Chapter 74: Guarding the Achievement

Li Tongya stayed in the county for several days. Upon hearing that the Banging Gold Sect members had withdrawn, he anxiously bid farewell to the Xiao family, got into a carriage, and returned home via the Ancient Li Road, through Mushroom Forest Plain.

Li Tongya had no coachman. As he came from a farming family, he couldn't ride a horse, though he could manage an ox cart. So, he drove the ox cart home alone. After an hour on the Ancient Li Road, he couldn't help but cover his nose.

"What a strong stench of corpses."

It had rained the day before. The bodies accumulated by the roadside had swollen and bloated from the rainwater, their skin forming large, bluish-black blisters. The flesh inside was decaying, emitting a pervasive foul odor. After a morning of strong sunlight, the smell was exceptionally potent.

"What a tragedy."

While driving, Li Tongya frequently had to stop and move the piled-up corpses from the road. The ox cart was difficult to control, often veering off course due to the scattered limbs and bodies. Eventually, even the ox was repulsed by the stench and refused to work. Li Tongya had no choice but to abandon the cart and walk the rest of the way.

Covering his mouth and nose, Li Tongya occasionally had to stop to wipe away tears brought on by the irritating smell. His heart was filled with an inexplicable yet intense emotion. He hadn't eaten for a day and a night, walking alone among numerous corpses.

"How will the Green Pool Sect record this?"

The thought suddenly popped into Li Tongya's mind. Mimicking a tone, he sneered: "‘In the fourth month of summer, the Banging Gold Sect invaded Mushroom Forest Plain and withdrew within days.’"

He moved aside layers of corpses, sat for a moment on a blood-stained bluestone, and sneered.

Li Tongya saw living people. These villagers, who had crawled out from piles of corpses, seemed to have lost the ability to speak. When they met, they would hug each other and weep, and after crying, they would continue searching for food in the ruins.

Li Tongya's clothes were relatively neat, and he carried a long saber with no bloodstains on him, making him look like a traveling merchant passing through Mushroom Forest Plain. Soon, children in twos and threes trailed behind him, most of them five or six years old, looking at him piteously.

Li Tongya walked silently along the mountain path. He hunted a wild boar or a wolf, tossing it to the children behind him, who then half-cooked and ate it. Bumping along, he finally reached the territory of the Wan family.

The few villages belonging to the Wan family were now empty, neither inhabited nor guarded. As before, the ground was covered in blood and putrid corpses.

"Xuanfeng?!"

As Li Tongya walked, he saw a small figure moving among a large pile of corpses. Focusing his gaze, he realized it was Li Xuanfeng, Li Xiangping's eldest son, with disheveled hair, rummaging through the bodies, his clothes covered in dried bloodstains.

"What's going on?! Where's your father? Why are you rummaging through this pile of dead bodies! What if you get sick?"

Li Tongya frowned, his heart sinking. He picked up the child, and seeing his cracked, pale lips, grew increasingly uneasy.

Li Xuanfeng pursed his lips, kicked a severed hand on the ground, and murmured, "I'm looking for my father!"

"Xiangping... Your father hasn't returned home?" Li Tongya asked softly, a bad premonition forming.

Li Xuanfeng replied, "Brother Xuan wouldn't tell me, but Father must have gone to help the Wan family. I don't know where he is now."

Li Tongya listened to Li Xuanfeng's reply, pondered for a few breaths, and said gravely, "Come home with me first."

"Okay..." Li Xuanfeng responded, murmuring, "This Ji family is really cruel. Not a single one of the Wan family's five villages was left. They slaughtered everyone. Why was that necessary?"

"The people were killed by the Banging Gold Sect and the Green Pool Sect," Li Tongya said out of the blue.

Li Xuanfeng was stunned by Li Tongya's abrupt remark, and secretly muttered to himself, "That Banging Gold Sect and that blasted Banging Gold Sect Young Master are truly despicable. When I grow up, I'll definitely exterminate the Banging Gold Sect and kick that Young Master's head around like a ball!"

Li Xuanxuan sat alone in the courtyard, feeling unusually troubled. In the past few days, he had secretly searched everywhere near the Li Road Pass but found no signs of a fight, let alone any trace of his uncle, Li Xiangping.

"Feng'er is gone too... I sent people to search for him all day, but there's no sign of him."

Li Xuanxuan had a headache. Li Xuanfeng had just been granted the spirit seed, and as soon as he went down the mountain, he vanished. A short while later, he would come asking to find Li Xiangping, so Li Xuanxuan had to find ways to appease him.

However, the child was very clever. He often eavesdropped on adult conversations and knew about the Wan family's situation. He had more or less guessed what happened and then ran out in a hurry.

As the eldest legitimate son of the Li family, Li Xuanxuan naturally couldn't impulsively venture into what was now Ji family territory to search for people, as Li Xuanfeng had done. Although he was burning with anxiety internally, Li Xuanxuan still had to smile and deal with the various stewards in the village, trying to stabilize the situation before Li Tongya returned. This was undoubtedly difficult for him.

"Young Family Master!"

As Li Xuanxuan was pondering, he heard footsteps outside the courtyard. Li Yesheng entered with a smile, saying earnestly, "The Immortal Master has returned!"

Li Xuanxuan was startled, then felt a great weight lift from his shoulders. Overjoyed, he smiled and went down the mountain to meet him.

Li Tongya, dusty from his journey, had settled the children who had followed him and was climbing the mountain. He met Li Yesheng and Li Xuanxuan, but showed no emotion on his face. He patted Li Xuanfeng's shoulder and whispered, "Go take a good bath, and get some good sleep."

Seeing Li Xuanfeng nod and leave, Li Tongya entered the courtyard with Li Xuanxuan. He waved Li Yesheng away, then said softly, "Tell me, what's happened?"

Li Xuanxuan dejectedly recounted everything that had happened over the past few days. Li Tongya listened carefully, then said coldly, "Have you investigated the situation in the Wan family's territory?"

Li Xuanxuan shook his head, saying softly, "Your nephew only ordered the people at Li Road Pass not to reveal their whereabouts to the east. I haven't sent anyone across the border."

Li Tongya sneered, saying softly, "The Wan family was annihilated over a month ago, and you didn't even know that the area below Huaqian Mountain was deserted. Your uncle has been missing for over a month, yet you're still dealing with those few stewards! You haven't investigated any information, and you even let Feng'er sneak off to Ji family territory alone!"

"Li Xuanxuan! You've really done a splendid job!"

Li Xuanxuan felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He knelt straight down in the courtyard, his eyes stinging. He opened his mouth but couldn't speak.

"What is there to be afraid of!" Li Tongya shook his head, saying gravely, "Even if something happened to Xiangping, your uncle (referring to himself) is outside, and your younger uncle is still cultivating in the sect. Who would dare to harbor any ill intentions towards you? If your uncle hadn't returned by morning, you should have immediately sent out clan soldiers to patrol the forest and dispatched Li Qiuyang to guard Li Road Pass. With weapons in hand, who would dare to slight you? Even if a few guessed that something happened to Li Xiangping, who would dare to utter a word?"

Li Tongya sighed softly, then murmured, "Don't bother with those stewards' tests. They are merely a few dogs of my Li family. If I'm in a good mood, I'll toss them some bones. If they dare to drag their feet with you, just kill them with a single stroke!"

"The power of my Li family comes from our weapons and cultivation. You must be decisive, ruthless, and dare to kill! My Li family doesn't need a ruler who merely preserves what we have; we need a fierce, ambitious leader!"