An Zheyu of the An Family

"Second Uncle!" With a thud, Li Xuanxuan fell to his knees in the cave dwelling. Seated above, Li Tongya looked on quietly as tears streamed down Li Xuanxuan's face. He watched his nephew grit his teeth and say, "Is this matter... really going to be left like this?!" "Left like this?" Li Tongya lowered his eyes and said in a heavy voice, "It is no longer a question of whether our Li family wants to let it drop, but whether the Yu family is willing to let the matter rest! The two families have become sworn enemies. It is not something either side can end simply by wishing it..." Li Xuanxuan raised his head, wiped his tears, and said through gritted teeth, "It was Yu Mugao who harmed our Li family and cost the life of his own brother in the process, yet he has the gall to hate us! To refuse to let this rest! Where is the reason in this?! We have had our disciple murdered, yet we must fear that the Yu family won't drop the matter! Where is the..." Li Xuanxuan's lips trembled as he swallowed down the words 'justice and reason' that had risen to his mouth. Nearing forty years of age, he was no longer childish or naive, yet he still felt an overwhelming sense of powerlessness, grief, and fury. He lowered his head and wept into his hands. "Such is the way of the world... The Heavenly Dao is heartless, and all living beings are like ants." Li Tongya's grizzled hair hung down as the old man let out a sorrowful sigh. Li Xuanxuan covered his face, choking with sobs. "Xiu'er was the most sensible child. All the elders favored him to be the next patriarch, yet he has fallen here... With Xiu'er gone, looking across the juniors, Yuanjiao is fierce, Yuanyun is gentle and weak, and Qinghong is too carefree. Into whose hands will the family be entrusted in the future?" Li Xuanxuan murmured a few more words. Li Tongya shook his head and said in a low voice, "There is no hurry regarding clan affairs. Take them over for now, but do not descend the mountain. Have Xie Wen sort out matters at the foot of the mountain and send them up. Qi Refinement brings two hundred years of lifespan, and you have only just begun. If none of the Yuan generation proves suitable, we can wait twenty years and observe the younger generation after them. "The Yu family is eyeing us like a tiger watching its prey. Do not allow any juniors to leave the mountain again, and keep a particularly close eye on Yuanjiao. As for Qinghong, I shall send her to the Fei family... We will wait another few years." Li Xuanxuan's lips trembled. He closed his eyes, squeezing out two tears, and forced out a single word: "Yes." *** Chilly spring rain fell continuously for several nights, marking the end of spring over Lake Wangyue. A warm summer breeze swept across the waters from the north and crashed headlong into Mount Dali, finally dispelling the damp, icy chill in the air. The wind on the southern shore of the great lake carried charred remnants of paper across the sky. Everywhere one looked was a sea of mourning white. Sounds of weeping drifted through the air; from Mount Lijing to Mount Huazhong, and from Mount Huazhong to Milin Commandery, households everywhere hung white funeral banners. Li Yuanxiu had been torn to pieces by thunder-fire. In the collapsed rear courtyard, nothing remained but shattered fragments of flesh and bone scattered across the ground. Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanfeng cleared away the fallen rubble, shoveled up the blood-soaked earth, and placed it into a coffin mixed with the bone fragments. They carved a wooden effigy bearing a seventy-percent resemblance to Li Yuanxiu, laid it atop the earth, and sealed the coffin for burial. "Xiu'er!" Wrapped in white silk, the coffin was transported from the town up the mountain. The journey was silent save for muffled sobs. The clan uncles and cousins observed a solemn silence, but the elders wept openly, their wrinkled faces lowered as they bent their bodies in mourning, causing the gathered clan uncles to follow in flustered deference. Li Yuanjiao bore two long, pale carrying poles at the rear while Li Xuanxuan carried the front, the coffin bound securely between them. Li Yuanjiao raised his head and saw the gazes cast upon them. He caught sight of the ugly expressions on several of his concubine-born half-brothers in the crowd, their faces showing a mixture of sorrow and indignation. With Li Yuanxiu dead, and Li Yuanjiao's adoption having been conducted in secret, he was still concubine-born in their eyes. Li Xuanxuan had reached Qi Refinement and, by clan rules, could not cling to mundane power. The position of patriarch was very likely to slip from the hands of the Changhu lineage and fall to Li Yuanyun. How could these shrewd brothers not be anxious? Although the Li family treated all members of the main branch equally, and the elders constantly emphasized treating one another as full brothers, only the spirit aperture bearers who had grown up together on the mountain truly saw one another as brothers of the same womb. Among the clansmen at the foot of the mountain, distinctions remained after all; the difference between a patriarch who was one's own full brother and a cousin from a different lineage was simply too vast. With just a thought, Li Yuanjiao understood what his brothers were thinking, but he had no leisure to pay them any mind, his heart entirely consumed by grief and fury. "The Yu family... and Yu Mugao." Li Yuanjiao gritted his teeth as he spoke the name, yet he let out a helpless, quiet sigh at his own cultivation of third-tier Embryonic Breathing, feeling a deep, bitter resentment: "The Yu family has their late Foundation Establishment ancestor Yu Yufeng, as well as Yu Xiaogui at early Foundation Establishment. Yu Mugao himself is a mid Qi Refinement cultivator. Avenging this enmity will be difficult..." *** Unlike the sounds of weeping beneath the white silk on Mount Lijing, although Mount Huazhong was also draped in white silk, beneath it was filled with laughter and cheer. "Congratulations, Patriarch!" "Congratulations! An Jingming and his father got what they deserved, eliminated by the Yu family. Mount Huazhong is finally our territory now!" The man in the lead had a cultivation of fourth-tier Embryonic Breathing and wore a smug expression. Hearing this, he nodded with satisfaction and shouted, "An Zheyan was a tactless fool who squandered all the clan's resources on that precious son of his! Relying on their Qi Refinement cultivation, the two of them extorted and taxed us mercilessly, making me, An Zheyu, slave away like a beast of burden for them! Heaven's justice is clear—the two of them have finally lost their wretched lives! With these two scourges rid from our An family, and with the support of our patron clan, we will surely flourish and prosper from now on!" An Zheyu was naturally a puppet propped up by the Yu family. Over fifty years old, he possessed only fourth-tier Embryonic Breathing. Had it not been for the Yu family's methods, he would have spent his entire life as nothing more than a mid-ranking member of the clan. Yet now, backed by the Yu family, he had become patriarch, feasting and drinking with boundless triumph. "Precisely!" The man seated below wore a flattering grin, possessing a cultivation of only second-tier Embryonic Breathing. With a thoroughly servile demeanor, he fawned, "If those resources had been given to you, Master, you would have reached Foundation Establishment long ago! To squander them all on An Jingming was truly a waste!" These words seemed to strike right at An Zheyu's sore spot. He raised his head with a ferocious glare and snapped, "And what of it?! Now that the Yu family has provided cultivation resources, I will be able to reach Qi Refinement within three years!" "Yes, yes, of course!" The man below lightly slapped his own cheek, his eyes rolling slyly as he whispered, "Patriarch, the Yu family took An Jingming's head, saying they would cure it in saltpeter and examine it closely. But An Jingming's body is still here. How... should it be disposed of?" An Zheyu's eyes widened, and he was instantly overjoyed. Two beams of greedy, venomous malice shot from his eyes as he gritted his teeth and said, "I have heard that the bodies of geniuses often possess extraordinary qualities. Rumor has it that by offering it to the temple of one's belly, one might acquire a share of that wonder. Order someone to mince it finely and serve it in a basin. I want to see for myself just what is so extraordinary about him!" These words caused the temperature in the hall to plummet. The guards on both sides stirred in uncontainable distress. In life, An Jingming had been generous and kind to the common folk while harsh toward the clan's indolent scoundrels, offending the dissolute wastrels led by An Zheyu. Yet he had enjoyed an excellent reputation among the people; throughout the seven days of mourning, weeping could be heard from every home. The guards exchanged glances, powerless to intervene, silently weeping. Hearing this, the sycophant below was overjoyed and hurried to relay the orders. The two chatted and laughed for a while, and before long, an elderly servant brought up a wooden steamer tray, a brazier, and a soup pot. Seeing tears streaming down the old servant's face, the lackey flew into a rage, kicked the old man in the waist, and barked, "What are you wearing a funeral face for on such a joyous day?! Drag him out and beat him to death with staves!" The words fell, but the guards on both sides remained motionless, tears streaming ceaselessly down their own faces. The lackey grew even angrier and shouted, "Do you want to die as well?!" Only then did two guards step forward to drag the old servant away. The old servant's hair and beard bristled as he lamented, "I have served the An family since childhood, spanning four generations! The fathers were ignoble, the sons unfilial, and throughout the entire clan, Ming'er alone was virtuous and wise, yet he was murdered, and the whole clan has become running dogs of the Yu family... An Zheyu, the fate of the entire clan hangs on you alone..." The old servant's cries faded down the corridor. An Zheyu, on the contrary, burst into loud laughter and said, "In my youth, I merely gambled away two gold bars, yet that old thing went and reported me to my father, who beat me so badly I couldn't get out of bed for three days! Later, the old dog was protected by An Zheyan, and I had no way to take revenge. I have remembered this grudge for decades, and now it is finally avenged!" Having said this, An Zheyu smugly looked down and set aside his wine cup. He dipped a finger into the bloody water seeping from the wooden tray, finding only a faint metallic scent and no foul stench whatsoever. Bringing it closer to smell it carefully, he marveled in astonishment, "I have often heard that the remains of a Qi Refinement cultivator will not rot or reek for days. It is truly no lie!"