"It really is Ping'er. My Ping'er has returned!" Zhou Dashan's old tears flowed freely as he wept without end.
Ten years ago, Zhou Ping's aptitude was discovered by an Immortal in the county. He had declared he would seek the immortal Dao to protect his family, and then he never returned.
A full decade had passed in the blink of an eye. Zhou Dashan's white hair had multiplied, and his body had grown old and frail. He thought he would never see his youngest son again in his lifetime, yet today, Zhou Ping had returned!
He wanted to step forward and hold him close, but felt awkward and estranged, even carrying a trace of fearful reverence.
To the side, Zhou Hong was equally overjoyed, yet he also dared not approach.
Even though Zhou Ping had reappeared before them, the sheer scale of his transformation made him look like a completely different person from the thin, weak youth in their memories. Not to mention that he was now an Immortal Master-a chasm that separated them, naturally inspiring both fear and awe.
Zhou Ping took all this in and could only sigh inwardly, well aware that this kind of distant reverence would be extremely difficult to erase. He held the child in his arms, looking joyfully into his innocent eyes.
"Big Brother, this must be my nephew. What is his name?"
"His name is Changhe, in the hope that he will endure as long as the Baixi River," Zhou Hong replied honestly, then awkwardly urged the child, "Quick, call him Uncle."
Although Zhou Changhe had been frightened by the earlier scene, he was still just a four or five-year-old child and held no real awe. His face was full of curiosity as he timidly called out, "Hello, Uncle."
"Ah, little Changhe is so well-behaved." This greeting made Zhou Ping's heart bloom with joy. He rubbed the child's head and even pulled some small trinkets from his sleeve for him, making the boy's eyes light up, completely forgetting the pain from earlier.
"Little Changhe, do you know why I let them go?" Zhou Ping looked at his nephew, unable to help but ask.
As the saying goes, one's character at three dictates their life at eighty; he wanted to test his nephew's temperament.
"It's to make them afraid. If they're scared, they won't dare do it again," Zhou Changhe said, his childish face showing determination. "Dad took me to the fields to chase wild boars. We used stones and sticks to beat them, but we always left one side open so the boars would be terrified and flee in that direction."
"But if we blocked all four sides, the boars would turn vicious and ram into us."
"Very smart."
Zhou Ping patted his nephew's head with satisfaction. He was indeed of his blood.
"But if the blade is sharp enough, even a vicious wild boar can be butchered." Zhou Changhe's young face revealed a hint of ruthlessness. "I may be small, but I clearly remember every insult in the village. In the future, I'll pay them all back."
Zhou Ping's heart trembled. His nephew was only five years old. In his past life, this would have been an age of pure, innocent play. How much bitter hardship must he have endured to become so sensible? He couldn't help but hold the boy tighter, a pang of guilt striking his heart.
"Uncle is back now. You will never be bullied again." Zhou Ping did not say these words out loud, but they rooted themselves deeply in his heart like a solemn vow.
"Dad, Big Brother, let's head home first."
"But the crops in the fields..."
Zhou Dashan looked worriedly at the golden rice surrounding them. As a farmer staring at the harvest season, he naturally could not bear to leave the crops in the fields.
"It's alright, I'm here," Zhou Ping comforted him. Then, carrying Zhou Changhe and taking Zhou Dashan's arm, he walked toward their home. Zhou Hong quickly scooped up the hoe from the ground and followed behind with an honest smile.
Ever since they were young, his little brother had been clever and resourceful, always able to come up with a solution. Now that he was back, this peasant man naturally felt at ease, having finally found his pillar of support.
Meanwhile, in the modest Baixi Village, the news that the Zhou family's second son had returned from seeking immortality naturally reached every household. Families stirred with restless activity, constantly bustling about to inquire into the details so they could adjust their future attitudes toward the Zhou family.
The Liu Family
Since the time of Liu Taigong, the family had branched out into over ten households comprising forty or fifty people. At this moment, they packed the Liu family courtyard so tightly that not even a drop of water could slip through.
An elder past the age of seventy sat in the main seat, his brows locked in a deep frown as he smoked dry tobacco from a long pipe. Surrounding him sat several other old men, while the younger men standing at the periphery all wore faces full of fury.
In the center of the courtyard, Liu Da lay on the ground, howling and moaning. The stump of his severed arm had already been tightly bandaged.
"Big Brother, what do you say we do?" one old man asked the elder in the main seat.
The elder in the main seat was named Liu Quan, the Eldest Master of the Liu family's primary branch. He remained utterly silent, puffing relentlessly on his pipe, while the crowd of men below erupted into arguments.
"That's right, Eldest Master! Our Liu family can't just swallow this bullying."
"But that second son of the Zhou family is an Immortal Master!"
"So what if he's an Immortal Master? If he's returned to our village, how formidable could he possibly be?"
"If he were a true Dao-achieving Immortal Master, our Liu family would be dead already. Would Liu Da and the others have come back alive? I say he's just a failure who lost his immortal providence."
"It's not like I haven't seen his kind before. There are several in the county town. They call themselves Immortal Masters, but they aren't much stronger than us."
Naturally, there were well-informed individuals in the Liu family. Even if they did not know the intricacies of the immortal Dao, they were privy to some of its hidden truths.
There were a few Immortal Masters in the county who, having lost all hope of breaking through, returned to the mortal dust to enjoy worldly pleasures and set themselves up as wealthy landlords. Although they possessed some immortal techniques that far surpassed ordinary men, they were still bound by mortal laws.
Only Dao-achieving Immortal Masters truly stood high above, able to slaughter and plunder mortals at whim.
If Zhou Ping were a true Dao-achieving Immortal Master, he would have likely beheaded Liu Da and the others on the spot to intimidate the masses. The fact that he only crippled them clearly showed he had reservations.
"Then why are we still afraid of him? Let's just kill him!" a man bellowed, instantly inciting roars of agreement from the bystanders.
"Kill him! Kill him!"
The clamorous roars seemed ready to blast the roof off, everyone brimming with righteous indignation.
But then, Liu Quan forcefully slammed his pipe against the table, and the crowd instantly fell dead silent.
"Shout. Go on shouting. Why did you stop?" Liu Quan barked. "How did my Liu family raise a bunch of violent thugs like you, who only think of using brute force the moment trouble arises?"
"If we acted as impulsively as you lot, our Liu family would have perished long ago."
Liu Quan's reprimand made the crowd lower their heads, acting entirely like shrinking turtles. The elders beside him, though their faces showed hints of displeasure, chose not to contradict him in this moment, as doing so would only undermine Liu Quan's authority.
Having vented his anger, Liu Quan's mood finally eased. He pointed at one of the men. "Liu Hong, you tell everyone what exactly happened out there."
Instantly, all eyes fell upon a robust man. He grew flustered, his body involuntarily trembling with tension.
"What are you standing there in a daze for? Speak!" Liu Quan demanded, his face darkening.
"It was that old man Zhou who seized Liu Da's land. The few of us went to demand it back, but who knew they wouldn't return it! That second son Zhou was even more vicious, beating us into this state."
At these words, the Liu family members filling the courtyard were again seized by righteous fury, wishing they could rush out right now and fight the Zhou family to the death. However, seeing that none of the elders spoke, the crowd dared not make a sound.
"Oh? Is that so?" Liu Quan sneered, casting a sidelong glance at his younger brother, Liu Zhong, on his left.
Liu Zhong's face was ashen. He wanted to explode in anger but forcibly suppressed it. Liu Da, Liu Hong, and the other men who had gone to stir up trouble were all members of his branch. They were the ones in the wrong to begin with, and now they were spouting pure nonsense. How could he not be furious?
"Liu Ming, you speak," Liu Quan said, pointing to another person.
"Yes, Grandfather." A handsome youth with a somewhat scholarly air stepped forward. He first bowed in greeting to the various elders, then turned to face the crowd. "Ten years ago, Clan Uncle Zhuo passed away from illness, and the twelve mu of fertile land under his name were completely divided between Liu Da and Liu Hong."
At this point, Liu Zhong's face contorted in grief. He covered his face with a hand, recalling his son Liu Zhuo, who had died in the prime of his life. It was precisely because Liu Zhuo had died young that a doting mother had ruined her sons, causing Liu Da and his brother to become so stubbornly lazy and unruly.
Liu Ming could only bow apologetically toward Liu Zhong, but the latter reached out to stop him. "Continue speaking. I am fine."
"However, Liu Da is lazy by nature. He possessed fertile land but did not till it, allowing it to lay to waste while he squandered the wealth left behind by Clan Uncle Zhuo," Liu Ming continued. "His fertile fields were scattered. The Zhou family's farmland bordered his, and there was one particular two-mu plot that was practically inseparable from the Zhou family's land."
"Therefore, at the beginning of the year, Zhou Hong sought out Liu Da and made a verbal agreement to lease that plot, promising four tenths of the harvest to Liu Da. Naturally, Liu Da readily agreed."
Hearing this, the expressions of those around flickered as they began to guess the truth.
One had to know that four tenths of the harvest was an incredibly generous rent. This was different from the fields belonging to wealthy landlords; although it was fertile land, it had been abandoned for years. They had to clear the wasteland, enrich the soil, remove the stones, and clear out the pests. The first year was destined to be exhausted labor, and getting even two-thirds the yield of a comparable field would be considered a good harvest.
Who would do such thankless, backbreaking work? It was only because the Zhou family had so little land that they were forced to rent it out and cultivate it.
"Throughout the year, the Zhou family toiled bitterly to reclaim the wasteland, remove the stones, and eliminate the pests. Now, they finally have a harvest."
"Yet today, Liu Da showed up at their door and went back on his word, denying the agreement entirely. He even brought Liu Hong and the others to forcibly demand the land, intending to seize the entire harvest of those two mu for himself."
At this point, quite a few of the honest and dutiful Liu family members showed anger on their faces. They were all peasant sons who dug their meals from the dirt; how could they not know the bitter hardship involved? Even though Liu Da was one of their own clansmen, they couldn't help but feel a surge of wrath.
"In the midst of the argument, old man Zhou was injured by Liu Da and his thugs. That was what provoked the Zhou family's second son into a fury, causing him to use immortal arts to injure our clansmen," Liu Ming said slowly, placing a heavy emphasis on the words 'immortal arts'.
As Liu Ming spoke with calm assurance, the vast majority of the Liu family members present fell into silence. Stripped of their earlier fury, they cast cold glares at Liu Da on the ground, though a few still looked displeased.
"You all heard it. Now, who do you think is in the right, and who is in the wrong?" Liu Quan's voice echoed relentlessly.
"The second son Zhou injured all of them in a flash, yet he didn't strike any vitals. That proves he doesn't want to forge a deadly feud with our Liu family. It's just that Liu Da pushed the Zhou family too far."
"But Liu Da can't just be bullied like this, can he?" someone shouted from the crowd.
"What, you insist on fighting and killing, is that it?" Liu Quan raised an eyebrow and swept his gaze over the surroundings before standing up. "Then think long and hard about the old and young in your own households."
"The second son Zhou is no mortal. If you truly drive him to desperation, what will happen to your families? Do you have to end up lying here like Liu Da before you're satisfied?"
"Do you have to draw blood and ruin both sides before you're willing to let it rest?"
His words rendered the crowd speechless with bowed heads. Only then did Liu Quan pause.
"Liu Da brought this disaster upon himself. Do not drag our Liu family down into the mire with him. If you want to seek vengeance for him, think carefully about your wives and children. Ask yourselves if throwing your lives away for this scoundrel is worth it."
After all, although Zhou Ping had not achieved the Dao, he was no mortal either. If he were to commit a string of murders, the government office would indeed issue warrants to arrest him-but by then, the entire Liu family would have likely already journeyed to the Yellow Springs.
"Liu Ming, take some men to the Zhou household to negotiate properly. Put this matter to rest," Liu Quan said, pointing at the youth.
"Yes, Grandfather." Liu Ming led a few men from the primary branch out of the courtyard.
Gazing at the dense sea of heads, Liu Quan felt a wave of exhaustion wash over him. He waved a hand at the crowd. "Disperse."
But at the final moment, he still cast a look at Liu Da lying on the ground, a trace of pity in his eyes. "From now on, the clan will issue one hundred jin of rice to Liu Da's household every year. No matter how much of a scoundrel he is, he is still a member of my Liu family."
Hearing this, the lingering Liu family members revealed joyous expressions. Earlier, even though they understood that Liu Quan's decision was the most rational one, they had still felt a hint of disappointment in the clan. Fortunately, the clan had not entirely forgotten its own.
Only when everyone had dispersed did Liu Quan slump back into his chair, rubbing his brows to soothe his mental exhaustion.
As the patriarch of the clan, the burden on his shoulders was exceptionally heavy, pressing down on him until he could scarcely breathe.
In truth, he had known about Liu Da bullying the Zhou family for a long time. However, such matters were commonplace in the rural villages: large households squeezed the small, and landlords squeezed the hired hands. Moreover, as the head of the Liu family, he inherently favored Liu Da.
But who could have anticipated that the Zhou family's second son would not only return from seeking immortality but also possess such formidable strength? Naturally, the only option was to let things settle in peace.
After all, although his Liu family had only been established for four or five generations, their numbers were flourishing. They had branched out, firmly planted their roots in Baixi Village, and faintly showed the momentum of becoming a true local clan.
It was all the more crucial for them to develop steadily and avoid disputes and lethal disasters. Once the family prospered in the future, they would have the wealth to open a clan school, allowing their descendants to study literature and martial arts, ensuring the Liu family's glorious flourishing. If their fortune was even better, they might produce one or two children with spiritual aptitude who could also seek the immortal Dao. He didn't even dare to dream of them achieving the Dao; having someone like the second son Zhou would be enough to satisfy him.
This second son Zhou hadn't even achieved the Dao, yet he already forced Liu Quan to hesitate out of fear of collateral damage. It was entirely due to his formidable strength-his immortal arts and Daoist spiritual arts could kill.
But what he lamented wasn't Liu Da's arrogant thuggery or his bullying of the Zhou family; it was the fact that Zhou Ping had genuinely obtained immortal methods. If Zhou Ping had been an ordinary man, Liu Quan would not have stopped his clansmen. He would have simply ordered them to secretly slaughter the Zhou family and be done with it.
But unfortunately, Zhou Ping was no ordinary man.
If nothing else, if Liu Da had died on the spot, that would have been fine too-they could have simply reported the murder to the authorities and had Zhou Ping arrested. But as fate would have it, Zhou Ping had only crippled Liu Da, leaving him with his life. Even if Liu Quan had certain schemes, he couldn't execute them, for it would chill the hearts of his clansmen toward the family.
Even if Zhou Ping hadn't achieved the Dao and was still bound by the law, he was still an Immortal Master, and the government office would naturally show him some partiality. A severed hand was merely treated as a warning, but it had thoroughly forged a blood feud and raised a great enemy for the Liu family.
Either endure and stay your hand, or strike like a thunderbolt to crush them completely. Anything else would only invite disaster to the family's roots.
"Why didn't he just die!" Liu Quan cursed furiously, unsure if he was speaking of Liu Da or Zhou Ping. Staring at the roof, he let out a faint sigh. "Father, the family you entrusted to me... I am so weary of looking after them. My brothers pretend to obey me while acting against me in secret, harboring grudges over my supposed unfairness. The children are equally ignorant, stirring up trouble and sowing discord. I am truly exhausted."
"But your great-grandson Ming'er is a good child. He is steady and far-sighted, and he has already passed the provincial exam. I plan to pass the Liu family to him in the future. Your spirit in heaven must bless him to pass the imperial exam next year, so that our Liu family may illuminate its lintel with glory."
The only response he received was a stretch of dead silence.50Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb0Tx7U6DpS
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