[Chapter 24]
"Excellent! Another one with a spiritual orifice, and a descendant of the Li Family at that!" Li Tongya exclaimed on the platform.
Hearing this, Ye Chengfu leaped up as if he had been electrified. His eyes fixed on the bewildered Ye Qiuyang, brimming with such exuberance that he had to suppress his urge to roar with heartfelt laughter toward the heavens.
"Your surname is Ye, so who is your father?" Li Tongya inquired with a gentle smile.
"Y-Ye Chengfu," Ye Qiuyang murmured, glancing at his father, who was dancing with joy below the platform.
Li Tongya followed the boy's gaze and acknowledged the man with a smile. "Congratulations, Brother Chengfu."
"Thank you, Immortal Master!" Ye Chengfu quickly cupped his fist respectfully in gratitude, his face beaming with an uncontrollable smile.
Li Tongya smiled and shook his head, then proceeded to assess the remaining children.
Once finished, he announced to the crowd, "The remaining children aren't the chosen ones, you may return to your villages."
Soft murmurs of disappointment swept through those gathered below the platform, but soon the crowd began to disperse, each heading in different directions and back to their villages.
Li Yesheng, standing beside Li Tongya, called out to the village managers, "Please accompany me to the Li Residence to verify some deeds and accounts."
Chen Erniu and the other two village managers promptly agreed and followed Li Yesheng.
Li Tongya got off the platform, then looked at Ye Chengfu and the elder from the Liu Family of Jingyang Village and said softly, "Please, come with me."
Ye Chengfu, holding his child close and with tears of joy in his eyes, nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, of course."
Ye Chengfu and Ye Qiuyang offered a stick of incense in the ancestral hall, then kneeled and pressed their foreheads to the ground.
In the presence of the members of the Li Family, they officially restored their surname from Ye to Li.
As the oldest member of the Li Family, Li Mutian sat prominently at the front of the courtyard.
"Chief!" The two offered tea to Li Mutian as a gesture of respect, then knelt before him and listened attentively to what he was about to say.
"Qiuyang is now a disciple of our Li Family. He possesses a spiritual orifice, so it's only right that he learns our ways." Li Mutian took a wooden slip and continued softly, "The clan entrusts you with the Azure Essence Meridian Nourishment Technique. Dedicate yourself to cultivation. Honor the sect, the Dao, and your family. And remember, never reveal the secrets of the immortal techniques to avoid unwanted attention."
The boy, now known by the name Li Qiuyang, bowed deeply.
"I will heed the Chief's teachings," he vowed with a resolute look.
"You will join Xiangping and cultivate at the spirit field of Jingyang Village. You are not allowed to leave until you condense the Profound Scenery Chakra," Li Mutian instructed.
"Understood!" Li Qiuyang rose, accepting the wooden slip.
The voice of the child of eight or nine years of age wavered with emotion as he turned to his father, Ye Chengfu, and said, "Father, I'll be leaving with the main family to cultivate then."
"Yes, my son. Don't worry about home. Tomorrow, I'll send your clothes and other daily necessities to the courtyard in Jinyang Village. Just focus on your cultivation, that's all that matters…" Ye Chengfu responded with a nod, his eyes brimming with tears.
"Come, Qiuyang." Li Xiangping offered a warm smile and gently took Li Qiuyang's small hand. He nodded to his father, Li Mutian, and then left the residence.
Li Mutian cleared his throat, then furrowed his brow as he said, "You should start packing as well, Chengfu. You may move your family to the village in a few days."
Li Chengfu quickly agreed, glancing at the two men before excusing himself to leave.
After watching Li Chengfu hurry off, Li Mutian spoke in a serious tone, "Take that girl from the Liu Family with you for the time being. Guide her training in the small courtyard at Lijing Village. Let her condense the Profound Scenery Chakra first, but no need to teach her any spells yet."
"A wise plan, Father. A trusted member of the Li Family will oversee Jingyang Village in the Liu Family's stead, and their immortal cultivator will be relocated to Lijing Village to keep an eye on things. That way, it'll make it hard for them to cause any trouble," Li Tongya responded with respect, impressed by his father's wisdom.
"It's still too early for them to do that." Li Mutian narrowed his eyes while sipping his tea before he continued, "Without the mirror's assistance or immortal cultivation pills, it might take them a year to condense the Profound Scenery Chakra, don't you think?"
"It'll take even longer." Li Tongya shook his head and explained, "I read through the Azure Essence Meridian Nourishment Technique. The mana cultivated through this method tends to be light and weak. Moreover, the process of channeling this mana is quite burdensome. Considering these factors, condensing the Profound Scenery Chakra could take over three years."
"Indeed, if the Azure Essence Meridian Nourishment Technique is not as effective and the progress is slow, there's no need for undue vigilance. But we must always remain cautious just in case," Li Mutian said.
"You're right, Father," Li Tongya agreed, setting down his tea cup. Noticing Li Mutian lost in thought, gazing into the distance, he respectfully cupped his fist and excused himself.
Li Mutian remained seated in the courtyard alone, lost in contemplation for a long while before letting out a soft sigh.
"Not vicious enough…"
Xu Wenshan had been overseeing Lidaokou Village for over four months now. He had delegated some of his tasks to a few assistants, and the villagers were firmly under his control.
Having previously commanded a caravan, Xu Wenshan found overseeing a small village like Lidaokou relatively straightforward. Despite the complex mix of surnames and dynamics in the village, the absence of prominent familial influence worked in his favor. Within a month, he had a solid understanding of the entire village's workings.
Yet, Xu Wenshan was not one to remain idle. He was always contemplating how to make a lasting impression on his superiors and overshadow Chen Erniu. Simply managing rents and accounts in the village felt like an underuse of his abilities.
As he mindlessly fiddled with a map, Xu Wenshan pondered over his rivalry with Chen Erniu.
The relationship between them was marked by consistent friction, especially over the allocation of fields and water resources between their villages.
Xu Wenshan found a certain satisfaction in these conflicts. He was aware of how the villagers in Lidaokou spoke resentfully about Chen Erniu of Lichuankou, almost as if they were itching to punch him in the face.
Having an enemy is an effective way to consolidate support for myself, he thought smugly.
While Xu Wenshan was managing the caravan, he had always preferred to keep a distance from his subordinates and enjoyed stirring the pot among them.
Xu Wenshan was certain the Li family had informants in the villages, so he saw his conflict with Chen Erniu as a way to impress his superiors.
"I've already outsmarted Chen Erniu on many occasions," he mused, returning his attention to the map before him. His eyes landed on the winding Guli Road and an idea popped into his mind.
"Why not return to my old ways?" He smacked his thigh as a plan began forming in his mind.
"The village is isolated along the Guli Road, effectively cutting off trade. As a result, the families are forced to farm and weave in order to be self-sufficient. Having worked in this industry for over twenty years, am I not capable of changing this situation?"
"The main family is focused on immortal cultivation, so these worldly goods might seem trivial to them. Why not open up the mountain road and sell the surplus grain and silk fabrics? Perhaps we could even trade them for valuable items like jade and spirit items. Those could be useful to the main family."
Excited by his own plan, Xu Wenshan quickly called his trusted assistants, who were the refugees that had fled alongside him in the past, to discuss the idea.
The group immediately saw the potential and enthusiastically agreed that it was a good proposal.
"I'll present this idea to the main family in detail!" Xu Wenshan declared, laughing heartily as he led his group out the door.