Chapter 13: Killing

Li Yesheng’s father died last year, and all the family’s fields and property fell to him, the eldest son. He was truly overjoyed; he immediately sold a plot of land for cash and went to the village shop to eat and drink to his heart’s content.

Since then, he had been idling away his days, wandering around the village and the mountains, becoming even more unscrupulous in his bullying and thievery. In the entire Lijing Village, there was no one he feared or respected, save for his uncle, Li Mutian.

It was a pity for his younger brother, Li Yesheng. Despite being the same age as Li Xiangping, who had been studying with a tutor at the edge of the village since childhood, Li Yesheng was left lonely, hungry, and cold.

A teenager who had just lost his father, he had to herd ducks and watch cattle for others every day. If not for the occasional help from Li Mutian’s family, he likely would have starved to death at home long ago.

Li Yesheng cared nothing for his brother’s life. Whenever he was idle, he felt an itch in his heart; watching the Li Changhu family come and go from their blue-brick courtyard, he was consumed by a maddening jealousy.

"We all share the surname Li. By what right are you the main branch and I the collateral? By what right did you buy fertile land and build a tall courtyard? You’re just a wealthy household in a village; what’s with the airs of building such a grand estate? It’s as if there’s some kind of treasure inside!"

He suddenly straightened up, a realization striking him as he recalled a night from several years ago—the tense expressions of a few men and the blade in Li Mutian’s hand.

"Li Mutian has a treasure..."

Li Yesheng chewed on a stalk of dogtail grass, watching Li Changhu chat and laugh with his tenants in the fields, feeling secretly disgruntled.

"Just born into a good womb, that’s all."

After taking a nap in the shade, he saw the night deepening. Li Yesheng spat out the dogtail grass, rolled up his pant legs, and quietly crept toward the Li family estate.

He circled the perimeter of the courtyard but couldn't find even a crack in the wall. He clawed at it a few times, but it was built smooth and flat; it would be difficult to climb over.

"Damn dog."

Li Yesheng spat on the wall, steeled himself, and turned to run toward the back mountain.

"I don't believe you can put a lid on your roof."

The Dali Mountains twisted and stretched; the back mountain of Lijing Village was merely one of its peaks. The villagers, too lazy to name it, simply called it the Back Mountain.

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

Li Yesheng pushed aside the bushes and climbed along the path for half an hour until he found a protruding, open spot in the mountain. He crouched down and looked toward the small courtyard at the foot of the hill.

He rubbed his eyes, seeing only a few blurry figures moving about. They seemed to be sitting cross-legged, and some were carrying blue stones back and forth, though he couldn't tell what they were doing.

"I heard they have stone locks in that courtyard. Could it be that Li Mutian obtained some martial arts manual from outside and is secretly teaching it to those things?"

Li Yesheng looked up at the sky. The mountains were already dim, and the bright moon was obscured by dark clouds, leaving the earth pitch black. Even the figures were becoming hard to see.

The night was late. High in the mountains, apes shrieked and jackals howled. A cold breeze blew beneath Li Yesheng’s trousers, making him clamp his legs together and sit down hard on a large rock.

"This is pretty eerie."

Li Yesheng sat for another half hour, his nose running from the cold. In his mind, he had already composed the rumors he planned to spread in the village

Something about a treasure passed down from ancestors—he, Li Yesheng, was also a Li, so why didn't he get a share? If it were a martial arts manual, he wouldn't bother practicing it; selling it for money would allow him to live quite comfortably for a long time.

He looked down at the courtyard, but there were no figures left. Li Yesheng didn't pay it much mind; he tightened his cuffs and stood up, ready to head home.

"Mom!"

Unexpectedly, as he turned his head, he saw a figure standing silently on the mountain path. Scared out of his wits, Li Yesheng scrambled and crawled back behind the large blue rock.

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

Li Yesheng’s eyes widened, and he assumed a savage posture, about to lash out, when he saw Li Xiangping form a hand seal.

"What?"

A brilliant golden light flashed before his eyes, and a sharp pain pierced his throat. The world spun; one moment he saw the bright moon, the next, the blurry courtyard under the moonlight.

Li Yesheng’s head suddenly flew into the air and landed heavily on the mountain path. His remaining consciousness looked in confusion at the cold smile on Li Xiangping’s face, finding this cousin more unfamiliar than ever before.

The headless corpse behind the rock was spurting blood from its neck. The steaming blood stained the blue stone, the dirt path, and the withered leaves, flowing all the way to Li Xiangping’s feet.

Stepping back in disgust, Li Xiangping watched Li Yesheng’s body collapse. He pondered for a moment, then formed a seal again, summoning a golden light.

He crouched down and, with precise movements, sliced the corpse into large sections so that the wild beasts drawn by the scent during the night would carry them to different parts of the mountain.

After finishing, Li Xiangping stood up and looked around. Many glowing green eyes had already appeared in the shadows of the woods. Li Xiangping clapped his hands and whispered

"Enjoy your meal, gentlemen."

————

The Li Residence.

Li Changhu woke from his meditation, but his two younger brothers were nowhere to be seen. The large backyard was so quiet that only the sound of insects remained. Puzzled, he hurried to the main courtyard and found Li Tongya.

Looking at Li Tongya, who was sitting at a wooden table reading a manual, Li Changhu asked with some confusion

"Where is Xiangping?"

"He went to wash his hands."

Li Tongya slowly rolled up the wooden scroll and looked at his eldest brother.

"Tongya, have you begun preparing to condense the Profound Scene Wheel?" Li Changhu asked, his hands pressed on the wooden table, a hint of envy in his voice.

"I can condense eighty-one strands of moonlight in a few more days. We are far inferior to Chijing, so I feel I should wait a bit longer and prepare for a few more days."

Li Tongya smiled, took a small strip of white cloth, wrapped it tightly around the scroll, and tied a slipknot.

"Eldest brother, who among the four of us do you think is most like Father?" Li Tongya suddenly asked, staring intently at Li Changhu.

"Naturally, it is you."

Li Changhu blurted out, then paused. He found a seat, sat down, and continued with a smile

"I am too lenient, Xiangping is too restless, and Chijing is too timid. Only you, Li Tongya, are calm, composed, and unruffled. You are the most like him."

"Hahaha."

Li Tongya gave a dry laugh, waved his hand, and said seriously

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

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

Li Tongya spoke slowly

"When we were children playing in the courtyard, Father once said: 'When one first kills, they may suffer from tinnitus or a feverish head, losing their composure; they may tremble uncontrollably; or they may roar incessantly, forgetting what the world is.'"

"Only he, Li Mutian, drank wine and chatted calmly after his first kill. After saying this, he would laugh heartily, feeling extremely proud."

"Xiangping is the most like Father."

Li Tongya lowered his voice and leaned into Li Changhu’s ear, whispering softly

"Because he is cruel enough."