Seclusion

Li Xuanfeng took his leave of Liu Changdie, left a sum of silver for the young woman, and rode the wind south along Guli Road for several hours. Mount Lijing, shrouded in swirling mist beneath a pale golden barrier of light, appeared before his eyes. As he touched down upon the mountain peak, Li Xuanxuan greeted him, beaming with delight. "Brother Xuan, what has made you so happy?" Seeing the broad smile on Li Xuanxuan's face, Li Xuanfeng could not help the corners of his mouth curling upward as well as he asked in good humor. "Uncle obtained a precious sword that contained a footwork inheritance of Lingyu Gate called the River-Crossing Torrent Steps. It is a full third-rank technique, so it is naturally a joyful matter." Li Xuanxuan shook his head with a chuckle, handed over a jade slip, and continued, "Everyone in the family has read and memorized it. Uncle has already entered seclusion to cultivate. Hurry and read it." Li Xuanfeng smiled as he took the jade slip, sending his spiritual sense into it to browse through the contents. With a serious expression, he said, "As luck would have it, it is currently the turn of the Lu and An families to watch over the ore vein, and there are no pressing matters at home. I also plan to enter seclusion to attempt a breakthrough right now. I will take this jade slip with me, and leave the family in your hands, Brother." Li Xuanxuan nodded in agreement and waved a hand to reassure him. "That is a good thing. Go into seclusion without worry." With both Li Xuanxuan and Chen Donghe at the fifth stage of Embryonic Breathing, the Yujing Wheel, watching over the home naturally posed no problem. Li Xuanfeng nodded, stowed away the jade slip with a flick of his hand, and rode the wind toward Meichi Peak to begin his closed-door cultivation. Li Xuanxuan headed down the mountain, where he found Li Xuanling hurrying over to meet him. Xuanling said breathlessly, "Brother Xuan! Someone from the Yu family has arrived outside the courtyard and asks to see you." "Not a Qi Refinement cultivator?" Li Xuanxuan furrowed his brows. Normally, when the various clans came to visit, a Qi Refinement cultivator could simply hail the Li family from outside the formation. Only an envoy or an Embryonic Breathing disciple would ask someone to pass on a message. "It is a Qi Refinement cultivator who flew down riding the wind. But hearing him explicitly say not to disturb Clan Uncle Tongya, I came up to report." Li Xuanxuan nodded, feeling puzzled. He smoothed his robes and walked for a short while. Upon entering the courtyard, he saw a robed, middle-aged man seated in a chair, his fingers restlessly tapping against the wooden armrest. He looked ill at ease, yet his aura was majestic and surging—at least in the mid-stage of Qi Refinement. "Li Xuanxuan of the Li family greets Senior." Li Xuanxuan cupped his hands in greeting. The middle-aged man, who bore a sword on his back, stiffly cupped his hands in return. Seeing that the person who came was not Li Tongya, he actually breathed a sigh of relief and replied, "Yu Mujian of the Yu family." Yu Mujian had lost face in the competition aboard the ship and had been severely berated by Yu Xiaogui upon returning home. Coinciding with the upcoming opening of the Yu family's market, he had been chased out by Yu Xiaogui to apologize to Li Tongya and conveniently invite the Li family to attend the ceremony. Yu Mujian had felt stifled and aggrieved the entire journey, terrified that if they met, Li Tongya would think he had come to demand his sword back. Heaven knew! What "bursting with sharp vitality"? What "commanding it at will, unleashing and retracting with ease"? Yu Mujian had listened in a complete daze and had not understood half a word of it. He felt as though he had grasped the secret essence of the sword dao, yet he could not comprehend a single thing. How could he have the face to see Li Tongya? He had no choice but to follow the procedure of an Embryonic Breathing cultivator when arriving at the Li family. Upon inquiring with Li Xuanling and learning that Li Tongya had already closed his doors to guests and entered seclusion to cultivate, Yu Mujian felt a wave of relief wash over him, happily thinking, *Even the heavens couldn't bear to watch and spared me the embarrassment.* Yet when Li Xuanxuan arrived and they exchanged names, Li Xuanxuan's face lit up with realization, and he smiled. "So you are Senior Mujian!" Yu Mujian felt as if struck by a bolt from the blue. Thinking his humiliation had already spread all the way across the lake, he asked hoarsely, "You know of me too?" At a glance at Yu Mujian's expression, Li Xuanxuan instantly understood what was on his mind. He quickly shifted the tone, smiling as he said, "Senior Tongya is my uncle. He told this junior that among all the clans around the lake, only Master Yu Mujian's swordsmanship is worthy of being called the sword dao; all the others are merely swinging swords to hack and slash." This was originally polite flattery meant to humor him, but Yu Mujian was pure of heart and took it as absolute truth. Instantly overjoyed, he recalled his various provocations on the ship and felt deeply ashamed. Looking up at the sky, he sighed, "Li Tongya is truly a noble gentleman! I am truly a petty man!" Li Xuanxuan was dumbfounded, unable to follow the man's train of thought. Yu Mujian let out a sigh, handed the invitation card for the opening ceremony to Li Xuanxuan, and cupped his hands solemnly. "Once Senior emerges from seclusion, Mujian will surely pay a visit in person to apologize!" With that, he waved his hand and took his leave, still muttering words like "sharp vitality" and "unleashing and retracting with ease." He rode the wind and vanished into the distance, leaving Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanling staring at each other in bewilderment. "This man..." Li Xuanling stood stunned, at a loss for words. Li Xuanxuan was equally baffled as he opened the invitation to look. The Yu family had already notified the various clans of the date back on the ship, yet they had specifically sent someone to hand an invitation to the Li family—first to show respect, and second to extend goodwill. "Brother Qiuyang handles affairs prudently, and his cultivation level is just right so as not to make the Li family seem ostentatious. Let's send him." Having finished reading the invitation, Li Xuanxuan made up his mind and gave the orders. *** Time flowed by like water, fleeting in the blink of an eye. Over the past year, family affairs had been few. Li Xuanxuan cultivated diligently while closely observing the movements of the various clans. However, the River-Crossing Torrent Steps was profound and abstruse; learning it was not something achieved in a day or two. Raising his talisman brush, Li Xuanxuan drew a talisman on the talisman paper in one smooth, unbroken stroke. Having practiced for ten-odd years, his success rate in talisman crafting was finally high enough to cover the costs and turn a profit, adding another trade to the family's livelihood. The sunlight slanted in through the window, bathing Li Yuanxiu in a golden glow. The boy was now four or five years old. Having just finished his lessons, he stood quietly in the sunlight, looking at his father. Li Xuanxuan looked up, glanced at the child, and smiled. "What is it?" "Father, you haven't gone to see Jiao'er for a month." Hearing this, Li Xuanxuan was slightly taken aback. Furrowing his brows, he asked suspiciously in a low voice, "Who taught you to say that?" "No one." Li Yuanxiu pursed his lips, appearing somewhat intimidated by Li Xuanxuan's stern tone, yet he still stubbornly held his head high, looking at him. "All right." Li Xuanxuan withdrew his gaze and nodded. Picking the child up in his arms, he headed toward the door, feeling a faint surge of emotion. Li Xiangping had died within Shanyue territory. Although the Li family did not know the exact details, they knew that Mu Jiaoman and Mount Wu had played no small part in it. Yet for the sake of maintaining stability and avoiding Mount Wu's attention, they had no choice but to let him be for now. Back when Mu Yalu had come for the marriage alliance, Li Tongya and Li Xuanxuan had valued the antiquity of the Mulu lineage, laying down a dormant piece. Should a major upheaval occur among the Shanyue one day, a Li family descendant possessing Mulu blood could advance westward to take control of the Shanyue tribes, sparing them a great deal of trouble. Yet Mu Yalu was the younger clan sister of Mu Jiaoman. Though Li Xuanxuan never spoke of it aloud, an uncomfortable barrier lingered in his heart, which had extended into an unspeakably complicated feeling toward Li Yuanjiao. Hearing what the boy said now, he thought to himself, *In any case, to maintain the family's stability a century from now, I cannot favor one child too much over the other.* As they reached the courtyard, Li Xuanxuan gently set Li Yuanxiu down. The boy cheered and ran inside to find his younger brother Jiao. Before long, Mu Yalu's smiling voice drifted out: "Xiu'er is here! Come sit here!" Li Xuanxuan chuckled and walked into the courtyard as well. Seeing him, Mu Yalu was momentarily startled, then quickly said, "The clan head is here." Li Yuanjiao held a wooden toy in his hand. He looked up at him and called out crisply, "Father!" "Mm." Li Xuanxuan nodded to Mu Yalu, then sat to the side and watched the two children tumble and play together. The sunlight at the foot of the mountain was even brighter. Li Yuanjiao smiled as he faced Li Xuanxuan, golden sunlight spilling across his face, illuminating Li Yuanjiao's eyes with a faint brownish tint. "Jiao'er, come here." Li Xuanxuan's voice trembled slightly. To the side, Mu Yalu looked up sharply, gazing at him with worry. When Li Yuanjiao walked over in confusion, Li Xuanxuan cupped the boy's face and looked closely, only to find that in the shade, all traces of brown had vanished completely. Exhaling a breath, Li Xuanxuan slowly rose to his feet. His gaze wavered uncertainly as he said softly, "There are still important matters to attend to up on the mountain. I will take my leave now." With that, he got up and left, leaving the two brothers, Li Yuanjiao and Li Yuanxiu, playing in the courtyard. Mu Yalu watched his departing figure, sitting in the corner without saying a word.