25: Triumphant

The Heishui River had thawed, and the murky water, carrying melted ice shards from upstream, rushed down with a gurgling sound.

The muddy dirt road in Li Family Village was also baked by the early spring sun until it was neither fully dry nor wet; stepping on it no longer caused deep sinking, but it was still sticky.

Ever since the second day of the second lunar month, news that Li Qingfeng was Profound Rank Upper Grade and personally designated a “Candidate Inner Sect Disciple” by the Immortal Master spread across the hundred miles surrounding Black Mountain Town, turning Li Family Village, a once unremarkable little corner, into the focus of attention for all the surrounding villages.

First, the Lord Town Guardian of Black Mountain Town personally sent his steward, accompanied by four Town Guards wearing brand-new black uniforms and carrying iron rulers, driving a mule cart, beating gongs and drums, making a grand procession all the way and kicking up dust on the muddy dirt road of Li Family Village.

The leading steward dismounted, his Face plastered with an unprecedented respectful smile, and bowed deeply to Li Dashan who had come out to greet him:

“Elder Brother Li! Congratulations! Heartfelt congratulations! The Town Guardian heard that your Qilin son entered the Immortal Sect, bringing glory to the village, and specially ordered us to deliver this congratulatory gift! One thousand taels of silver! To commend Elder Brother for successfully raising and educating your son! You have brought immense Face to our Black Mountain Town!”

Two runners laboriously carried a heavy wooden chest wrapped in red silk and set it down with a “thud” outside the low courtyard gate of the Li family.

When the red silk was lifted, inside were neatly stacked, gleaming white silver ingots! They shimmered dazzlingly under the noon sun.

One thousand taels!

The surrounding villagers erupted in earth-shattering gasps and exclamations!

Li Dashan had never seen so much money piled up in his entire life!

His dark Face flushed crimson, and he didn't know where to put his hands, only able to awkwardly clasp them in return, repeating the same phrase:

“Thank you, Lord Town Guardian! Thank you, Lord Town Guardian!”

The runners put down the silver, the steward exchanged a few pleasantries, and then they rode away amidst a sea of envious gazes.

Leaving the Li Dashan family with the hot-to-handle silver chest at their doorstep.

Mrs. Zhang held the heavy silver ingots, her hands trembling violently, a smile on her Face, but her eyes were red-rimmed.

The eldest son, Li Qingshan, and the second son, Li Qinglin, stood behind their parents, their backs ramrod straight, their dark Faces filled with excitement and pride.

Only Li Qinghe stood quietly at the back of the crowd, looking at the pile of silver with calm eyes.

Immediately afterward, the men, old and young, and the various aunts and relatives of Li Family Village surged forward.

Neighbors who usually only nodded when they met, or even walked around them, now had Faces brimming with unprecedented, enthusiastic smiles.

“Brother Dashan! I always said your family's geomancy was excellent! Look! Qingfeng has achieved success! And Qinghe is better now too!”

“Elder Brother Dashan! Need help building the house? My eldest son is strong! He'll come whenever you call!”

“Sister-in-law Zhang! If you have any mending or sewing work, just say the word! My needlework is quite good!”

Before the silver had even cooled down, a bigger “excitement” arrived.

First, the clan elders of Li Family Village, who usually only gave Li Dashan a nod at most, arrived together on a beautiful sunny afternoon.

Even Seventh Great-Uncle, who guarded the ancestral hall and was usually the most rigid about rules, leaned on his cane and, surrounded by several clan elders, tremblingly arrived at the Li family courtyard.

Seventh Great-Uncle's Face, covered in age spots, was currently wrinkled into a chrysanthemum bloom of a smile.

“Dashan! Congratulations! Congratulations! Qingfeng, that child, has brought enormous Face to our old Li family!”

Seventh Great-Uncle's voice was loud, and his spit almost sprayed onto Li Dashan's Face.

“We old fellows discussed it, and this is the glory of our entire Li clan! We must celebrate properly! The clan has decided to raise funds to rebuild the ancestral hall! And to recompile the Family Genealogy! We must formally invite your branch back into the main register of the Family Genealogy with great fanfare! Let future generations know that our Li family produced an extraordinary Immortal Master candidate!”

The other clan elders quickly agreed, their words sincere, as if Li Dashan's family had always been the pillar of the clan, and there had never been an issue of “the descendants of a live-in son-in-law not being worthy of entering the genealogy.”

Li Dashan squatted on the old, uncleared threshold, holding a dry tobacco pipe and puffing away. Through the swirling smoke, his eyes were distant, seemingly looking far away.

When the clan elders had finished their chattering, he slowly tapped the ash from his pipe onto the sole of his shoe, raised his eyes, and looked at them with the specific, almost dull, honesty characteristic of a farmer:

“Uncles, Dashan appreciates your kindness. Rebuilding the ancestral hall is good, and compiling the Family Genealogy is also good. Eldest son Qingshan, second son Qinglin, and fourth son Qinghe are all good children. To be entered into the Family Genealogy is their fortune, and it gives me, their father, Face.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the eager Faces of the elders, and then changed the subject:

“As for Qingfeng... the child is grown, his wings are strong, and he has flown away. He is now an Immortal Master, an Inner Sect Disciple of the Sect. As to where his name should be placed... I, his father, am merely a mortal, and I cannot make that decision.

We must wait for him... wait until he achieves success in cultivation and can return down the mountain, and let him decide himself. If he says yes, we enter him; if he says no, we cannot force it. We do not understand the rules of the immortal realm and dare not interfere carelessly.”

These words were airtight; they gave the clan elders Face (by allowing three sons into the genealogy) while firmly controlling the crucial status of Li Qingfeng.

Pushing the decision-making power to the “Immortal Master” himself and “the future” left Seventh Great-Uncle and the clan elders staring at each other, unable to offer a rebuttal. They could only agree with dry smiles: “Yes, yes, Dashan has thought of everything! Everything! Then... then we will discuss it again when Immortal Master Qingfeng returns! We will discuss it again!”

The clan elders awkwardly exchanged a few more pleasantries before hastily taking their leave, their retreating figures looking somewhat embarrassed.

Li Dashan watched them walk away, took a deep drag on his pipe, and exhaled smoke through his nostrils, accompanied by an almost inaudible cold snort.

He turned his head and looked at Li Qinghe, who was quietly chopping firewood nearby, his gaze complex.

He had personally chosen Qingfeng's name, using the character Feng from “blade's edge”! Since birth, that name carried his father's deep-seated resentment and anticipation!

Now, this character Feng finally had the weight it deserved! How could he easily allow it to be placed back in the Li Family Genealogy that had once barred them entry?

Li Qinghe sensed his father's gaze, raised his head, and calmly looked back.

The father and son exchanged glances, everything unspoken. The Qi Ming Pulse Gate silently circulated deep within his brow, and the cool spiritual energy kept his mind calm as still water. He knew what his father was protecting.

With silver and prestige secured, the new house naturally had to be built large and bright. Li Dashan completely let loose with the scale of the construction.

The new house site was chosen on a sunny high slope at the east end of the village, offering an expansive view. It was no longer a few low tile-roofed houses, but a planned three-courtyard complex!

It was built entirely of blue bricks up to the roof, with five main rooms, three wing rooms on the east, and three on the west. With blue bricks, gray tiles, and tall horse-head gables, even the courtyard walls had their foundations laid with bluestone! The plasterers and carpenters hired were the best masters from Black Mountain Town; their wages were generous, and they had meat with every meal.

The construction site was bustling; ox carts pulling bricks and flat carts transporting wood came and went continuously, their shouts and the sounds of axes and chisels blending together.

Li Dashan strolled around the site with his hands clasped behind his back, directing where doors should be placed and where walls should be built, his posture perfectly straight.

The silver bestowed by the Town Guardian was exchanged for banknotes stamped with official seals, which he kept close to his body, while the remaining physical silver was locked in a newly made camphor wood chest. Only he and Mrs. Zhang held the keys.

He also bought thirty acres of High Grade paddy fields behind the village, close to the water source, where the soil was most fertile! He also added two strong, mature yellow oxen!

The Li family's life, just like their rapidly rising new house, was flourishing.

And a greater “excitement” followed—the eldest son, Li Qingshan, was fifteen years old, and it was time for him to take a wife!

Somehow, this news spread.

It was as if overnight, the Li family's new courtyard gate, which wasn't even fully completed, became the battleground for matchmakers from all the surrounding villages!