Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 182 - 169: The Worries of Donghe
The stone path on Lijing Mountain had been laid for several decades, and it was already covered with faint blue lines. Li Qinghong had heard that it was built during the time her third great-uncle, Li Xiangping, was in charge of the Li Family. Few of the craftsmen who laid this road were still alive.
Li Qinghong walked up the mountain on this stone path, looked around, and realized it had been several days since she had seen her younger brother, Li Yuanyun. After searching the mountain, she finally found him in their aunt, Li Jingtian's side courtyard.
The boy was sitting upright in the courtyard, carefully reading a wooden slip. Li Qinghong entered the courtyard, looked at him, and felt a bit uneasy in her heart.
"Yun brother..."
Li Qinghong had received a Talisman Seed at the mountain peak nearly a year ago, and in these days, she was busy with cultivation and practicing spear techniques. Li Yuanyun rarely visited the main courtyard, so Li Qinghong had not seen him often. With her brother unable to practice cultivation, a strange sense of guilt always surfaced in her heart when she appeared before him.
"Sister has come."
Li Yuanyun's eyes lit up, and setting aside the wooden slip in his hand, he smiled and said,
"It's been quite some days since we last saw each other."
Li Qinghong smiled sweetly, glanced at the wooden slip on the table that read "Two Hundred Years of Linghai County Scenery. Annotated by Li Jingtian," and felt somewhat curious. She smiled and asked,
"Didn't you always dislike these long and tedious historical records in the past? How come you are reading this book now?"
Li Yuanyun laughed and explained,
"I cannot practice cultivation, and I am nowhere near as capable as Cultivator brother in managing our family affairs, so I can only find something I am able to do. Coming here to read and learn from our aunt means I might be able to help her in the future."
These words seemed to come charging at Li Qinghong with ferocity, as if biting her and causing her eyes to shift away, retreating a few steps. She quickly changed the topic and forced a smile,
"Having read this book, have you gained anything?"
Li Yuanyun sighed softly, picked up the wooden slip, and in an innocent voice said,
"After reading it, I feel... afraid."
"Afraid? What is there to be afraid of?"
Li Qinghong adjusted her emotions and asked with some puzzlement.
"Our clan is harmonious and united, Shanyue has long been subdued, and our parents share a loving bond. I've never heard of any brutal incidents, and Yuanyun initially thought it was a peaceful and orderly realm."
Li Yuanyun clenched the wooden slip with a somewhat panicked expression and said through clenched teeth,
"Only after reading this book did I realize that the Four Territories are actually places of constant turmoil and rivers of blood, filled with endless schemes and ruthless games of cunning where at the flick of a finger, families can be annihilated... Our Li Family seems stable on the surface, but who knows how many plots and schemes lurk in the shadows, calculating against each other. This world really makes one feel sullied."
"Sister, although born into the Li Family with luxuries and even as a person without a Spirit Aperture, I could enjoy life to the fullest, I am truly very afraid. I fear that one night I'll wake up to find our family's Great Formation completely shattered and the gleaming Immortal Swords descending from the sky, dying inexplicably in my dreams."
Li Qinghong was at a loss for words, silent for a few moments, and staring at Li Yuanyun's slightly reddened eyes, she spoke in a low voice,
"Father once said, the rules of this world are set by the Immortals, so how could the Immortals take into consideration the morals of ordinary people? Naturally, they will stop at nothing..."
"Sister."
Li Yuanyun looked up at her and began in a quiet voice,
"I've read our family history. Huaqian Mountain was snatched from the Lu Family by our family, and the Lu Family was also our mother's maiden family; they're now extinct... I once saw mother secretly shedding tears; perhaps it was because of this."
Li Qinghong was silent for a long while before finally speaking,
"If my Li Family doesn't take it, by the next day, it will be taken by the An Family. The Li Family has done nothing wrong, and neither has the Lu Family done anything wrong. When things come to this point, this is the only way forward when there is no other path. If that Family Head of the Lu Family has any sense, this matter could have ended cleanly. The fault can only lie with him."
"Sister is right."
Li Yuanyun put down the wooden slip and his expression relaxed considerably, smiling as he said:
"It's a pity I cannot see that far, otherwise I would definitely write a book titled 'Two Hundred Years at Wangyue Lake,' its twists and turns would surely not be inferior to those of Linghai County."
Li Qinghong chuckled softly, nodded, and was about to speak when the gate creaked open, and a woman around twenty-five or twenty-six years old walked in. Her waterfall-like long hair was tied behind her head, she placed the paper umbrella in her hand down, and with a beaming smile said:
"Qinghong has arrived."
"Auntie."
Li Qinghong giggled, quickly went forward to embrace Li Jingtian, and did not expect that following from outside, a middle-aged man with a distinguished air politely greeted her, and Li Qinghong hastily replied:
"Uncle is also here."
Chen Donghe nodded slightly, and the two children followed him back into the courtyard, feeling restless and uneasy. They were not often in the presence of this Qi Cultivation Level uncle, finding him solemn and unfamiliar, and quickly found an excuse to take their leave.
Li Jingtian nodded her head and smilingly saw the two off before coming back into the yard, only to see Chen Donghe staring at the row upon row of wooden slips on the desk. She asked in a gentle voice:
"What are you looking at?"
Chen Donghe stroked his chin and exclaimed:
"The Li Family's bloodline is indeed extraordinary. The speed at which Qinghong and Yuanjiao have broken through to Xuanjing is simply astonishing. In the past, Xuanxuan and Xuanling were also exceptional. It seems it's a bloodline born for the Dao."
Li Jingtian lowered her brows to hide the unusual light in her eyes and turned her head, smiling as she said:
"After all, it is the bloodline of a Foundation Establishment Immortal Cultivator."
Chen Donghe nodded his head, not delving deeper. With a sweep of his Spiritual Sense, ensuring there were no people around, he then said in a low voice:
"Not to worry, my lady, but these days I've made some discoveries that unsettle me, and I'm considering whether I should go up the mountain to speak with Second Uncle or with Xuanling. I need your insight."
"What has happened?"
Li Jingtian sat down at the edge of the desk as Chen Donghe seriously said:
"Now our household has several dozen external Cultivators; although most of them are minor Cultivators at the first or second layer of Fetal Breathing, they are not to be underestimated. These people have been assigned to various places to cultivate Spiritual Fields or to be in charge of guarding the towns, responsible for tasks such as exorcising demons and healing the sick."
"These people represent the voices of other powers outside the Li Family. Among them, factions abound, and three Cultivators at the fourth or fifth layer of Fetal Breathing lead them, often engaging in underhanded acts. The Clan Head Courtyard does not exercise much control over them, I fear if this continues for long there may be trouble..."
Li Jingtian pondered for a moment, took the wooden slips from the desk, and arranged them neatly before softly saying:
"The Clan Head Courtyard has eyes and ears everywhere. Could it be unaware of what you're talking about? Most likely, this is already laid out before Xiu'er's desk, and possibly has already been sent to the Cave Mansion on Meichi Peak. If the clan has not yet dealt with it, there must be other considerations."
"These people not only represent themselves, but they also represent the interests of the lineages and small sects they married into behind them... Conflicts are inevitable, and it's possible..."
Seeing Chen Donghe look up at her, Li Jingtian leaned in a bit closer, her lips near his ear, her voice soft and gentle as she said:
"The one letting them fight it out might just be our Xiu'er."
