That night, Lijing Village blazed with lamplight. Every household was full of laughter. The children raced about the village as if it were New Year's, shrieking and chasing one another.
Liu Linfeng led men to heap up a great bonfire in the open ground at the center of the village. The villagers gathered around the flames, chattering as they discussed the slain great serpent. The men boasted of their part, the firelight painting each face a flushed red.
At dusk, Li Yesheng had needed a full ten men to drag the long serpent down the mountain. They had painstakingly stripped away its scales. The village women sliced the meat thin and laid it out in three great basins, marinated in scallion, ginger, and cooking wine, set beside the bonfire. Each household brought its own meat and vegetables, and the people chatted beside the fire.
Li Mutian had never been one for such revelry. Too lazy to leave his courtyard, he let Li Xiangping and Li Tongya post men to watch the spiritual root and come down the mountain first.
"Our knowledge is shallow, and we don't recognize this spiritual root. We don't know its uses or its taboos. Best to leave it alone for now and, another day, quietly inquire at some marketplace."
Li Xiangping spoke as he sat before the bonfire, turning his head to address his elder brother.
"Naturally."
Li Tongya nodded. He lifted his gaze to the three wooden basins, plucked a slice of serpent meat with his fingers, and saw the meat sliced thin as a cicada's wing, almost translucent. He laughed at once:
"The Lixia Secret Codex has it: 'When scaled beasts, birds, and insects become yao, they swallow the essence of sun and moon. Their flesh breeds spiritual qi. To eat it strengthens the body and fills the blood and qi.' Let Father have more of it."
"It was sent to the courtyard long ago."
Li Xiangping skewered a slice of serpent meat on a stick, grilling it over the fire with a sizzling sound, and went on:
"The serpent's gall was as big as two fists. It was sent to the courtyard to soak in wine."
As the two brothers chatted, Li Yesheng came forward with Xu Wenshan. Li Tongya lifted his head, raised an eyebrow, and gestured for them to speak.
"You mean to open commerce on the Ancient Li Road, to sell off the surplus of all the villages?"
After hearing Xu Wenshan's confident description, Li Xiangping and Li Tongya exchanged a glance, both thoughtful. What Xu Wenshan planned was exactly what the two brothers had in mind.
Li Tongya considered for a few breaths, then said:
"Very well. You and Liu Linfeng shall manage this together. Apart from your own fellows, draw the remaining hands from the Liu clan for now."
Seeing Xu Wenshan's great joy, Li Xiangping said in a low voice:
"There are still a few immortal clans along the Ancient Li Road. If we are to open trade, we cannot avoid consulting them. First, send men to probe and make contact carefully. Mark the inhabited places along the Ancient Li Road and draw up a rough map."
"I understand, sir!"
Xu Wenshan listened carefully, then raised his head and thumped his chest, swearing:
"Set your minds at ease. I, Old Xu, have walked the Lixia Road for more than ten years. The tricks of the trade are second nature to me. If only I had been to the Ancient Li Road before, I could have drawn that map for you on the spot."
Xu Wenshan, ablaze with zeal, hurried off to find his fellows. Li Tongya ate the serpent meat and said quietly to Li Yesheng:
"Uncle Ye is idle at home. Better he come out and do something. That Xu Wenshan is sly as a fox. Even though most of the Liu men have been placed inside, you must still keep an eye on him, Li Yesheng. Don't let him grow too powerful."
"I understand!"
Li Yesheng answered quickly. Having followed the two brothers for so long, he was becoming more and more practiced. Inwardly he grew wary of Xu Wenshan.
"Tomorrow, find some reliable men of our own. Go up the mountain and wall the banyan tree in with a small courtyard. Keep others from sneaking a look…"
When Li Xiangping finished speaking, he waved his hand, and Li Yesheng took his leave on his own. Li Tongya gave a soft sigh and said in a low voice:
"If our Li family did not lack the men to hold the field, we would not need to scheme and guard against others at every turn."
Li Xiangping, head bowed, ate the serpent meat and silently tightened his grip on the skewer. He answered:
"We should have gone to that marketplace. Buying a map would have been the easiest thing. Only the two of us are weak in cultivation, and the depths of that marketplace are unknown. We cannot risk it."
"Set your mind at ease!"
Li Tongya saw Li Xiangping looking glum and laughed aloud:
"Now Jing'er has entered the sect. The spirit seedling at home is growing well. The clan has produced a disciple with a spiritual aperture, and we have discovered this spiritual root. Our Li family is flourishing. To be too grasping would only invite disaster."
This struck Li Xiangping dumb for a moment. He nodded thoughtfully and laughed:
"I will heed my elder brother's teaching!"
— — —
Li Chengfu had now moved close to the main house, and his life had changed through and through. He had returned to the clan's surname, and there was not a soul in Lijing Village who, speaking of him, did not say that Li Chengfu was truly blessed!
He could not be said to bully his way through the village, but at the very least he cut a fine figure. Who saw him and did not address him with proper respect?
Naturally, the elders of the Ye clan watched him with envy. Even Liu Linfeng, who had barely glanced at him before, now met him with a smile and called him Chengfu.
That said, although Li Chengfu was very pleased with himself, he did not dare to put on airs in front of Liu Linfeng. After all, Liu Linfeng was the true-born uncle of the main line. Although his fortunes had fallen, who could say he would not rise again one day?
Sure enough, it had been only a few months since Liu Linfeng's fall from grace when, with a single order from the main house, he was suddenly put in charge of dozens of men, running back and forth across the village, drawing some strange map. The smile on Liu Linfeng's face was so wide it was about to drip onto the ground!
Sitting in the village tavern, Li Chengfu sipped his wine with relish and watched Liu Linfeng, busy as a spinning top from morning to night, and laughed to himself.
"Your task is hardly an easy one, Liu Linfeng! Where is the comfort I, Li Chengfu, enjoy?"
"Brother Fu, Brother Fu, tell us, what wondrous arts do the immortals have? Why is it you people are always running up the mountain day after day?"
Looking at the loafers around him, all eyes wide with gossip, Li Chengfu gave a cold snort, flicked his sleeve, and called out loudly:
"Shut up! All of you, make way!"
He, Li Chengfu, was no fool. The Li clan was thin in numbers. As a commoner-born but trusted man of the main house, he and his two children were now building the small courtyard up the mountain. Li Yesheng had strictly forbidden any leak of the secret. Could Li Chengfu be stupid enough to sell out his own family for a bit of attention?
Inside, the middle-aged man's calculations were crystal-clear. His own child had been blessed with the spiritual aperture, and the blood was Li. Setting aside the three men now managing affairs — Li Tongya, Li Xiangping, and Li Yesheng — the fourth seat was as good as his! As for Liu Rouxuan, she was an outsider; what business did she have to butt in?
Now that he and his three children — one cultivator and two mortals — had all taken the Li surname, the Li clan's interests were Li Qiuyang's interests, and they were Li Chengfu's interests. How could he sell out his own family?
"Back to work!"
Li Chengfu waved his hand, drained the last of the clear wine in his bowl, and swaggered out from among the loafers.
The courtyard on the mountain was large, and the work schedule was tight. Li Chengfu had little time to waste here.