Imperial henchmen? Never been struck by the sword of the Six Doors (a secret police agency).

Late at night, in Chu Yi's room.

"Chu Dali..." Chu Yi looked at the order to complete the training and enter the city on the letter, his eyes seeming to flash with fire.

That was the raging fire called ambition.

He knew this was an opportunity given to him by heaven. If he succeeded, the entire mine would be his.

Even... once the military formation is complete, he can start thinking about Qingfeng City, the main family, and even the path beyond that.

The more Chu Yi thought about it, the heavier his breathing became. The temptation was too great, so great that he pinched himself in disbelief.

"It's not a dream," Chu Yi murmured. The pain brought him back to his senses. He looked at the moon hanging high in the night sky, lowered his eyes, and placed the letter on the candlelight.

The letter was engulfed by flames, but Chu Yi simply held the letter, watching the flames spread to his fingertips. The intense heat of the fire gave him a sense of rebirth.

Then, Chu Yi looked at the letter that had turned to ashes and rubbed his fingertips.

"I'll have to keep Chu Dali busy for a while tomorrow," Chu Yi said casually.

And the other side.

......

The woods, the river.

"Damn it, Chu Er is such a scoundrel, he'll never amount to anything." The middle-aged man who had been "dumped" climbed out of the river, straightened his neck, and cursed angrily.

He knew he would "die," but he never expected that Chu Er, that hypocrite, would only talk about the money.

He really didn't give him a single silver ingot.

"Luckily, I know how to play it safe." The middle-aged man shook off the water on his clothes, slowly walked into the woods, and took a shortcut toward the Li family's house.

......

The Li family's main hall.

"What kind of skill is this?" Li Junsu looked at the middle-aged man below who was telling the story, and straightened his expression.

He realized he might have underestimated the world. To be able to jump around alive after having one's neck broken was somewhat astonishing, even in a world of high martial arts.

"Looks like I'll have to cover up the evidence after I kill someone from now on," Li Junsu thought to himself.

"This is just a small stroke of luck for me," the middle-aged man said modestly.

"Yi Jin Jing, he must have obtained a fragment or learned it by chance, which is quite rare," Li Wu explained to the serious Li Junsu.

"Hehe, you are truly knowledgeable, sir." The middle-aged man scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.

"Changchun, give him another ten taels. I hope no one knows about this." Li Junsu first said to Li Changchun below, and then looked at the middle-aged man with a smile.

"Rest assured, Lord Li, I will not show my face in the suburbs until your plan is completed." The middle-aged man looked at Li Junsu with utmost seriousness upon hearing this.

"Very good, you're a smart man, so let's exchange contact information. The Li family will need your help in the future." Li Junsu looked at the middle-aged man with satisfaction.

"I'm at..." the middle-aged man honestly gave his home address.

"Very good, you can go now." Li Junsu nodded and then waved his hand.

After the middle-aged man left.

“Young Master, letting others go like this…” Li Wu looked at Li Junsu, hesitant to speak.

"Don't worry, Uncle Wu. He just died at the hands of Chu Yi. He'll be fine going back now..." Li Junsu smiled and shook his head upon hearing this.

Upon hearing this, Li Wu also came to his senses.

If that middle-aged man runs back and alerts the enemy, he'll really be dead.

"Why do they always resort to killing to silence witnesses?" Li Junsu thought helplessly as he looked down at Li Wu and Li Changchun.

Li Junsu, who was planning to annihilate the Chu family, was unaware that he was the most ruthless one.

In Li Junsu's view, if the Chu family were to fall into internal strife, then not a single member of the Chu family, servants, young or old, would be spared.

As long as they are not enemies, Li Junsu possesses a personal charisma that commands respect.

But if it's an enemy... Li Junsu, who said he would wipe out the entire family, would eliminate them completely once he took action.

Show mercy but don't strike; strike without showing mercy.

......

The next day, at the Chu family mansion.

"What's all this noise?" Chu Dali, who had just returned home from Chunhua Tower, looked at the crowd outside the door and asked angrily.

"Brother, I've come to collect my belongings that I left at the Chu family's residence." Chu Yi walked out of the door and looked at Chu Dali.

"Your possessions, for a mere illegitimate son like you?" Chu Dali looked at Chu Yi and asked with a mocking laugh.

"What, Young Master Chu has no merits in the Chu family?"

"That's right, you're just a branch family member; anyone who didn't know better would think you were the head of the family!"

"Why don't you take a piss and look at yourself in the mirror to see what kind of filthy thing you are?"

"Moreover, Young Master Chu is doing this for us, unlike some others."

Chu Dali, who was originally about to get angry, calmed down after hearing the last sentence.

"Heh..." Chu Dali watched as Chu Yi and a large group of people walked straight past.

"Let's see how long your wealth can support this pack of stray dogs," Chu Dali said with a half-smile as he walked past Chu Yi.

"No need for you to worry, elder brother." Chu Yi replied calmly and nonchalantly upon hearing this.

"Is that so? We'll see." Chu Dali said, and walked straight into the Chu family home.

He hadn't expected Chu Yi to be so useless; it had only been a day.

"Yeah, they were just blinded by the praise." Chu Dali shook his head with a smile as he thought about the farce that happened the day before yesterday.

"Master, the garrison over there..." Wang Gui stepped forward and whispered.

"What's going on with the garrison?" Chu Dali asked in a good mood.

"My master wants me to speed up the training of military formations..." Wang Gui said in a low voice.

“Foolish,” Chu Dali said slowly.

"Patriarch?" Wang Gui, who had been inexplicably called stupid, looked up at Chu Dali with a somewhat bewildered expression.

"I'm asking you, what are we going to do after we finish practicing the military formation?" Chu Dali said as he walked towards the hall.

“Uh… eliminate the Li family,” Wang Gui replied softly.

"Yes, and then what?" Chu Dali continued to ask.

“Then go to Qingfeng City…” Wang Gui replied softly.

"Yes, so we risked our lives to get that extra half of the mine. The master family just sat there waiting for me to finish. After we finished, would the master family support the disabled guards or would we support them?"

So, is it right or wrong to let those brats train for a while longer to avoid too many casualties? Chu Dali sat in the main seat, looking at Wang Gui sitting next to him.

“This huge expense is indeed not worth it, you’re right, Patriarch.” Wang Gui quickly finished calculating and nodded.

"So, in terms of money, I'm not as good as you, but in terms of benefits, you're not as good as me." Chu Dali waved his hand magnanimously.

"Besides, it's not too late to kill that ingrate first and then see how well those idiots are training," Chu Dali thought leisurely.

"I should thank him, though. I was worried about what excuse to use to stall for time, but he came up with just the right one." Chu Dali was in a great mood.

"The patriarch is wise," Wang Gui said. After Chu Dali's calculations, it was indeed better to proceed slowly.

"Hmph, we're never part of the good things usually, but we only remember you when we need to risk our lives." Chu Dali pouted, somewhat annoyed.

In Chu Dali's view, sacrificing his own guards for the sake of the Chu family would be a complete waste.

Unlike Chu Yi, who had nothing, Chu Dali valued his guards more, since no matter how good the main family was, they wouldn't give anything to the branch family.

What he needs is the importance of the defense to the master's house. The defense needs the master's house's care, but the master's house also needs the support of the branch house.

To put it bluntly, Chu Dali has already begun to drift apart from his master's family.