Five Years Dead

Three months slipped quietly by. Clad in jade armor, Li Qinghong rode the wind and drifted down. She still looked to be in her early twenties. The spear in her hand was sharp, and the translucent plates of jade armor on her body bore intricate patterns—an Embryonic Breathing magical artifact. Armor artifacts were costly, only slightly less rare than pill cauldrons. When Mount Yuting fell, this set had been discovered. Li Tongya sent it to Li Qinghong, who then handed it over to Li Yuanping. Li Yuanping naturally refused to accept it, having Li Xicheng carry it back to Mount Yuting for Li Qinghong. Poor Li Xicheng had run back and forth until he was thoroughly out of breath. With two steps she entered the main hall. Seated at the head, Li Yuanping raised his head to see the valiant woman standing spear in hand, her jade armor eye-catching. He quickly rose and smiled. "Sister Hong." Li Qinghong smiled warmly and stepped forward, purple light rippling in her eyes. After looking Li Yuanping up and down for a moment, she said briskly, "With your cultivation, Xizhi is almost about to catch up with you!" Li Yuanping chuckled softly. At his side, Li Ximing stepped forward and bowed respectfully. "Ximing pays his respects to Aunt!" "Here comes our family's alchemist." This remark brought a shy smile to Li Ximing's face. Seeing how refined Li Qinghong's cultivation was—having lingered at the fifth stage of Qi Refinement for some time now—Li Yuanping sighed. "The cultivation speed of you and Brother Jiao is truly astonishing. Back then, Yu Mujian reaching Qi Refinement before thirty was hailed as superb talent. Yet you and Brother Jiao aren't even thirty—one at the fifth stage of Qi Refinement, the other at the sixth. Truly astonishing." Li Qinghong chuckled twice, then said seriously, "An Jingming was already at the eighth stage of Qi Refinement in his twenties. There's simply no comparing them." Li Yuanping nodded and recounted recent events. Li Qinghong listened carefully and pondered for a moment before speaking. "I spent time with the Fei family, so I'm familiar with the brothers Fei Tongyu and Fei Tongxiao." Purple light swirled in her eyes as she said softly, "Fei Tongyu is handsome, refined, and easygoing, but he lacks resolve; he can ride the crest of fortune, but cannot survive adversity. Fei Tongxiao is bold and brave, yet stays true to his conscience; he will not turn his back on our family's kindness." Rarely hearing insights on these two, Li Yuanping treated her words like precious treasures, committing them to memory as he listened. Then he saw Li Qinghong smile. "Even if someone from the Fei family enters the sect, neither of them will ever make up their mind to become our enemy. At most, they will waver and try to please both sides. There is no need to worry!" The two spoke for a while, but remembering today's business, both fell somber. Li Yuanjiao and Li Xuanxuan were just stepping into the front of the hall. Li Xuanxuan had only just returned from the market, his manner hurried. Over fifty years old, with graying hair at his temples, he was stern and unsmiling. Several juniors hurried forward to greet him. All four had changed into plain white robes. Exchanging glances, Li Yuanjiao said, "Up the mountain." *** The cave dwelling on Meichi Peak had been discovered by Li Xiangping years ago and breached together with Li Tongya using Taiyin Mysterious Light. By now it had been repaired many times; the bluestone was smooth, the formation runes intricate, and two stone lions stood imposing and majestic. The four stepped onto the platform before the cave dwelling. Li Yuanjiao pinched an incantation and cast a spell, yet the doors of the cave dwelling remained motionless. Startled, he frowned. "It is sealed from within." Seeing this, the other three turned to Li Qinghong. She practiced spear arts and had mastered lightning techniques, making her most adept at destruction. Li Yuanping cupped his hands. "We must trouble Eldest Sister." Hearing this, Li Qinghong stepped forward with her spear. Silently begging pardon in her heart, she swept her spear around and braced it against the stone door to gather power. Lightning surged ceaselessly along the shaft, converging at the spear tip. "Ha!" Li Qinghong pushed off the ground, whirled her spear around, and brought it cleaving down in a reverse strike. A thick purple glow manifested at the spear tip, taking the form of a flood dragon with bared fangs and brandished claws, slamming hard against the stone door. It was none other than *Swimming Dragon's Returning Shadow*, gifted by the Fei family five years ago. Exceptional for breaking formations and slaying foes, Li Qinghong had cultivated it over the years to basic mastery, perfectly suited for this moment. *Boom!* The formation on the stone door had primarily been meant for concealing aura and gathering spiritual energy; it flared violently before shattering with a roar. Li Yuanjiao and Li Xuanxuan, already prepared, pressed their hands against the rock face to dissipate the shockwaves, shielding the door itself with their magical power. Only when the last wisp of purple lightning faded did Li Yuanjiao let out a long breath and slowly push open the stone door. *Whoosh—* At the entrance, an icy northern wind brushed past their faces, scattering outward before drifting toward the sky. They cautiously stepped onto the stone stairs and entered together. Upon a stone couch, a youth in white rested his chin on one hand, a sword lying across his knees. His eyes were tightly shut, his black hair hanging loose. Clear azure water pooled all over the floor, and dew dripped glistening from the stone table near the door. The four stared blankly at the youth upon the couch. After they bowed together in reverence, the white-robed youth dissolved with a soft pop into clear azure spiritual water, scattering coral, colored glaze, mica, black rock, and other materials across the floor. Li Yuanjiao took a step forward and saw ink marks on the stone table, penetrating deep into the stone in vigorous, soaring strokes of silver and iron: "Five years dead. My eyes have turned to colored glaze; place them in a box to be buried in my stead. My flesh and bones have turned to mica and black rock; I hope my descendants will cast them into a mountain stream, that artisans may gather them and use them as plinths and pillars. "My five viscera have become clear azure water; pour it into great rivers, that I may see the sights of the world. What remains has turned to coral and talc; scatter them across the mountains and forests, whether for medicine, for painting, or for women's adornment. "Final brushwork of Li Tongya, son of the Li clan." Within the chamber, all four stood in utter silence, their expressions varied. Li Xuanxuan merely stroked the stone table with his hand. Li Yuanjiao produced a jade box, lifted the two pieces of colored glaze, and carefully laid them inside. Next, he respectfully lifted the Qingchi Sword from the couch, cradling it in his arms, and spoke to Li Qinghong: "Sister, please collect the black rock and mica, gather the spiritual water, and seek out a mountain stream and a great river. I shall first escort Granduncle back to the ancestral hall." Li Qinghong kept her head lowered, kneeling before the couch in a daze, lost in thought. Only after several breaths did she answer, "All right." Taking out a jade box, she picked up the black, white, and translucent spiritual relics from the floor one by one by hand. Only then did she cast a spell to gather the clear azure spiritual water into a water orb, cradling it in her hands before riding the wind away. Drifting away from Mount Lijing, Li Qinghong flew in silence for a time, searching all around until she finally spotted a mountain stream. The mountain spring chimed softly amidst fields of orchids, and not far off stood a mortal village—fitting Li Tongya's wishes well enough. Thus, she took the mica and black rock from the jade box and submerged them one by one into the spring waters. Having done all this, Li Qinghong sat down beside the water, resting her chin in her hands as she gazed into the distance. "Wuu... wuu..." Startled, her eyes rimmed with red, she looked around, only to spot a fox with fiery red fur sitting by the brook, weeping bitterly. Li Qinghong froze for a moment, then cautiously stood and said respectfully, "Junior Li Qinghong greets Senior!" "Dammit all." The fox spat curses, looking up at Li Qinghong, and spat out a spirit herb with a squelch, cursing, "Li Tongya sealed the mark I left on him! Only just now did I find out that bastard died! I even went into the mountains searching for spirit herbs for him for nothing! What a complete waste!" Though cursing, the fox hung its head and cast a listless glance at her. It picked up a piece of mica from the brook, tossed the spirit herb back into its mouth, and said, "I came looking for Li Tongya, only to stumble upon you burying him. Just stopped by for a look." With that, it rose on demonic wind, vanishing toward the horizon like a blast of black wind, heading into the depths of Mount Dali. Li Qinghong paused in place, bowed slowly in the direction it had departed, and then rode the wind in search of a great river. The cool, desolate mountain stream regained its tranquility once more. Dew dripped steadily, and the brook swirled with musical murmurs. After a long while, a figure slowly manifested from within the Great Void. The person wore loose white robes, a piece of green jade hanging at the lapel, his face blurred and indistinct. A sword swayed at his waist as he stood with his hands behind his back. He looked down at the mica and black rock in the stream, lifted a white cloth shoe, and gave a light kick, sending a pebble clattering into the brook. "Li Tongya."