Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror

Chapter 307 - 281 Sub-branch (Part 2)

Lady Dou, who was now in her forties, appeared to be only in her thirties thanks to years of cultivation and good maintenance. Dressed in a jade armor dyed with Phoenicia flowers, she looked dignified and elegant. She walked slowly into the hall, and Li Yuanping hurriedly came down to greet her, smiling as he said,

"Mother seldom comes for a visit."

Lady Dou gently nodded her head and sat down to the side, casting a glance at Dou Yi, who tried his best to make himself inconspicuous. She then turned to Li Yuanping and said,

"Managing a household is not an easy task, have you seen the people from the branch families?"

"Of course, I have seen them."

Li Yuanping promptly replied,

"Li Qiuyang went out, so I looked for Li Xiewen. He had just left when mother arrived."

Lady Dou picked up a tea cup, and upon hearing the name Li Xiewen, she scoffed and said,

"Li Xiewen was utterly loyal when serving under your father, standing above all the other branches, never associating with the rest. Once Li Pingyi died, that old fellow knew his avenues were cut off and immediately became chummy with all the branches. Over these past few years, he has gradually become the representative of the interests of the Li family’s branches... It seems that Li Yesheng taught him well; the way he sheds his old identity and plays both sides is truly formidable!"

Lady Dou, with her strong and uncompromising ways, did not mince her words and put things plainly in just a few sentences. Li Yuanping was well aware of the intricacies of the situation. He had specifically sought out Li Xiewen earlier in order to learn the opinions of those uncles and clan elders from the Li family’s branches. He then replied,

"After all that Li Xiewen has done, the number of his enemies is not small. He does not wish to rely on us remembering old loyalties, so it’s only natural for him to shift his stance and look for a way to survive..."

Lady Dou’s personality, however, was much tougher, and she immediately retorted,

"I simply can’t stand that old wretch."

Mother and son exchanged a glance, and Li Yuanping took a sip of tea before answering,

"The Liu Clan was originally on good terms with our family branches but was upset by the Dou Clan taking the lead. Most of the family’s businesses have fallen into the Dou Clan’s hands. According to the branches, the rise of the Dou Clan has disturbed their interests, hence their great dissatisfaction. Li Xiewen’s words were laced with barbs, and his implications were quite clear."

"The Ye and Li branches now number in the tens of thousands, have produced quite a few cultivators, and are bound by kinship and obligation, making the situation difficult to handle. Mother may need to restrain the Dou Clan a bit."

Lady Dou caressed the jade cup in her hand and gave Dou Yi a fierce glare, scaring him into shrinking back, not daring to speak. Lady Dou replied,

"I have always kept them in line, otherwise, the Dou Clan’s tails would have soared to the heavens long ago. I just fear that with your father away, these clan elders might bully us, mother and son alone."

Li Yuanping laughed softly and replied,

"My eldest brother is still in Wutu Mountain, the great ancestor is in Lijing Mountain, where would they get the gall? They’re just pushing him forward to beat the drum on the sidelines. The old lady made her last wish that we should not protect the Liu Clan. They can’t figure out what the great ancestor was thinking and dare not say much more."

He paused, then continued,

"Judging by Li Xiewen’s words, the Chen Clan gets along with the other branches. Chen Mufeng is a disciple of Li Qiuyang, betrothed and an exceptional talent. Seventeen years old and at the Fetal Breathing Fourth Layer, perhaps we could consider calling him back from Huaqian Mountain for use."

Lady Dou absently nodded, her eyebrows knitting in confusion as she raised her head and inquired,

"The Chen Clan... Are they truly of peasant origin? Producing a Chen Donghe who is already at the Fourth Layer of Qi Cultivation, and now there’s Chen Mufeng, who isn’t even a direct descendant of Chen Donghe, yet he has managed to reach the Fetal Breathing Fourth Layer with their patchwork cultivation techniques!"

Li Yuanping shook his head and replied,

"I have looked into it, the founder of the Chen Family was called Chen Erniu, originally one of our tenants, who fled here to the Lichuan Entrance. He was an honest farmer, indeed, but according to the records in our clan history, he was a man with a brain..."

Lady Dou nodded and observed Li Yuanping’s pale complexion with a worried expression between her brows, speaking softly,

"Ping’er, there is a matter that needs to be put on the agenda."

Li Yuanping frowned in confusion and looked at his mother. Lady Dou spoke in a low voice,

"You should marry early and have children... This is not just my own idea, I have written to Guanyun Peak, and your father thinks the same."

The death of Li Yuanxiu gave Li Xuanxuan and his wife too profound a lesson, and as Li Yuanping’s health was frail, Lady Dou and Li Xuanxuan planned early in advance, but Li Yuanping turned pale upon hearing this, replying,

"My brother was engaged at eighteen; I’m only twelve, why the hurry?!"

Lady Dou had harsh thoughts in her mind but couldn’t bring herself to speak them directly. She could only put on a smile. Li Yuanping, seeing the look on his mother’s face, understood immediately and showed a trace of distress in his reply,

"Is it because you fear my innate talent is not high and I have damaged my root bone, and thus may die young..."

After hearing this, Lady Dou fell silent. She was a strong woman, not good at expressing comforting tenderness. They exchanged a glance, and Li Yuanping reined in his emotions before replying,

"There are many duties to attend to in the family, dealing with deficits and affairs of those outside our surname is already too much, let’s postpone this matter."

Not wanting to push too hard, Lady Dou quickly agreed. After sitting in the hall a little while longer, she took her leave on the pretext of other affairs. Li Yuanping respectfully saw her out of the hall, then silently returned to his seat.

The hall was quiet, guards stood silently on both sides, Dou Yi kept his head down in silence at the lower end, and Li Yuanping looked up, lifting the jade cup to gaze into the clear, bright water and saw a face pale without a hint of blood and lips of grayish red. He narrowed his eyes, remaining silent for a long time.

Although Li Yuanping had been diligent since childhood, discussing matters with Li Yuanjiao night after night and understanding much more than the average young man, at the end of the day he was still only twelve or thirteen. Born with a shortened lifespan and a damaged root bone, how could he not harbor resentment? Usually, he pretended not to care, but after his mother’s words and with no one around, he could no longer suppress the anger in his heart.

Setting down the jade cup, Li Yuanping looked at his own wrist, slender as a woman’s, rage rising in his chest, searing through his heart and lungs. He extended his delicate fingers, fiercely pinching his own wrist between thumb and forefinger.

Yet the skin, like that of a corpse, was pale and feeble, taking a long time to even show a bit of red, then quickly turning purple and black until it split open, blood flowing out and staining the desk in front of him crimson. Li Yuanping shook his hand gloomily, his emotions slowly calming down.

Li Yuanping had heard that his ancestor Li Tongya had calculated at his birth that he was born with insufficient innate essence and would develop slowly in his cultivation; even his lifespan would be barely more than half that of others. Counting the days, he realized a quarter of it was already gone. Not daring to waste any more time, he hurriedly wiped away the blood on the desk, took up the vermilion brush, and silently wrote:

"To whom it may concern... I am of age now and should marry and have children. I wonder if there is a suitable Spiritual Aperture Seed among the various esteemed clans or towns?... If such a match is found, please have brother reply to me..."

Having folded the letter, Li Yuanping called out,

"Someone!"

A person hurriedly approached from below, looked up at Li Yuanping—it was that young man from the Liu Family. He had been ousted from his position as the messenger by the Dou Family but was personally reassigned by Li Yuanping, his eyes full of gratitude.

"Deliver this to my brother on Wutu Mountain."