Chapter 146 - How are you here

It had been nearly ten minutes when they finally cut a large hole through the wire fence!

A hole big enough for a person to pass through comfortably.

Seeing that the hole was made, an excited gleam spread across the faces of Heipi and his gang.

“We’ve finally done it!

This time we’re going to make a fortune!” Heipi’s eyes shone as he immediately distributed the snake skin bags they had prepared in advance to his underlings.

“Each of you take two snake skin bags, and don’t come out until they are all filled, understand?”

Heipi instructed after handing out the snake skin bags.

The underlings took the snake skin bags and nodded eagerly with a smile.

“Don’t worry, Heige.

With such a chance to strike it rich, the brothers would never let you down.”

“Alright, let’s get inside!

Remember not to make too much noise.”

With that, Heipi and his men began to crawl through the hole they had cut into the breeding ground.

They thought that no one would be around in the broad daylight, and their operation was flawless.

But little did they know, their every move was being watched clearly by Chen Yang, who was sitting in a pile of weeds.

After cutting through the wire fence, Heipi and his men all crawled in.

“Spread out and be quick,” Heipi said to his four or five underlings as he entered.

“Okay.”

The underlings nodded and then prepared to split up to catch wild chickens.

Chen Yang watched the men about to disperse and sneered coldly, then turned to his companion Eagle Brother, “Eagle Brother, it’s your turn to strike.”

Cheep.

Eagle Brother called out, then leaped into action, bursting out of the bushes and diving straight at Heipi with its sharp talons.

Heipi and his men, already on edge and nervous as thieves, were startled by Eagle Brother’s sudden attack,

“What is that!”

Heipi cried out, and instinctively put his hand out to swat Eagle Brother as it swooped toward him.

Even so, the fierce talons of Eagle Brother still scratched Heipi’s arm.

Suddenly, Heipi’s arm was marked with several deep gashes.

“Heige!

Are you okay?”

“What’s that, Heige!”

The few underlings, about to split up, heard the noise and hastily came back, crowding around Heipi.

“Ugh!”

Heipi gasped in pain; his arm was hurting terribly.

With the support of his four or five underlings, he barely managed to steady himself!

“It’s that eagle again!

It’s infuriating me!” Heipi said fiercely, glaring at Eagle Brother nearby.

Hearing this, a few underlings looked over in the direction of Heipi’s gaze.

“I never expected Chen Yang to move the eagle here.

Isn’t he worried that the eagle might eat the wild chickens?” one of the underlings said, puzzled as he gazed at Eagle Brother.

No one answered him, but their eyes were all fixed on Eagle Brother.

The scene grew silent for a minute or two until Heipi adjusted to the pain in his arm.

Shaking off those around him, his ferocious gaze carefully surveyed Eagle Brother again for a few moments, and a smile slowly crept across his face.

“This is a fine eagle indeed!

Not only obedient but also helpful in guarding the place!

Catching it alive would definitely bring in good money,” Heipi mused, thinking of capturing Eagle Brother.

His underlings, upon hearing this, immediately understood Heipi’s intention.

“Then, Heige, shall we catch it alive?”

Heipi nodded, “Mm-hm, let’s spread out.

The iron cage is only so big; it can’t flap its wings inside.”

Heipi had the idea to capture Eagle Brother alive and then sell it for money.

Watching Heipi and his men spread out and prepare to surround Eagle Brother,

Chen Yang, sitting in the grass, couldn’t sit still any longer.

Heipi and his men were rough, with no sense of control in their actions.

It was fine to let Eagle Brother play with them, but Chen Yang was worried they would accidentally harm Eagle Brother if they got serious.

So, as Heipi and his men were about to surround Eagle Brother, Chen Yang stood up from the bushes.

“Heipi, you really are itching for trouble, aren’t you?

Wasn’t last time’s lesson enough for you?” Chen Yang stepped out and said.

Chen Yang suddenly emerged from the bushes, giving Heipi and the others quite a scare.

They were instantly thrown into a state of panic.

“Chen…

Chen Yang!

What are you doing here?” Heipi’s eyes bulged with panic splattered all over his face.

Chen Yang stepped forward, offering a cold smile, “This is my farm, why can’t I be here?

On the contrary, what are you all doing here?”

Upon hearing this, Heipi and the others were momentarily stunned.

They stuttered for a while, unable to come up with an explanation.

Fumbling for words for quite some time, Heipi finally found an excuse, “I…

I was just passing by and saw that your wire fence was ruined.

I came in to check it out, not expecting you to be here as well.”

When Heipi usually talked about Chen Yang in front of his underlings, his tone might have been dismissive.

But deep down, he was actually very afraid of Chen Yang.

He was the classic epitome of bluster on the outside but timid inside.

The combat strength Chen Yang had shown last time had already scared him.

So, seeing Chen Yang here, his speech was somewhat stuttered.

Hearing Heipi’s excuse, which took him quite a while to think of, Chen Yang couldn’t help but laugh.

“Heipi, do you even believe that excuse?” Chen Yang asked with a smile.

Heipi’s complexion turned shades of green and white, looking extremely ugly.

He knew that Chen Yang was already aware of his true purpose for being there, and now any excuse was futile.

So after being silent for a while, he directly asked, “Chen Yang!

Just tell me straight, what do you want?”

“What do I want?”

Chen Yang chuckled and said, “Naturally, I intend to take you to the village committee to let everyone see what kind of shady business you, Heipi, have been involved in, and then, we’ll discuss compensating me for the damage to my wire fence.”

As soon as Chen Yang said these words, the skin on Heipi and the others’ faces twitched involuntarily.

If they were really taken to the village committee by Chen Yang, they would probably be unable to show their faces anymore.

Everyone lived in the same area, and they couldn’t avoid seeing each other.

If the stigma of theft was confirmed on them, they feared no one in the area would dare to associate with them anymore.

“Chen Yang, don’t push me too far!

If you drive me into a corner, you won’t end up well either,” protested Heipi, his inward panic masked by forced composure, even attempting to threaten Chen Yang in return.

Looking at Heipi trying to appear fierce while internally being a coward, Chen Yang just smiled and didn’t say a word.

Seeing that Chen Yang remained silent, Heipi continued, “How about this?

I’ll compensate you for the damage to your wire fence, and I also guarantee that I won’t target your farm again.

How about you let me off this time?”

Chen Yang still didn’t say anything.

He was pondering whether or not he should let Heipi and his gang off so easily.

To tell the truth, Heipi did have some abilities.

After all, being able to muster up such a large group of thugs in the area was proof enough that Heipi was no simple character.

Heipi’s initiative to compensate for the damages and his offer to bury the hatchet were somewhat tempting to Chen Yang.

After all, having one less enemy was always better.

Everyone hailed from the same communities, and if Heipi was pushed too hard, and he did something crazy, it would be bad for everyone involved.

“What do you say, Chen Yang?

Let me off this time, I assure you I won’t target your farm again!” Heipi, seeing Chen Yang silent, prompted again.

Chen Yang looked at Heipi and his crew for a few moments, and finally consented.

“Since you’ve said as much, I’ll let you off this time.

But if there is a next time, don’t blame me for not being polite,” Chen Yang warned with a stern face.

Seeing that Chen Yang had agreed, Heipi instantly cheered up!

“You have my word!

I, Heipi, will do as I say, and will absolutely not target your farm again!” he quickly assured.

His underlings, too, heaved a sigh of relief.

“That’s for the best,” Chen Yang nodded, then walked past the group to the hole they had entered through, inspecting it closely.

He discovered that the opening had been cut to a size of more than two square meters.

“I’ll cover the damages!

Just tell me how much you want,” Heipi quickly said, seeing Chen Yang assessing the opening, offering to make amends.

Chen Yang turned to look at him and then said, “This hole doesn’t cost much, and I don’t need your money.

What I want is for it to be restored to its original state by tomorrow, understand?”

“Okay…”

Up close with Chen Yang, Heipi couldn’t explain why, but he felt a tremor in his heart.

Possibly, the fear planted during their last confrontation with Chen Yang was still there.

In the atmosphere of such fear, Chen Yang’s choice to spare him evoked in him an emotion of gratitude toward Chen Yang.