Yuanqin... thought Li Xizhi.
Li Xizhi had not seen Li Yuanqin often in recent years. After Yuanqin broke through to the Foundation Establishment Realm, he had taken the Ning Family members to guard the southern border. Perhaps due to the sensitivity of his position, he had little contact with Li Xizhi.
Li Xizhi paused slightly as yet another figure approached the pavilion. A gourd hung at his waist, and his body was clad in rattan armor. The vast and imposing aura marked him as none other than Lingu Rao, the Raozi Scorpion, once as renowned as Li Xuanfeng.
The middle-aged man clasped his hands with a smile and said, "Congratulations, Pavilion Master!"
The three houses were still on cordial terms, both publicly and privately. Si Yuanli also clasped hands to greet Lingu Rao, repeatedly calling him senior. The atmosphere was warm and lively as everyone's faces were alight with joy.
After exchanging congratulations, the two families took their leave. Visitors continued to arrive one after another, and Li Xizhi entertained them for most of the day. Only when the sun had set did he finally tidy things up and softly ask, "Yuduan, have all the guests been seen off?"
Quan Yuduan clasped his hands and replied quietly, "There is still one person downstairs. They have been pacing back and forth nervously for quite some time, but haven’t dared to come up."
"Oh?" Li Xizhi knew full well in his heart who it was, but he still asked softly, "And who is it?"
"The master of Qingsui Peak!" Quan Yuduan's eyes held a trace of coldness as he replied with a smile.
Quan Yuduan was no pampered scion. Growing up amid the tangled affairs of rural landlords, his childhood had hardly been free of malice. How could he, as a disciple, not be aware of the grudges between his master and Yuan Chengzhao, the master of Qingsui Peak?
Yuan Chengzhao was still fidgeting uneasily below. Though Quan Yuduan greeted the guests with a beaming smile, he had not spared Yuan Chengzhao even a glance, showing him respect only because he now counted as a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. Otherwise, he would not have shown the man even a pleasant face!
Li Xizhi shook his head and said gently, "He is still your martial uncle. Go and invite him up."
Quan Yuduan obeyed and went down. Before long, the voice of the second disciple, Zhao Junwei, deep yet respectful, could be heard, "Martial Uncle... please!"
Clear in his likes and dislikes, Quan Yuduan clearly disliked bowing to Yuan Chengzhao and so pushed the matter onto the more composed Zhao Junwei. When he heard his disciple's voice, Li Xizhi also heard his junior brother sigh and adjust his robes outside the door, before finally pushing it open with a creak.
"Chengzhao greets Senior Brother!" said Yuan Chengzhao.
Yuan Chengzhao did not dare meet his gaze. He fell to his knees before him, speaking in a trembling voice.
Bathed in the golden glow of the setting sun, Li Xizhi hesitated, saying nothing.
In truth, Yuan Chengzhao feared him greatly. Since their master Yuan Tuan was absent most of the year, the role of stern authority had always been filled by Li Xizhi. To Yuan Chengzhao, he was less like a senior brother and more like a strict master.
Yet human nature was fickle, and circumstances complicated. Though Yuan Chengzhao feared him like a tiger, he repeatedly bowed to the Chi Family and had even set obstacles in his way. When Chi Buhua had come armed with a tool Li Xizhi had used in his youth, he needed no speculation to know it had come from this very junior brother.
Ironically, when the Chi Family collapsed and was purged by the Si Family, this junior brother, in his terror, had run first to Si Yuanli, kneeling and clinging to his leg in desperate pleading.
And what did he beg for? Not his life or family's survival, but for Si Yuanli to conceal the fact that Chi Buhua had obtained Li Xizhi's personal belongings from him, for fear of incurring Li Xizhi's wrath!
To lose all sense to such a degree! Why would Si Yuanli ever cover for him? He would only be eager to see me and Yuan Chengzhao turn against one another! thought Li Xizhi.
The look Li Xizhi gave him was already filled with disappointment. He had watched this boy grow up on the mountain and truly held a sense of affection for Yuan Chengzhao. He had known him to be weak, but he had never thought his pettiness would run so deep!
Yuan Chengzhao knelt, trembling, cold sweat covering his face despite being a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. Li Xizhi spoke softly, "It has been many years... you have found fortune from disaster."
Yuan Chengzhao knew all too well what Li Xizhi meant by 'fortune from disaster,' and his hair stood on end.
Over the years, Si Yuanli had bestowed him with no small number of benefits. His innate ability was indeed decent, but much of his Foundation Establishment Realm cultivation had come from the Si Family's resources. Si Yuanli, though amiable on the surface, had never missed a chance to rightfully support a Yuan Family member opposed to Li Xizhi!
Misery clouded his face as he said, "Senior Brother... I was wrong, Senior Brother... your junior was forced, with no choice... Whether it was Chi Zhiyun, Chi Zhiyan, Chi Fubo, Chi Buhua... or even the current Sect Master... none of them were people I could afford to offend, Senior Brother! Chi Buhua was at the peak of the Foundation Establishment Realm, while I was only a mere Qi Cultivation Realm cultivator back then. When he demanded it from me... how could I refuse?"
He burst into tears, kowtowing heavily, his forehead striking the floor with dull thuds. Li Xizhi did not look at him, only gazed toward the distant sunset and said softly, "You stepped onto the path of no return long ago. Ever since you craved power... and accepted the position of master of Qingsui Peak, you became a pawn of the Chi Family. In a clash of powers, you could only serve as their piece to restrain me. When the Chi Family's first lineage fell, there was still the second. No matter who held the seat, they would never spare their pawn.
"If you had remained calm that day, resisted the temptation of authority, and left the sect on assignment, far from the Azure Pond Sect... how could today's situation ever have come to be?"
Yuan Chengzhao could no longer answer. He only continued to kowtow, sobbing as he cried out, "Senior Brother is right! Senior Brother is right! I was blinded by ambition..."
Li Xizhi spoke softly, "There is no need for this. In truth, no one could have foreseen today. I ought to have died long ago in the Eastern Sea, leaving your Yuan Family to reclaim this immortal peak's seat. It would have been a perfect outcome for you. Yet the world rarely follows expectations. If not for my family's Daoist Master Zhaojing breaking through, you would still be reaping benefits everywhere and enjoying a great advantage."
Yuan Chengzhao could only whimper wordlessly. Li Xizhi lowered his gaze, sorrow flickering in his heart. Still, his face remained calm as he said, "Do not come here weeping. Go back to where you came from. For our master's sake, everything before this will be written off. From now on, do not seek me again."
He lifted his tea and said aloud, "Junwei, see him out!"
Yuan Chengzhao grew flustered, and though Zhao Junwei stepped forward, his mere Qi Cultivation Realm strength could not move him. Yuan Chengzhao cried out miserably, "I lost my head and wronged my Senior Brother. From this day on, I have no face to return. Yet, I will always remember the guidance you gave me through the years... Please take care, Senior Brother... I must still shoulder my entire family in this life, and cannot serve you. This debt of kindness... I will repay in another lifetime..."
Yuan Chengzhao rose, his face streaked with tears, and said respectfully, "I still wish I could ride the wind with Senior Brother and Senior Sister, travel the prefectures, play with the Dawn Rayfish, and listen to your teachings... But now... I never can again..."
He clasped his hands and withdrew. Li Xizhi didn’t say another word. Zhao Junwei escorted him all the way out, while Quan Yuduan curled his lip, then quickly stepped forward and said with a bow, "Master, since today is such a joyous day, shall we make arrangements to return to the lake?"
Li Xizhi replied warmly, "Indeed we should. The Azure Pond Sect must also send a delegation to offer congratulations, so we will go together then."