Chapter 1756: Variant Body (II)

Li Jiangzong's heart skipped a beat as he immediately sensed trouble. Li Ximing might spend his days in seclusion, but how could a Daoist Master like him possibly be unaware of Li Suiqing? Sure enough, Li Ximing's smile faded slightly as he turned his attention to Li Zhouda.

The man knelt before the platform and immediately began to report, "While inspecting the western shore, I received a report from the Jade Court. Young Master Suiqing's household servant Yan Kuai has a nephew who became excessively close with Tian Pan, the overseer of the White Rainbow Jade mining fields on the western shore. He secretly had cultivators from the various peaks purchase the jade with gold and then hand it over to him, allowing him alone to monopolize the entire production quota...

"With the realm in chaos and supplies no longer circulating freely, cultivators on the western shore who need White Rainbow Jade can only buy it from Yan Kuai at inflated prices, allowing him to profit from the difference..."

Li Ximing asked casually, "What does the law prescribe?"

Li Zhouda bowed and replied, "Young Master Suiqing privately colluded with an overseer and manipulated prices. All illicit gains are to be confiscated, and he is to receive three hundred strokes of the Thunder Whip and ten years of confinement in the mountains. Tian Pan is to be stripped of his post and taken into custody for interrogation. Yan Kuai and the other subordinates are to be executed."

The young man kneeling on the floor gritted his teeth and protested, "I had the ability to buy it and the means to sell it. What right do you have to say I manipulated prices?!"

A flicker of alarm crossed Li Jiangzong's eyes. His face darkened as he gritted his teeth and turned to hiss, "What ability do you have? All you did was rely on the family's influence!"

Li Suiqing's cultivation was poor, and three hundred strokes of the Thunder Whip could cost him his life. Clearly, for all that Li Jiangzong spoke harshly of punishing and killing his own son, he could not truly bear to see it happen. Otherwise, he would never have brought the matter into this hall for judgment.

Li Suiqing merely sneered. There was not the slightest trace of fear on the young man's face as his lips curled into a grin. "And you think standing here today is because of your own ability?"

Those words struck like a thunderbolt, offending more people than could be counted. Yet Li Jiangzong felt not the slightest anger at being insulted. Instead, cold sweat broke out across his body as his heart seemed to collapse within him.

You... You wretched, worthless brat! You still dare to be defiant? You still refuse to yield!

Then two soft chuckles came from above. The smile had completely vanished from the Daoist Master's face, replaced by a trace of coldness. He regarded the young man with faint interest and said, "Go to Qingdu and receive your punishment."

It seemed almost like an illusion. As those mild words rang out, the figure seated in the main seat suddenly seemed infinitely lofty and distant, hovering indistinctly at the edge of the heavens. At the same time, it was as though everyone below had fallen together into a bottomless abyss, growing farther and farther away from him.

In an instant, Li Suiqing's expression changed completely. The defiance in his dark gray eyes melted away like ice beneath the spring breeze. His fierce, self-righteous malice and venom vanished without a trace, and he knelt there like a docile lamb, looking somewhat dazed and at a loss.

Yes...

He cautiously shifted his knees twice before rising to his feet and saying respectfully, "I was ignorant and disturbed my lord."

He then bent at the waist and, still facing the main seat, backed away step by step. At the entrance to the hall, he respectfully kowtowed three times before turning courteously toward a nearby guard.

Under the man's ghost-struck stare, he said gently, "Please escort me there."

In that instant, the entire hall fell silent. Li Jiangzong's face visibly drained of color as terror and anguish surged through him. His nose burned while the center of his brows went cold, and he knelt there as if turned to wood, looking blankly at his father.

Li Zhoufang kept his forehead pressed firmly to the floor, weeping silently.

Li Jiangzong suddenly came to his senses. With a thud, he dropped to his knees beside the main seat and shuffled forward on them. His lips were pale, his eyes bloodshot, and his voice trembled as he pleaded through tears, "Daoist Master... Please spare him... No matter how unruly he is, he is still my son... I am willing to imprison him for the rest of his life... Daoist Master... I beg you... Daoist Master! I am willing to die in his place!"

What Li Jiangzong feared was naturally not the three hundred strokes of the Thunder Whip. Whether because of Li Jiangzong's own authority or Li Suiqing's status as a direct descendant of the first lineage, unless the order explicitly called for execution, no one would dare beat him to death! At worst, they would cripple him. But if there was no way to undo what Li Ximing had done with that glance, then in every meaningful sense, he had already killed Li Suiqing!

When those words fell, the [Light of the Six Directions] flickering ceaselessly at the fingertips of the Daoist Master in white-golden robes seemed to sense something. It kept issuing faint warnings, as though it might leap forth at any moment and choose someone to devour. Li Ximing slowly raised his head, swept his gaze across the juniors before him, and finally met Li Jiangzong's eyes.

The man who wielded the Li Family's secular authority had crystalline beads of cold sweat covering his face, yet he did not dare avert his gaze. Fortunately, nothing terrible happened.

Daoist Master Zhaojing lowered his brows, concealing the look in his eyes, and shook his head. "You misunderstand. It will undo itself after three days."

Li Jiangzong shuffled backward a step, then kowtowed in bewildered relief as he wept. "Jiangzong thanks the Daoist Master! Jiangzong... Jiangzong has offended you... Jiangzong is willing to accept punishment!"

His words echoed through the hall. Only then did Li Zhouda realize what was happening and close his mouth. He dropped to his knees as well, unsure what to say.

There was little amusement left in Li Ximing's expression. He even seemed somewhat weary of the junior's apology. Closing his eyes, he said mildly, "Bring up what I told you to prepare, then all of you leave."

Li Jiangzong rose with his back bent and took a step to the side. From a separate table nearby, he lifted a tray of clothing and respectfully presented it on his knees beside the Daoist Master's desk. Only then did he hurry out and firmly close the hall's two doors behind him.

The hall instantly fell silent. Only the ritual lamp flickered faintly, making light and shadow shift across Li Ximing's profile. The Daoist Master did not touch the jade tray. He simply sat there in silence, gazing quietly at the tightly shut doors.

After an unknown span of time, his gaze finally shifted. With some hesitation, he looked at the invisible Light of the Six Directions flickering at his fingertips.

Radiance Under Heaven...

————

Outside the hall.

The guards nearby had long since been dismissed. Li Jiangzong pressed firmly against the hall doors until he confirmed that the formation within had begun operating. Then he stepped back and kowtowed heavily three times.

Li Zhoufang stood silently behind his eldest son with his eyes tightly shut, unsure what to say. He hurriedly reached for Li Jiangzong's hand and found it ice-cold, clenched so tightly that the knuckles had gone white.

The sky had already darkened. Without exchanging a word, father and son supported each other as they descended from the hall beneath Li Zhouda's dazed gaze. They walked through the dim corridor for a while before hastily entering a side hall.

Li Jiangzong's steps were stiff. He found that only a single ritual lamp had been lit in the side hall, standing perfectly upright at its center. Its glow was not particularly bright, yet it dispelled every trace of darkness. Everything above, below, and all around was revealed in minute detail. Even the patterns along the inner wall of an open teapot could be seen with perfect clarity, and the light made his eyes ache.

His father, Li Zhoufang, hurriedly closed the hall doors. He shut his eyes as tears streamed down his face.

He said regretfully, "It's all my fault... I should never have brought him here!"

Li Jiangzong seemed no longer able to hear what he was saying. His eyes remained vacant as he stood motionless for several breaths. Then he suddenly seized his father's hand and clenched it so tightly that Li Zhoufang winced in pain.

After a long while, the eldest son finally steadied himself and asked hesitantly in a low voice, "Father, you know me better than anyone. You understand me better than anyone. Look at me... Look at me..."

His pupils dilated, and his voice trembled. "Do I still seem like Li Jiangzong? Am I still Li Jiangzong?"

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