Lijing Village had been in turmoil until the deep hours of the night, yet by cockcrow the villagers were all on their feet. The early autumn morning was crisp and sweet, dew glistening on every blade of grass, but the village lay under a pall of grief.
The Li and Liu families had distributed dry provisions. The refugees huddled at the village entrance, eating in silence. The middle-aged leader of the refugees stared at the twenty-odd people around him, his heart heavy with a bitter thought: *We've killed the head of their family. We can't stay — but we can't leave either.*
A stir rippled through the refugees. Someone pointed at the mountain path. "Someone's coming down the road — look, it's the old man!"
A white-haired old farmer came trudging down the winding path, his clothes and arms stained with blood. His left hand dragged a bloody corpse. His right shoulder bore a hoe, from which hung a battered, hair-tangled head.
"It's the assassin!" someone with sharp eyes recognized the headless body's clothing. A chill ran down every spine. The assassin had escaped in the night, and by morning he had been decapitated. What manner of man was this old farmer? And how fearsome was the Li family's reach?
As Old Xu approached, the crowd parted on both sides, clearing a path. His face was pale, his eyes vacant. He walked without glancing at anyone, wrapped in his own stillness.
By the time he reached the Li family gate at the village's end, a tenant had already delivered the news. The gate stood open. Li Mutian, haggard and spent, stood at the entrance with his family.
"Uncle Xu, what is this..."
"The remnant of the Yuan family — I've killed him. The body is here. Have Liu Linfeng and Tian Shoushui identify him." Old Xu's voice was flat, his limbs cold. He dropped the corpse, sat on the ground, and gasped for breath.
Li Tongya rushed out with tea, pressing the cup into Old Xu's hands, but the old man's hands shook so violently he could not hold it. Li Tongya guided the cup to his lips so he could sip.
Before long, Liu Linfeng and Tian Shoushui arrived with Old Xu's eldest son. Old Xu recounted the entire sequence of events. After repeated confirmation, the dead man was indeed the Yuan family remnant.
"Uncle Xu, my brother's vengeance is repaid. The Li family owes you more than we can express—" Li Tongya began, eyes red, but Old Xu raised a trembling hand and spoke through his tears:
"Do not thank me. I owed Changhu a debt, and I paid it. I will never use this to demand anything from your Li family. I haven't many years left. If you truly wish to show gratitude, then when that child is born, bring him to see me."
He forced himself to his feet, ignored the Li family's entreaties to stay, and left, supported by his son.
The Li family's mourning lasted several days. White cloth hung throughout the compound. Li Changhu had been generous and loyal in life, and every household in the village wept for him. Affairs were so consuming that Li Tongya's preparations for his breakthrough were repeatedly delayed. It was not until two months after Li Changhu's burial that he finally steadied his mind, condensed the Profound Vision Wheel, and crossed the threshold of immortal cultivation.
Two years later.
Bright morning sun fell through the sparse trees in the courtyard, scattering shade in dappled patterns. Beneath the trees sat a handsome young man, cross-legged and wholly absorbed in breathing exercises.
After a while, Li Chijing exhaled a long stream of turbid air, released his technique, and smiled at something behind him. A boy of perhaps two years came toddling into the rear courtyard clutching a fistful of wildflowers, giggling with pure delight.
"Unca... up..." the child babbled, arms outstretched.
Li Chijing scooped the boy up and lifted him high, pressing his forehead against the child's soft hair. "Has Xuanxuan been a good boy today?"
"Up... up..." The boy wriggled in his hands, ignoring the question, laughing and squirming.
"Xuanxuan! Come out!" Lady Ren stood at the courtyard entrance, not daring to enter the rear court, and called softly.
Li Chijing set the boy down and watched him bounce to his mother's arms. "This Orbital Wheel is truly difficult," he murmured. "A year and a half, and it's finally coming together!"
"You are insatiable, Chijing!" Li Xiangping rose from behind him, laughing and scolding. "Tongya and I have only just managed the second wheel — the Luminous Understanding Wheel. We haven't even touched the edges of the third, the Orbital Wheel. And you complain about being too slow!"
Li Chijing grinned but said nothing. "Tonight I'll begin condensing the Orbital Wheel. I'll show you what it means for spiritual power to flow without ceasing, circulating endlessly."
"You child," Li Xiangping laughed. Then he straightened. "Father."
Li Mutian had entered the rear courtyard, hands clasped behind his back. In two years he had aged dramatically — his hair was streaked white, his wrinkles deeper, and he wore a permanent scowl that made him look a decade older.
"Xuanxuan, you little rascal!" But seeing his grandson Li Xuanxuan, Li Mutian's face softened into a rare smile. Since Li Changhu's death, the old man had been listless, barely eating, perpetually weary. The birth of this posthumous son had breathed new life into him, and he had pulled himself together.
When Li Xuanxuan was born, Li Mutian had risen from his bed, gathered the family, and instructed Li Xiangping to extract three phrases from the *Attraction Method* to serve as the generational naming sequence for the Li family.
Li Xiangping had deliberated for days before selecting three lines describing the Embryonic Breathing method. The sons of Li Tongya, Li Xiangping, and their generation would take their names from the first line — boys receiving the character "Xuan" and girls "Jing," and so on down the sequence.
Li Mutian had asked Lady Ren for her preference. She had thought through the night and chosen the character "Xuan," giving Li Changhu's posthumous son his name: Li Xuanxuan.
"Father spoils him rotten," Li Tongya said, shaking his head with a smile as he placed a wooden slip on the shelf.
"Nonsense!" Li Mutian feigned offense, puffing up his cheeks. Then his expression turned serious. "I want Li Yesheng to stay close to me and learn the ropes."
"Li Yesheng?" Li Tongya pondered for a moment. "It's a sound idea. He's alone in the world, and he's close to our family. We spend our time cultivating and absorbing spiritual energy — we can't manage secular affairs. Li Yesheng shares the Li bloodline. There's no better choice."
"But if he develops ulterior motives over time and starts lining his pockets..." Li Chijing frowned.
"I've got ten more years in me, at least!" Li Mutian's voice was hard, cold. "I can keep him in line. And in ten years, the grandsons will be grown. It won't be his place to harbor ambitions."
"To manage others, one must balance grace with authority," Li Xiangping said calmly. "Once Li Yesheng marries and has children, everything becomes easier to control."
"Exactly." Li Chijing picked up a wooden slip from the shelf, blew off the dust, and murmured with a low laugh: "Ten years of cultivation. I can hardly wait."