The Lesson of the Jiang Family

“Senior!” When An Zheyan stepped out of the house, the clan soldiers lined up on either side greeted him with smiles. Warm, friendly grins lit up every face, and even those outside the courtyard waved toward him. An Zheyan nodded to each of them in turn, answering with a genial smile. A sudden feeling washed over him, as though a lifetime had passed. In the past, he had always acted with rapacious tyranny, ruling the An family with absolute dominance. Servants had cowered in terror whenever they saw him, and he would kill someone over the slightest displeasure. Later, his clan was ruined and his kin perished, forcing him to seek refuge with the Li family. Then, during an attack by demon beasts where he sought to curry favor with the Lis, he saved a young clan soldier. That very night, beaming from ear to ear, the youth had knocked on his courtyard gate and squeezed into his house carrying a large basin of dumplings, explaining that his mother had made them to express her gratitude. The two talked all night. An Zheyan, grimacing as he ate, had asked: “Aren’t you afraid of me?” The youth blinked in surprise, then burst into hearty laughter: “What is there to be afraid of?” Chewing on dumplings that tasted like dog dung to him, An Zheyan forced them down and laughed: “Indeed, there is nothing to be afraid of!” From then on, An Zheyan played finger-guessing drinking games with the clan soldiers, laughing toward the heavens and wailing in sorrow alongside them. They would sit along the wall watching young women pass by, and he took turns carrying the lads soaring through the sky until their legs turned to jelly from fright. An Zheyan would roar with laughter, often laughing until tears streamed down his face. Snapping back to the present, he saw the clan soldiers all smiling warmly at him. An Zheyan pulled out a long bench and chuckled: “You brats, what tales of demons and ghosts do you want to hear today?” The clan soldiers’ eyes lit up, bickering and clamoring over their choices. An Zheyan watched with amusement, when the clatter of horse hooves broke through the noise. A cloud of dust rose at the mouth of the alley, and a youth in white robes reined in his mount before the courtyard. Dismounting in a swift motion, he cupped his hands and said respectfully: “Senior! The Patriarch requests your presence.” “Centurion Tian!” Someone among the clan soldiers gasped. Instantly, they all lowered themselves, dropping to one knee, and chorused: “Greetings, Centurion!” Tian Zhongqing gave a slight nod. From atop the wooden bench, An Zheyan shook out his robes and answered: “I understand.” With that, he rose into the air and flew toward the mountain. Tian Zhongqing cast an envious glance after him as the crowd of clan soldiers boisterously surrounded him, chiming in one after another: “Centurion! What realm has your cultivation reached by now?” “Brother Zhongqing! Has another Qi Refinement demon beast appeared to eat people?” Tian Zhongqing waved his hand and replied: “Just the third layer of Embryonic Breathing, nothing worth mentioning. As for the Patriarch’s business, that is not for me to know.” The clan soldiers below questioned him back and forth for a while before someone whispered: “Brother Zhongqing! We heard Clan Uncle Xuanling broke through to Qi Refinement. Do you know if it’s true?” Tian Zhongqing gave a slight nod and smiled: “It is indeed true.” The clan soldiers instantly erupted in excited chatter like an overturned hornet’s nest. Tian Zhongqing shook his head with a smile, mounted his horse, and rode out of the alley. *** The stone-paved path up the mountain was swept spotless. As An Zheyan ascended, his mind was fraught with doubt, and he pondered: *What could this be about? Even if a Qi Refinement demon slipped into town, there would be no need to summon me up the mountain in person.* Mount Lijing was quiet and deserted, with only a chilly breeze blowing against him. An Zheyan muttered under his breath: “Could it be that because I haven’t touched any of the women they tried to shove into my quarters over the past few years, the Li family grew suspicious...?” He flicked his sleeves. A bluestone courtyard appeared before his eyes, its gate half ajar. An Zheyan pushed open the heavy courtyard gate; the house stood open, and two clan soldiers stood silently outside. An Zheyan clicked his tongue. Remembering his former opulent, resplendent hall and comparing it with the humble cottage before him, a bitter taste lingered in his heart. He muttered to himself: “An Zheyan, you truly deserved to fall.” Stepping into the simply furnished room, An Zheyan habitually lowered his head and lifted the hem of his robe, about to bow, when his eyes snapped wide open. The person seated at the head of the room was not Li Xuanxuan at all, but a middle-aged man with graying temples. His long, gentle brows rested above a calm expression as he sat upright, holding a white jade slip in his hand. With his sixth-layer Qi Refinement cultivation, An Zheyan immediately recognized the small characters carved onto the jade slip: *Classic of the White-Headed Court Knocker*. An Zheyan fell to his knees with a thud. Surging with shock and dread, he bent low and stammered with a trembling voice: “Zheyan... greets Senior!” *Foundation Establishment!* An Zheyan’s head buzzed as if a hornet’s nest had exploded within it. He swallowed hard in disbelief. He had originally achieved Qi Refinement earlier than Li Tongya and was once his senior, only to watch with his own eyes as Li Tongya went from newly entered Qi Refinement to the fifth layer, from the fifth layer to the eighth layer, and now to Foundation Establishment. His own attitude had shifted from contempt to astonishment, from astonishment to respect, from respect to dread, and finally to kneeling before him. The complex emotions in his heart were beyond words. *How could he already have reached Foundation Establishment...?* Watching Li Tongya attain the realm he had dreamed of his entire life, An Zheyan bowed with closed eyes, feeling both yearning and terror, until Li Tongya spoke with a smile: “Brother Zheyan is too courteous. Please rise.” Only then did An Zheyan straighten up. He watched as Li Tongya set down the jade slip and asked warmly: “I have heard that your ancestors were once outer disciples of the Immortal Mansion, and that this *Classic of the White-Headed Court Knocker* was handed down from them. Would you be willing to explain in detail?” An Zheyan nodded repeatedly. Without even pausing to collect his composure, he searched his memories for a few moments, marshaled his words, and answered: “My ancestor’s surname was Jiang. He was an outer disciple of the Immortal Mansion. At eighteen, he achieved Qi Refinement, meeting the mansion’s minimum requirement, and was bestowed this *Classic of the White-Headed Court Knocker*. Leading immortal soldiers, he patrolled from the three eastern territories of Wangyue Marsh to the Yuling Lake domain. At thirty-nine, he reached Foundation Establishment and was appointed an immortal general, receiving these two inheritances and permission to recruit his own subordinate generals.” “From the three eastern territories of Wangyue Marsh to the Yuling Lake domain?” Li Tongya raised an eyebrow and inquired. An Zheyan hastily replied: “Everything from what is now the southeastern shore to parts of the Xunlin Plain belonged to Wangyue Marsh back then.” Seeing Li Tongya nod, An Zheyan continued: “Our ancestor failed to break through to the Purple Palace and subsequently passed away. The elder left only a single son, who was merely at the peak of Qi Refinement. He had no choice but to foster cultivators of outside surnames and recruit rogue cultivators to guard the territory, which sowed the seeds of calamity... “Ten years later, the son broke through to Foundation Establishment. His offspring were also few. All possessed spirit apertures, and the cultivation method rapidly produced Qi Refinement cultivators. Yet, as one’s cultivation grew higher, siring children became increasingly difficult. Later, the son was slain while contending for an opportunity to reach the Purple Palace. Several cultivators of outside surnames refused to submit to one another and each backed different children and grandchildren, showing early signs of division.” An Zheyan sighed and said in a low voice: “Backed by these outsiders, who wedded their daughters to them, opposing factions formed, and the various branches grew ever more estranged. In less than a century, members of the main family were even marrying into outside families as matrilocal husbands. After another three generations, there were barely any people left surnamed Jiang...” Li Tongya stroked the jade slip in his palm without saying a word. An Zheyan glanced at him and added in a hushed tone: “Therefore, cultivators of outside surnames are exceedingly rare within the clans around the lake; they are truly terrified by the cautionary tale of the Jiang family. Families like ours, who rose by usurping another’s legacy, are even more terrified to death of it, so we kept virtually no outsiders in our households...” An Zheyan straightened up, hesitated for a moment, and said: “Under the main family’s rule today, the Chen, Liu, Tian, and Ren clans have all produced spirit aperture bearers. If they are not kept under suppression, I fear trouble may brew over time...” Hearing this, Li Tongya raised his brows in mild surprise. He had not expected An Zheyan to say such a thing. He let out a low chuckle and replied: “Rest assured. My family is not the Jiang family; things will not come to that.” “This subordinate has overstepped.” An Zheyan lowered his head. Li Tongya looked at him and asked: “How old are you?” “Eighty-five.” An Zheyan answered, sounding somewhat dejected: “My cultivation method makes it difficult to refine qi in the first place. At eighty-five, I am only at the sixth layer of Qi Refinement; I am afraid there is no hope of Foundation Establishment for me.” Li Tongya paused and offered a brief word of comfort before watching An Zheyan take his leave. He lifted the jade slip containing the *Classic of the White-Headed Court Knocker* and murmured: “The red dust in the court... With the River Daling Classic in our family’s possession, the road to the Purple Palace is still long, so there is no rush.”