16: Confessions and Past History

He took a deep breath, met his family's gazes—which held confusion and curiosity—and slowly raised his right hand.

With a slight movement of his mind, the warm spiritual power in his Dantian Qi Sea was instantly drawn out, and the pale blue Qi Ming Pulse Gate deep within his brow spun silently!

"Boom!"

A faint yet perfectly clear muffled sound, like a burst of Qi, exploded in his palm!

Immediately after, under the horrified gazes of everyone, a fist-sized, softly glowing pale blue halo composed of countless intricate runes materialized and hovered above Li Qinghe's open palm!

The halo rotated slowly, the cool moonlight illuminating his young yet exceptionally composed face, and also freezing the expressions of his family!

"This... this is..."

The Dry Tobacco Pipe in Li Dashan's hand dropped onto the table with a clatter. He stood up abruptly, his eyes wide open, pointing at the halo, his lips trembling so much he couldn't utter a single word.

Madam Zhang gasped, covered her mouth, and her face turned deathly pale.

Li Qingshan and Li Qinglin were simply stunned, like two statues.

Li Qingfeng, however, had his mouth wide open, staring intently at the magical halo, filled with shock and an indescribable... yearning.

"Father, Mother, Elder Brothers,"

Li Qinghe's voice held an almost imperceptible tremor, but it was mostly filled with determination.

"The time I fell into the water was not just about curing my mind... I encountered an Opportunity. For the past six months, I have been secretly Cultivating. This is the power gained from Cultivation. I am now... a Cultivator at the first layer of Spirit Enlightenment."

Dead silence!

The only sounds in the room were heavy breathing and the crackling of the burning firewood. The immense shock was like a cold tide, instantly engulfing everyone.

"Cultivator... Cultivator?"

Li Dashan's voice was as dry as sandpaper rubbing. He staggered a step, leaning on the table to steady himself, his gaze toward his youngest son filled with unfamiliarity and immense impact.

"You... you became an Immortal Master?"

"Opportunity? What Opportunity?"

Madam Zhang's voice was laced with tears and immense fear. She rushed forward and grabbed Li Qinghe's shoulders, examining him up and down as if needing to confirm he was still her son.

"Qinghe! Tell Mother the truth! Was it... was it that night in the Ancestral Hall? Did you steal something?"

A woman's intuition was terrifyingly accurate. She instantly recalled the 'broken piece of wood' her son had hidden that night and the broken window paper.

Li Qinghe looked into his mother's terrified yet worried eyes and nodded:

"Yes. The Opportunity was on the main beam of the Ancestral Hall; it was a Family Genealogy left by our Ancestors... that recorded the method of Cultivation."

"The Family Genealogy?" Li Dashan was shocked again.

Li Qinghe turned his gaze to his third brother, Li Qingfeng, who was still bewildered: "Third Brother, come here."

Li Qingfeng walked over blankly.

Li Qinghe extended his other hand, forming a hand seal with his fingertips, and a nearly imperceptible fluctuation of spiritual power spread out.

A palm-sized, rippling pale blue Water Mirror quietly materialized in front of his fingertips, emitting a faint, cold light.

He slowly moved the Water Mirror toward Li Qingfeng.

Under the watchful, questioning eyes of the crowd, deep within the Water Mirror, the phantom image of a 'Root' clearly reflected—one significantly thinner and shorter than Li Qinghe's own, with a much dimmer glow, yet still emitting faint light!

It extended down from above Li Qingfeng's head. Though not dazzling, it existed for real!

"This is... a Spiritual Root."

Li Qinghe retracted the Water Mirror, looked at his third brother, and said word by word:

"Third Brother, you have one too! Six inches! Profound Rank Upper Grade! You also possess a very decent Cultivation Spiritual Root!"

"I... I have one too?"

Li Qingfeng pointed at his own nose. Immense ecstasy instantly overwhelmed his shock; he jumped up, his face turning bright red, "I can also become an Immortal Master?!"

Joy exploded on Li Qingfeng's face, but it stirred up more complex ripples in the hearts of the others.

Li Qingshan and Li Qinglin looked at their ecstatically happy third brother, then at their Fourth Brother who was behaving almost too calmly. Their eyes betrayed unconcealed disappointment and a hint of bewilderment.

Madam Zhang tightly grasped Li Qinghe's arm, and tears finally streamed down her face—tears of lingering fear, worry, and a terror stemming from the inability to control fate.

Li Dashan abruptly sat back down on his stool, covering his face with both hands, his shoulders slightly shaking as he let out suppressed whimpers, like a trapped beast.

After the massive shock came a prolonged silence.

The halo of the oil lamp flickered on everyone's face, reflecting complex expressions.

After a long while, Li Dashan suddenly wiped his face and looked up.

His eye sockets were bloodshot and red, but his gaze seemed resolute, shining with unusual clarity.

He picked up the Dry Tobacco Pipe that had fallen on the table, shakily stuffed it with tobacco shreds, lit it using the fire in the stove, and took a deep drag.

The pungent smoke spread, obscuring his deeply lined face.

He smoked silently, one puff after another.

The only sounds left in the room were the faint crackle of burning tobacco and his heavy breathing. The family watched him; even the usually excited Li Qingfeng quieted down, sensing the gravity of the atmosphere.

Until the red glow of the ember was nearly extinguished, Li Dashan tapped the ashes off on the edge of the kang bed. The sparks scattered and instantly died out.

He raised his bloodshot eyes, his gaze slowly sweeping over his four sons. The weight carried in that look was suffocating.

Amidst the swirling smoke, he opened his mouth, his voice hoarse, deep as if coming from underground:

"Children," his gaze swept across his four sons, finally settling on Li Qinghe and Li Qingfeng, "Do you know why everyone of my generation, like Uncle Shou Xin, Grand-uncle Shou Wen... only our Li family doesn't have generation names in our given names?"

The question came abruptly, and Li Qingfeng shook his head blankly.

Li Qingshan and Li Qinglin also showed thoughtful expressions.

Li Qinghe, however, felt a stir in his heart, vaguely guessing something.

Li Dashan's voice carried a heavy sense of sorrow and humiliation, sounding as if dredged up from a distant memory:

"Your Great-Grandfather... he wasn't born in Li Family Village. He fled here from very, very far away. Along the way, his mother, father, brothers, and sisters... the whole family starved to death or died of illness. Only he remained, dragging half a life, crawling to the gates of Li Family Village like a stray dog."

In the swirling smoke, Li Dashan's voice seemed to transport everyone back to that cruel era.

"It was your Great-Grandmother who showed kindness and gave him a bite to eat, saving your Great-Grandfather's life. But an outsider, without Roots or foundation, it was hard to survive in this village... To survive, and also to repay the kindness, your Great-Grandfather... he worked as a laborer for your Great-Grandmother's family. Over time, your Great-Grandmother's father saw how honest he was... and took your Great-Grandfather in as a Live-in Son-in-law."

Li Dashan's voice was dry, "A Live-in Son-in-law... he entered someone else's household, worshipped someone else's Ancestors... the children born would naturally take the other family's surname, but... they weren't qualified or worthy of being included in the Main Family's genealogy or assigned a generation name."

He paused, his eyes turning distant and pained: Your grandfather, when he was dying, lay on this very kang bed, so thin he was just skin and bones. He held my hand... his hand was ice cold... He said:

"Dashan ah... Father was useless... couldn't hold his head up his entire life... Our family... our family has no Roots... You must strive! You must work hard... save up property, have many children! Make your children work hard too, and have many! As long as... as long as one of the children succeeds... our family... will have hope! We can build our own Ancestral Hall! Open our own Family Manor! Establish... establish our own generation name!"

He raised his head. Tears shimmered in his bloodshot eyes behind the murky smoke, but he forced them back, his voice suddenly rising, filled with a half-suppressed longing that bordered on a mournful roar:

"Azure Origin Dawning Sky, Profound Scenery Pure Essence! These eight characters! That was what your grandfather! Before his last breath! One character at a time! Gritting his teeth! He recited to me! That was his lifelong aspiration hidden in his heart! That is our family's own generation name!"

He suddenly pointed at Li Qinghe and Li Qingfeng, his fingers trembling slightly from excitement:

"Why did I give you all the surname 'Qing'? Huh? Why?! Because your ancestor! His original family name! Was Qing! Qing! That is our true Root!"