After seeing off his daughter Li Jingtian, Li Xiangping felt deeply uneasy, as though prickling needles were against his back. He simply could not settle his mind while meditating upon the couch. Following several failed attempts to enter tranquility, Li Xiangping finally rose and called out in a low, heavy voice:
"Someone, come in!"
Chen Donghe, who had been keeping watch before the tent in full armor the entire time, entered at the call and answered, "Clan Head."
"Have the scouts reported any news?"
Chen Donghe shook his head. "None."
"Lichuankou hasn't sent anyone to report for a full shichen, right? Call someone to head back and inquire."
Li Xiangping shook his head. As he watched Chen Donghe acknowledge the order and leave, he pondered inwardly:
'Jianixi only shattered the enemy army in a surprise attack the day before yesterday. Surely he wouldn't march east today, would he? How could that make any sense? Are the troops under his banner tireless, immortal soldiers? Besides, the mountains to the west are teeming with scouts I deployed. There is no reason for them to be silenced without making a sound.'
Rising to don his armor, Li Xiangping watched the blazing brazier. The red firelight was reflected in his eyes, and his heart skipped a beat as he inwardly thought, *Not good.*
'This man has fought wars in the Northern Foothills for over a decade, winning victory after victory. I fear he cannot be judged by conventional logic. It is better to ferry the troops back across the river first.'
Sheathing the long saber in his hand, Li Xiangping slung the Qingwu Bow across his back and commanded loudly, "Beat the drums!"
Messengers rushed off at once, and the thudding rumble of war drums echoed from all sides, stirring up a flurry of commotion. Li Xiangping had only just stepped out of the command tent when he ran headlong into a flustered Chen Donghe.
"Clan Head!"
Chen Donghe hurried forward, his voice brimming with shock as he whispered into Li Xiangping's ear, "Clan Head! Lichuankou has already fallen under Shanyue control! Everyone sent there was slain! Two to three thousand troops are stationed on the opposite bank, and they've smashed several pontoon bridges. Our retreat has been cut off!"
These words struck like a thunderclap out of a clear sky. Li Xiangping was instantly horrified. Stunned into silence for two breaths, he abruptly tightened his grip on the long saber, clutching it so hard that it creaked and his knuckles turned white.
"Has the news leaked?"
Chen Donghe hurriedly shook his head and lowered his voice. "No. I contained the news, not daring to let anyone find out for fear of shaking morale."
Exhaling deeply, Li Xiangping murmured, "Go muster the troops."
With a solemn face, Chen Donghe withdrew. Li Xiangping closed his eyes, silently calculating his options.
'It is impossible to take this thousand troops and cross the river eastward to recapture Lichuankou. Nor could Jianixi have come with only those two to three thousand men. On top of that, he possesses Qi Refinement cultivation...
'Having routed the enemy army and rushed straight here on a raid, his rear is bound to be unstable. It would be better to probe westward. Every moment spent lingering here only makes things more perilous!'
Li Xiangping paced slowly to the back of the tent. Gazing at the tall mounds of grain, he calculated carefully for a moment. The storage bag at his waist floated up, and the mountain of rice, grain, and beans poured steadily into the pouch at his waist. The old Daoist's storage bag had the interior volume of an entire courtyard, which barely managed to hold all the provisions.
Walking before the clan soldiers, Li Xiangping took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and bellowed two words:
"March west!"
The troops struck camp one after another. Eight hundred clan soldiers along with two hundred Shanyue auxiliaries—a thousand men in total—plunged into the western woods without looking back.
***
The moment Jianixi's troops stepped into the territory of Lijing Village, his Qi Refinement cultivation was exposed without reservation, startling Lu Jiangxian awake. Sweeping his divine consciousness from top to bottom, Lu Jiangxian pondered inwardly:
'It appears to be that Jianixi. He has already seized Lichuankou and is advancing east to take Lijing Town.'
Expanding his divine consciousness to its limits, Lu Jiangxian immediately located several members of the Li clan.
Li Tongya was out upon the reed marshes with his wife Liu Rouxuan, gathering river clear qi for his third brother Li Xiangping to break through to Qi Refinement. The two formed hand seals, waiting for the moment at dawn when the clear qi would rise and the turbid qi descend.
To the west in Lidaokou, Li Xuanxuan and Li Xuanfeng had just finished exterminating a monster and were consoling the injured villagers. The beast had devastated the streets, which would still require manpower to repair.
Upon Mount Lijing, Tian Yun and Lady Ren were sitting together chatting by the brazier. Both were growing older—Lady Ren, in particular, was in her forties and could no longer sleep soundly.
Li Jingtian leaned against the window sill, her round eyes gazing into the distance with a troubled expression as the late-night breeze gently stirred her dark hair. Beside her, Li Xuanling slept obediently upon the couch.
Although his visual sense took in all the cultivators of the Li family, Lu Jiangxian's divine consciousness could only roam within the boundaries of Lijing Town. After pondering for a breath, he formed an illusion art and cast it into the mind of Li Xuanling upon the couch.
Lu Jiangxian's divine consciousness far surpassed the spiritual sense of ordinary cultivators. Moreover, Li Xuanling was presently merely a minor cultivator at the second layer of Embryonic Breathing, the Chengming Wheel. Without the slightest hindrance, Lu Jiangxian smoothly took over Li Xuanling's dream.
***
*Crack.*
Dazedly hearing a piercing sound of shattering porcelain, Li Xuanling jolted awake from his dream. Sitting up drenched in cold sweat, he stared blankly at the empty windowsill.
A pair of delicate white hands was carefully picking up the shards of the teaware from the floor. Li Jingtian said apologetically in a soft voice, "Ling'er, did I wake you?"
Covered in sweat from head to toe, Li Xuanling fully woke up as the chilly breeze hit him. He replied in a raspy voice, "Sister, I dreamed of... so many dead people. Jianixi defeated Uncle and led troops up the mountain, killing so many of our family."
Li Jingtian's expression grew even more worried. Li Xuanling's words struck right at the knot in her heart that had kept her awake all night. Squeezing out a strained smile, she gently comforted him.
Li Xuanling nodded absently. After silently pondering for a few breaths, he mumbled, "I'm going to pee."
With that, he slipped down from the bed, stepped over the threshold, avoided Li Jingtian's line of sight, and crept stealthily toward the backyard.
As soon as he entered the backyard, he saw a solitary, worn wooden chair sitting right in the center. Li Xuanling pouted, reminded of Li Mutian.
Pushing open the room's door with effort, Li Xuanling caught the rich scent of sandalwood. The candlelight was dim. In the faint glow, he caught sight of the cold, tall stone altar, atop which the small, greenish-gray mirror was circulating pale-white moon essence.
Standing on tiptoe, he reached his hands through the faintly cool moon essence and carefully lifted the magical mirror. Only then did he realize that the magical artifact felt warm and gentle to the touch, extraordinarily soothing.
Recalling his father's words, Li Xuanling raised the magical mirror in his hands and spoke in all earnestness:
"Disciple of the Li family Li Xuanling, bearing profound grace, respectfully invokes the wondrous Xuanming dharma: reverently bring forth the Taiyin Mysterious Light to execute evil and treachery, purge filth, and subdue demons!"
Lu Jiangxian nodded silently and opened his vision. Li Xuanling immediately felt weightless as he rose into the air, soaring up into the heights of the sky, quietly gazing down upon Lijing Town beneath his feet.
The moon shone serenely in the night; Lijing Town lay slumbering in dreams. Li Xuanling cast his gaze further out, only to see that distant Lichuankou was overrun with short-haired, tattooed Shanyue. There were even two columns of Shanyue soldiers clad in leather armor heading south. Looking at their direction, they pointed straight at Lijing Town, their intent all too clear.
Li Xuanling broke into a cold sweat instantly. Shaking his head, he finally dropped out of the vision. Stuffing the magical mirror into his robes, he rushed out of the backyard in a frantic hurry.
Chapter 89