The Li family's wedding had come abruptly, yet invitations had been delivered to every hand. Every family on the lake at Qi Refinement or above had received an invitation. Except for the Yu family, all the clans were present; even the rogue Foundation Establishment cultivator on the west shore had sent someone to observe the ceremony. Fei Wangbai, however, had not come in person, instead sending his direct grandson Fei Tongyu in his stead.
Fei Tongyu maintained the Fei family's usual style of a gallant young master. Holding a fan in his hand as he stood among the banquet tables, his words were courteous and polite, yet devoid of much genuine joy. He observed everything about the Li clan, watching Li Yuanjiao holding a cup at the head seat, and could not help feeling a sense of apprehension.
“Li Yuanjiao... the peak of Embryonic Breathing... What rapid progress. Though Li Qinghong isn't at the banquet, with her talent, she must be at least at the fifth tier of Embryonic Breathing! The Li family's momentum is blazing too fiercely; I fear this bodes ill.”
Fei Tongyu set down his cup and glanced at a young man sitting quietly nearby, drinking alone. Seeing that the young man possessed not a trace of cultivation yet occupied a seat of honor, Fei Tongyu reasoned that he had to be an important member of the direct line. He spoke up:
“May I ask how to address you, brother?”
Li Yuanyun had been narrowing his eyes in thought when Fei Tongyu's voice startled him. While Fei Tongyu did not recognize a nobody like him, he knew well who this direct-line young master of the Fei family was. He answered courteously:
“I dare not, I dare not. I am merely a mortal of common flesh, Li Yuanyun. Though unworthy, I belong to the Li family's direct line, but I hardly deserve such an address from an immortal master!”
After wandering below the mountain for several years, Li Yuanyun no longer retained any trace of youthful naivety. In its place was a slick, worldly demeanor. He had tried countless folk methods rumored to open or nourish spirit apertures—praying to gods, worshipping Buddha, squandering wealth, and seeking talismans. Year after year of futile striving had worn him down, leaving him looking like an exhausted middle-aged man.
“May I ask your relation to Miss Qinghong...”
“Li Qinghong is my elder sister by the same mother.”
When Li Yuanyun answered, Fei Tongyu instantly perked up. Before his departure, his younger brother Fei Tongxiao had begged repeatedly, insisting that he bring more than a dozen letters to Li Qinghong. Fei Tongyu had no choice in the matter, but finding no sign of Li Qinghong at the banquet, he hurried to ask:
“Might I ask if Miss Qinghong... is perhaps in seclusion on the mountain?”
“Indeed.”
Li Yuanyun nodded. Fei Tongyu then hesitated:
“My younger brother...”
Seeing Fei Tongyu falter and hold back his words, Li Yuanyun shook his head and continued:
“Elder Sister asked me to mention one thing: the cultivation method she now practices leaves no heirs. Yuanyun will say no more than this single phrase.”
Fei Tongyu was no fool. Stiffening slightly, the lingering eagerness in his heart subsided, and he simply replied:
“Thank you, Brother Yuanyun.”
Fei Tongyu had originally harbored some goodwill toward Li Qinghong as well, but his temperament was aloof. That favor had stemmed mostly from the alliance interests between the Li and Fei families, paired with his admiration for Li Qinghong's talent and conduct. Being older than Fei Tongxiao, he no longer held any obsession with romantic love. Upon hearing that Li Qinghong could not bear children, he let go of the thought without the slightest qualm.
In the span of a few breaths, several thoughts flashed through Fei Tongyu's mind, centered only on how to persuade his stubborn younger brother. He then began making idle conversation with Li Yuanyun.
“From what I observed on my way here, your clan has so many cultivators of outside surnames that even our Fei and Yu families combined might not match it...”
Fei Tongyu glanced toward the lower seats and asked with a genial smile. Li Yuanyun merely offered a dry chuckle without replying. After all, the Li family's population—both direct and collateral lines—was sparse, and the vast tracts of spirit fields were cultivated mostly by cultivators of external surnames, making the large number of outsiders unavoidable.
Seeing that Li Yuanyun did not wish to dwell on the matter, Fei Tongyu changed the subject. Looking at the Li family juniors seated orderly below, he remarked:
“Still, your clan maintains strict discipline. I have long heard that the Li clan laws are severe, and with Ancestor Tongya in the prime of his years, there is no fear of being unable to keep everyone in line.”
Li Yuanyun laughed aloud and joked:
“More than severe! Word in our clan goes that the Clan Rectory is practically the Hall of Senluo, and the clan rules are made to roast every child over the fire!”
Both men chuckled and exchanged a few off-color jokes. Fei Tongyu's mind remained on his brother; though he responded along with Li Yuanyun, his gaze swept back and forth across the banquet.
After the wine had flowed for three rounds, Fei Tongyu made up his mind. Leaving the banquet tables, he stood among the trees to get some fresh air. The setting sun on the horizon vanished little by little behind the undulating mountains. Fei Tongyu weighed the letters in his sleeve, then conjured a bright red spell-fire with a pinch of his fingers.
With his other hand, he drew from his sleeve those neat little letters that Fei Tongxiao had revised countless times and arranged so meticulously. With a bitter smile, Fei Tongyu cast them into the flames. Watching them turn dim in the fire, he murmured:
“Xiao'er, oh Xiao'er... The divine maiden ascends toward the heavenly peaks; why would she care for mortal passions of kings and princes? Give up this longing... let it go...”
Fei Tongyu had made up his mind: when he returned, he would tell Fei Tongxiao that all the letters had been handed to Li Qinghong, and that she had remained entirely indifferent, thereby snuffing out Fei Tongxiao's yearning. Yet watching those tender, yearning words reduce to ashes in the fire, Fei Tongyu felt a twinge of pity after all. He gave a self-mocking chuckle:
“What a mess this is. Perhaps our Fei men have always been too romantic, and this is our retribution...”
Only then did Fei Tongyu finish dealing with the matter. He sat before the stone steps, drinking quietly. Suddenly, a faint red glow illuminated his face. Dazed, he raised his head toward the crimson sky. Once he discerned what hovered above, he lost his voice in shock:
“How is this possible?”
At the horizon, bursts of brilliant rosy dawn light had appeared, gleaming with myriad colors, extraordinarily dazzling against the dimming night sky. The rays of light layered in swells like ocean waves rolling in from the southeast. Leading the way was a massive vessel drifting like an immense bird, unfurling four pairs of phoenix-like wings of rosy radiance, gliding forward seemingly slow yet deceptively fast.
Around him, the banquet fell silent. Everyone opened their mouths, gazing at the sky in dumbfounded astonishment, subdued by the overwhelming aura of the dharmic vessel as they looked at one another.
“The Rosy Dawn Cloud Vessel... Emissaries from the Sovereign Sect! Wh-what is happening?!”
“It is clearly not yet time to render tribute...”
“A Rosy Dawn Cloud Vessel!”
Fei Tongyu was stricken with terror and unease, seized by the foreboding of impending disaster. Among the three families on the lake, only his Fei family lacked their own backer within the sect, relying merely on spending money to bribe a few stewards for news.
With the Rosy Dawn Cloud Vessel arriving so abruptly now, it was likely driven by either Li Chijing or Yu Muxian. If it were Yu Muxian, neither the Fei nor Li family would fare well; if it were the Li family, the Fei family had received no wind of it at all, which also boded ill.
The color drained from Fei Tongyu's face. He waited quietly for a while, watching the Rosy Dawn Cloud Vessel fly past the eastern side of Mount Lijing and descend toward Milin Commandery. Only then did his expression improve slightly. Taking two strides into the air, he went to look for Li Xuanxuan.
***
“The Rosy Dawn Cloud Vessel...”
Yu Mugao stared enraptured at the falling multicolored light. The Rosy Dawn Cloud Vessel docked slowly atop the mountain peak. The intricate patterns across its hull gradually brightened, and as the suffocating pressure of its formation eased, a figure drifted down from the vessel.
The young man was clad in green robes. From his hair bun down to his boots, dharmic radiance flowed in brilliant hues. His features were handsome, yet his brow remained furrowed and his thin lips pursed. The Yu clan members hastily dropped to their knees, bowing down in a sweeping wave. Sweeping his gaze over them, the young man frowned and demanded:
“Where is Yu Xiaogui! It's one thing if Yu Yufeng doesn't show, but how is there not even a shadow of Yu Xiaogui!”
Yu Mugao hastily offered his excuse:
“This humble one is Yu Mugao, greetings to the Sect Envoy! My father has entered death seclusion, and as for our ancestor... he has yet to return!”
The young man frowned, casting a contemptuous glance over the crowd kneeling beneath him, and replied:
“For Muxian's sake, I will not make trouble with the rest of you... I am Chi Zhiyan, the head disciple of Yuanwu Peak. I have come today to levy men from the various families around Lake Wangyue to deploy to Yishan City. I ask Patriarch Yu to lend a hand.”
Chapter 270