pjbooks Chapter 415 354: Awakening Again
Chapter 415 354: Awakening Again
The setting sun is like blood, and the Four Territories are shrouded in murk.
Rarely does mist gather at Wangyue Lake in the evening, but tonight it is especially thick, a gray haze in which you cannot see your own hand. The crows and sparrows are mute, all sounds have vanished, even the insects listlessly drop to the ground, lying motionless.
The streets of Lijing Town are barren of people, covered everywhere with the blood-red glow of the dying sun, crawling one brick crevice at a time. Even the hawkers have grown slack, going home early to rest; this metropolis of tens of thousands is as silent as if not a soul remains.
Li Yuanping hurried up the mountain. His father and elder brother were already waiting there. All the clan soldiers before the courtyard had been driven away. His eldest sister, Li Qinghong, stood in the middle of the yard, spear on her back, her expression complicated.
There was a sense of vengeful satisfaction in her face, yet both her hands were tensely folded across her chest, betraying a faint unease. It was the first time Li Yuanping had seen his sister like this; he could not help but feel a rising suspicion inside.
"Eldest Sister!"
Li Yuanping stepped through the door, calling out. Li Qinghong before him nodded, said nothing more, and closed the gate gently.
"滴答..."
A clear clinking sound drifted by his ears. Li Yuanping crossed the courtyard slowly. His elder brother Li Yuanjiao stood silent in the rear yard, while his father Li Xuanxuan crouched by the threshold, not saying a word, a handful of blood-red jade beads clenched in his hands.
The sky darkened ever more. Li Yuanping, yet to awaken his Spiritual Sense, could barely see the courtyard itself. He formed a hand sign and summoned a wisp of light, pure white brilliance gently flowing out.
"Brother, this is…"
He asked as he slowly raised his head—only then did he notice another figure standing there, face smooth as jade, sharply defined features, blue robes draping down, looking like a cold statue.
Li Yuanping's gaze moved slowly, coming to rest upon a face streaked with two lines of bloody tears.
"滴答."
The ground was filled with the soft clatter of beads—blood-red beads striking his ankle. Li Yuanjiao's hoarse voice sounded in his ear:
"This is Green Pond Sect's Perfected Person Buzi, freshly fallen upon our house an hour ago. Upon discovering our Talisman Pill, he turned into this state."
Li Xuanxuan, his back to the two, held a gourd in hand, sipping at the Spiritual Wine within, his cheeks flushed. He picked up where Li Yuanjiao left off:
"Your brother and I examined for a long time. It seems Buzi must have seen that thing and was frightened to death."
'Frightened to death… frightened to death…'
His father's words echoed endlessly in his ears. Li Yuanping stood dumbly where he was, murmuring:
"Are you saying… the Green Pond Perfected Person died suddenly in our house?"
His pale face gradually suffused with terror; he blurted out in urgency:
"Run! At the very least, we must send the clan's younger generation away, this…"
"No."
Li Yuanjiao shook his head, his expression gloomy, clearly having considered this already. In a low voice he said:
"Green Pond Sect does not yet know of this matter; even the clan's Soul Lamp remains unextinguished. Otherwise, Green Pond cultivators would already have torn through the Great Void and come. Our house would have been razed to the ground!"
If a Zifu of the Green Pond Sect died at Wangyue Lake, to what lengths would this escalate?
What's more, this Zifu is a direct line of the Chi Family, the de facto Steward of the Green Pond Sect… It's not only that Green Pond would be thrown into chaos—they might even alarm the cultivators above the Zifu level.
Even supposing Green Pond has no Golden Core, and the Zifu are mostly sly and would not come in person, if they truly learn that Chi Buzi perished, the Great Void will be crawling with shadows—there could be as many as a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators tearing open the void to descend. The entirety of Wangyue Lake would be upheaved!
Everyone knew the consequences, and fell silent.
"Perhaps the Perfected Person is not yet dead."
Li Qinghong suddenly spoke. The group exchanged glances, retreated together, closing the rear gate behind them, and settled themselves in the front yard, standing or sitting apart.
"Brother."
Only now did Li Yuanping enter the front yard, quickly regaining his composure, his voice low and steady:
"Regardless of whether the Perfected Person is dead or not, we must quickly send the direct lineage scattered in all directions, while Green Pond has yet to respond, preserve the clan's fire…"
"Go to Wu Country, seize a small mountain or temple—though we'd lose everything at home, at least we could save our lives. Or else go to the East Sea, and with the strength of our house, seize a small isle, and bide our time…"
Li Qinghong's clear voice abruptly cut him off:
"The moment our Li Family flees en masse, that would be as good as confession. The Zifu cultivators could divine our whereabouts! What's more…"
Her expression darkened, voice falling, red lips parting:
"Grandfather slew Furious Moha right here in South River Yue, on Wangyue Lake's bank. The Wrathful cultivators dare not come for revenge, but should we stray from this place, the mages of the Compassionate Taoist lineage will descend upon us like a pack of wolves… Even if not Compassion, any single mage could wipe out our house!"
Only now did Li Yuanping recall the black pot some unknown Zifu had dumped on their family. Tightness seized him; he gritted his teeth and said:
"Then, then should we go to Xiuyue Sect? The Three Sects have always stayed out of each other's affairs, and we are under Green Pond's rule. If we go to Xiuyue, how could we be tolerated?"
Li Qinghong gripped her spear, shaking her head slightly:
"Under Xiuyue Sect's rule… where is there a place for us to set foot? At best, we could be guests. Our whole group of Qi Cultivators—no mere one or two Immortal Mountains could support us."
Li Yuanjiao was silent for a long while, then transmitted his voice with mana:
"The Immortal Mirror's standing is high. If those who hold it cannot be divined, then perhaps there is hope for escape."
His meaning was clear—the Li family needed someone to escape with the mirror. Li Xuanxuan and the others fell silent upon hearing this.
"That's if Buzi is already dead. If he is not, and suffers such a loss, how could he possibly let us go?"
In the rear yard, the constant drip of blood was maddening. At last, Li Xuanxuan stroked his beard and spoke up:
"Jiao'er, you take the items and go—don't concern yourself with the rest."
Li Yuanjiao caressed the longsword at his waist, organizing his words; before he could speak, Li Xuanxuan said:
"We'll handle the rest. Your cultivation is the highest, your cultivation technique inconspicuous; take the Green Ruler Sword. The world is open before you. Find a place to shut yourself in and break through to Foundation Establishment…"
Li Yuanjiao clenched his jaw, his thoughts spinning, hand on the longsword growing ever tighter.
The courtyard was utterly still—so quiet it twisted hearts with dread. Moonlight gleamed, white and cold, pouring down. Li Yuanjiao lifted his head to his siblings, and his expression froze on his face.
All around, there had been no movement for some time. Their father, Li Xuanxuan, stood with his beard in hand, pupils dilated; Li Yuanping's face gleamed with sweat, streaming down his neck.
Li Qinghong stood like a sculpture, the Duruo in her hand utterly dim, held in a bloodless grip, pearls of sweat beading on her delicate nose.
'Why is it so quiet!'
"Creak…"
In the snow-white moonlight, the rear gate slowly swung open—a pale hand braced against the doorframe, blue robes draped down, made dazzling white in the moonlight as if suffused with glow.
"Crash…"
Red jade beads spilled across the rear courtyard, rolling softly over the stone bricks into the front yard.
"Plap."
That was the sound of footsteps.