Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 40: The Monster
Chen Erniu leaped off his bed, snatched the clothes lying by, haphazardly pulling them over his body, and then, taking his son by the hand, he dashed out the door and impatiently asked,
"What the hell is going on?!"
The Chen family’s eldest son, named Chen Sanshui, was in the midst of urgently reaching for the long saber hanging on the wall and shouted,
"Father, take the saber, take the saber first! We’ll talk on the road!"
Chen Erniu grabbed the long saber and wrapped it around his waist, then started running toward the head of the village with lengthy strides.
"A villager on the night patrol was surveying the fields when he heard rustling sounds, as if someone was there. Believing it to be people engaging in mischief among the crops, he hid to get a closer look. Instead, he stumbled upon a bloody, headless corpse and was so frightened that he pissed and shitted himself," Chen Sanshui explained in haste as he scrambled to keep up with Chen Erniu.
"How did they die?"
"Their skull was shattered, their brain scooped out; their death was ghastly."
Upon hearing this, Chen Erniu stopped in his tracks and exclaimed in astonishment,
"Has someone informed the main family?"
"Not yet..."
Chen Sanshui answered somewhat hesitantly.
"Imbecile! Do you think you can hide something like this?!"
Chen Erniu erupted with rage, chastising him as if regretting his inability to mold him.
"I’ve already discussed it with that person and several households near the fields... We’ve agreed not to spread the word for now. With this being the first homicide here at Lichuan Entrance in years, I feared Xu Wenshan may turn against father," Chen Sanshui hurriedly explained to his agitated father.
"Idiot! Someone’s brain was scooped out!"
"This..."
Seeing his father’s furious expression, Chen Sanshui slowed down a half beat, as if a realization was dawning on him.
"What ordinary murder involves scooping out brains?! Besides, my rivalry with Xu Wenshan is just for show, pleasing to the audience; we’re each satisfied with our arrangement. Would Xu Wenshan kick me while I’m down? Would he risk making an enemy out of the hundred-plus households at the Lichuan Entrance for no good reason?"
"All of you brothers are as dim-witted as swine; Xu Wenshan is younger than I am. If I were no longer here, how would you stand a chance against him?!"
"Father..."
These interrogative remarks left Chen Sanshui trembling with shame, as he lowered his head and fell silent.
Chen Erniu’s face was overcast, his heart troubled, as he began coldly,
"Perhaps a demon is to blame. You go inform the main family yourself."
Chen Sanshui nodded vigorously and hastily headed towards Lijing Village. Chen Erniu, watching his eldest son disappear into the distance, finally showed a trace of fear and sorrow on his face and whispered,
"I don’t know the extent of this demon’s power. If Sanshui keeps his eyes peeled, maybe he can still ensure the continuity of our Chen family."
Chen Erniu himself had lived through the terrifying drought at Lichuan Entrance. As a young boy playing at his doorstep, he witnessed a huge bird draped in scarlet flames descend upon Lichuan Entrance. It swooped down like it was pecking at little bugs, consumed a few village guards, and then flew off, leaving behind fields steaming with heat for three months.
The surviving guards devoured every edible thing nearby Lichuan Entrance. They fetched water from the Meichi River to irrigate the land, but it all vanished without a trace. Chen Erniu’s father carried load after load of water for nine whole days, only to commit suicide in despair, with his starving wife in his arms.
Chen Erniu left the corpses of his parents behind, biting back tears of anger and sorrow as he fled to Lijing Village. He knocked his head on the ground until it bled, and finally, he was taken in by the Li family.
At that time, every household in Lijing Village was packed with fellow townsfolk who had fled the disaster. Some tried to raid the homes of the wealthy, only to be beaten to death by tenants who had been their neighbors a few days prior. Many others had no choice but to desperately make for Da Li Mountain.
Three months later, the people slowly returned. No one dared speak of that day, nor did anyone dare to mention how the hundred-plus people left in the village had survived. In silence, they buried the cleanly licked human bones; of the nearly three hundred households, 1,400 people of Lichuan Entrance, only a little over three hundred remained.
As the sudden flicker of firelight brought him back from his memories, Chen Erniu shrugged off his second son, Chen Qiushui, who had come to greet him. He lifted the torch and looked at the blood-soaked corpse lying on the ground, missing its brain, and tears streamed down his face as he clenched his teeth and asked,
"Who is this?"
"Old Ye from the head of the village."
Chen Qiushui looked at the tears on his father’s face, feeling uneasy, and replied in a low voice.
"Gather all the villagers, light the bonfires, and grab the knives and clubs."
Chen Erniu muttered the instructions when a village watchman hurriedly came over from the village entrance and said:
"Chen Steward, Chen Steward! The Li Family has sent a message: Is there anything unusual at the Lichuan Entrance?"
Chen Erniu was momentarily stunned, his heart filled with dread and suspicion, and he thought to himself:
"It can’t be that fast from Lichuan to Lijing! If there’s a spy in the village reporting this, it couldn’t be so quick, either. It’s more likely that the Li Family knew as soon as the villager died; they must have some means to deal with that monster."
His furrowed brow suddenly relaxed, and Chen Erniu felt much more at ease, loudly responding:
"There might be a monster causing trouble in the village, we’ve already sent someone to inform the Li Family!"
————
Li Xiangping silently looked at the blue-gray Mirror on the stage. The fragmented mirror seemed to have somewhat restored itself compared to when he first found it as a child, but it still looked like it could shatter at any moment. A faint silver-white light emanated from the mirror, giving it an ethereal appearance.
"How long has that person been gone?"
"A quarter of an hour."
Li Tongya looked anxiously out the window, put down the wooden slip in his hand, and said:
"We should go out now; if those people don’t see us, they might break the rules and come to this back yard."
"Let’s go!"
Li Xiangping glanced at Li Xuanxuan, who was sitting cross-legged, and said in a deep voice.
No sooner had they left the back yard than they saw Li Yesheng pacing anxiously in the main courtyard like an ant on a hot pan. Upon seeing Li Tongya and the others, his eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said:
"Someone from the Lichuan Entrance has come, saying that someone’s brain has been dug out!"
"Brain dug out?"
Li Xiangping was startled and looked at Li Tongya, saying:
"It must be a monster."
"Exactly."
Li Tongya nodded gravely, pondered for a few moments, then said in a deep voice:
"The monster must still fear people since it retreated after taking the brain; it must not have a very high cultivation level, definitely still in the Fetal Breathing Realm. If it were in the Qi Cultivation Stage, it could easily kill the entire village and leave in a mist."
"I’ll take a look!"
After thinking for a few moments, Li Xiangping frowned slightly and said to Li Yesheng:
"Gather the able-bodied men in the village, and bring weapons."
"Yes!"
Li Yesheng quickly left to carry out the orders. Once he had gone far, Li Tongya, with a furrowed brow, said:
"We don’t know the depth of this monster; it is not wise for us to go."
"If we don’t go today, the prestige that the Li Family has worked hard to build up in these villages will all be lost; I must go!" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚
"You stay on the mountain to keep watch, brother; I’ll go and investigate. You know my nature; I won’t take unnecessary risks."
"Even if something happens, the Li Family still has you. At worst, we abandon the Lichuan Entrance and seek help from the clan."
With that, Li Xiangping nodded to Li Tongya, picked up his bow and arrows, put on his yellow-brown Vine Armor, and hurriedly descended the mountain.
