Chapter 13: Killing

Li Yesheng’s father died last year, and as the eldest son, all the family’s land and assets became his. He was truly delighted. He quickly sold a piece of land for some money and then happily ate his fill at the village shop.

After that, he was frequently idle, wandering around the village and the mountains, becoming even more brazen in his harassment and theft. In the entire Lijing Village, he feared no one except his uncle, Li Mutian.

His younger brother, Li Yesheng, was pitiful. Despite being the same age as Li Xiangping, who had been studying with a tutor at the village entrance since childhood, Li Yesheng was lonely, isolated, and suffering from hunger and cold.

A teenager who had just lost his father, he had to herd ducks and look after cattle for others every day. If it weren't for Li Mutian’s family constantly helping out, he probably would have starved to death at home long ago.

Li Yesheng paid no mind to his brother's fate. Whenever he was idle, his heart yearned, and he was driven mad with jealousy watching Li Changhu’s family come and go from their large courtyard built with blue bricks.

"We're all named Li, so why are you of the main lineage and I of a lesser one? Why did you buy fertile land and build a grand house? You're just a prominent family in the village; what airs are you putting on by building such a compound? As if there were treasures inside!"

He suddenly straightened up, a realization dawning on him as he remembered a night several years ago: the nervous expressions of several people and the knife in Li Mutian's hand.

"Li Mutian has treasures..."

Li Yesheng chewed on a foxtail grass stalk, watching Li Changhu, who was smiling and chatting with tenants in the fields, and felt secretly annoyed.

"He just had a good birth, that's all."

After a short nap under the shade of a tree, seeing that night was deepening, Li Yesheng spat out the foxtail grass stalk with a "Pah!", rolled up his pant legs, and stealthily crept towards the Li family compound.

He circled the compound, but Li Yesheng couldn't even find a crack in the wall. He pawed at the wall a few times, but it was built smoothly and evenly, appearing impossible to climb over.

"Damn it."

Li Yesheng spat on the wall, and with fierce resolve, ran towards the back mountain.

"I don't believe you can put a shield on the roof!"

The Great Li Mountain range stretched windingly, and the back mountain of Lijing Village was just one of its peaks. The villagers were too lazy to name it, so they simply called it "Back Mountain."

Going south past the back mountain led to Meichi Peak, and further south, at the foot of the mountain, was Jingyang Village. The two villages connected via a small path through the mountains.

Li Yesheng pushed aside the bushes and climbed along the small path for about fifteen minutes. He found a prominent spot on the mountain with a wide view and lay down to look at the small compound below.

He rubbed his eyes, only to see several blurry figures moving. Some seemed to be sitting cross-legged, while others carried bluestones back and forth; he couldn't tell what they were doing.

"I heard there are stone locks in this compound. Could it be that Li Mutian acquired some martial arts techniques from outside and is secretly teaching them to those people?"

Li Yesheng looked up at the sky. The mountains were already dim, and the bright moon was obscured by dark clouds. The ground was completely dark, and he could barely make out the figures anymore.

It was late at night. Gibbons shrieked, jackals barked, and wolves howled in the mountains. A cold wind blew up Li Yesheng's shorts, making him clamp his legs together and plop down onto a large rock.

"It's quite spooky."

Li Yesheng sat for another fifteen minutes, his nose running with clear snot from the cold. In his mind, he silently crafted the rumors he planned to spread in the village:

Something about ancestral treasures—he, Li Yesheng, was also a Li, so how could he not get a share? If it was martial arts techniques, he couldn't be bothered to practice them, but selling them for money would let him live lavishly for quite a while.

He looked down at the compound; there were no figures left. Li Yesheng didn't pay it much mind; he tightened his sleeves, stood up, and prepared to go home.

"Oh my god!"

Unexpectedly, when he turned his head, he saw a figure standing silently on the mountain path. Terrified out of his wits, Li Yesheng scrambled back behind the large bluestone.

Trembling, he peeked out. The person had delicate features and was looking down at him. It was surprisingly his cousin, Li Xiangping.

Li Yesheng's eyes widened, and he assumed a bullying posture, about to lash out, when he saw Li Xiangping making a hand seal.

"What?"

A dazzling golden light appeared before his eyes, followed by a sharp pain in his throat. The world spun before him; at one moment he saw the bright moon, at another, the blurry compound under the moonlight.

Li Yesheng's head suddenly flew off and landed heavily on the mountain path. His remaining consciousness looked with confusion at the cold smile on Li Xiangping's face, feeling that this cousin was more unfamiliar than ever before.

From the neck of the headless corpse hidden behind the rock, blood was gushing. Hot blood spattered, staining the bluestone, dirt path, and fallen leaves red, flowing all the way to Li Xiangping's feet.

Stepping back in disgust, Li Xiangping watched Li Yesheng's body fall. After a moment's thought, he made another hand seal to cast a spell and summoned a golden light.

He squatted down and, with a squishing sound, cut the body into large sections at appropriate proportions, so that the wild beasts drawn by the scent at night would carry them to different parts of the mountain.

After doing all this, Li Xiangping stood up and looked around. Many glowing green eyes had appeared in the shadows of the forest. Li Xiangping clapped his hands and whispered:

"Gentlemen, help yourselves."

---

**The Li Family.**

Li Changhu awoke from his meditation but didn't see his two younger brothers. The large back courtyard was so quiet only the chirping of insects could be heard. Puzzled, he quickly stepped into the main courtyard, where he found Li Tongya.

Looking at Li Tongya, who was sitting at a wooden table reviewing spell formulas, Li Changhu asked, somewhat puzzled:

"Why don't I see Xiangping?"

"He went to wash his hands."

Li Tongya slowly rolled up the wooden slip and looked at his elder brother as he spoke.

"Tongya, are you preparing to condense the Xuanjing Wheel?" Li Changhu asked, pressing his hands on the wooden table with a hint of envy.

"In a few more days, I'll be able to condense eighty-one strands of moonlight. We are far inferior to Chijing, so I always feel I should wait a bit longer and prepare for a few more days."

Li Tongya smiled as he took a small piece of white cloth, wrapped it tightly several times around the wooden slip, and tied a loose knot.

"Brother, which of us four do you think is most like Father?" Li Tongya suddenly asked, staring earnestly at his elder brother, Li Changhu.

"That would be you, of course."

Li Changhu blurted out, then paused, surprised. He found a spot to sit down and continued with a smile:

"I'm too lenient, Xiangping is too restless, and Chijing is too shy. Only you, Li Tongya, are calm and composed, showing no emotion; you are most like him."

"Hahaha."

Li Tongya gave a few dry laughs, waved his hand, and said seriously:

"Brother, stop flattering me. In my opinion, among us four brothers, Xiangping is most like him."

"Why?" Li Changhu asked, looking at his brother in confusion.

Li Tongya slowly began to speak:

"When we were playing in the courtyard as children, Father once said: 'When one first kills, they might experience ringing in the ears and a feverish head, feeling disoriented, or tremble uncontrollably, or roar incessantly, oblivious to everything around them.'"

"'Only he, Li Mutian, when he first killed, would put away his knife, drink wine, and converse as if nothing had happened.' After saying that, he would laugh heartily, extremely proud."

"Xiangping is most like Father."

Li Tongya lowered his voice and leaned close to Li Changhu's ear, whispering softly:

"It's because he is cruel enough."