Chapter 1606: Father Elder Brother (I)

A biting wind howled through the forest as snow piled high upon the ground, leaving the woods bleak and desolate.

The middle-aged man stood silently amid the blizzard, his face pale as he pulled his robes tightly around himself. His gaze was distant and unfocused as he remained still, allowing the snow to gather upon his clothing while layer upon layer of snow descended from the sky.

Before long, a young man with a cold, sharp gaze made his way up the slope. He knelt beside him and bowed. "Family head... That Black Langur has come again... He says he has come to collect this year's blood food."

A sickly flush rose on the middle-aged man's face. After coughing twice, he slowly closed his eyes and replied, "If he wants it, then give it to him..."

The young man clenched his teeth and accepted the order. "Yes..."

He rose to his feet, but after taking only a few steps, the middle-aged man called out to him once more.

"Suining..."

Li Suining turned back and saw the man open his eyes before speaking calmly, "I'm afraid I do not have much time left..."

A pang of sorrow welled up in Li Suining's heart. He stepped forward and said in a low voice, "Fifth granduncle, please focus on recovering from your injuries. If the Daoist Master were still here, he would never wish to see you treat yourself so lightly..."

"The Daoist Master..." The middle-aged man coughed several times. Deep hatred surfaced in his eyes, while pain etched itself across his brow. "I am ashamed to bear his bloodline. I possess neither the divine ability of the King of Wei nor any talent for alchemy. What a pity... what a pity..."

He paused before speaking in a hollow voice, "Suining."

Li Suining raised his brows and listened. "Run for your life."

Li Suining fell silent, staring bleakly at the snowstorm on the horizon. The middle-aged man continued to mutter, "You are the only remaining junior of our family with any respectable cultivation... and the one who has made us the proudest. Li Xixuan may have his faults, but he is no fool. Yet even he is not as clever as you. You know it as well as I do. If you stay here, you'll die all the same...

"Now even Daoist Master Ning has fallen. If even a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator could meet such an end, what hope is there for people like us? Stay here, and death is only a matter of time. You would be better off venturing out. Perhaps you might find a sliver of hope."

The young man remained silent, listening as the man continued, "We are all going to die... The moment that decree came down all those years ago, it became clear. Every one of us is doomed... The Bright Yang bloodline must be wiped out, otherwise they will never know peace day or night... I, Li Zhouming... I, Li Zhouming, am nothing more than bait...

"Grandfather... the King of Wei... They are the real reason... the true objects of their hatred..."

Li Zhouming's face was deathly pale. He seemed overcome by exhaustion, yet there was a strange dazed look in his eyes as his lips moved faintly. "Father... Elder brother... heh..."

Li Suining remained silent, but cold sweat had already drenched his body. Watching the pale-faced middle-aged man slowly close his eyes as though drifting into sleep, he was struck by sudden terror.

He dropped to his knees and cried out urgently, "Fifth granduncle! Fifth granduncle!"

Blood slowly trickled from the man's nose as he slumped into Li Suining's chest. Li Suining's pupils dilated to their limits. This young man, who had always been calm and resolute, who had walked through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, finally broke down into heart-wrenching sobs.

He cried out, "Wanling... the Wanlin Blossom... it's gone, granduncle!"

Yet the man in his arms only grew weaker and weaker, muttering broken fragments of words, "The old... days... where have those scenes gone..."

"Fifth granduncle!"

————

The chill of early spring still lingered in the air.

The lamps within the room had long since been extinguished. Cabinets on both sides stood open, revealing stacks upon stacks of Daoist manuals. In the dimness, faint traces of writing could still be seen upon their covers.

The dark room was silent but for the light snoring of the person on the bed, footsteps passing outside, and, from somewhere even farther away, the distant strains of a softly sung tune.

"Sincerely... received the love of... immortals..."

Then the hurried footsteps abruptly stopped, and a child's clear voice rang out, "Brother Ning!"

The voice outside called several times in succession. Only then did the half-grown boy on the bed stir and roll over. Yet he could not open his eyes, as though trapped within a nightmare.

Creak!

The door was suddenly shoved open, producing a harsh scraping sound. A child no older than five or six rushed inside, his face bright with excitement as he shouted, "Brother Ning!"

The child had barely entered when the nanny chasing after him arrived in a fluster, sweat covering her forehead.

Her expression changed drastically as she hurriedly whispered, "Don't disturb your brother!"

The words struck like a clap of thunder, finally shattering the nightmare. The youth groggily opened his eyes. The snowy landscape vanished before him, and the old Li Zhouming disappeared as well, leaving him momentarily dazed.

So it was a dream... I'm not dead... I actually dreamed of Granduncle Zhouming...

He was not surprised. Li Zhouming's death had struck him deeply, and dreaming of him was only natural. Yet amid his confusion, a sudden doubt erupted from the depths of his heart.

Cen Lufu... Didn't she bring down the Pristine Sea... How am I still alive...

No... ever since I began cultivating, how many years has it been since I last dreamed?!

In the next instant, the youth sprang upright from the bed. His eyes snapped open, bright as winter stars and brimming with killing intent, their icy sharpness cutting through the room.

He barked, "Who is it?!"

That single glance sent a chill through the nanny's heart and raised goosebumps across her body. Unable to help herself, she wondered, What has gotten into the young master... Has he somehow come to resent the master...

Nevertheless, she bowed and forced a smile. "Young master, please forgive us for disturbing your rest..."

Yet as she bowed, Li Suining seemed to fall into a daze. His gaze landed upon the child before him, and his pupils rapidly widened.

"You... Kuan'er..."

He lifted his gaze and swept it across the room in disbelief, examining every furnishing from beginning to end. Hot blood surged through his chest and rushed all the way to the bridge of his nose. Then, all at once, he forced his expression back under control.

This is... This is... Dongdi Manor...

He closed his eyes at once, as though overcome by drowsiness, yet he was rapidly examining everything around him and the pitifully thin thread of spiritual qi within his body. Every bit of it was utterly unforgettable to him!

It's... Moongaze Lake of Tingzhou...

No matter how many hardships and tribulations he had later endured, no matter how many sleepless nights he spent listening to the wind and rain outside his window, his thoughts had always returned to the days upon the lake. When he had fallen into the Pristine Sea, this same scenery had appeared before his eyes, yet it had never felt as real as it did today.

"It seems... This is real..."

He neither asked for the year nor displayed any excessive shock. After a brief moment of dazed disbelief, he forcibly calmed himself and sat down.

He asked, "My little brother came looking for me... Has something happened at home?"

The nanny's heart skipped a beat. She knew there was no hiding it now. Sure enough, Li Suikuan smiled and said, "I came looking for elder brother. I just heard that our great-grandaunt from the lake is coming ashore! I came to find you the moment I heard!"

Great-grandaunt... That's right... At this time, she's still alive, and still a late Foundation Establishment Realm expert...

He rose absentmindedly without a word. After staggering forward a few steps, he stepped outside and slowly lifted his head, breathing in the lakeside breeze that made his heart tremble before gazing up at the sky.

There was only a single brilliant sun hanging in the sky. That martial star which shone day and night to illuminate the world had not yet appeared.

His heart started to race, as though it might leap straight from his throat. Hot blood coursed through his cheeks and eyes as he thought, Great Song has not yet been founded, and Shu's mandate has not yet been established... I am fifteen years old... There are still five full years before the first year of Siwu, before the Yang Family ascends the throne...

In this year, the Grand Daoist Master has not yet been granted the title of King of Wei. The Compassion Dao has not yet arrived, and the Changhe Rebellion has not yet occurred... Guest Cultivator Ding should still be on the lake, and that Wang fellow has not yet reached the Purple Mansion Realm...

My family has not even reached its peak yet. The days of splendor and prosperity have not arrived. The miracle of a single family producing four Purple Mansion Realm cultivators has not yet come to pass. And neither has the fall from that summit, the slow decline, nor the future in which our clan is exterminated in the southern border...

There's still time... Daoist Master Zhaojing will appear on the lake before departing for the Western Sea. There's still time for everything...

Countless thoughts rampaged through his mind, yet he forcibly suppressed every one of them. The skills he had honed over years of hardship, concealing his intentions beneath storms and snow, suddenly proved unexpectedly useful, allowing him to regain his composure in an instant.

I absolutely cannot expose myself... Even if the King of Wei once said that the various peaks benefited from Mount Dali and were protected by the [Azure Attainment Primordial Heart Instrument], beyond the sight of the great powers... I cannot underestimate them...

All these thoughts passed through Li Suining's mind in but a moment.

He turned back and smiled. "That's wonderful news!"

Li Suikuan puffed out his cheeks, drawing a fleeting softness into Li Suining's eyes. His own father had died young, while that great-granduncle, Li Chengzai, was hopelessly incompetent. Most of the Yuanwan lineage were mediocrities as well. Yet extremes often produced their opposite.

In the Suiyu generation, the brothers Li Suikuan and Li Suining, the only ones able to cultivate, were both exceptionally talented. Li Chengzai could never stand seeing him prosper, but Li Suikuan had always been clever, and had always sided with him. After the Battle of the Weidu, when the second manifestation appeared in the world, Li Suining had escaped alive, but this younger brother had died in battle long before, forever remaining beneath that mountain.

The clansmen often blamed him for the actions of his forebears. He hardly dared return to the lake, and never retreated a single step beneath that mountain...

In his previous life, only Li Chengzai had known of Li Minggong's arrival. He had merely instructed Li Suikuan to make preparations, but his younger brother had secretly come to inform him. Li Suining had immediately cancelled that day's autumn hunt and thus managed to meet her.

Thus, the two brothers had entered the island together. Otherwise, they would have arrived several days later. He might still have met Second Uncle Li Jianglong, but he would most likely have missed the chance to meet Li Ximing.

It was also because of Li Suikuan that he eventually stopped holding grudges against that fool Li Chengzai, though that was a story for another time.

He merely smiled and said, "Thank you, little brother... I had already agreed to join a few of the others for the autumn hunt today!"

Ignoring the nanny beside them, the youth strode forward, took his younger brother's hand, and led him outside.

When they reached the manor diagonally opposite, he calculated the time and said with a smile, "You go in first. It wouldn't be proper for me to visit empty-handed. I'll be there shortly."

Li Suikuan nodded and entered with a grin. Li Suining wandered around outside, picked up some fruit as a token gift, then kept his eyes fixed on the sky. Only when that streak of True Fire light arrived in an instant and descended into the courtyard did he step forward and knock on the door.

"Is my lady within? Suining has come to pay his respects!"

The door creaked open. Inside, everyone dropped to their knees in unison. A woman dressed in palace robes was standing at the center. Her features were dignified and elegant, her bearing gentle yet noble. Faint traces of True Fire shimmered about her body, while authority radiated from her eyes, carrying an overwhelming sense of pressure.

It was none other than Li Minggong!

Feigning pleasant surprise, he hurriedly bowed and respectfully said, "Greetings, great-grandaunt!"

Li Minggong nodded to him. Her gaze swept briefly over the fruit in his hands before she replied, "So you're second brother's descendant... Suining, isn't it?"

"Yes..."

The moment Li Suining saw her, his eyes began to sting.

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