Li Ximing lifted his head and continued, "I tried feigning composure as well, but I've done poorly. Unlike you, I'm just a fox trying to act like a tiger... When I was ten, my father asked me to kill someone, and I did it. I knew what he expected me to become. I was terrified at the time but didn't dare to show it.
"Later, when I went to the Xiao Residence, I was led astray by the temptations of wine and women multiple times whenever I descended the mountain. Master Xiao had warned me repeatedly... I thought being a member of the Li Family would shield me from such temptations, but..."
Li Ximing's voice was muffled as he confessed, "In truth, I feared the Clan Affairs Courtyard. I'm worried about tarnishing my father's reputation. With the elders looming over us, I have to behave myself. If I could get away with doing all that, I would have caved and given in to those temptations already..."
His demeanor was flustered, nearly panicked.
Li Xijun was taken aback, his expression shifting dramatically before he could no longer contain himself and interrupted anxiously, "Y-You've... broken your Yang Essence already?! With someone from the Xiao Family no less! Our fathers took extensive precautions and planned everything meticulously, yet you..."
"Did you father any children?" he asked suddenly.
Li Ximing shook his head silently, tears streaking his face as he replied, "I don't know."
"You don't know?" Li Xijun stood up abruptly, gripping his sleeves tightly with an unreadable expression on his face.
Finally, he flung his sleeve and said coldly, "You don't know?! No wonder... No wonder!"
Li Ximing snapped his head up as if he had been kicked, and pleaded, "Xijun! I...I am... No, please listen to me..."
He scrambled on the ground, standing abruptly, losing his composure momentarily as he blurted out, "I've had many discussions with Brother Cheng. I'm different from you. The words I shared with my father were often guided by my mother and grandmother. I am not the talent meant to carry the Li Family to success..."
Gazing at the silent Li Xijun before him, Li Ximing felt a surge of regret and fear as he thought to himself, Ah, it would be better to be honest with him! At least, I wouldn't have to keep up this pretense...
"You!"
Li Xijun looked at Li Ximing's expression, memories of their night discussing clan affairs on the mountain surfacing. After some reflection, he realized Li Ximing had always cleverly agreed with him. Since they had been close as brothers, he had never really paid any attention to this until now.
"No wonder you were so eager to drink that night. I thought it was your first time drinking and you couldn't handle the alcohol. It turns out you wanted to get drunk quickly to avoid exposing your true self! They shouldn't have sent you to the Xiao Family!"
Looking at the expression on Li Xijun's face, Li Ximing suddenly calmed down. He waved his hands, the Azure Manifestation on his wrist clinking softly. With a gentle, resigned tone, he said quietly, "Xijun... not everyone can be like you."
Li Xijun closed his eyes, his demeanor turning frosty. After a long silence, he said, "Don't make any excuses. Come with me to the mountain and report everything. Let the clan make the decision."
"Fine."
As Li Ximing uttered his agreement, he was suddenly struck across the face, sending stars flashing before his eyes. His robe and jade crown were torn away, leaving his hair in disarray.
The jade crown lay shattered on the ground, his medicine pouch and its contents scattered around him. He was clad only in a thin layer of white undergarment.
Li Ximing finally registered what happened. He touched his nose and found it bloody. He then heard Li Xijun's icy voice break the silence.
"Stay stripped of clothes and crown while you wait for your punishment!"
————
Buzz...
The golden bowstring hummed softly. The middle-aged man lowered the longbow adorned with mysterious runes in his large hands.
In the distance, an eagle lay in a pool of blood, its innards crushed. Two men approached him from behind and showered him with words of flattery.
"General, you've truly earned your title as the Golden Bowstring! That shot was swift and masterful...!"
They were from the Ning Family, sent by Ning Hejing. Despite their flattery, Li Xuanfeng remained stoic. As the cultivator below dragged the slain beast closer, he responded gruffly, "Flattery breeds complacency, do not speak of it again."
Since the flattery did not work, the flatterers quickly shifted the conversation to something else. They looked at the person presenting an eagle egg and exclaimed, "Congratulations, General! This Foundation Establishment Realm beast has left behind an offspring!"
Li Xuanfeng accepted the egg casually and then soared into the wind. He slung his bow over his back, then fished out a jade pendant from his storage pouch to enter the city.
Ning Hejing has credited me with more than ten small merits... Together with my recent hunts, I should be able to redeem an Essence Gathering Pill without any issue.
Considering the timing, Yuanjiao is likely about to establish his foundation. If only I could get Liu Changdie to bring it out with him...
As soon as he landed in the city, a crowd gathered around him, chanting, "General!"
Li Xuanfeng offered a small smile and exchanged a few pleasantries with the crowd when a woman descended gracefully onto the city wall.
She was clad in the green outfit that the cultivators of the immortal sect typically wore. The gold embroidery on her sleeves indicated her status as a peak master. Her eyebrows arched softly above her warm eyes, and she appeared to be in her twenties.
The gathered clan cultivators fell silent and swiftly dispersed. Li Xuanfeng cupped his fist respectfully and said, "I am Li Xuanfeng. May I ask which peak master graces us today?"
"Greetings, General. I am Ningwan from Moon Lake Peak," she replied.
Ning Wan was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator who had refined the Pine Forest Wind into the immortal foundation known as Clear Hearing . She exuded a subtle pine fragrance—refreshing yet bitter.
Bathed in moonlight, she seemed almost ethereal.
Li Xuanfeng bowed his head as Ning Wan continued softly, "I have been waiting a long time... I did not expect the General to be so devoted to his duties. Please bathe and change your clothes; you have been summoned by a Daoist Master."
Li Xuanfeng was slightly taken aback. He remained solemn, despite feeling puzzled.
Daoist Master Yuan Su...? What is this about?
He nodded then retreated to change his attire, stowing his bow in his storage pouch before exiting his cave-dwelling. Ning Wan was still waiting outside the courtyard, idly toying with a string of jade beads.
Upon seeing Li Xuanfeng emerge from the cave, she nodded slightly before both of them took to the wind.
Ning Wan suddenly asked, "When did your clan move to Moongaze Lake? The great war back then devastated the southern shore, extinguishing all life there. I'm guessing it must have been within the last three hundred years."
Caught off guard by her abrupt question, Li Xuanfeng replied, "According to my clan's records, it was indeed three hundred years after that great war. The spiritual energy of the southern shore was cut off for more than two centuries, deterring any visitors, forcing us to live as mortals for those three hundred years."
"Ah."
Ning Wan smiled gently, her eyebrows arching playfully as she softly remarked, "Mortals with spiritual orifices and three generations of Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators... Fellow Daoist, you must be jesting. Such tales, if shared with the Daoist Master, might lead to serious consequences."
Her words, soft as the breeze, reverberated in his ears like thunder. Li Xuanfeng suddenly looked up, locking eyes with Ning Wan's soft gaze.
Ning Wan, renowned as the most beautiful woman of Azure Pond and nicknamed the Fairy of the Autumn Lake even before she established her foundation, indeed had captivating eyes. However, Li Xuanfeng was not in the mood to appreciate them.
Is she trying to warn me? Why? My family has no ties to her, so why would she offer help?
What is Yuan Su trying to do...? Are they trying to unearth my family's secrets?