15: Eleventh birthday

The hundred or so taels of Snowflake Silver obtained from selling the Wild Mountain Ginseng and furs felt like a hot potato tucked in Li Dashan's chest.

In the evening, the whole Family sat around the kang table; even the most mischievous Li Qingfeng sat still.

They watched their father stroke the silver certificate with the red seal over and over with his rough fingers.

"Wife..."

Li Dashan's voice carried an unreal trance-like quality, yet it was also filled with irrepressible excitement.

"This money... our Family needs to plan carefully."

He counted on his fingers, his eyes shining with startling brightness:

"The old house is too dilapidated and small; we must tear it down and rebuild! Build a big house with blue bricks and tiles! At least five rooms! With a big courtyard! The courtyard walls must also be built with stones!"

"Then... buy a few more acres of good land near the water! And buy a sturdy water buffalo! That way, plowing in the spring will be easier, and Qingshan and Qinglin can have it a bit lighter..."

He rambled on, imagining the best things a person who had farmed for a lifetime could obtain.

This was the kind of life that several generations would have to work themselves to the bone to accumulate.

Zhang Shi listened quietly beside him, a smile on her face, but her eyes couldn't help but moisten as she nodded repeatedly:

"Good! Good! We'll do as you say!"

The eldest brother Li Qingshan said in a muffled voice:

"Mhm, Dad, I'll go look for good timber in the spring."

The second brother Li Qinglin grinned:

"Dad, I'll go pick the ox! I'll make sure to pick the sturdiest one!"

The third brother Li Qingfeng danced with excitement:

"Build a big house! I want to live in a room by myself!"

Li Qinghe sat in the corner, watching his father's and brothers' faces lit up by hope, his heart feeling warm.

He still carried another form of wealth in his bosom, one sufficient to change this home and the fate of the entire Family, but he didn't know how to speak of it.

Within a few days, the news of the Azure Profound Upper Sect opening its gates to recruit disciples spread as if it had grown wings.

Messengers sent by Black Mountain Town rode fast horses, spreading the word through every village, large and small, for hundreds of miles around.

Under the old locust tree at the village entrance, and in the fields, every household was talking about it.

"Have you heard? The Immortal Sect is recruiting!"

"The second day of the second lunar month! At the Ascension Platform in Black Mountain Town!"

"I heard that the last time they recruited was hundreds of years ago!"

"My boy happens to be eighteen! He has to go try his luck!"

"Keep dreaming! That's a one-in-a-ten-thousand Immortal Opportunity!"

"What if? If he's chosen, that's a direct ascent to heaven!"

Envy, anticipation, anxiety, doubt... all sorts of emotions permeated the small village.

Li Dashan's Family was no exception; at the dinner table, the conversation naturally couldn't avoid this topic.

"Qingfeng, you're almost twelve too. When the time comes, Dad will take you to Black Mountain Town to try!"

Li Dashan looked at his third son, a hope in his eyes that he himself hadn't realized.

Zhang Shi also nodded repeatedly:

"Yes! Go try! What if!"

Li Qingfeng scratched his head and gave a silly giggle:

"Immortal Master? Can they fly? Like birds?"

The eldest brother said steadily:

"There's no harm in trying."

The second brother winked:

"If Third Brother becomes an Immortal Master, don't forget to give your second brother a hand in the future!"

Li Qinghe silently picked at the rice in his bowl, his mind in a mess.

To go? Or not to go?

The temptation to go was immense—an orthodox Immortal Sect, resources, Cultivation Techniques, and a backer were far better than crossing the river by feeling the stones himself.

It was a path to the vast world, but great danger followed like a shadow; how would he explain his Qi Ling First Layer cultivation? Having a master teach him?

A child from a remote mountain village didn't even have a small sect! Where would a master come from?

What if someone with ulterior motives searched his soul and interrogated him? How could he keep the secrets of his body, that Moon Lake Spirit Stream Chapter, and the daily intelligence System?

An ordinary man is innocent, but harboring a treasure makes him guilty! Once exposed, what awaited him might not be an Immortal Opportunity, but a catastrophe! Not only that, the entire Li Family could be implicated!

Not go? Stay in Li Family Village and slowly Cultivate with this Opportunity? It was safe, but the future was bleak.

Lacking resources and guidance, relying on himself to figure things out, how long would it take to reach Foundation Establishment?

For a whole half-month, Li Qinghe spent his time in this agonizing contemplation.

During the day, he followed his father and brothers to work in the fields or followed his master into the mountains; at night, he would Cultivate frantically on the bluestone by the stream.

Trying to use physical exhaustion and the growth of spiritual power to dilute his inner struggle.

Finally, on the twenty-eighth day of the eleventh month, the night before his eleventh birthday, looking at the cold moonlight outside the window, he made up his mind.

The November wind was like it was wrapped in ice shards, blowing so hard it made one's face ache.

Every household in Li Family Village was huddled indoors for the winter, except for the low courtyard of Li Dashan's Family, where the long-absent aroma of meat and the sound of boisterous voices drifted out.

Today was Li Qinghe's eleventh birthday.

Unprecedentedly, the Li Family set up two tables, one inside the house and one in the courtyard.

They were piled with hearty dishes they usually couldn't bear to eat: a whole stewed tender fat chicken, thick slices of oily pig's head meat, a large basin of cabbage stalks stir-fried with lard residue, and a steamer of steaming fine flour buns!

The aroma drifted aggressively over the courtyard wall, making passing villagers sniff deeply.

Li Dashan specifically invited Li Shouxin and his wife from the east end of the village.

Li Shouxin leaned on his cane, looking at the table full of grease, and couldn't stop smiling:

"Dashan! Are you not planning to live anymore? Setting up such a big scene!"

Grandma Liu also couldn't stop smiling, praising Zhang Shi's skill.

Li Dashan's simple face glowed red; he rubbed his hands, his voice carrying a confidence he'd never had before:

"Not live? This is just the beginning! It's Qinghe's birthday, and it coincides with our Family's... well, good news! We should eat! Eat as much as you want! Uncle Shouxin, Auntie, don't be polite!"

Zhang Shi was busy between the kitchen and the tables.

The eldest son gnawed on a chicken leg with his head down, his cheeks bulging.

The second son ate hurriedly, his chopsticks specifically picking the thickest pieces of meat.

The third son was even more crazed with joy, clutching a bun in one hand and meat in the other, his mouth covered in grease.

Li Qinghe sat beside his father, watching this lively scene, but his thoughts had already flown elsewhere.

After everyone was full and satisfied, the sky had completely darkened.

After seeing off the grateful old couple Li Shouxin, the liveliness in the courtyard had not yet dissipated.

Li Dashan, emboldened by the alcohol, his face glowing even redder, slapped the table and said in a loud voice:

"Eldest, Second, Third, Fourth! Sit down! Dad has something important to tell you!"

The four sons all quieted down and looked at their father.

"Next year, on the second day of the second lunar month, the Azure Profound Upper Sect will open its gates to recruit disciples!"

Li Dashan's eyes sparkled as he looked over his four sons:

"This is a heavenly Opportunity! Our Family has some foundation now. Dad plans to let all four of you go try! What if... what if our Family's ancestral grave emits green smoke?"

At these words, Li Qingshan was stunned for a moment, then scratched his head honestly:

"Dad, I'm already fifteen. Farming is quite good."

Li Qinglin also shook his head quickly:

"Dad, I'm clumsy; going would just be embarrassing!"

Only Li Qingfeng's eyes instantly lit up, looking at his father with anticipation.

Li Qinghe remained silent.

He looked at the light of anticipation and desperation flickering in his father's eyes, watched his mother Zhang Shi nervously twisting the hem of her clothes, and saw his three brothers' honest or evasive gazes. He knew it was time.

"Dad, Mom, Big Brother, Second Brother, Third Brother."

Li Qinghe's voice wasn't loud, but it made everyone's gaze focus on him.