Mu Jiaoman sat atop an empty cart. The roads across Shanyue lands were rough and uneven, jolting him until he felt utterly frayed. The scene upon the white jade platform replayed before his eyes again and again.
Drawing back the carriage curtain, Mu Jiaoman looked up at the scorching sun blazing in the sky. As far as the eye could see, the earth lay parched and cracked. He yelled at the top of his lungs, "How long has it been without rain?!"
"Reporting to the commander, not a single drop of rain has fallen for four months!"
Mu Jiaoman thought for a moment, then waved to the warriors below and barked, "Withdraw the eastern defense line. Drive the displaced refugees eastward and let them plague the lowlanders."
A subordinate below hesitated briefly before replying, "If we withdraw the eastern defense line, should that Li Xiangping escape..."
"That bastard is dead!"
Mu Jiaoman roared, fury flaring within him. Unsatisfied with merely yelling, he leapt down from the cart, seized the man by the throat, and snarled, "How many times do I have to say it? That bastard is dead! Dead! Dead! Dead!"
His eyes were bloodshot with rage. Just as he raised his fist to strike, the surrounding men dropped to their knees like wheat bent by a gale, crying out in unison:
"Greetings, Great King!"
Mu Jiaoman shuddered all over. Slowly raising his head, he saw Jianixi treading through the air and staring coldly down at him. Mu Jiaoman cast the man aside and hastily threw himself to the ground, pressing his forehead firmly against the dirt, his lips pale.
"Great King!"
Jianixi stepped toward him, watching him in silence. Suddenly, he lashed out with a kick, snapping furiously:
"Useless trash!"
Mu Jiaoman flew backward like a ball, crashing through several carts. Grain spilled across the ground with a loud clatter, causing the surrounding warriors to swallow dryly.
Rolling several times, Mu Jiaoman scrambled back before Jianixi and began slapping himself across the face, one blow after another.
Jianixi looked down at him for a moment and gave a cold, furious laugh. "Over a mere Embryonic Breathing cultivator, you mobilized so many men yet couldn't even touch a hair on his head. You actually went to a talisman shaman to place a lethal curse. You truly are worthless, Mu Jiaoman."
Mu Jiaoman numbly slapped his own face as Jianixi lowered his voice: "You need not attend the grand sacrifice in a few days. Stay in camp and reflect on your failures."
Mu Jiaoman jerked his head up, a thunderclap seeming to burst in his mind as if he had grasped something in an instant.
Just as he was about to speak, Jianixi was a step ahead of him. A punch struck his abdomen, forcefully cutting off his words and knocking him unconscious.
"Drag him away," Jianixi commanded quietly. Watching Mu Jiaoman being hauled toward the barracks, he turned to gaze at Mount Wu towering into the clouds, murmuring in a voice so faint it was barely audible:
"Survive."
***
Having patrolled through the mountain forests until dawn appeared on the horizon, Li Tongya took flight from a ransacked, abandoned stronghold, muttering to himself:
"All cooking smoke to the east has ceased, and the Shanyue troops have withdrawn. Why would Mu Jiaoman allow Xiangping to return east so easily..."
Riding the wind westward, he saw only scorched, barren earth beneath his feet. Counting the days, nearly half a year had passed without rain.
"No wonder there are so many Shanyue refugees."
Li Tongya furrowed his brow as he assessed the situation within the Shanyue territory, gauging the likelihood of refugees crossing the border.
"Our Li family granaries have been bountiful in recent years. Absorbing a few thousand refugees won't be an issue, and it will even increase our population. But if this drought continues and the Meichi River runs dry, we won't be able to grow crops either.
"The letter from the Ji family mentioned a sacrificial offering. It seems Jianixi doesn't have much time left to jump around..."
As Li Tongya pressed deeper into Shanyue lands, more cracked earth and withered trees stripped of their bark came into view. In the distance, Dajueting gradually emerged.
This lone city of the Shanyue bore the deep scars of time. Its walls, eroded by wind and rain, were pitted and crumbling on the outside, and decaying within.
Beside Dajueting, a high altar of earth, wood, and stone had been erected, nearly eighty to ninety percent complete. It was said that Jianixi would offer sacrifices to Heaven upon it, proclaiming the unification of his great cause.
Though the craftsmen on the altar looked emaciated and dripped with sweat, their eyes held hope and deep reverence. Every one of them looked forward to Jianixi ending the chaos and bringing stability to their lives.
"I cannot go any further."
Li Tongya came to a halt. This search, like every one before it, had yielded nothing. Feeling a pang of dejection, he turned back and headed toward Lake Wangyue.
Lake Wangyue had receded by hundreds of li. The dry lake bed was littered with dead fish and rotting shrimp, the stench so foul it stung the eyes. Jackals and vultures scavenged everywhere, a desolate haven for beasts. Li Tongya circled over Lake Wangyue before returning to Mount Lijing.
As soon as he touched down on the mountain, he saw the carcass of a massive black boar lying in the courtyard. Its thick coat was slick and glossy, and its two tusks, white as jade, were as long as a grown man's arm.
Nearby, Li Xuanling and Li Xuanxuan were hurriedly casting Spirit Sealing Techniques into the joints and acupoints of the boar's corpse, while Li Xuanfeng sat atop a large bluestone, wiping down his bow.
"Second Uncle!"
Seeing Li Tongya descend, Li Xuanfeng chuckled, a bow in his left hand and a large burlap sack in his right. He jumped down from the stone and called out with a wide grin, "This mountain boar demon is huge! Peak Embryonic Breathing! It's enough to give everyone a hearty feast!"
Li Tongya smiled faintly and swept his spiritual sense over it, discovering a gleaming black arrow lodged dead center in the beast's brain. Apart from that, the hide and flesh were completely unblemished, without a single other wound. Surprised, he asked, "Just one arrow?"
"Just one!"
Li Xuanfeng raised his chin proudly. Tossing the black bow over his shoulder, he bent down, thrust his hand into the boar demon's hollow eye socket, and pulled out the arrow shaft. Disregarding the red and white matter clinging to his hand, he shook it off and answered, "I tracked this boar demon for an entire night. At dawn, while it was gnawing on bamboo, an arrow blasted through its eye and pierced straight into its brain, killing it instantly."
"Well done," Li Tongya praised, but cautioned, "Even though this mountain boar demon fell to a single shot, if you let such a beast close the distance, a single thrust from those tusks would disembowel you and leave you dead without a grave. You must remain cautious and target weaker beasts."
"Oh..." Li Xuanfeng replied softly, though a hint of defiance lingered. "A beast like that couldn't even touch the hem of my clothes!"
Li Tongya smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "I know your archery is extraordinary. In our family, only your youngest uncle's talent in the Dao of the Sword could rival yours. I merely want you to remember the fragility of the human body."
Seeing Xuanfeng's serious look, Li Tongya said solemnly, "Cultivators in Embryonic Breathing and Qi Refinement may possess the strength of an ox, capable of shattering stone and leaping over roofs, yet compared to demon beasts, they are far more fragile. Your uncle has fought many battles against Qi Refinement enemies. Do you know why those who lose are often severely injured?"
"The enemy's spells?" Li Xuanfeng asked, his curiosity thoroughly piqued.
"No," Li Tongya shook his head, saying gravely, "It is the fall.
"Qi Refinement cultivators tread the air. When those whose wills are not firm suffer a wound, pain and terror strike together. Often they lose grip of their hand seals and plummet to the ground. Broken bones and shattered sinews aside, how could they have any strength left to battle the enemy?"
Hearing this, Xuanxuan and Xuanling fell into thoughtful silence. Li Xuanfeng nodded in sudden realization, agreeing repeatedly before grinning. "Second Uncle, it is wonderful having you in the family."
"You silly boy." Li Tongya laughed and shook his head, then noticed Li Xuanfeng picking up the sack in his right hand.
"Second Uncle, look!"
Li Xuanfeng untied the rope and dumped out three squealing little wild piglets. He seized two of them by the scruff of their necks, one in each hand, and explained, "I found three piglets in the beast's den. Can we raise them at home?"
"We do have plenty of spirit rice bran and leaves left over, and butchering demon beasts leaves scraps, so we could raise them. But wild boars eat voraciously; raising even one is a handful."
Li Tongya nodded, and Li Xuanfeng laughed, "That's easy!"
With a sharp crack, Li Xuanfeng exerted force in both hands, snapping the necks of the two piglets and sending them to the underworld. Only the one remaining in the sack continued thrashing, trying to escape.
"Ordinary folk truly cannot handle demon boar piglets. Find an outer-lineage disciple with cultivation to watch over it."
Saying this, Li Tongya turned toward Li Xuanxuan, who was forming seals to cast the Spirit Sealing Technique on the carcass, and asked in a deep voice, "Xuan'er, how are the cultivators from outer lineages and collateral branches doing?"
"Ah!" Li Xuanxuan quickly looked up and respectfully replied, "Aside from Chen Donghe and Li Qiuyang, there have been three cultivators from outer lineages and collateral branches over the years. One was surnamed Ye, which I have handled; he has now been returned to a collateral branch of the Li clan. The outer cultivators have also been brought into the clan through matrilocal marriage or arranged matches."
"Good." Li Tongya nodded in approval and pressed, "How is their cultivation?"
"Far from ideal!"
Li Xuanxuan shook his head and explained, "The collateral branches all practice the Qingyuan Wheel Nourishing Method left behind by Senior Si Yuanbai. Compared to our family's Tai... um..."
Li Xuanxuan opened his mouth to say the Taiyin Breathing and Wheel Nourishing Scripture, but the Xuanzhu talisman seed in his Qi Ocean acupoint stirred, cutting off his words. It even alerted Lu Jiangxian, who was deep in study; with a sweep of divine sense, Lu Jiangxian grasped what had occurred. Li Xuanxuan stood tongue-tied, realizing his slip of the tongue, and quickly corrected himself: "Compared to our family's technique, their cultivation speed is worlds apart. The highest among them has only reached the Chengming Wheel at the second layer of Embryonic Breathing. On ordinary days, they merely plant spirit rice and feed the Wuzuo worms."
Li Tongya nodded thoughtfully, musing to himself, *We must see if we can exchange for a better Embryonic Breathing technique. There are only six Xuanzhu talisman seeds; sooner or later, the main branch descendants will not have enough to go around. We cannot have them resorting to such common, inferior methods.*
Just as Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanling finished preparing the boar demon's carcass and called men to haul it away, Li Xiewen came up to report that someone from the Liu family had arrived with news of mourning: Eldest Uncle Liu Linfeng had passed away that night.
"Sigh..."
While the younger Xuan generation remained largely uncomprehending, Li Tongya felt his chest tighten.
Counting the years, he was already forty. Liu Linfeng was twenty-five years older than him and had lived to sixty-five, which was considered a long life in the village.
"Do not tell Mother."
Lady Liu's health had deteriorated in recent years. Ever since Li Mutian passed away, she seemed to have lost her soul, constantly misplacing things and sometimes wandering aimlessly without knowing where she was going. Li Tongya feared the grief would harm her.
"I will go down the mountain to pay my respects."
***
Chen Donghe marched along the path mapped out by Li Xiangping. Along the way, they encountered no large Shanyue forces; even the garrisoned soldiers had withdrawn.
Aside from corpses littering the ground and the vultures and jackals feeding upon them, the parched earth yielded virtually no water, leaving only a few muddy pools in dried riverbeds.
The group trudged on in dejection, faint weeping echoing through the ranks.
Of the thousand men who had set out back then, only two hundred or so were returning. Though they had inflicted tenfold casualties and a hundredfold turmoil upon the enemy, those who survived were covered in wounds, their faces steeped in sorrow.
Chen Donghe glanced at Li Yesheng, who lay curled on a stretcher beside him. His spine had been broken, and he had lain unconscious for three days. Finally, Li Yesheng's eyes fluttered open, and he asked in a weak murmur, "Where is the clan head?"
"Up ahead."
Chen Donghe forced a smile. Seeing Li Yesheng close his eyes with a faint smile, his heart ached. But then a tear rolled from the corner of Li Yesheng's eye, and Chen Donghe choked out, "Uncle Yesheng, I know I cannot fool you."
Li Yesheng kept his eyes closed and asked softly, "How did he die?"
"A shamanic curse."
Chen Donghe held back his tears to answer. Li Yesheng exhaled a deep sigh from the depths of his throat, another tear sliding down his cheek.
Li Yesheng wept both for how abruptly a man as formidable as Li Xiangping had met his end, and for the total demise of his own power and status. As for his feelings toward Li Xiangping, they were as tangled as a bowl of dough drop soup stirred to mush and spilled across the floor.
*Brother Xiangping, you and I were truly of the same kind.*
Li Yesheng knew Li Xiangping better than anyone.
He knew that the blood upon the bluestone when he was fifteen belonged to his elder brother, Li Yesheng. He also knew what lay behind the guilt in Li Xiangping's eyes all those years ago. Li Yesheng had understood it clearly, yet feigned ignorance.
In truth, when Li Yesheng was twelve, he had been constantly beaten, abused, and violated by his elder brother. Gritting his teeth, he had counted the blades in Lijing Village—one large and two small. To free himself from his brother, he had to set them against each other.
Thus, all manner of rumors about Li Mutian's family began reaching his brother's ears. Walking on thin ice, Li Yesheng carefully orchestrated things for three years until he finally brought about his brother's death.
He had expected Li Mutian to strike, never imagining that the knife would be Li Xiangping. From then on, Li Yesheng served as his loyal hound for an entire lifetime, never anticipating that Li Xiangping would die before him. The thought tore at his heart.
"Brother Xiangping, in the next life, I want to be your real brother... as cherished as Brother Tongya, as close as Brother Changhu."
Li Yesheng muttered faintly. Straining his arm, he drew a small bottle of medicine from his waist.
This was medicine he had prepared to avoid suffering torture should he fall into Shanyue hands. He did not yet know what it tasted like.
*Living on would be nothing more than dragging out an ignoble existence. Xiewen is grown now and shares a deep bond with Xuanxuan; as a parent, my arrangements for him are enough.*
With great effort, Li Yesheng raised his hand, feeling the crisp, clear liquid trickle into his mouth. A sudden numbness spread across his tongue, and his body began to twitch weakly, his white hair swaying across the stretcher.
*Damn it all, it's bitter,*
he thought indignantly at the end of his life.
Chapter 101