Chapter 65 If he can get someone to kill me, then it's just my bad luck

This statement caused the expressions of several men to shift instantly.

They clearly knew that Li Xiangyang was someone who would actually resort to lethal violence.

After dealing Dahai a sharp blow, Li Xiangyang continued, "I only want to get one thing clear today. Who sent you here?"

Dahai remained silent, but his body stiffened noticeably.

Li Xiangyang noticed the others exchanging glances.

At that exact moment, rapid footsteps echoed from not far away, accompanied by a loud shout: "Xiangyang!"

It was Li Daqiang's voice.

A wave of relief washed over Li Xiangyang, though his grip did not loosen in the slightest.

He knew the standoff was coming to an end, but the real trouble was only just beginning.

"Speak!" he ordered in a low voice. "Who on earth is it?"

Dahai grit his teeth fiercely. "In your dreams!"

Maintaining his firm grip, Li Xiangyang pressed on, "What time do you think it is? Is it worth it? If all of you get arrested, do you have any idea what kind of punishment awaits you?"

The men's faces changed slightly. Li Xiangyang struck while the iron was hot. "Even if I don't say anything, do you really think the law enforcement bureau won't figure out who ordered this?"

"Look, brothers, you are all still young. Most of you probably haven't even found wives yet. If you end up serving three to five years of hard labor in a reform camp, who's going to wait for you when you come back? By that time..."

"Shut up!" Dahai suddenly barked, his voice trembling slightly.

Li Xiangyang knew he had hit a raw nerve.

In this era, a stint in a reform-through-labor camp was no laughing matter.

Not only would you suffer yourself, but your entire family would be implicated.

"Actually, I know who it is," he continued, "however, if you confess on your own terms..."

"I'll confess to your..."

Seeing the others starting to waver, Dahai cursed fiercely and threw his weight backward in a sudden charge.

Li Xiangyang had anticipated this. With a forceful push of his right hand, he pinned Dahai firmly in place and pressed the blade forward, letting a thin thread of blood trickle along the edge of the knife.

"Want to die? I'm more than happy to oblige."

Li Xiangyang sneered, advancing the blade a fraction further.

This display of ruthlessness stunned everyone.

Dahai sucked in a sharp breath of pain, daring not move another inch.

The rest of the men froze in their tracks, horror etched in their eyes.

"Talk! Who ordered this?" Li Xiangyang demanded for the last time.

Finally, a tall, slender fellow cracked under the pressure and broke his silence. "Brother Xiangyang, you already know, so why make us say it? Aside from Second Sister Yang..."

"She sent you to teach me a lesson?" Li Xiangyang asked.

"No... not entirely..." Sun Ermazi, the tall and thin man, muttered under his breath, "Brother Xiangyang, this is a matter you really can't afford to provoke. Just back down and let it go. Second Sister Yang has connections in the county..."

"Shut your mouth!" Dahai spat viciously. "Sun Ermazi, you spineless coward! If the job gets botched, we only do three to five years inside, but if we offend that person, our entire families will be ruined!"

"Go on," Li Xiangyang said, his gaze turning frostier.

"Brother Xiangyang, don't ask who stands behind Second Sister Yang. Just pretend everything I just said was hot air!"

"Scared already?" Li Xiangyang sneered. "What are you trembling for? Even if the person behind her has connections that reach the heavens, any retaliation will be directed at me. Why would someone of that status bother crushing ants like you?"

"That makes sense. Are you a man of your word?" Sun Ermazi asked cautiously. "You really won't report this upward?"

"My word as Li Xiangyang is set in stone." Li Xiangyang's eyes burned like torches. "I said I wouldn't report it, so I won't. But you have to tell the truth."

Sun Ermazi swallowed hard. "Second Sister Yang is... is third master Ma's concubine."

"Old Third Ma?" Li Xiangyang's eyes narrowed.

"As long as you know Third Master, you should know he runs several lumber processing mills up in the Greater Khingan Mountains. Logging deep in the remote mountains is infinitely dangerous, so working under Third Master means putting your life on the line every day..."

"Enough," Li Xiangyang cut him off. "I keep my promises. Get lost."

With that, he released Dahai and tossed the dagger onto the snowy ground.

"You... you're really letting us go?" Sun Ermazi could hardly believe it.

"What?" Li Xiangyang sneered. "Want to go another round?"

Overwhelmed with a sense of reprieve, the men hurriedly turned to leave.

"Wait," Li Xiangyang called out again. "Go back and tell Old Third Ma that I, Li Xiangyang, stand straight and walk tall. If he wants to stick up for his concubine, let's settle it out in the open."

"If we fight, let's fight under the sun. We both tread the deep mountains and ancient forests; if he can find someone to finish me off, it's just my bad luck. Sniping from the shadows and threatening me through my family is no way for a real man to behave."

Sun Ermazi and the others exchanged glances and hurried away.

Just then, Li Daqiang came running over with a group of villagers.

"Xiangyang, you just let them walk away like that?" Li Daqiang stared at the fleeing figures in the distance, his voice trembling with anger. "Damn it, how dare they bully you like this? Today, I..."

Furious, Li Daqiang made a move to give chase.

"Hold on." Li Xiangyang grabbed his cousin by the arm.

"What is it?"

"Cousin, I know you mean well and want to stand up for me, but what are you planning to do? Lead people to their deaths? Don't think having numbers makes you invincible. Did you see how they were holding their knives earlier?" Li Xiangyang's expression was grave.

Li Daqiang blinked in confusion. "A knife is just a knife. What's so special about it?"

"There's a world of difference. When you hold a knife normally, the blade points forward; it's hard to parry effectively, and in the dead of winter, your chances of inflicting serious harm are minimal."

"But when they hold a knife, the tip points backward, reverse-gripped in the palm. Held that way, it's hard to knock out of their hands, and they can unleash maximum lethal force."

"Those guys aren't from the Yang Village. They're hired guns. Anyone who holds a knife like that has blood on their hands."

"Who... who could possibly command people like that?" Li Daqiang's voice was shaking.

"Old Third Ma's men," Li Xiangyang replied in a deep tone. "The kind who make a living playing with death in the mountains."

Hearing this, Li Daqiang gasped aloud. He knew all too well what kind of figure Third Master Ma of the Greater Khingan Mountains was.

"So," Li Xiangyang patted Li Daqiang's shoulder, "letting them go was the right choice. No matter how arrogant Old Third Ma is, he has to acknowledge this favor. That leaves room for negotiation later. Otherwise, wave after wave of this? Do you really want me locked in a fatal blood feud with them?"

Only then did Li Daqiang notice the bloodstains on Li Xiangyang's cotton-padded jacket, which had soaked right through. "Those bastards..."

"Alright," Li Xiangyang bent down to gather the fish scattered on the ground. "Help me pick up the fish."

"You're in this state and you still care about fish?"

"Of course. I came out here specifically to catch fish in the first place," Li Xiangyang said softly. "Besides, Xiaoyun wanted to show off her culinary skills for my mother."

Li Daqiang wanted to say more, but looking at his cousin's calm profile, the words died in his throat. He quickly bent down to help collect the fish.

As he gathered the catch, Li Xiangyang turned to the crowd. "Thank you all so much for today. Come over to my house later for fish, and let Xiaoyun cook up a feast for everyone."

"Well, that sounds wonderful!" The young men instantly perked up.

"Xiangyang, your wounds..." Li Daqiang remained worried.

"It's fine. We wear thick clothes in the winter, so the cuts aren't deep. It's freezing out here, let's head back quickly."

With that, he hoisted the wooden bucket onto his back, but Li Daqiang intercepted him. "You're injured, let me carry it!"

Chatting and laughing, the group walked back along the trail, as if the earlier peril had simply vanished into thin air.

Yet the name "Old Third Ma" hung heavily in the back of Li Xiangyang's mind.

In an era starved of resources, just how much capability did it take to establish and run lumber processing mills?

It wasn't merely a matter of money.

Without connections and influence, even if someone handed you a mountain of gold, you couldn't keep it running.

Let alone operating in a place like the Greater Khingan Mountains.

That was a deep, pathless primeval forest; successfully managing multiple timber mills there meant overcoming logistical challenges that ordinary mortals could never dream of conquering.

Li Xiangyang knew very well that powerful as Old Third Ma was now, the truly terrifying part lay in the future.

The ball was now in the other party's court. If Old Third Ma refused to let the matter go, the days ahead would likely prove turbulent.

Of course, the probability of that happening was extremely low.

Precisely because Old Third Ma was no ordinary man, he would be all the more inclined to listen to reason in the message Li Xiangyang had sent.