Chapter 16: Ill-fated Relationship (Part I)

Li Changhu saw the youth peel back the animal skin, revealing a cold glint. Those ferocious, sharp, beast-like eyes stared into Li Changhu's eyes without blinking, filled with a sense of sadistic cruelty.

The cold glint was as swift as lightning, stabbing straight toward Li Changhu's throat. In his terror, he only had time to take a step back before hurriedly reaching out to block it.

Too fast!

This thrust had been practiced for twenty-two years; it had pierced countless haystacks and suppressed countless nights of hatred.

The cold glint was clearly a bolt of bright silver lightning, yet it moved as skillfully as a swimming fish, dodging Li Changhu's defensive hand and driving straight into his throat.

Li Changhu only had time to let out a few blood-soaked whimpers before collapsing heavily to the ground. His vision blurred, and he could faintly hear the screams and angry shouts around him.

"You beast!!!"

Tian Shoushui, standing behind Li Changhu, let out a heart-wrenching roar. Being shorter than Li Changhu, he had been completely obstructed from view and only understood what had happened once Li Changhu fell.

His eyes turned bloodshot, the veins on his head bulging wildly as he reached out to grab the youth.

Having succeeded in his strike, the youth discarded the dagger. Taking advantage of the moment when everyone rushed to support Li Changhu, he rolled across the ground to evade Tian Shoushui's grasping hands, crashing into the crowd of refugees like a lithe shrew.

As Tian Shoushui lunged to pursue him, the refugees scattered like a disturbed nest of wasps. He only caught a glimpse of the youth diving into the reed marshes by the village edge, vanishing into the distance in a flash.

"Damn it."

Without looking back, Tian Shoushui plunged into the reeds following the trail, leaving behind the panicked refugees huddling together in terror.

"Cursed thing! What kind of dog did this!"

As the crowd regained their senses, the middle-aged man was pinned against a wall by the villagers, wailing and cursing at the same time

"It really wasn't my doing!! I don't know that youth, he just mixed himself into the crowd on the road!"

"Shut up!"

Liu Linfeng cursed with a pale face. Gritting his teeth, he supported the fallen Li Changhu and shot a fierce glare at the middle-aged man, momentarily losing his composure.

Seeing his nephew spitting blood, clearly beyond saving, his mind became a chaotic mess: How could he face his sister? How could he face Li Mutian? His nephew was dying right before his eyes for nothing!

Ren Pingan sat blankly on the ground. His daughter, Lady Ren, had only just become pregnant after marrying Li Changhu, and now Li Changhu was dead. The child he had watched grow up was dying just like this!

While the crowd was in a state of panic, Li Changhu lay on the ground with his eyes open, staring at the sky, feeling the scalding blood flowing from his chest as his consciousness gradually faded.

*I am only sorry for Xiang Ping... I have turned his wedding into a funeral,* Li Changhu thought with his fading consciousness. Finally, the pain and suffocation plunged him into an endless darkness.

Amidst the chaos, unseen by anyone, a silver light quietly rose from his dantian. Dragging a tail like a swallow returning to its nest, it soared into the sky, circled once, and flew toward the Li family's backyard.

Not far away.

Old Man Xu stood trembling in place, his body hunched. He had watched as the youth plunged the knife into Li Changhu's neck, the tip even slightly protruding from the back of his throat. He felt a surge of blood rush from his chest to his brain; his vision went dark, and he nearly fainted.

"What a tragic fate!"

Tears streamed down his old face. He gripped the string of grass crickets he had intended to bring to Li Changhu, clutching his chest in agony.

"Beast..."

Old Man Xu took a heavy breath, wiped the tears from his face, and began running toward the back mountain, muttering to himself

"This old man outlived his wife and saw his master's house destroyed; I've seen more characters than the amount of shit that wild wolf has left behind! Just you wait! Just you wait! This old man is coming for you!"

————

The Li Family.

In the ancestral hall, Lu Jiangxian sighed silently. He had woken up when Li Changhu was attacked, but the village entrance was simply too far away; he was powerless to help and could only watch everything unfold.

Watching the silver light circling the mirror like a butterfly, he knew that with a mere thought, this Talisman Seed could transform into pure essence to nourish his divine soul.

However, since Li Changhu had not achieved the Profound Realm, the benefit from the Talisman Seed was minimal. With a sigh, Lu Jiangxian reversed his hand seals, using the *Profound Bead Spirit Cultivation Technique* to stimulate the spiritual consciousness within the seed. Streaks of mana extracted from the Talisman Seed emerged in the courtyard, extending toward the members of the Li family.

It took Li Mutian over an hour to fall into a daze of sleep, but he saw moonlight pouring through the windows and door cracks like water. Outside the window, it was as bright as day, and his eldest son, Li Changhu, was standing by his bedside, watching him quietly.

"What happened?"

Li Mutian asked his eldest son in a raspy voice.

Li Changhu pursed his lips and remained silent, staring intently at Li Mutian's face as if trying to etch it into his memory.

"Cough, cough, cough."

Li Mutian coughed forcefully and asked with a frown

"Changhu, what happened?"

Instead, Li Changhu leaned down and bowed respectfully to his father, speaking with a choked voice

"Father, take care..."

As soon as the words fell, Li Changhu's figure scattered like grains of sand in the wind. The watery moonlight slowly dimmed, and the courtyard, once bright as day, fell into darkness.

Li Mutian was gripped by extreme unease. He reached out to grab him, shouting incessantly.

"Child, speak! Changhu! Li Changhu!"

He suddenly jolted awake in bed, staring blankly out the window.

————

The side room.

"Do you dream during cultivation too?"

In the side room, Li Chijing opened his eyes, his face stained with tears. He stood up and walked outside, seeing Li Tongya sitting at a wooden table.

Seeing his younger brother come out, Li Tongya hurriedly wiped the tears from his face and forced a smile, asking

"What's wrong?"

Li Chijing stared blankly at his brother and looked up, asking

"Where is Big Brother?"

"Big Brother was called out by the tenants early this morning. Perhaps there is something in the fields," Li Tongya replied with a smile.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Li Mutian stood there, calling out with an anxious expression

"Tongya! Go call your brother back... Never mind, I will go myself."

Li Mutian hurriedly put on his shoes and walked to the front courtyard. As he pushed open the courtyard gate, he froze.

A large circle of villagers had gathered outside, all holding torches and weeping. Three people were kneeling at the bottom of the stone steps beside an object covered in white cloth.

Looking at the shameful and sorrowful expressions of Tian Shoushui and Ren Pingan, Li Mutian's unease reached its peak. With trembling hands, he walked down the steps, pushed aside the weeping Liu Linfeng who had come to assist him, and gently lifted the white cloth.

Li Mutian's vision went black, and he nearly fainted. The brothers following behind him also looked distressed. Li Chijing stepped forward to look, and with a *thud*, he fell to his knees, crying out in grief

"Brother!"

After checking for breath on Li Changhu's body, Li Chijing suddenly looked up. Through his sobbing tears, he glared at the surrounding villagers and roared

"Who! Who was it?! Who dared?!"

The roar was like a tiger's howl, startling everyone into taking several steps back, watching him in trembling terror.

(End of Chapter)