A Dark Crow of Merit City flew down and landed on Li Xinnian's shoulder.
The message from the Hall of Heavenly Principle caused a glint of coldness to flash through Li Xinnian's eyes. However, his expression quickly returned to normal as he walked slowly toward the Ancestral Hall, though his steps were heavy.
Inside the Ancestral Hall was an area dedicated to the life tablets of the clansmen. Candles burned before them; if a candle was extinguished, it meant the soul had perished.
Sure enough, among the life tablets of the hundreds of family disciples, the candle before the one inscribed with the name [Li Qiukong] had long since gone out.
"Ai." Li Xinnian let out a long sigh.
In his many years as Family Head, Li Qiukong was the second descendant to die. Before him, there had been a child of the 'Jian' generation who lost his life while out on a trading journey.
The path to immortality is long, and the fates of the world's people are often fraught with misfortune.
One might escape natural disasters, but for cultivators, man-made calamities are far crueler than any act of heaven.
"Xinnian!" Nangong Qingya approached from behind.
Seeing Li Xinnian standing there for so long, lost in a daze, her expression changed.
The last time he was like this, her husband had stood there for seven days.
"Xinnian, has something happened in the clan..." The words caught in her throat.
"Mm." Li Xinnian gave a bitter smile.
Only at times like this did he understand why the clan elders avoided the position of Family Head like the plague.
He took a deep breath and said, "It is one of our own lineage—Qiukong of the 'Qiu' generation. Go and see Heng'er; he must be at a loss for what to do right now."
"Then what about you..." Nangong Qingya's face turned pale.
It was she who had sent the child Qiukong to the Great Ming King Temple.
"I am the Family Head." Li Xinnian let out a long breath.
"I must still preside over the greater situation of the two prefectures. The ones who killed my descendant are the Xianhe lineage of the Zhao Clan; this requires careful consideration from many angles."
"Alright."
Nangong Qingya gritted her teeth and retreated out the door, but then she heard Li Xinnian call out to her again.
"Qingya, take a Dark Crow from the Shadow Nest and send a message to Big Brother. If he has no urgent matters, ask him to come home for a visit."
"Alright."
As Nangong Qingya departed, Li Xinnian slowly walked out of the Ancestral Hall, where he saw Huang Xiujin already waiting.
Huang Xiujin noticed the bloodshot veins in Li Xinnian's eyes and furrowed his brow.
"Family Head, Immortal Master Qi Yue of the Ethereal Immortal Sect has arrived to present a grand gift on behalf of his sect.
It is just that... coming without cause or reason, this gift from the Ethereal Immortal Sect seems far too heavy."
The estate's old steward could be considered half a teacher to Li Xinnian; from just these few clues, he had already begun to understand what was happening.
Li Xinnian had been the Family Head for many years, and he confided many things in old Mister Huang.
This was because many of the clan elders were away year-round:
Clan Elder Li Yunbing's methods were too decisive and ruthless, often disregarding the consequences.
Clan Elder Kuangren acted too domineeringly.
His grandfather Chang'an, though possessing keen insight into the human heart, was too gentlemanly;
And his Great-Grandfather Changsheng, while unscrupulous, was overly timid.
"It was Qiukong of my lineage who lost his life at the hands of the Immortal Zhao Clan."
Li Xinnian asked casually, "If the clan elders were in charge, what would happen?"
Huang Xiujin pondered for a moment.
"It is difficult to say. From generation to generation, the closeness of blood ties naturally varies.
However, the one thing I am certain of is that justice resides within the hearts of the clan.
As long as that justice remains, if the sky falls, the tall ones will be there to hold it up.
And if the sky cannot be held, then even if we must burrow into the earth to hide, there will come a day when we lift the heavens back up."
"Family Head, if the hearts of the people are scattered, a home is no longer a home, and a clan is no longer a clan. At that point, whether it concerns the 'greater picture' or not is irrelevant."
Hearing this, Li Xinnian let out a long breath. A strained smile finally appeared on his face.
"Listening to Grandfather Huang's words is like sweet rain after a drought."
...
Inside the main hall.
Immortal Master Qi Yue's face was grim.
Years ago, it was he who had come to reject Su Chen's marriage proposal.
Now, the Li family's Li Qiukong had died a miserable death on his sect's Spirit Mountain.
He had only just dealt with a few traitors within the Immortal Sect, yet the sect had sent him here again.
This hall was as dim as the sky over Merit City today, causing him to mutter gloomily,
"Supreme Elder, oh Supreme Elder, we have no grievances in the past or present, so why do you..."
His voice had barely faded when someone arrived outside the door. Immortal Master Qi Yue hurriedly stood up.
When he saw the figure clearly, Immortal Master Qi Yue's expression changed.
The newcomer was a woman dressed in black robes with wide sleeves. Her appearance could not be called stunning, yet she was pleasant to look at.
In her phoenix eyes, there was a hint of impatience born from dealing with troublesome matters day in and day out.
It was the Li family's Li Changyao.
If one were to ask who Immortal Master Qi Yue least wanted to see after this incident, it would be none other than Li Changyao.
Over the years, the Hall of Heavenly Principle had been accepting assassination missions throughout the entire Azure Dynasty.
Rumors claimed they targeted experts above the level of Wu Clan Priests (Nascent Soul Stage), propelling the Hall of Heavenly Principle into the top ten assassin forces within the Dynasty.
As the Vice Head of the Shadow Division, Li Changyao was exceptionally high-profile.
Decades ago, wielding a pink longbow, she had fought her way through the entire Azure Cloud Prefecture and Duravia Trade Prefecture.
Starting a few years ago, this young woman had even begun challenging Divinity Transformation experts, and not a single person who fell to her arrows met with a good end.
Most notably, Li Changyao had a fiery temper and never listened to reason.
A junior of the Li family had met with mishap, and he had come to mediate, only to be met by this unreasonable assassin leader.
Immortal Master Qi Yue knew instantly that he would likely gain no advantage today.
"I was wondering who the Ethereal Immortal Sect would send; I didn't expect it to be you again, Little Yueyue."
Li Changyao silently took the main seat in the hall.
She casually grabbed a pastry and began to eat, not sparing Immortal Master Qi Yue a single glance.
She mumbled with her mouth full, "Spit it out. What message did that old fogey from your sect tell you to bring?"
As she spoke, Li Changyao nodded to the maid who had served the pastries.
"Sister, these pastries you brought are not bad at all. Could you please tell the chef in the kitchen to prepare some more for me whenever I'm working in the future?"
"Yes, Young Miss."
As the maidservant departed, Immortal Master Qi Yue's expression grew even uglier.
Those who lost at Li Changyao's hands never met with a good end, and he was one of them.
Yet today, it seemed that in Li Changyao's eyes, he, Immortal Master Qi Yue, commanded less respect than even a maidservant or a chef.
Immortal Master Qi Yue cursed inwardly, "Just what kind of disaster has the Supreme Elder saddled me with this time?"