Li Deping's house.
Li Deping never expected that Lin Xiao Tian would come again today, just one day after his last visit.
Moreover, judging by Lin Xiao Tian's somber expression, this situation was clearly dire. The thought that Lin Xiao Tian still held his leverage over him sent a shiver of fear down Li Deping's spine.
Lin Xiao Tian sat before the table, remaining silent. Li Deping brewed him a pot of tea and then stood by his side, meek and hesitant, not daring to breathe too heavily.
"Xiao Tian, what's wrong?"
Li Deping's psychological defenses finally crumbled, and he couldn't help but ask Lin Xiao Tian.
"Li Deping, tell me the truth. Have you been doing anything shameful behind my back lately?" Lin Xiao Tian stared at him directly.
"How could that be? Xiao Tian, don't jump to conclusions. How would I dare?"
Seeing Li Deping still trying to deny it, Lin Xiao Tian couldn't help but let out a scoff.
"Li Deping, you're quite the actor! I'll give you ten seconds. If you don't tell me, and then Li Gui Hua comes back, don't blame me for being impolite!"
Lin Xiao Tian began the countdown without waiting for Li Deping's reaction.
"Ten, nine, eight..."
Li Deping was in a frantic panic, but seeing Lin Xiao Tian's serious expression, he knew he wasn't joking.
"Five, four, three..."
"Xiao Tian, believe me! I really haven't done anything bad!" Li Deping tried to argue further.
Lin Xiao Tian ignored him completely and continued the countdown.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"Wait, Xiao Tian, don't count anymore! I'll tell you... I'll tell you, alright?" Li Deping broke down.
"Alright, speak! Remember, you only have one second left. If what you say isn't the answer I want, don't blame me for being impolite!"
"Okay, okay, okay... Just stop counting for now." Li Deping was beside himself with anxiety.
Lin Xiao Tian offered no reply, just looked at him coldly.
Facing the young man's indifferent gaze, Li Deping felt utterly powerless and had no choice but to speak honestly.
"Xiao Tian, about Zhang Xue Fen going to your place that day, I admit, I sent her. But it wasn't my fault! I was forced. I wouldn't dare offend those people." Li Deping looked at Lin Xiao Tian with a wronged expression.
Then, Li Deping began to recount the events of that day to Lin Xiao Tian.
"Xiao Tian, originally I thought that since you had cleared your debts, those people wouldn't bother you anymore. But I never expected them to refuse to let you go."
"They came to me that day and asked me to secretly install those cameras in your house."
"I refused at first. This was clearly not a good thing, so of course I couldn't agree."
"But I had no choice! These people were powerful, and they threatened me. If I didn't comply, they would harm my family. I had no other option but to do as they asked."
After finishing, Li Deping wailed and sobbed, putting on a pathetic act.
Lin Xiao Tian knew he was faking it. At that time, Li Deping hadn't known that Lin Xiao Tian held his leverage, and he had even been plotting to deal with him. When that group of people arrived, Li Deping was likely overjoyed.
"Did they only ask you to install those cameras, or did they say anything else?" Lin Xiao Tian stared at him.
Li Deping shivered under Lin Xiao Tian's gaze and could only answer honestly:
"I remember they vaguely mentioned surveillance. It seemed they wanted to make a move on Yu Xiang while you were away."
"Xiao Tian! In my opinion, Qin Yu Xiang is a disaster."
"From a blood relation perspective, she has nothing to do with you, and moreover, she's a discarded woman."
"A woman like that is not worth you offending those people. I think you should just give up on Qin Yu Xiang. You can't afford to offend those people!"
Li Deping put on a good Samaritan act again, trying to ease his relationship with Lin Xiao Tian.
But the next second, he saw Lin Xiao Tian's expression turn even more grim.
"Li Deping, shut your mouth. If you dare speak of Sister Yu Xiang like that again, I won't let you off."
Li Deping was startled by Lin Xiao Tian's expression and quickly shut his mouth.
Lin Xiao Tian asked Li Deping a few more questions and inquired about that group of people. He learned that the person who had instigated Li Deping this time was a local thug named Brother Biao from the town.
Li Deping knew no more than this. After gathering this information, Lin Xiao Tian dialed Butler Xu's number.
On the other end, upon learning of Lin Xiao Tian's situation, Butler Xu immediately stated that he would help Lin Xiao Tian resolve the problem.
Lin Xiao Tian didn't quite grasp what Butler Xu's "resolve the problem immediately" meant. Ten minutes later, Butler Xu's call came again.
By then, he hadn't even left Li Deping's house.
"Hello..." Lin Xiao Tian answered the phone.
"Hello, Mr. Lin, I've clarified the matter. How about this, I'll have Cao Yun Tian speak to you directly."
Lin Xiao Tian was stunned. Before he could react, he heard a familiar catchphrase from the other end of the line.
"Hello... Brother Tian, it's all a misunderstanding!" Cao Yun Tian's obsequious voice came through.
"The situation is like this: the other day, when my subordinates went to collect debts, weren't you the one who beat them up?"
"A few of them were not convinced and organized themselves to seek revenge on you. However, due to your strength, they decided to monitor you and then make a move on your woman when you weren't around, and use her to threaten you."
"Alas! I only just found out about this myself. It makes me so angry that these blind fools dared to provoke you."
"Don't worry, I've investigated the matter. It was all done by a subordinate of mine named Brother Biao. I've found him and will bring him to you for you to deal with personally."
Cao Yun Tian kept explaining, terrified of offending Lin Xiao Tian.
Lin Xiao Tian remained silent for a moment, then said to Cao Yun Tian, "Cao Yun Tian, is this matter truly unrelated to you?"
Hearing Lin Xiao Tian's words, Cao Yun Tian's heart trembled.
"Brother Tian, I swear, this matter has absolutely nothing to do with me!"
"Good!" Lin Xiao Tian didn't say anything more.
He didn't know how involved Cao Yun Tian was in this matter, but one thing he was sure of: Cao Yun Tian was definitely involved.
Brother Biao was merely a local thug leader, and Yang Chen, who had come to collect debts last time, was someone from Cao Yun Tian's side!
Given that Cao Yun Tian had sent people from his close circle, who would believe that he wasn't involved?
But now was not the time to deal with Cao Yun Tian. His strength was still insufficient, and it was clear that Butler Xu also intended to keep Cao Yun Tian around.
Everything would have to wait until his own strength was sufficient to thoroughly resolve the trouble that Cao Yun Tian posed!
Lin Xiao Tian expressed his gratitude to Butler Xu again, then hung up the phone.
After he hung up, Lin Xiao Tian suddenly noticed Li Deping staring at him with a look of utter shock.
"What's wrong?"
"Xiao Tian... the person you were just speaking with, was that Cao Yun Tian?"
Lin Xiao Tian nodded.
Upon hearing this, Li Deping's face went blank.
He naturally knew who Cao Yun Tian was, a notorious figure in Jiangcheng, someone he could only look up to his entire life. Yet, this person had just been groveling to Lin Xiao Tian, completely devoid of any pride.
Thinking of this, Li Deping's gaze towards Lin Xiao Tian was now filled with even deeper awe.
"Xiao Tian... oh no, Brother Tian... I'll see you out." Li Deping said cautiously...