Chapter 15: Refugees

Having familiarized himself with the jade for several months and thoroughly absorbing its power, Lu Jiangxian was long able to use the minor illusion techniques recorded in the *Taiyin Breathing and Wheel-Nurturing Sutra* to communicate with the Li family.

However, considering that the timing was not yet ripe, he had never once displayed any sign of consciousness, instead lying quietly in the ancestral hall like a lifeless object.

After all, no one in the Li family was stupid. Perhaps this mirror possessed a very high status, but Lu Jiangxian was, in reality, a complete novice in the path of cultivation.

To speak now would not only require him to fabricate a life story but also to answer the Li family's endless doubts, needlessly creating vulnerabilities.

Fortunately, his divine sense now easily covered the entire Li estate. On ordinary days, he could sleep, and upon waking, treat life like watching a television drama—a rather pleasant existence.

Only occasionally would the presence of something flying through the skies of Guli Dao startle him, causing his heart to tighten. Feeling those breaths—some majestic, some ethereal—he would silently shrink his divine sense into a tight ball.

Though the Li family had imagined him to be some sort of celestial artifact or dharma mirror, he had a clear understanding of his own combat strength—with the second level of Fetal Breath's Chengming Wheel as his foundation, the fourth level of Fetal Breath's Qingyuan Wheel would be his absolute limit.

Comparing himself to those majestic presences that made him feel as if he were sitting on thorns even while hiding inside the mirror, he felt he could afford to be more cautious and play it safe for another eighty or a hundred years.

"But why would refugees be coming from Guli Dao..." he muttered to himself in confusion.

————

Li Changhu, leading a group of villagers carrying torches, pitchforks, hoes, and other tools, stood at the village entrance facing a crowd of ragged refugees.

He had only just finished managing the marriage of Xiang Ping and Tian Yun these past few days. When he had carved out time to cultivate, a Li family tenant had rushed in to report that a group of refugees had arrived at the village entrance.

"Refugees?"

The last time Li Changhu had seen refugees was over three years ago, a group of people surnamed Chen who had crossed over from Meichi Mountain. The climate had been good these past few years, and the Meichi River was bountiful; there were no families in the upper or lower reaches who couldn't make a living.

"They claim to be from Guli Dao," the tenant replied respectfully, having found his pillar of support upon seeing Li Changhu.

"How is that possible..."

After considering for a few breaths, Li Changhu waved his hand and stepped toward the door, saying

"Father has already retired for the night; there is no need to trouble him. Call Uncle Tian and Uncle Ren; let us go take a look."

By the time Li Changhu reached the village entrance, Liu Linfeng, the manager of the Liu family—the other great household in Lijing Village—was already waiting there, a dry tobacco pipe in his mouth. Seeing Li Changhu, he spoke with a smile

"Changhu is here."

"Great Uncle."

Li Changhu nodded. Liu Linfeng was indeed the biological elder brother of his mother, Liu Linyun. Years ago, when Li Mutian had killed the powerful Yuan family and divided their lands, Liu Linfeng's father had taken an immediate liking to the young man, overriding all opposition to marry Liu Linyun to him, thereby forming an alliance with the Li family.

Li Changhu and Liu Linfeng called out to the refugees three times before a middle-aged man was finally pushed forward. Although his face was blackened with grime and his clothes were tattered, he carried himself with a certain air of dignity.

The middle-aged man cupped his hands and looked at the two with a bitter smile

"I was originally the leader of a merchant caravan on the Xia Li Dao. The southern state of Wu has captured Jingxia City, and war has broken out all across Xia Li Dao, leaving nothing but chaos. We were robbed on the road and escaped by blending in with the refugees. I am but an unskilled man, yet I was recommended by the others to speak for us. I hope you two might grant us refuge."

"This stretch of Guli Dao has long been neglected and is overrun by wild beasts. How did you manage to travel all this way?" Liu Linfeng asked doubtfully.

"Many indeed died; the elderly and children are all gone," the man replied with a bitter smile.

As the representatives of the two great households were inquiring about the group's background, Old Man Xu, standing in the crowd, was squinting at the refugees, holding a woven grass cricket in one hand and a hoe in the other.

Living at the village entrance, he had been woken early by the noise of the refugees. Hearing that Li Changhu was also coming, Old Man Xu had hurriedly taken the grass crickets he had woven a few days ago, intending to bring them to the unborn child in Lady Ren's womb.

Now, however, he was captivated by a young man among the refugees. The youth wore tattered cloth, had a bundle of animal hide wrapped around his waist, and his eyes stared at Li Changhu and Liu Linfeng at the front with a burning, fiery intensity.

"Those eyes look so familiar," Old Man Xu muttered, stroking his pale beard, yet he could not recall where he had seen them before.

"Everyone, listen to me!"

Liu Linfeng called for silence, stepped forward, and shouted

"I am the patriarch of the Liu family in this village. Lijing Village still has a vast amount of wasteland available for cultivation. If you are willing, my Liu family can provide you with this year's grain and tools. The land you cultivate will be considered leased from my family, and we will only charge thirty percent rent."

As a junior, Li Changhu stood half a step behind Liu Linfeng and made a similar promise

"My Li family does the same."

Upon hearing this, the young man among the refugees snapped his head around and stared fixedly at Li Changhu's face. Those eyes burned with a fiery gaze for several seconds before he quickly and with satisfaction lowered his head.

Old Man Xu exerted immense effort to squeeze to the front of the crowd to get a better look at the refugees, but he could no longer find the young man.

Turning his head, he saw that the youth had already squeezed to the very front of the refugee line, standing only a few paces away from where Li Changhu and Liu Linfeng stood.

The middle-aged man standing bowed beside the two men glanced at him, thinking curiously

*What sharp eyes. To think such a person exists among refugees? We have eaten and lived together for three full months, yet I have never once seen this man.*

"You may drink wine, eat meat, marry, and have children in Lijing Village, but you must not steal, nor must you commit adultery..."

As Liu Linfeng was warning the crowd, the sense of unease in Old Man Xu's heart grew stronger. He watched as the young man suddenly lunged forward, fell to his knees before Liu Linfeng, and began to sob uncontrollably.

"My entire family was lost to the war; I am the only one who escaped. After traveling thousands of miles, I have finally met two great lords to grant us refuge! I am eternally grateful! How would I dare commit such shameless acts here!"

He wept with such genuine sorrow that the refugees behind him were stirred by their own tragic memories, and they began to wail in unison. For a moment, the sound of weeping filled the air, and even Liu Linfeng was moved.

However, Old Man Xu was staring at the young man's ankle, which was exposed as he knelt. A left foot, crisscrossed with scars, protruded from the tattered trouser leg, with several moles scattered across the ankle joint.

A surge of overwhelming familiarity rose in his mind. His face flushed red as if he were drunk, and he stared at the youth with intense vigilance.

Behind him, Li Changhu could no longer restrain himself. He looked compassionately at the kneeling youth, took a half-step forward, and leaned down to help him up.

A thunderous explosion rang in Old Man Xu's mind, and his vision went blank, as if he had instantly been transported back to that afternoon over twenty years ago.

Back then, Old Xu was still a tenant for the Yuan family. The golden rice fields undulated in the autumn wind. A woman had come to the fields carrying a child, and he had bowed low, saying auspicious words to please her

"Looking at the moles on this child's feet, he is surely destined for greatness!"

"Wait!!"

Old Man Xu straightened his back, which had been hunched for over twenty years, and shouted with wide, staring eyes.

"Wait!"

He heard another voice cry out from not far away, shouting in unison with him.

It was the middle-aged man who had been chosen by the refugees; he was staring at the youth's face with a look of shock and suspicion, attempting to intervene.

Before their voices had even faded, the youth suddenly raised his head. Caught off guard, Li Changhu met those eyes.

Those eyes were ferocious, sharp, and looked exactly like those of a wild beast.

(End of Chapter)