"Good! Another one, and from the bloodline of our Li Family!"
Listening to the gentle voice of Li Tongya on the stage, Ye Chengfu sprung from the ground like he was electrified, excitedly gazing at the flustered Li Qiuyang on the stage, wishing he could laugh heartily towards the sky thrice.
"Since your surname is Ye, who is your father?"
Li Tongya asked with a smile.
"Ye... Ye Chengfu."
Li Qiuyang glanced at the exuberant Ye Chengfu below the stage and timidly replied.
"Congratulations to Brother Chengfu."
Li Tongya followed the child's gaze and looked down, greeting him warmly with a smile.
"Thank you, Immortal Master!"
Ye Chengfu, not daring to show arrogance, responded with great politeness, but couldn't suppress the corners of his mouth from curling up, excitedly bowing his hands in a respectful reply.
Li Tongya shook his head with a smile, finished testing the rest of the people, and then announced loudly:
"Those remaining are without destiny, the stewards stay behind, the rest may return to the village."
The crowd below stirred for a while, with sighs of regret coming from all around. After the noise of a tea's time, they dispersed in different directions, leaving the village. Li Tongya's companion Li Yesheng stepped forward and said:
"Three stewards, follow me to the Li Family estate to check the land deeds and accounts."
Chen Erniu and the other two naturally agreed together and followed Li Yesheng towards the Li estate.
Li Tongya descended the stage, looking at the overwhelmed Ye Chengfu and the Liu Clan elder from Jingyang Village, and said softly:
"Please come with me."
Ye Chengfu nodded hurriedly, walking while clutching his child tightly to his chest, tears streaming down his face as he murmured softly:
"Good, good."
----
Ye Chengfu and Li Qiuyang offered incense at the ancestral hall, knelt down, and respectfully kowtowed, reclaiming their clan surname in the presence of all the members of the Li family.
"Clan Leader!"
Li Mutian, being the eldest of the Li Clan's direct lineage, naturally sat at the highest position in the courtyard. Following the rules, the two offered him tea first, kneeling in front of him and listening attentively.
"Qiuyang is also a child of the Li Clan. Now that he possesses a Spirit Aperture, it is natural to pass on the secret methods."
Li Mutian received a wooden slip in his hand and then softly said:
"The clan bestows upon you the 'Qingyuan Cultivation Method.' You must diligently cultivate, honor your ancestors, uphold the way, maintain kinship, and most importantly, never divulge the secret essentials of the Immortal Law, lest it attracts the covetousness of others."
The young boy who was now Li Qiuyang bowed deeply, speaking firmly as he replied:
"I will bear the Clan Leader's teachings in mind."
"You will go with Xiangping to the Spiritual Fields of Jingyang Village. On regular days, you will cultivate under his guidance. You must not leave until you have formed the Xuanjing Wheel."
Li Mutian nodded, stating the arrangements.
"Yes!"
Li Qiuyang stood up to take the wooden slip from his hand. Still an eight or nine-year-old child, he turned around with a crying tone, choking up as he said to his father Li Chengfu:
"Father, I shall go with the master to cultivate."
"Good, good! Don't worry about things at home at all, dad will bring your clothes and necessities to the Jingyang courtyard tomorrow. You just focus on cultivating, just focus on cultivating..."
Li Chengfu repeatedly nodded, his eyes reddening as he instructed.
"Come, Qiuyang."
Li Xiangping smiled gently, took Li Qiuyang's small hand, nodded to his father Li Mutian, and then walked out the door.
"Chengfu, you should also get ready. In a few days, move the family to the back of the village,"
Li Mutian coughed and said with a frown.
Li Chengfu hurriedly acknowledged his words, seeing the expressions on their faces, quickly excused himself.
Watching Li Chengfu hastily leave the door and walk far away, Li Mutian spoke in a deep voice:
"That girl from the Liu Family, you take care of her for now. Instruct her in the Lijing small courtyard. If she becomes a Xuanjing one day, do not pass on any spells to her just yet."
"Father's plans are sound. We can simply have members of the Li family oversee Jingyang Village on behalf of the Liu Family. We can relocate the cultivators from the Liu Family to Lijing to monitor them, that way we can prevent them from becoming too powerful,"
Li Tongya exclaimed in admiration.
"It's still early."
Li Mutian narrowed his eyes and gently sipped his tea, continuing:
"These children lack the support of a Mirror, have no cultivation provisions or elixirs. How can they become Xuanjing within a year?"
"Far from it!"
Li Tongya shook his head and explained:
"I've read through the Qingyuan Cultivation Method. The mana developed through it is likely to be insubstantial and weak, and the circulation of mana is also burdened with many drawbacks. To refine into a Xuanjing would take over three years."
"That's settled then. Since the Qingyuan Cultivation Method doesn't yield great accomplishments and is slow, there's no need to be too guarded. But it's always good to have a contingency."
"As you say, Father."
Li Tongya nodded, gently put down his cup, and seeing Li Mutian staring into the distance as if lost in thought, he gave a wry smile, bowed, and excused himself.
Li Mutian sat alone quietly in the high seat of the courtyard, and after a long while, he sighed softly.
"Not ruthless enough..."
-------------
Xu Wenshan had been managing Lidao Entrance for over four months, arranged for several assistants to take their roles, and had the village guards well disciplined.
Having come from managing a caravan, taking charge of a small village was naturally a breeze for him. Lidao Entrance was a mix of many surnames, and even though the situation was complex, it lacked the constraints of significant families and clans. Xu Wenshan took just one month to get the entire village under his control.
But as he found himself with downtime, Xu Wenshan pondered how to distinguish himself before his superiors to outshine Chen Erniu, finding that merely sitting in the village collecting rent and managing accounts was underselling his abilities.
Bored, he flipped through the map in his hands, daydreaming.
Speaking of Chen Erniu, frictions over the division of fields and water sources between the two villages were incessant, and Xu Wenshan was naturally happy to engage in these conflicts. Now, whenever people in Lidao Entrance spoke of Chen Erniu's Lichuan Entrance, they gritted their teeth, wishing they could punch him.
"Having an enemy makes it easier for people to rally around me, Xu Wenshan!" he thought proudly.
Furthermore, when he managed the caravan, he never liked his subordinates getting along too well. He always stirred up some conflicts.
He couldn't believe that the Li Family didn't have informants in these villages. Putting himself in their shoes, Xu Wenshan, of course, wanted to keep squabbling with Chen Erniu to make his superiors happy.
"I've won over Chen Erniu too many times already."
He muttered to himself, his thoughts returning to the map in front of him. His eyes lingered on the twisted and turning ancient Lidao, and a thought suddenly struck him.
"Why not return to my old trade?"
He slapped his thigh, thinking excitedly:
"All of these villages are stuck on this ancient Lidao, their goods cannot circulate, and each household farms and weaves, self-sufficient. I, Xu Wenshan, have been on that road for over twenty years, so why can't I work it out here?"
"Now that the main house cultivates the Immortal Path, these mortal goods become somewhat optional. Instead, if we open up the mountain path and sell all this grain and silk, perhaps we could exchange them for some jade and spiritual objects. That would be of real use."
Thinking this, Xu Wenshan could no longer sit still. He called a few companions who had fled with him, shared the plan, and they all immediately applauded in agreement.
"I'll go to the main house to discuss this in detail right away!"
Xu Wenshan laughed heartily and left with his companions.