Chapter 3: The Jade Mirror and the Elder Brother

"Hey, Brother Xiangping."

Li Xiangping was walking back with a basket on his back when a girl approached from afar. She had a round face and very ordinary features, but her beaming smile added quite a bit of charm to her eyes and brows.

"Sister Yun."

Li Xiangping smiled as he looked at the girl, then turned and handed over the basket of fish.

"Look at the good fish your brother caught. Take a few back to taste."

"I can't do that."

Tian Yun smiled and lowered her head. Girls develop early; at eleven years old, she had already grown taller than the thirteen-year-old Li Xiangping.

In Lijing Village, men and women married at thirteen or fifteen. Among their peers, they were the only two of a suitable age, and in her heart, the girl had already decided that the boy before her would be her husband.

"No, take them!" He forcefully shoved two fish into Tian Yun's hands. Li Xiangping didn't think much of it; among the villagers, Uncle Tian was the most honest, and he liked him the most. Naturally, he had to look after his daughter when he met her.

After saying goodbye to Tian Yun, Li Xiangping hurried into his house and placed the basket into a small pond. He thought for a moment, took out the mirror, wiped it, tucked it into his bosom, picked up the three wooden boxes on the table, and headed toward the fields.

There, his two older brothers were working the land with his father.

The Li family had four brothers: Li Changhu, Li Tongya, Li Xiangping, and Li Chijing. In Lijing Village, no one failed to give a thumbs-up when mentioning the four Li brothers. Whenever Tian Yun's father spoke of them, he would say with envy, "Li Mutian truly has great fortune!"

But the "fortunate" Li Mutian did not think so. As the only person in Lijing Village who had traveled far, Li Mutian felt immense pain watching his children toil in the fields.

"Good men should study or join the army; being in the fields is for cowards!" he would say, pointing at Uncle Tian and scolding him.

But life is just like that; those who have seen the light are the ones who suffer. Li Mutian had served in the army and killed men. When he returned to Lijing Village in his forties, he used his military pay to buy land and became a wealthy man, yet he was the most dissatisfied.

When Li Xiangping reached the edge of the field, his eldest brother, Li Changhu, was already waiting in the shade of a tree. Being the eldest, at seventeen, he already had stubble on his lips.

"Third brother, walk slowly; there's no rush."

Li Changhu smiled and patted Li Xiangping's head, looking at him gently.

"I heard from Uncle Tian that you had a big harvest today."

"It was too much, Brother!" Li Xiangping laughed heartily. "We can finally have a good meal tonight!"

"You."

Li Changhu wiped the sweat from his face, picked up a wooden box, and shouted toward the field.

"Second brother—"

"Coming!" Second brother Li Tongya walked over quickly, carrying a hoe. He sat down, called Li Changhu "Eldest Brother," and then looked at Li Xiangping with a smile.

"You guys eat; I'm heading back." Li Xiangping had been busy all morning and was starving, so he hurried home.

————

When Lu Jiangxian was in Li Xiangping's basket, he felt a vague, inexplicable pull attracting him. As he got closer to the Li house, this feeling became increasingly intense.

Passing the large locust tree at the village entrance and walking into the village, this attraction reached its peak. Lu Jiangxian felt a tightness in his chest and shortness of breath. The mirror body in the basket trembled slightly, and a red light shone from within it.

"That is a part of me, or something vital to me." A realization dawned on Lu Jiangxian.

"To the north! In the direction of that large lake!" As Li Xiangping slowly moved away from the village entrance, the attraction gradually faded. Lu Jiangxian silently noted this direction in his heart.

After sticking with Li Xiangping and wandering around the village, combining his perception of psychological activities with observations of the target's actions and tone, Lu Jiangxian could basically understand what everyone he saw was saying.

He discovered that this seemed to be just an ordinary little village. There were no martial arts masters leaping over roofs and walls, nor did he see any cultivators flying about.

"This place really seems to be just an ordinary little village. The best house is only a two-story earth-and-wood structure..." Lu Jiangxian pondered. If there were cultivators, they wouldn't be living in a small mud hut, would they?

"Powerful strength brings powerful productivity. The little village before me is too backward."

He already had a rough idea in his heart, and the framework for his future plans was slowly taking shape.

Tonight, the Li house was exceptionally busy. Mother and the two younger brothers were busy washing and cooking vegetables.

Li Xiangping returned fully loaded, and his younger brother Li Chijing had even secretly caught a nest of fat field mice while picking mulberry leaves for silkworms on the back mountain, stuffing them into a grain bag to bring back. His father, Li Mutian, was so happy that he patted the two young men's shoulders hard, praising them until their tails were held high.

At fourteen or fifteen, they were in the midst of growing, and the few dishes on the table were basically devoured by them.

Li Mutian only tasted one chopstick-full, and Mother Liu Linyun also watched the four brothers with a smile. Only the big yellow dog paced anxiously under the table, weaving between the six people's legs.

After dinner.

The moon slowly climbed over Great Lishan. Li Xiangping leaned against the corner of the wall with a long piece of barnyard grass in his mouth. His father, Li Mutian, frowned as he looked at the sky, as if searching for something.

"Right, Dad." Li Xiangping patted his father's pant leg and took the mirror out from his bosom.

"I picked this thing up in the river early this morning."

"Huh." Li Mutian took the mirror, squinted, and examined it over and over.

"Neither iron nor copper. What kind of good thing is this?"

The cold moon slowly drifted in front of the house, and as if coming to life, it gathered bit by bit above the mirror's surface, forming a faint lunar halo. Li Xiangping couldn't help but rub his eyes; it seemed as if the most beautiful moonlight he had seen in thirteen years was appearing in that halo.

"Dad!" Li Xiangping whispered.

"Shut up!" Li Mutian was shocked. He forced himself to move his eyes away from the halo, his hands trembling uncontrollably. He shoved the mirror back into Li Xiangping's bosom and whispered low in his ear:

"Hide inside, and tell your brothers to take their knives and come out."

For the first time, Li Xiangping saw such fierce killing intent on his father's face. His eyes narrowed slightly, like a hawk ready to strike.

"Yes..."

His voice trembled, his legs went weak, and he moved bit by bit into the doorway.

The night was fine, and Li Xiangping pushed open the door.

"Brother... Father says to quickly grab your gear and go to the door." Li Xiangping was almost crying as he whispered to his two brothers leaning against the bed.

"What?!"

Li Changhu stood up in shock, supporting Li Xiangping with both hands, looking at him with concern. "Is Father alright? Did he say what happened?"

Second brother Li Tongya turned over and took two knives from under the bed, then took down the rattan armor and long staff hanging on the wall. He looked gloomily out the window and whispered:

"It must be an enemy at the door." He handed over the long knife and rattan armor, held the long staff in his hand, and patted Li Changhu.

"Brother, no need to ask anymore. Third brother, you take Mother and the fourth brother and hide in the backyard."

"Okay."

Li Xiangping hurried off to find Mother. Li Changhu also quickly calmed down, put on the rattan armor, and walked toward the door holding the knife.

Outside.

Li Mutian was standing at the door, quietly looking at the melon field in front of the house. When both young men stood behind him, he waved his hand and took the long knife.

"You two go left and right to scout the front and back of the house to ensure no one is around." The two hurriedly agreed and went left and right to scout.

Li Mutian himself walked openly into the melon field in front of the house, bent down, and lifted, actually pulling a person out of the melon field.