Chapter 6: Jade and Stone

Li Tongya and Li Xiangping entered the reed marsh. Pushing aside the dense layers of reeds, they peered inside. The greyish-green mirror glowed with a warm, white light. Li Xiangping glanced at the direction and whispered, "This is towards Moon-Gazing Lake. It's just half an hour's walk along the Old Li Road."

Li Tongya shook his head and said, "We can't take the Old Li Road. We'll go through the reed marsh."

Li Xiangping quietly agreed and, with his brother, crouched down to move through the reeds.

Lu Jiangxian felt the pull growing stronger. As they entered the reed marsh, a blurry image appeared before his eyes – a cool, clear lake where over a dozen white gulls and egrets rested on one leg by the shore.

As Li Xiangping continued forward, the greyish-green mirror in his hand grew hotter and hotter, making him uneasy. He looked up at his second brother, Li Tongya, who remained silent with a stern expression, his eyes filled with worry.

"Can mortals truly touch such a celestial destiny…?" Li Xiangping murmured, still holding the mirror, oblivious to its heat.

"Good mirror, good mirror, we're almost there," he whispered, cradling the greyish-green treasure.

Before long, the two emerged from the dense reeds, and the shimmering Moon-Gazing Lake, with a flock of startled gulls and egrets, came into view.

Lu Jiangxian looked directly at a rocky sandbar in the middle of the lake. Amidst the moss-covered rocks, a jade stone gleamed with white light, firmly wedged in a crevice.

The hot greyish-green mirror spewed a pale white moonlight, and a blurry image of the sandbar, with the white-glowing jade stone in its crevice, appeared before Li Tongya and Li Xiangping's eyes.

Li Xiangping and Li Tongya exchanged a glance, both seeing surprise and joy in the other's eyes. Li Xiangping nodded vigorously, stripped off his clothes, and was about to step into the lake.

"Wait!" Li Tongya stopped him, shaking his head.

"I'll go get it. You stay on the shore with the mirror. If the moon reaches that position in the sky and I haven't returned," he said, pointing to a spot in the sky, "then hide the mirror in the reeds and run along the Old Li Road. Don't go home." Li Tongya looked at his brother with a solemn expression. "Wait until late morning before you come back to check."

"Yes…" Li Xiangping's voice unknowingly turned tearful as he wiped his eyes and looked at his second brother.

Li Tongya gave a wry smile, took off his clothes, revealing his strong arms, and turned to swim into the lake, leaving Li Xiangping hidden in the reeds, staring blankly at his brother.

He had come to Moon-Gazing Lake with his father and brothers in previous years, swimming countless times, so he was familiar with the route and quickly swam to the center of the lake.

He cautiously searched among the many rock crevices, exploring the entire sandbar in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

"Nothing," Li Tongya frowned, then thoroughly checked again, pulling out five or six small river crabs.

Indeed, he felt a slight cool touch between his fingers, encountering something smooth. With a firm grip, he pulled out a jade stone about two fingers wide.

The jade stone was elongated, with engraved characters and patterns on its surface. Li Tongya held it up to the moonlight to decipher them: "Tai… Yue… Qi… Yang Lun…" He could only make out a few characters roughly. As a child, Li Tongya had learned to read from a teacher and could recognize most characters, but the patterns on this jade stone were intricate and difficult to distinguish.

Calmly, he looked towards the shore, clutched the jade stone in his hand, and swam back to the bank.

"Third brother!"

He reached the shore and called softly into the reeds. Li Xiangping poked his head out. Just as Li Tongya was about to show him the jade stone, as he opened his hand, it transformed into a streak of white light and "whoosh" it flew into the mirror.

The sudden change startled both of them. They watched as white light surged on the mirror's surface, and moonlight, in the form of halos, continuously poured into it.

Lu Jiangxian, however, felt as if struck by lightning. A white light slammed directly into him, and a vast ocean of knowledge flooded his mind. He cried out in pain and promptly fainted.

Li Tongya and Li Xiangping watched as the mirror in their hands slowly calmed down after swallowing the jade stone, and the white light gradually dimmed.

Golden-red morning glow crept across the sky, falling on Li Tongya's bare upper body, highlighting his golden lines. He lowered his head and said to his brother, "Let's go home first."

---

Li Mutian sat by the red lacquered wooden table, listening as his two sons explained the entire sequence of events. He nodded and said to Li Tongya, "Well done."

He and Li Changhu had tossed and turned sleeplessly all night. Now, seeing their two children return safely, his anxious heart finally settled.

"Our house isn't small, with a front yard and a backyard, the latter backing onto the rear mountain. I'm thinking of tearing up the two melon fields in front to build two houses, flanking the main one to form a large compound. Once the front gate is closed, there'll be no worry of prying eyes." Li Mutian said slowly. He had considered this for years, as his children were growing up and would soon establish their own households.

With Li Mutian's savings, the Li family could be considered a prominent household in the village. After returning from the military, Li Mutian bought over ten *mu* of paddy fields, adding to the five *mu* of fertile land inherited from his father, totaling nearly twenty *mu*.

Lijing Village's soil and water were nurturing, and the reed marsh and tidal flats were valuable resources for survival.

Excluding manual labor, twenty *mu* of land in a good year could support over a dozen people. The Li family had long reached the status of landowners who could close their doors and live comfortably.

It was precisely because the Li family had grain and land that his four children could read and write. Li Mutian had always disliked idle wealthy households, which was why he insisted that his children read and farm daily, so they could all live well after establishing their own homes later.

"Now, this family can't be divided. We'll also need to find wives who are 'our own people'." Li Mutian recalled the large families he had seen in the city: main family branches living in grand compounds, studying to become officials, practicing martial arts to become generals – what a glorious sight! In contrast, poor farming families divided cleanly, with no ties binding them.

"That's how we'll do it!" Li Mutian's eyes lit up as he called out to his two sons.

"Go to the fields and call your eldest brother back to level the foundation. The farmlands can be left to the tenants to manage. Your fourth brother doesn't need to pick mulberries this afternoon; from now on, he will study all day at the teacher's place."

"Alright!" Li Xiangping, despite being up all night, was still energetic. Hearing this, he dashed out the door.

Li Tongya looked at his father, pondered for a moment, then spoke, "Father, are you planning to emulate the clan system described in books – establishing an ancestral hall, opening a clan office, studying to become officials, and practicing martial arts to become generals?"

"Our Li family has accumulated wealth for two hundred years; it's about time." Li Mutian chuckled and waved his hand.

"As for studying and practicing martial arts, the Old Li Road is extremely dangerous. Entering and leaving Mount Dali means ten deaths out of nine lives. Studying and practicing martial arts won't get us far with the Emperor of Yue. It's merely about passing down the family legacy for self-preservation…"

Li Tongya nodded and whispered, "Perhaps there's something even more wonderful than studying and practicing martial arts."

"Don't talk nonsense here." Li Mutian burst into laughter, patted Li Tongya's shoulder, and walked out with his head held high and hands behind his back.