Wan Tiancang wept and lamented, recounting how cruel the Ji family was and how perilous the Wan family's plight had become, insisting that the Wan and Li families shared both rise and fall, bound together in prosperity and ruin.
His words moved even Li Yesheng, who was waiting at the side. Yet Li Mutian only kept his brow lowered, impassively taking a gentle sip of tea before speaking.
"Has the Wan family's situation truly deteriorated to such a point?"
"Indeed!"
Wan Tiancang looked at Li Mutian and gritted his teeth, knowing the elder before him was not the sort to loose the hawk until he saw the hare. Reaching into his robes, he produced an animal-hide scroll and said, "Before my departure, my clan brother specifically instructed me that living among the Li family will cause much inconvenience in daily life, so he had me bring along an array scroll to repay your noble family's kindness."
Li Mutian waved a hand, and Li Tongya stepped forward to receive it while listening to Wan Tiancang's explanation.
"This array is called the Mist Barrier Array. My grandfather bought it at a market a hundred years ago. Once the array flags are refined, the formation can be laid. Grandfather was fondest of arrays, and the mountain array protecting our home was set up by him. He originally bought this array to verify his own understanding of the art. After he passed away, there was no one left in the clan proficient in arrays."
Wan Tiancang sighed with deep emotion, reluctantly presenting the animal-hide scroll to Li Tongya with both hands.
Seeing Li Tongya nod, Li Mutian finally smiled and said, "You are far too polite. The Wan family and the Li family both dwell under the governance of Qingchi, so it is only natural that we aid each other. Now that the Wan family faces hardship, how could our Li family take advantage of another's peril? As for the harvest, our Li family shall take only fifteen percent!"
What else could Wan Tiancang say? He gave a low, wry smile and replied, "My gratitude to Senior!"
Li Mutian acknowledged him with a soft hum, and Li Tongya led Wan Tiancang, Li Yesheng, and the others out of the courtyard.
As soon as they stepped past the courtyard gate, Wan Tiancang looked at Li Tongya with a trace of hope and asked, "I wonder where your noble family has arranged the spirit fields? Please, Brother Tongya, take me to assess their quality."
"Naturally." Li Tongya nodded. As he walked along the bluestone path, he explained, "Our Li family has two settlements along Guli Road. The first is Lidaokou, which is the direction from which you came, Brother Tiancang. The second is Lichuankou, situated on the shores of Lake Wangyue. The spirit fields leased out are located at Lichuankou. I have already instructed men to build a small courtyard residence there. The plots are relatively intact, with an annual yield of around seventy jin."
Wan Tiancang nodded to show his understanding, then turned his gaze to the scenery of Lijing Village along the way, remarking, "This road is paved quite well. With mortals bustling back and forth, the streets are still clean and orderly. That is truly rare."
"Brother Tiancang flatters us." Li Tongya chuckled softly and continued, "I have heard there is an immortal market in these parts. Our Li family is newly founded, so we know little about it."
"Brother Tongya always finds a way to pry more news out of us!" Wan Tiancang laughed, teasing Li Tongya, before turning serious. "I have only formed the Xuanjing Wheel and have never visited the market myself. However, my clan brother went there together with our family head and shared quite a bit. That market is situated on an islet in Lake Wangyue, opened by a rogue cultivator at the peak of Qi Refinement. On the night of the full moon, large boats travel to and from the shores, taking rogue cultivators or immortal cultivators from small clans like ours over to that islet. According to our patriarch, it is best to form the Yujing Wheel before heading to that islet, lest trouble strike along the way."
Wan Tiancang quickly added this warning, terrified that the Li family might send someone to their death and blame his family for it.
"We understand, of course." Li Tongya nodded, committing this crucial information to memory while making casual conversation with Wan Tiancang.
Before long, they arrived at Lichuankou. Having heard that Li Tongya had brought a cultivator from another family to Lichuankou, Chen Erniu was startled and hurriedly led people to greet them, following cautiously behind Li Tongya while whispering with Li Yesheng.
Wan Tiancang estimated the size of the fields, tested the spiritual energy and soil quality, and nodded to Li Tongya to show his satisfaction. Li Tongya smiled, waving a hand. "Brother Wan must be exhausted from your journey. I have family matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave first."
With that, he instructed Li Yesheng and Chen Erniu to help Wan Tiancang settle all matters, great and small, then turned back toward Lijing Village.
***
Nowadays, the back mountain of Lijing Village had grown much livelier. The villagers all called this mountain Mount Lijing. Amidst the dense groves on the slopes, quite a few small courtyards of blue brick had sprung up, their blue bricks and grey tiles dotting the greenery quite handsomely.
A winding flagstone path stretched from the foot of the mountain to the summit. At the mountain's foot, villagers stood watch. Seeing Li Tongya, they bowed respectfully in greeting: "Welcome, Immortal Master."
Li Tongya gave a casual nod. After walking up the flagstone path for the time it took an incense stick to burn, a small courtyard came into view.
The teacher, Han Wenxu, was conducting lessons here. The yard was filled with half-grown children—roughly fifty or sixty at a glance—all sitting upright beneath a tree, listening to his lecture.
Not only Lijing Village and Jingyang Village, but even farther settlements like Lidaokou and Lichuankou had children coming here to study. Only wealthier households with some savings could afford to sponsor a child or two for schooling, and naturally, they could only send them to Lijing Village.
Looking at Li Xuanxuan reading inside, Li Tongya mused to himself, *In another few months, the boy will reach six or seven and his constitution will have settled. Then we can test his spirit apertures. The mirror still has three Xuanzhu talisman seeds left, so even if Xuan'er lacks spirit apertures, there is no need to worry. Counting the days, Tian Yun's child is also due in a few months.*
For some reason, the image of Liu Rouxuan suddenly surfaced in Li Tongya's mind. Startled, he shook his head repeatedly, stood frozen for a few seconds, then continued up the mountain with a wry smile.
Past the schoolhouse lay a flight of one hundred and twenty-six steps, leading to a platform where a grand gate coated in red lacquer stood. An elderly man with graying hair sat by the entrance.
"Uncle Tian!" Li Tongya greeted him. Tian Shoushui was cheerfully holding a small hammer, working on a half-finished wooden horse.
"Tongya, you're back." Tian Shoushui smiled and nodded, scratching his head with a trace of bashfulness as he pointed at the wooden horse in his hand. "Well, Yun'er is due soon, so I thought I'd carve a little toy for the child..."
The old man had suffered numerous injuries in his youth, and as the years caught up to him, he aged rapidly. Though he was the same age as Li Mutian, he looked more than a decade older.
"All right, take your time with it." Toward this man, who had been like a father to them, Li Tongya held deep respect. After paying his respects, he entered the courtyard.
Li Xiangping was slowly awakening from his meditation. Exhaling a breath of turbid air, he looked at Li Tongya and asked, "Second Brother, you formed the Zhouxing Wheel?"
"I did," Li Tongya raised an eyebrow, replying with a smile.
"A step ahead of me after all." Li Xiangping feigned gloom, but couldn't help smiling himself as he stood up and stretched.
Li Tongya recounted the matter with Wan Tiancang and set the array scroll on the table. Picking up a teacup from the tabletop, he took a sip. Seeing Li Xiangping's brow furrowed in contemplation, Li Tongya asked, "What is it?"
"Wan Tiancang is far harder to deal with than Wan Yuankai," Li Xiangping looked up, his tone calm.
Li Tongya chuckled softly and was about to speak when Tian Shoushui poked his head in and called out, "Linfeng is here!"
The two brothers exchanged a puzzled look as Liu Linfeng hurried into the courtyard, wiping away sweat. Looking at them, he said, "An immortal master has arrived at the foot of the mountain, claiming to come from Qingsui Peak."
Chapter 32