Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 65: Two Foxes

Li Xuanfeng wept uncontrollably as he lay atop Old Man Xu’s corpse, resting there for a whole quarter of an hour before his hiccups finally stopped, and he slowly climbed to his feet.

He grabbed Old Man Xu’s left foot and dragged it with all his might to a tombstone half a person tall, only then realizing that the old man’s body was as light as a bundle of firewood, even he, a child, could move it.

With effort, he propped up the upper half of the old man’s body, leaning it against that tombstone. Li Xuanfeng tried to smooth out the old man’s pained and twisted face, hoping to make him appear more at peace.

"Wuu—"

Seeing the old man’s wrinkled face, which seemed both crying and smiling, Li Xuanfeng burst into tears with a loud "waah," then quickly turned his head, wiping the tears as he ran up the mountain.

After a while, not until he could see the courtyard bathed in golden sunlight, did Li Xuanfeng hasten to dry his tears and, with a pouting mouth, walked toward the courtyard.

Entering through the gate, he found a ground paved with blue bricks where a little girl, dressed in a small leather jacket, was quietly sitting by the table, holding a snow-white kitten in her arms and softly talking to it.

The sunlight shone on her lowered eyebrows and eyes, her upturned eyes were beautiful, making one want to join her in laughter.

It was indeed the sole girl of the Li family at present—Li Jingtian. Liu Rouxuan had given birth to a boy named Li Xuanling for Li Tongya, who was currently studying in the academy, leaving Li Jingtian alone in the courtyard.

"Feng’er."

The girl lifted her head, placed the white kitten on the table, and asked with a smile:

"Who has been bullying you?"

"Who would dare to bully him? It’s always he who bullies others." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

From the main courtyard came a young man, with gentle and long eyebrows, soft eyes, and a resemblance to Li Changhu. He chimed in with a smile.

"Brother Xuanxuan, you’ve finished your retreat?"

The girl’s eyes lit up, and she ran over, bouncing and tugging Li Xuanxuan’s hand eagerly:

"Is it the Fetal Breathing’s Third Layer of Zhouxing?"

Li Xuanxuan smiled and nodded, but noticing that Li Xuanfeng was still silent, he bent down and asked.

"What’s happened to Feng’er?"

Li Xuanfeng replied in a muffled tone:

"Old Man Xu has died."

"What?!"

Li Xuanxuan was taken aback, the gentle smile on his face finally vanishing as his eyes filled with sorrow. He opened his mouth but spoke no words.

Li Xuanxuan had been fatherless since birth, and although his grandfather, Li Mutian, cherished and loved him, the old man was reserved and serious, often sitting quietly. Li Xuanxuan couldn’t quite decide whether he respected or loved the old man more.

As he grew older, Li Xiangping took him by his side every day, and he, Li Xuanxuan, was always extremely careful, painstakingly deciphering his uncle’s words and commands, never allowing for the slightest relaxation.

In his childhood years that spanned more than a decade, only Old Man Xu folded grasshoppers for him, drew his portrait, and told him stories about his father, Li Changhu...

Although he was overwhelmed with grief, Li Xuanxuan quickly composed himself, patted Li Xuanfeng’s shoulder, and said in a grave voice:

"Take me to see."

————

Li Chengfu walked in, bending low as he stepped over the high threshold of the main hall, where several stern-faced elders sat discussing matters, and at the very head sat a dignified middle-aged man, dressed in a gray wolf fur coat, drinking tea absentmindedly.

"Steward, Old Man Xu has died."

Li Chengfu, his temples also graying but still nimble, stooped beside the middle-aged man and whispered.

The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice to ask:

"What does the Family Head say?"

"Bury him in the mountain, as the Young Master ordered."

The middle-aged man nodded, pondered for a few moments, set down his teacup on the table, clapped his hands, and said in a soft voice:

"Let’s end the discussions here for today. Important matters await on Lijing Mountain, and I, Yesheng, cannot keep you any longer."

Li Yesheng had been the Steward for over a decade, and now at thirty, he carried a certain dignity in his manner. In the mountains where the average lifespan was no more than sixty and people married off at just fifteen, he was very much in the prime of life. Even his eldest son, Li Xiewen, was already twelve or thirteen years old.

Ren Ping’an had passed away from illness the year before last, and now the one managing Jingyang Village was his uncle, Liu Linfeng. The assembled people, upon hearing Li Yesheng’s words, immediately got up to take their leave and returned to their respective villages escorted by the family retainers.

Li Yesheng watched everyone leave, then finally took a sip of the tea and said in a deep voice,

"Go and call Xiewen, he must come with me to Meichi Mountain to report to the Family Head."

Li Xiangping had also been managing affairs for over a decade, naturally earning him the title of Family Head from those below him.

"The Young Master has left his seclusion, our Qiuyang went up the mountain to meet him and came back saying his strength is now on par with Qiuyang’s."

As Li Xiewen hurried into the room, Li Chengfu looked up at Li Yesheng with a beaming face and laughed softly.

Thanks to Li Xiangping’s tireless and generous mentorship of Li Xuanxuan over the past decade, it was clear to anyone with eyes that he truly regarded the posthumous child of Li Changhu as the next generation Family Head of the Li Family, so the supervisors and village retainers naturally addressed Li Xuanxuan as the Young Master.

"Congratulations, Uncle Fu!"

Li Yesheng also smiled and gave Li Chengfu a cupped-hand salute.

"Hehehe."

Li Chengfu chuckled twice and exchanged a few looks with Li Yesheng before nodding, bowing, and backing out.

Seeing Li Chengfu bow and leave, Li Yesheng gave a cold snort and said to Li Xiewen in a serious tone,

"Do you know why your father congratulated Li Chengfu?"

"This child doesn’t know..."

Li Xiewen scratched his head, looking at his father with a puzzled expression.

"It’s been years that Uncle Chengfu has been incessantly asking me about Xuan’er’s Cultivation Level. To tell or not to tell, it’s a dilemma..."

Li Yesheng heaved a deep sigh, frowning tightly, and scolded,

"I told you to mess around less and learn more by my side! But you wouldn’t listen!"

"With Xuanxuan being the only one in the main family with a Spirit Aperture, who knows the talents of Li Xuanfeng and Li Xuanling. You, Qiuyang, have been training for a longer time. If you happen to advance faster than Xuanxuan, could the main family truly be without concern?"

Li Xiewen then suddenly understood and after pondering for a moment, he replied,

"I see! Father fears that when this generation has withered away, leaving only Xuanxuan and Qiuyang, the main family may find itself in a precarious situation, with the branch overpowering the core..."

"There is still time."

Li Yesheng waved his hand and said coldly,

"The family has long-term plans and may not necessarily be wary of him, but since we all cluster around the Main Vein, we must be cautious. If the day of a complete upheaval truly comes, no one will have a good end! Luckily, Xuan’er has better talent, and Qiuyang can push ahead without having to guard against the main family."

As he spoke, Li Yesheng took another sip of tea and continued in a serious tone,

"Let your father test you. If Xuanxuan’s cultivation were really slow, do you know what you should do?"

Li Xiewen bowed his head in thought for a while and then said in a low voice,

"Check whether Qiuyang has falsely reported his Cultivation Level?"

"Correct. A lad worth teaching. It’s not easy that you’ve thought of this possibility."

Li Yesheng nodded with approval and said solemnly,

"If he was lying about his Cultivation Level, how could the family not notice? That old fox is not that foolish. He would just have Qiuyang slow down his cultivation pace to watch for changes. Arrange your people and wait for the family’s orders. That’s all you need to do."

"Remember, Xiewen, our branch has done too much for the family, and with no cultivators amongst us, we have no way out but to rely on the main family, unless..."

"Unless what?"

Li Xiewen and Li Xuanxuan had played together since childhood and were very close. Hearing this, he furrowed his brows and asked back.

A flash of fear crossed Li Yesheng’s face, his voice trembling slightly as he said,

"Unless, a hundred years from now, all four veins of the main family have withered away and none can produce a child with a Spirit Aperture."