of them shook their heads at the same time.

"Oh, is the martial arts of the person who delivered the food comparable to Mr. Ren?"

How could this be possible? The four of them denied it in unison. "You mean Mr. Ren can subdue the messenger and follow him out? That's impossible. Not to mention that Mr. Ren's messenger can't open the final portal, Mr. Ren's body has been imprisoned in the room and it's impossible for him to get out."

Lin Pingzhi said speechlessly, "Do the people who designed these doors have a grudge against you? The last door requires four keys to open, but it leaves a foot-long hole. Just your head can stick out, and if you squeeze your body, you can get out too. As for the chain, let me ask you, two pieces of iron rubbing against each other a hundred times a day is not much, right? That's over thirty thousand times a year. What kind of iron can't be sharpened into an embroidery needle?"

Huang Zhonggong and the other three were startled, and at the same time, they thought of a possibility, "Has Mr. Ren escaped?"

"You don't think I can really beat Mr. Ren, do you? I got rid of the chains a long time ago, but I didn't think of how to open the door for a moment, and never thought about the window carefully. This time you let me in and gave Mr. Ren a chance to escape. Hehe, it's funny, why has no one ever discovered such an obvious loophole?" Lin Pingzhi felt that they were all crazy.

"This is bad, this is really bad." The four Jiangnan friends were horrified, and then they realized, "Why didn't Mr. Ren take our lives immediately?"

"Oh, I saved you. I made sure you didn't leak any information about him before he was exposed. Although I couldn't defeat him, I still had the means to severely injure him or even kill him together. After all, I was still young and he was old." Lin Pingzhi sighed slowly, "He took my housekeeper and maid hostage. I can't let you spread the news before they come back."

Huang Zhonggong's face was extremely grim, and he muttered to himself, "Mr. Ren is not a reasonable and trustworthy person. I'm afraid your housekeeper and maid have already died."

"No, he wouldn't dare!" Lin Pingzhi said coldly, "If anyone dares to hurt me, Lin Pingzhi, I can spend hundreds of thousands of taels of silver and gather a group of top-notch martial arts masters to surround and kill him. If I want, I can still come up with a million taels of silver. Then I can gather Master Fang Zheng of Shaolin, Taoist Master Chongxu of Wudang, and Old Man Feng Qingyang of Mount Hua, and skin him alive together."

The four friends from Jiangnan were shocked at the same time, but they wondered in their hearts, is this possible?

Maybe it is really possible. This kid's network of connections is indeed amazing. Moreover, the Shaolin, Wudang, and Huashan sects are not like them, where one family can feed the whole family. They have large families and great businesses. A million taels of silver is a huge fortune.

"Brother Lin, have you thought about this a long time ago? You must have made comprehensive arrangements to protect us, right?" Dan Qingsheng had a good impression of Lin Pingzhi, who was proficient in eating, drinking and having fun.

"There are two options. One is to live in seclusion on Mount Hua. With Master Feng Qingyang there, assassination by a top-tier expert is definitely not feasible. Furthermore, that's where the Huashan Sect is stationed, so a large group of troops can't get there. Don't underestimate the current Huashan Sect. Although Linghu Chong and Yue Lingshan are only first-rate masters, they are proficient in a set of combined sword techniques. Even Master Feng Qingyang might not be able to defeat them if they join forces."

The Four Friends from Jiangnan seemed to be somewhat tempted. Mount Hua was a place with beautiful scenery, but it was not too secluded due to the constant coming and going of people. Unless it was really hidden very deep, it was hard to guarantee that it would not be discovered by some real masters who were looking for secluded places.

"May I ask about the second way..." Huang Zhonggong was really afraid. He knew Ren Woxing's character better than anyone else.

Lin Pingzhi took out a map and pointed at the Ryukyu Islands. "This is the Ryukyu Islands," he said. "My Lin family has built cities here, here, and here. We have five or six hundred thousand Han Chinese, but we're very short on talent. If you're interested, you might as well take up some official positions there. If you don't like that, you can explore the islands and teach students in your spare time. This island is at least half the size of a province, but it's so isolated that others can't easily reach it."

“It’s hard to leave your hometown.”