Chapter 331

A group of direct descendants discussed for a while, and Li Tongya's funeral was kept secret and not announced. They only hung white silk on the mountain, and several direct descendants paid their respects themselves before dispersing.

The news of Li Tongya's passing had been known to several direct descendants earlier, and the three-year mourning period had long been completed. Now it was just a trace of sorrow that arose, and they hurriedly threw themselves into their respective duties.

"Ming'er, how much of the alchemy book have you read?"

"I can already summon alchemy fire!"

Li Ximing nodded obediently, put his hands together, and summoned a handful of pure white fire, moist as jade, cool as water, quietly jumping between his two palms.

Li Yuanping hugged Li Ximing happily, looked at Li Xuanxuan, who was full of smiles, and whispered:

"It's rare for Father to come back once. Stay at home for a while longer. Leave the market to the family..."

"No."

Li Xuanxuan immediately became serious and replied:

"I am old and have long lost the heart to forge ahead. Zhong Father sees clearly, which is why he sent me to the market..."

His face, which was not prone to smiling all day, revealed a trace of shame, and he whispered:

"Your grand-uncle sees clearly. I, Li Xuanxuan, am actually not a great talent for governing the family. My ability is at best that of a shopkeeper who guards the family. Having governed the family for so many years, I have delayed many things."

"It's just that at that time, the population was sparse, and my father died early. Several uncles always felt sorry for me, so the power of the family was always placed on me."

A trace of guilt appeared on his face, and he said softly:

"Xuanling is actually much more outstanding than me. Zhong Father favored me, which only made him unknown. But even if my father died early, he still had the reputation of being loved by the village elders and served by the masses."

"And me... and me..."

Li Xuanxuan sighed in a daze and said in a hoarse voice:

"A hundred years later, how will the world call me..."

It was the first time Li Yuanping saw his father in this state, and his heart was sour. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Li Xuanxuan smile slightly and continue:

"Fortunately, along this road, the family is full of vitality and orderly. You are stronger than your father. Work hard!"

After saying this, he smiled proudly, touched Li Ximing's head, stepped out of the courtyard, and drove the wind away.

Li Yuanping smiled sullenly and looked down. Li Yuanjiao stepped into the hall just right. It seemed he didn't want to disturb the conversation between the two and had waited outside for a while. He sat down on the side, and then saw someone come up from below and bow:

"Family Head, the Lord of East Shanyue, Shamoli, came alone leading a horse, saying that he has broken through to the fourth level of Qi Condensation and wants to go up the mountain to cultivate, no longer coveting power."

"Shamoli?"

Li Yuanping raised an eyebrow, looked at Li Yuanjiao on the side, and whispered:

"I remember Shamoli has a son raised in my family... He is a branch of my Li family, called Li Jiman. A few years ago, he went to the Shanyue area to govern a city."

"Not bad."

Li Yuanjiao moved his cup, obviously having calculated this matter long ago. Li Yuanping flipped through the case table, found a small letter, and frowned:

"The evaluation of the Clan Justice Court is humble and polite, with the demeanor of a good person."

"In Brother's view, how is this person?"

Li Yuanjiao had cultivated in East Shanyue for many years and understood these things. Hearing this, he shook his head:

"This person is respectful on the outside but combative on the inside. He is much more restless than Shamoli. Fortunately, the aristocratic families of East Shanyue are growing, and using this person as a knife is not bad."

"Oh."

Li Yuanping put away the small letter, sipped tea, and Dou Yi, who was below, finally found a chance to interrupt and whispered:

"Family Head, that Shamoli subdued a demon horse, which is at the fifth level of Qi Condensation. It is only a line away from the one Gani Xi had in those years. I heard that it leaves no trace when stepping on snow, like a ghost."

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Li Yuanping raised his head and smiled at his brother on the side. Li Yuanjiao said softly:

"Is it a good horse?"

"That is natural!"

Dou Yi flattered him with a thick face, but saw Li Yuanping shake his head and say:

"Whether it is a good horse, one always has to ride it to know. A horse that is too fierce is easy to hurt its owner, and a horse that is too docile cannot travel a thousand miles."

Dou Yi nodded without understanding, but Li Yuanjiao on the side laughed and replied:

"Then it will be left to Brother Ping."

"Brother, rest assured."

Li Yuanping looked at the letter in his hand, nodded steadily, and said in a deep voice:

"Call him in!"

The person below responded and retreated. Not long after, a man in gorgeous clothes with a jade crown on his head walked in and bowed:

"Shamoli greets the Family Head!"

This person was the Lord of Shanyue, Shamoli, now at the fourth level of Qi Condensation. Although he practiced miscellaneous Qi, because his technique was profound, he was not much worse than ordinary orthodox Qi cultivators. Li Yuanping glanced at him and said softly:

"Since you want to give up power and go up the mountain to cultivate, then follow my brother to Wutuo Mountain. Are you willing?"

"Your subordinate begs for it!"

Shamoli knelt on one knee and responded respectfully. After completing this formality, Li Yuanjiao on the side stood up and smiled:

"Then I will return to the mountain first!"

"Good!"

Li Yuanping nodded, watched his brother Li Yuanjiao and Shamoli bid farewell and leave, waved to Li Ximing, who was squatting on the side helping with the small case and silently watching the crowd, and smiled:

"Go and change into military uniform."

Li Ximing's eyes lit up immediately, and he asked:

"Father, where are we going?"

Li Yuanping untied the cloak on his body and said softly:

"Test the horse!"

————

The climate on Wangyue Lake had always been stable, with rare droughts or floods in decades. This year's rain arrived as scheduled, falling in a continuous stream. The midsummer had passed, and the evening wind became cold.

Li Yuanping had been quite interested recently. In military uniform, he rode his horse at high speed. His pale complexion was rarely ruddy. Li Ximing in his arms leaned against his chest, laughing incessantly.

"Drive!"

He pulled the reins and galloped on the road, leaving the carriage with black flags fluttering behind him. He, who had always been soft and leaning on the soft couch at the head, was heroic, rarely having some heroic spirit, laughing incessantly.

The Li family was much richer now. The horse under Li Yuanping was a tribute from Shanyue, known as "Zhongsuo," silent when stepping on snow, moving forward like a ghost, with fifth-level Qi Condensation cultivation, personally subdued by Shamoli and brought to Lijing Mountain as a tribute.

Li Yuanping got a good horse and galloped for a while, rushing from the suburbs of Lijing Town to the suburbs of Wutuo City in East Shanyue in one breath. Li Ximing in his arms was overjoyed, his black hair raised by the wind, and he said in a childish voice:

"Dad! Where is this?!"

"East Shanyue."

Li Yuanping was high-spirited, suppressed the cough in his throat, stopped his horse suddenly, raised his horse whip, pointed to the continuous mountain range in the north, and smiled:

"North of this mountain is Wutuo. It is rumored that Lord Xiangping led his troops through here in those years, only two miles away from the Great Army of Mu Jiaoman. Lord Xiangping held the bit and reined in the horse, thus escaping a disaster."

Li Ximing listened attentively, and then saw Li Yuanping say softly:

"Below this mountain is the border city of East Shanyue, Wutuo City, which can be considered prosperous. That Li Jiman has been governing things in this city for ten years."

"Li Jiman."

Li Ximing pondered for a moment and replied:

"Yes."

Li Yuanping responded to the words of the child in his arms, looked left and right, and saw the rainwater falling from the branches. Knowing that the Yuting Guards and several guests had been protecting him closely, he let the horse go and walked along the road.

He drove his horse casually, his ears moved slightly, and he said with interest:

"Li Jiman is a smart person, but he is warlike and murderous, respectful on the outside but treacherous on the inside."

The Zhongsuo horse snorted and walked up the high slope. The scenery on the mountain was unobstructed. Screams and roars rose one after another, and the ground was covered with blood.

Below the mountain was a plain, and the city wall of Wutuo City was visible from afar. A group of emaciated Shanyue commoners were trembling and holding hoes and pitchforks, surrounding a gray wolf, which seemed to have shallow cultivation and was roaring incessantly.

On a small hill on the side, brown carriages and flags were fluttering, long spears were dense, and a group of soldiers were watching from the sidelines, playing and laughing. At the very head sat a youth, holding melons and fruits, laughing loudly.

"This is Li Jiman!"

Li Yuanping recited lightly, and Li Ximing in his arms frowned and whispered:

"Dad, what is he doing?"

"Watching a play."

Li Yuanping spat out two words coldly, and then saw a certain noble below laugh, throw out a melon, and accurately hit the wolf demon on the head, stimulating the wolf to become fierce and tear a person into pieces with one bite.

The farmer's body was small, and in a short while, it shattered into residue all over the ground, further stimulating the wolf's ferocity, howling and screaming.

The group of Shanyue nobles and Li Jiman on the small hill watched intently, bursting into a burst of laughter. The corpse fell down, covered in intestines and blood. Li Ximing couldn't help but turn his head away, unable to bear to look.

"Watch carefully."

Li Yuanping patted his shoulder lightly and said softly:

"Remember this scene... only then will you know that if you don't clarify the laws, what kind of things the dandies under you can do behind your back."

He paused slightly and said:

"Cultivation stagnates, there is no door to the front, tired of dogs and horses, tired of delicacies, sitting on power and strength far beyond mortals, one will always come up with some fresh ways to play."

Li Ximing nodded thoughtfully, and then saw Li Yuanping sneer:

"Bring the bow!"

The Yuting Guard on the side hurriedly handed over the long bow. Li Yuanping sat steadily on the Zhongsuo horse, exhaled and opened his voice, tilted his head, drew the string, narrowed his eyes to look at the group of people under the mountain, and said softly:

"Ming'er, watch carefully."

"Whoosh—"

The long arrow broke through the air, and the runes engraved on it emitted a dazzling white light, falling like a meteor, falling under the mountain.

Li Jiman under the mountain was stretching his arms, holding melons and fruits in his hands. He felt nothing about the scene in front of him, just perfunctorily dealing with the crowd. Tian Rong stepped forward and smiled:

"Man Brother? How about this? Is it interesting enough?!"

"It is interesting!"

Li Jiman glanced at him, secretly despising him, breathing the air under the mountain, and secretly thought in his heart:

"The Tian family holds the government in East Shanyue. Seeing that the old man is about to abdicate, how can the eldest brother be a puppet like Shamoli?... But Tian Zhongqing is cautious. To get their handle and exchange interests with the Tian family, I have to start with Tian Rong..."

He seemed to be watching the wolf demon fighting like a trapped beast, but his mind was still thinking about how to get the government of East Shanyue into his own hands, but he didn't expect that his eyes would light up, and a white light would fall from the sky.

"Bang!"

That wolf demon was only at the first level of Qi Condensation, how could it withstand this arrow? It exploded into blood clots with a bang, splashing blood all over the ground. Tian Rong, who was laughing foolishly on the side, was like being slapped, jumped up in anger, and cursed:

"Presumptuous! Who dares to disturb this young master's interest!"

Li Jiman had already stood up and looked up. The eyesight of the peak of Qi Condensation allowed him to see the face of the person on the mountain in an instant. For a time, his mind was blank, his liver and gallbladder were shocked.

"Li Yuanping..."

He knelt down with a thud, prostrate on the ground, his head tightly attached to the ground. In an instant, he was shocked and terrified, his chest and back were soaked with sweat, sticky and unbearable, his eyes were red:

"The main family hates the most the slaughter of the people and the bullying of the superiors... It's over!"

"Who harmed me... Tian Zhongqing... Yes, it must be the Tian family... Tian Zhongqing... Damn it! No wonder he asked me to come to this side for a banquet. What a Tian Rong!"

A group of Shanyue nobles felt that something was wrong and knelt down one after another. Tian Rong was stunned for a full few breaths and went to pull the people on the ground before he realized and knelt down, at a loss.

Li Yuanping in military uniform on the hillside, holding the pink and jade-carved Li Ximing in his arms, looked calm, watching them quietly.

"Dad... they are so afraid of you! Do you want to kill them?"

The boy's crisp voice echoed in the mountains, stinging the people below, making their hair stand on end. Li Jiman closed his eyes tightly, wishing he could cut Tian Rong and the Tian family into pieces.

Li Yuanping held the horse steadily, leaned into his eldest son's ear, and whispered:

"No."

"Li Jiman is a smart person, and the Tian family and Tian Zhongqing are even smarter people."

He handed the magic bow in his hand to the Yuting Guard on the side, and without looking at the group of people kneeling on the ground, their foreheads touching the ground, he held Li Ximing in his arms and said in an inaudible voice:

"Dad will teach you now how a smart person can control a group of smart people."

"Good!"

So he sneered coldly, pulled the reins, turned the horse's head, and Zhongsuo stepped lightly. The sound of horse hooves was silent, and he slowly walked into the dense forest where he came.

The Yuting Guards on both sides looked coldly at the group of people below and disappeared with the Zhongsuo horse. After a full dozen breaths, Li Jiman below raised his head and shouted:

"The Family Head is clear-sighted! Jiman has received kindness and is grateful!"

There was only the north wind howling above, and no answer. The hatred in Li Jiman's eyes almost overflowed.

"Tian family... Tian family... I, Li Jiman, am at odds with you!"

He stood up, stared bitterly at Tian Rong, and cursed:

"You kid are good at pretending! You tricked me into coming over to watch this play, it must have cost you a lot of effort, right? I said! I said!"

Li Jiman concluded that Tian Rong on the side was ordered by Tian Zhongqing to deliberately lure him here to be seen by Li Yuanping. He pulled out the sword at his waist with a clang and cursed:

"You bastard! How dare you deceive me!"

Tian Rong was completely confused and didn't know what had just happened. Li Jiman's face changed, and he forcibly restrained the urge to slash down. He kicked him on the shoulder, causing him to fly out several feet, wailing like a rolling gourd.

"Get out!"

Watching Tian Rong flee in a panic, Li Jiman's face was ugly. He was different from this group of Shanyue nobles. He was of Li family blood and was managed by the Clan Justice Court. Even if Li Yuanping didn't punish him, people from the Clan Justice Court would come to investigate in a while...

Li Jiman thought about the trouble ahead, and his heart was cold:

"Damn it!"

Three shifts! Making up for yesterday's addition. This part was written a bit hurriedly. Originally, this plot point could be divided into two times. I didn't want to be too watery, so I simplified it into one time. I hope the rhythm can be stable and enrich the images of these people~ (If this chapter is a bit fast, you can reflect it~)

(End of chapter)