Making you a son-in-law is not about making you conquer the world.

"This mountain is mine, these trees are mine, if you want to pass, leave your toll!" A burly man dressed in black with a black cloth wrapped around his head stood in the middle of the road and shouted loudly, holding a gleaming curved knife.

Beside this man were three slightly thin men, all masked and holding knives, their eyes gleaming with a sharp light.

Lin Ping was startled. Clutching the tens of thousands of taels of silver notes in his arms, he quickly hid behind a large tree, his legs trembling.

This money was his start-up capital for his trip to Yingtian Prefecture; he couldn't let the other party take it all away in one go.

It's strange, considering he looked so poor and was walking. It was more likely he would be sexually assaulted than robbed.

"In broad daylight, under the clear sky, how dare you bandits cause trouble!" Approaching us was a handsome young man with a fair complexion, riding a white horse, with a jade pendant hanging from his waist, and his face clearly showing his wealth.

Upon seeing this, Lin Ping breathed a sigh of relief, which proved that the bandits' target was not him, but this flamboyant, handsome young man.

Lin Ping watched with great interest from behind a big tree. He was definitely a good busybody. The man had a strong voice and was probably a master. It was estimated that these four bandits had met their match.

"Enough talk, pay up!" The burlyest bandit stomped his foot, fiddling with his gleaming curved knife.

Before the handsome young man could speak, the white horse he was riding was already kicking up its heels in fright; it was clearly a young foal that had never been on the battlefield.

The saying "coolness lasts no more than three seconds" is absolutely true, at least it applies to this handsome young man, whose disheveled landing is the best proof of that.

"Don't come any closer, I am..." The jade-faced young master also pulled out a thin willow-leaf sword with a red rope tied to it. If he wasn't a real expert, he was just pretending to be one.

As expected, when the bandit's scimitar struck the rapier, the Jade-Faced Young Master's entire arm trembled, leaving him with no strength to grip the weapon.

"I don't care who you are, if you don't leave your money, you'll leave your life behind," the bandit said viciously, his curved blade already pressed against the young master's neck.

Lin Ping, standing behind the big tree, shook his head. He knew that this pretentious young master was either rich or noble. There was nothing he could do; he just wanted to make a name for himself among the feudal lords, and maybe this man could be used as a stepping stone. He would save him first.

call out!

A crossbow bolt roared out and struck the bandit squarely in the right shoulder. Bright red blood flowed down his arm, and his scimitar fell to the ground.

Lin Ping was a master archer who preyed on all kinds of weaklings.

"Who's there? Get out here!" The bandit was quite bold, enduring the excruciating pain as he quickly scanned his surroundings.

The other three gripped their sword hilts tightly, warily surveying their surroundings, all poised to face an enemy.

Another crossbow bolt answered this person, this time piercing another person's shoulder.

After confirming that the four were not experts, Lin Ping arrogantly emerged from behind the tree and shouted sternly, "Hey, you petty thieves, get out of here!"

The four men stared in terror at the crossbow in Lin Ping's hand, all of them breaking out in a cold sweat. They knew the power of the crossbow and had witnessed Lin Ping's accuracy, so they naturally dared not linger and hurriedly ran away in a panic.

"Don't run, arrest them and bring them to the authorities!" the jade-faced man kept babbling.

Lin Ping felt helpless about this, and he really admired the other party's pretentious nature. He wondered why the other party didn't have such courage when a knife was held to his throat, but now he was suddenly showing off.

If it weren't for the fact that this person was connected to the government, Lin Ping would have made him arrest these people himself.

"Let bygones be bygones. They're just ordinary people who can't afford to eat. Why push things to the extreme? Besides, young master hasn't suffered any loss," Lin Ping explained softly, his serious demeanor utterly infuriating.

"Oh? Why do you say these villains are commoners who can't afford to eat?" the Jade-Faced Young Master asked in confusion.

Upon hearing this, Lin Ping was delighted. The other party was clearly born into a wealthy family, the kind who never lifted a finger, and was likely a powerful figure. In this way, it was time for Lin Ping to show off.

"Young master, have you ever considered why there are so many bandits in times of chaos, but so few in times of peace?" Lin Ping asked in return.

The other party remained silent, clearly indicating that they had not considered this issue.

"Because of the heavy taxes and levies during chaotic times, ordinary people couldn't afford to eat, so they turned to banditry. Throughout history, if ordinary people had enough to eat, they wouldn't have picked up hoes to rebel. So, it is this increasingly turbulent society that forces them to rebel," Lin Ping answered for the other party, naturally using some findings from modern research.

The handsome young man was stunned, staring at Lin Ping with surprise, and clasped his hands in a fist and said, "Thank you for saving my life, young master."

"My name is Lin Wuqing. I am not some young master. I am just a fool who wants to shelter all the poor scholars in the world and make them happy," Lin Ping said with a wry smile. He was putting on a great show and was at the highest level of pretentiousness.

Judging from his attire, manner of speaking, and speech, he is not only wealthy and powerful, but also thinks about benefiting the people of the world.

Lin Ping dared not claim to be second to anyone in the world when it came to speaking human language to humans and ghost language to ghosts; he was undoubtedly number one.

As for the name Lin Wuqing, it was just a whim. Since we're going to start over, we might as well go all the way.

After speaking, Lin Ping lowered his head and chuckled, anticipating that the other party would help him up with both hands. Then, stroking his sparse beard, he nodded with satisfaction and said, "Hearing your words is better than reading ten years of books. Come, follow me to conquer the world!"

However, what awaited Lin Ping was the clatter of hooves. A cloud of dust from a galloping horse obscured Lin Ping's view and also blocked his path to becoming a powerful figure in the court.

"What a wonderful saying, 'May all the poor and needy find shelter and rejoice!' Young brother, we'll meet again in Yingtian Prefecture!" The handsome young man laughed heartily, certain that Lin Ping would also be going to Yingtian Prefecture.

"Pah! What a big shot! I thought he was some powerful figure, but he's just a loser. All my hard work and nagging was for nothing." Lin Ping spat on the ground, figuring the other person was just a poor nobody. Otherwise, he should have left some reward or at least given his name. What kind of gentleman just walks away like that?

The main reason Lin Ping coughed up thick phlegm was the billowing dust. He couldn't just swallow it if he didn't spit it out. This time, Lin Ping looked utterly poor and stingy, without needing to pretend at all.

After this incident, he also realized something: riding a horse makes it easier to be robbed, while walking on foot, although slower, is more reliable.

As evening approached, Lin Ping checked into the nearest post station to Yingtian Prefecture. He didn't want to enter the city on a pitch-black night; at the very least, he wanted to see the majestic city walls.

This is one of the ancient cities he longed to visit.

The inn was so popular that Lin Ping almost had to sleep on the streets. Many people shared his idea: to enter the city at sunrise, and to do so with the air of riding high on a swift horse and seeing all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day.