Li Tongya had just seen Li Chijing off when Li Mutian emerged from the back courtyard, hands clasped behind his back, his face stern and his voice hoarse:
"Go take a look at that mirror."
Tian Shoushui had died two winters ago, leaving behind a complete set of wooden toys he had prepared for his grandson Li Xuanfeng — wooden horses, carts, bows, everything. Li Xuanfeng had only just grown strong enough to lift the smallest pine-wood figurine when Tian Shoushui, hauling timber in a heavy snowfall, had taken a fall. He did not make it through the night.
Li Mutian had buried him with his own hands. He and Ren Ping'an had sat by the grave talking the entire night. Perhaps it was the cold and the heavy dew of that night, but Li Mutian's voice had grown steadily hoarser ever since.
Of the three who had marched off to war with high spirits all those years ago, Tian Shoushui had been the fearless fighter, Li Mutian the cautious strategist, and Ren Ping'an the silent observer. Now the fearless fighter, left with a body full of wounds, was gone too soon. The cautious strategist had a house full of children and grandchildren, but his mind was beginning to slow. And the silent observer was still watching over the Li family's Jingyang Village, faithfully delivering every last measure of field tax.
This blow had aged Li Mutian sharply in recent months. Fortunately, the dharma treatment and tonics Li Chijing had provided had restored some color to his withered face, and even his white hair had regained a soft sheen. But his expression remained weary, and his once-straight back could no longer disguise the slightsluggishness creeping into his words and movements.
Li Tongya saw the old man enter the front courtyard and hurried forward to support him, only to be waved off with a grumble:
"Your father told you to go to the back courtyard and look at that mirror!"
Li Tongya grinned sheepishly and went. Li Mutian then edged along the wall until he reached the threshold of the inner door, lowered himself onto the doorframe, and pinched his numbing thigh with a bony hand, gritting his teeth:
"Damn it all. Soon I'll need a walking stick."
---
In the back courtyard.
Li Tongya gazed at the dharma mirror floating amid the moonlight. Images and text flickered across its surface like ripples on water. He extended his spiritual consciousness and slowly poured it into the mirror.
Lu Jiangxian stirred. Based on the sacrificial requirements outlined in the Sacrificial Extraction Method, he had trimmed and adapted the ritual, crafting a new technique and giving it a name before projecting it outward through the spiritual consciousness.
A torrent of information flowed down the spiritual link. Li Tongya closed his eyes, and a scroll of dharma slowly unfurled in his mind.
《The Blood Sacrifice Method》
This method required a demon beast as the sacrificial offering, to be slaughtered amid the incense of the entire clan. Through the combined force of incense, soul, vital blood, and spiritual power offered to the dharma mirror, one could obtain a single strip of register qi. The scroll claimed this register qi could: strengthen cultivation, extend the six senses, elevate spiritual roots, improve aptitude, raise quality, and mend deficiencies...
The text of the Blood Sacrifice Method was lengthy. Li Tongya kept his eyes closed to receive it for the time it took an incense stick to burn, then opened them with an expression of profound shock. He took up knife-brush and blank bamboo slips and copied furiously, writing straight through until dawn. Only then did he rush out to find Li Xiangping.
---
Li Xiangping was meditating in the cave dwelling on Meichi Mountain. He had only recently entered the fourth layer of Embryonic Breathing — the Azure Origin Wheel — and his cultivation speed had slowed dramatically. At this rate, it would take another six or seven years before he could attempt the breakthrough to Jade Capital Wheel, and another six or seven years of recovery if he failed.
The day before, the Wan family had sent Wan Yuankai to discuss the ambush against Ji Dengqi. The young man had already broken through to the fifth layer, achieving the Jade Capital Wheel.
"So the Wan family now has two Jade Capital Wheel cultivators. And their patriarch, Wan Xiaohua, has been at the peak of Jade Capital Wheel for five years — he may have already broken through to the Spirit-Initial Wheel, reaching the peak of Embryonic Breathing."
Li Xiangping narrowed his eyes and considered:
"In recent years our Li family has grown considerably, but the Wan family has not been idle either. The request for aid grows more urgent with each passing day, and I fear the Ji family's strength has also increased."
"The three families lie in wait. The Ji family digests the land they seized. The Wan family quietly accumulates power and seeks allies. Our Li family is slowly growing to its proper size. Once the Ji family has absorbed their new territory and the Wan family bares its fangs, we will have earned a seat at the table. Between the three families, a war is inevitable. We must prepare early."
As Li Xiangping was weighing the strategic balance, Second Brother Li Tongya appeared at the cave entrance, holding a bamboo slip:
"Third Brother, take a look."
Li Xiangping took it, untied the white cloth binding, and read aloud:
"The Blood Sacrifice Method?"
He studied it for a long while, the look of amazement growing on his face:
"The language is quite similar to the Attraction Method, and it uses the dharma mirror as its medium. Could this be the mirror granting us dharma?"
Li Tongya nodded with a smile. He rose, took the scroll of the Lunar Crescent Sword Arc from the shelf, and studied it with equal care.
Li Xiangping read on and said gravely:
"This technique requires: 'One thousand units of incense, and a Qi Refining demon, to obtain one gray register strip. Ten thousand units of incense, and a Foundation Establishment demon, to obtain one white register strip...' Quite difficult to achieve."
Li Tongya's smile froze. He answered with some embarrassment:
"As tempting as it sounds, our family cannot even meet the minimum sacrificial requirements yet."
Li Xiangping chuckled, put away the bamboo slip, and waved his hand:
"There is no rush. A Qi Refining demon isn't something you encounter every day. There is another matter I want to discuss with you."
He glanced at Li Xuanxuan, who sat reading a sword scripture on a stone stool, and said:
"I wish to train a standing militia from the four villages — one man per five households — dedicated exclusively to combat training and battle formations, to be prepared for any contingency."
Li Tongya considered this and said:
"Has the Wan family asked for aid again? Has the situation truly become that dire?"
"Not only that."
Li Xiangping shook his head:
"I am also concerned about the Mountain Yue to the west. The spiritual energy of Greater Li Mountain's northern foothills is gradually recovering, and we cannot predict whether the Mountain Yue will reach across. These past few years there have been no sightings in the mountains, but it is always best to be prepared."
"Agreed."
Li Tongsya nodded and said:
"If we wait until the Mountain Yue cross the border, it will be too late to organize the villagers. The Mountain Yue include not only shamans but also tattooed warriors who shave their heads and mark their bodies — they will not be easy to deal with."
Li Xiangping straightened his robes and smiled:
"Xuanxuan is too young to command respect. Qiuyang has age and standing but isn't of a great clan. I would trust no one with this but you, Second Brother."
"Leave it to me."
Li Tongya smiled in return. The two left the cave dwelling and walked back toward Lijing Mountain, chatting as they went. Liu Rouxuan was waiting early at the courtyard gate. Seeing them, she came forward:
"Young Patriarch."
She bowed slightly, her expression carrying a hint of joy, and leaned close to Li Tongya with a radiant smile:
"Husband, I'm with child."
Li Tongya was overjoyed, bursting into laughter twice as he lifted her by the waist:
"Truly?"
"Would I lie to you for any gain?"
Liu Rouxuan blushed and murmured.
Li Xiangping also smiled and said quietly:
"Congratulations, Second Brother."