Li Yuanyun was only twenty-five years of age now, dressed in fine brocade. Though he was a mortal, relying on his father and siblings had granted him a comfortable life. He had fathered three sons and two daughters, branching out the family tree.
Li Yuanyun was among the younger of the Yuan generation, yet he looked to be in his thirties. Compared to his siblings who remained in the bloom of fifteen or sixteen after years of cultivation, he was aging far too quickly—so much so that the servants no longer addressed him as Young Master, but as Master.
At the head of the hall, Li Tongya was pale as he watched his direct eldest grandson kneeling blankly, clutching the wooden box.
Though the old man's vitality was withered, his eyes remained sharp, gleaming with an ever brighter light. His gaze rested for a while on Li Yuanyun's smooth, delicate hands, and he stayed silent.
These hands were fair and pudgy, having never brandished blades or spears. Even the calluses left from holding a writing brush in his youth were gone now, showing the pampered tenderness of the ruling class. A flicker of disappointment flashed in Li Tongya's eyes, and he said hoarsely, "Yun'er, come forward."
Before this grandfather, Li Yuanyun was as timid and fearful as a child. Wiping the tears from his face, he carefully shuffled forward and knelt at Li Tongya's knees.
Li Tongya scrutinized him closely, finding between his brows only the melancholy of thwarted ambition, and neither fiery spirit nor rancor. Only then did he speak:
"Once you have completed your mourning for your father, go to the market to help out."
"Yes..."
Li Yuanyun did not dare say more. Answering in a low voice, he retreated with the wooden box. Li Tongya looked across the faces of the juniors one by one, saying gently, "Though these injuries are severe, I can still hold on for a few years. If we can find some spiritual treasures like stalactite jade elixir, I might eke out a few more years. You need not worry; do what needs to be done with an open hand."
"Ancestor..."
Li Yuanjiao offered up the jade box with both hands, only for Li Tongya to gently push it away. The old man was utterly exhausted, yet a faint smile still surfaced on his face as he answered, "Keep it."
He stood up gently, unbuckled the green blade from his waist, and hung the Qingchi Sword above the seat of honor. This blade had been nurtured for many years and had developed a spirit of its own; as soon as it left his large hands, it hummed in reluctant protest, swaying slightly. Li Tongya turned back and cautioned with lingering unease, "Do not go out of your way to search for medicines for me, and under no circumstances entertain thoughts of blood sacrifice. Consider yourselves first in all things."
"Yes!"
The juniors all complied. With his hands behind his back, Li Tongya walked slowly out of the courtyard, treading the bluestone path laid down by Li Xiangping years ago, step by step toward his cave dwelling on Meichi Mountain.
In the courtyard, several juniors stepped forward to comfort Li Qinghong. After discussing Li Xuanling's funeral arrangements, they eventually went down the mountain to attend to their respective duties.
***
Summer turned to autumn, and rainfall grew sparse. Li Xuanling's funeral was held simply on the mountain; the white silk mourning cloths hung in the courtyard for only a few months. As Li Yuanyun departed for the market and Li Qinghong went to guard Mount Yuting, the white silk was swiftly taken down, keeping everything as modest as possible.
The Li family's first generation of clan elders was also passing away one after another. Mourning ceremonies could be heard daily, and the Li family had long grown accustomed to it. Some took as little as half a month, others a few months at most, before wrapping up hastily. The season to harvest spirit rice had arrived, leaving them too busy for grief.
Eastern Shanyue.
Birds chirped upon Mount Wutu. Newly polished stone stools and chairs were arranged in the courtyard. Dressed in plain robes, Li Yuanjiao sat quietly beside the stone table. Setting down the jade cup in his hand, he said softly, "It has indeed been a long time, Cousin."
The middle-aged man seated below laughed heartily. He was dark-skinned, wore a jade crown atop his head and a long robe over his shoulders, with a faint purplish glint in his eyes. He chuckled and said, "I, for one, heard a piece of news—people say the Ancestor slayed a Maha with his sword at Mount Bianyan and attained sword origin. Rumors are flying everywhere, and many folks have come begging me to ask you, brother..."
"Oh?"
Li Yuanjiao chuckled softly, gazing smilingly into his eyes as he answered, "It is indeed true."
"What?!"
Shamoli had been wearing a relaxed smile, hoping to learn the truth from Li Yuanjiao, but hearing this was like being struck by lightning. He instantly sat bolt upright and said in disbelief, "That... that was a Maha?!"
"A reincarnated Maha," Li Yuanjiao replied.
Shamoli nearly lost his grip on his cup, muttering, "Even if it was only a reincarnated Maha, how could any Foundation Establishment cultivator be a match for one... Slaying a Maha with a sword... renowned throughout Xu and Yue... The Ancestor... the Ancestor is truly an immortal figure!"
Shamoli currently had a cultivation of only the third level of Qi Refinement. Having refined qi using miscellaneous qi, his progress was naturally slow, and he had been easily surpassed by Li Yuanjiao. Whatever petty schemes he once harbored had long since been extinguished. Now, upon hearing this news, he actually felt a surge of pride by association. His eyes gleamed with delight. "Wonderful!"
Li Yuanjiao remained impassive, raising his cup to drink with him with a smiling face. Agitated and loud, Shamoli blustered, "Ever since Mount Wu fell and the various cultivators carved up Shanyue—establishing some Western Shanyue, some Shanyue Kingdom—not one of them had any regard for my Eastern Shanyue! Those Shanyue Foundation Establishment cultivators clearly don't put our master family in their eyes! It has been vexing me to no end, brother.
"Yet just a few days ago, those Shanyue kingdoms sent messengers one after another to pay their respects, all deferential and polite! I was wondering what on earth brought that about, and now I see it was the Ancestor slaying a Maha with his sword, striking awe throughout Xu and Yue!"
With that, he brought out several caskets—some wooden, some jade—and arranged them in a row across the table. Shamoli said solemnly, "I have brought every single one of these congratulatory gifts. I wouldn't dare embezzle even the slightest bit."
"You jest, Brother."
Li Yuanjiao merely swept his spiritual sense over them, and the spiritual materials inside the caskets appeared clearly in his mind. Those Shanyue Foundation Establishment cultivators were all stubborn hawks who wouldn't release their talons until they saw the hare; the spiritual items they sent were only at the Qi Refinement level, mere tokens of courtesy. He put the caskets away.
Shamoli's reaction was entirely within Li Yuanjiao's expectations. As cultivators drawn by the Ancestor's fame or passing by the Li family to offer congratulations flooded into Lijing Town, not only this Shanyue King, but also the prominent surnames under the Li family's rule were overjoyed and shared in the glory, which proved an unexpected pleasant surprise.
As Shamoli grew older, he had also grown garrulous, rambling on about various trivial matters concerning the Tian family and the Shanyue nobility. Li Yuanjiao listened attentively, nodded, and saw him down the mountain.
Watching Shamoli descend the mountain and slowly depart amidst the Shanyue King's guard of honor, Xiao Guiluan stepped gracefully out from the house. Her phoenix eyes fluttered gently as she said with a smile, "This Shamoli isn't as intolerable as rumors make him out to be."
Xiao Guiluan currently possessed the peak Embryonic Breathing cultivation. She cultivated the Wheel Cultivation method of the Xiao family's direct line, a fourth-grade technique that was one grade superior to the Li family's, so her cultivation naturally progressed faster.
"He has held the throne for over a decade, after all."
Li Yuanjiao put away the jade cups on the table, speaking far more gently to his wife: "It is a good thing that he keeps a constant watch over the Tian family and the Shanyue nobles."
Xiao Guiluan chuckled softly, sitting down close beside him, and said in a tender voice, "The Xiao family sent people over as well. A few of the sisters I was close with back home were astonished beyond measure. The rumors are bizarre and manifold—some say our family passes down the Dao of the Sword, that we possess an immortal sword, and only one who draws this blade may become the family head.
"They say that although your cultivation is high, you have not gained the sword's recognition, and so you are reduced to being a mere young master; while Yuanping is frail and sickly, yet his swordsmanship is miraculously divine..."
Xiao Guiluan recounted this in detail, making Li Yuanjiao laugh heartily. He answered, "Those rogue cultivators of Embryonic Breathing and miscellaneous qi love rumors most of all. How could you believe such things?"
"Naturally, I do not believe them," Xiao Guiluan replied, her brows lowered as she spoke softly. "Yet our family has always forbidden rumors concerning the Ancestor or the heritage, keeping them under the tightest grip through the Clan Rectory. Now, this matter is causing such a clamor, giving rise to doubts in my mind."
"Speak."
Li Yuanjiao's smile gradually faded, and he turned his head to look at her. Seeing her eyelids flutter as she met his gaze with those phoenix eyes, the two looked at each other for a few breaths before Xiao Guiluan spoke calmly:
"The Ancestor... is his health still sound?"
Chapter 305