The Mirror Legacy

Chapter 1201: A Huge Commotion (I)

Li Zhouluo hesitated for a moment, lifted the letter in his hand, and glanced at it. Everyone in the courtyard was watching him. An Siwei, the Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator of the An Family, stood beside An Zheyan but remained silent.

The matter of the ore veins was an easy place for loopholes to arise. The one overseeing it, An Xuanxin, had been personally summoned by Li Zhouluo. This young man, along with his elder brother An Xuantong, were both geniuses of their generation.

Li Zhouluo was fairly familiar with them and already had his own considerations, The An Family’s lineage is illustrious. They have no reason to covet a few pieces of ore. Even if they did take some, the daily accounts all match; so they didn’t. These four people together represent ninety percent of the lake’s voices; they must be divided.

He set the letter down and said kindly, “Elders, please don’t be hasty. Everything must follow reason. I’ve read every report Xuanxin submits each day and kept them in mind. The matter of the ore vein’s shifting branches is still being formalized. I had planned to discuss it further with him, so there could be no question of private appropriation.”

He exhaled and gave a subtle signal. Dili Guang immediately stepped forward to help An Xuanxin up. The An Family members who had been kneeling rose to their feet. The elderly An Zheyan, his face flushed, began scolding his juniors for their poor discipline until An Siwei pulled him back.

The middle-aged Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator turned coldly toward An Xuanxin and said, “But the western shore is in turmoil. An Xuanxin bears guilt for failing in supervision. I shall arrest him and take him to the Jade Court for questioning!”

They seized An Xuanxin from the floor. The An Family members departed the hall without any further delay.

Once the An Family had left, Li Chengzhi, pale and weakened where he sat, lowered his head. Li Zhouming, who had spoken up for the An Family earlier, grew increasingly uneasy. Though not talented in many things, his years of indulgence had taught him to read expressions well, especially faces. When he saw the looks of the family elders, the notorious playboy felt something amiss. He snapped his folding fan shut and gripped it tightly.

Though everyone showed him respect on the surface, none truly cared about him in private. As the An Family departed, the gray-haired Li Chengdan turned and asked quietly, “Have Zhoufang and Zhouyang still not arrived?”

The fathers of Zhoufang and Zhouyang, both of the Zhouxing generation, had long perished, leaving their uncle Li Chengdan as their closest kin. They had always obeyed him without question, yet they had yet to arrive even now. Without his two nephews to support him, and with the other family elders being mere mortals, Li Chengdan felt a flicker of unease.

Having settled matters with An Xuanxin, Li Zhouluo turned his attention to the remaining two, Ren Ting, the maternal uncle of Li Minggong, and Li Chengpan, his family uncle. Both were difficult to handle.

He decided to start with the easier one and called out, “Li Hun!”

Li Hun’s branch had split from the main lineage. His father, Li Anshuo, oversaw affairs on the northern shore and had gained some prestige by marrying into the Chen Family. But none of that prestige held sway in this grand hall. Cowering in the back, Li Hun trembled when Li Zhouluo called him by name.

He shuffled two inches forward on his knees and answered, “This subordinate is here!”

After considering the three men’s statements and finding no contradiction between their accounts, Li Zhouluo spoke, “You oversee the spirit paddies. This matter of taking thirty percent in bribes must have passed through your hands. I will now question the families along the western shore and the officials stationed on the peaks. If you confess who ordered you beforehand… you may yet live. If not, once I find out, you die first.”

Li Hun kowtowed and answered, “Family head, there were indeed arrangements. But I was acting under orders; I was told to collect in two portions… The message came from the Guest Cultivator Ye of Nine Gates Peak, saying it was an instruction from Nine Gates Peak’s overseer himself. Matters like these… have always been handled by the overseer of Nine Gates Peak.”

The hall instantly fell silent. Li Zhouluo’s words choked in his throat; the overseer of Nine Gates Peak was none other than An Xuanxin, the very one who had just been removed from office.

Li Zhouluo asked, “Where is this Guest Cultivator Ye?”

Chen Donghe, standing nearby, replied, “I’ve investigated him. A few months ago, his report stated he had reached the peak of the Embryonic Breathing Realm. After filing notice with his household, he left to seek a breakthrough opportunity.”

Clearly, the man had withdrawn early and escaped. Li Zhouluo glanced at the trembling Li Hun, who likely knew little of the true situation, and said quietly, “Dili Guang, bring An Xuanxin and the He Family girl here. Then summon the peak officials at the lakeside for questioning, and escort each family head waiting in the mountains to the hall.”

Chen Donghe replied quietly, “Family head, the He Family girl took her own life.”

The words made Li Zhouluo clench his teeth. Then, the plump and fair-faced Li Xixuan suddenly knelt forward and sighed, “Family head! These petty underlings scheme and deceive; it’s hard to discern truth from lies. Please… bring out Chenghuai and have him use his spell art to question them. Then all will be made clear!”

The suggestion caught Li Zhouluo off guard; he froze for a moment. Li Chengdan immediately followed, also kneeling as he implored, “That child’s innocence cannot be tainted unjustly! Please, family head, summon our brother to question them personally!”

Li Chengzhi sat silently. The last elder, Li Xi’e, stirred slightly. His hair was gray and his face kindly with age, but after closing his eyes, he ultimately remained still, choosing not to join them.

Li Zhouluo was silent for a breath, allowing his gaze to sweep the hall. Li Chengzhi, who had wanted to protect An Xuanxin, had been forced to open his eyes at the mention of the Nine Gates Peak’s overseer, but now he stayed silent. Among the four, this uncle was likely the one least willing to get involved.

The remaining two, Li Xixuan and the cultivator Li Chengdan, were the most persistent. Li Xi’e, father of Li Chenghui, had earned great renown from his son’s sacrifice and now clearly wished to preserve his spotless reputation, leaving him visibly torn.

It’s obvious a few of them are deliberately pushing for this… and they just have to drag my father into it…

Unable to discern the elders’ intentions, he gritted his teeth and said, “My father is injured. It’s best he not be disturbed from seclusion over such trivial matters.”

Li Xixuan sighed, his round white face full of regret, and replied, “It’s better if the family decides together. Please, bring Chenghuai out. This concerns the major sect’s reputation, just half a day’s inquiry will suffice… otherwise, Chengpan’s entire future will be ruined!”

Li Zhouluo’s words were stifled in his throat. In the hall, Li Chengpan kept his head bowed, enduring in silence, while all the pressure shifted to Li Zhouluo. Before he could respond, a loud voice suddenly rang out, “Have you not heard the family head’s decision?!”

The shout startled everyone in the hall. Heads turned in unison, and to everyone’s surprise, a young man in fluttering red robes stepped forward, his face burning with anger.

Li Zhouming could no longer restrain himself. The direct grandson of the Purple Mansion Realm line stormed forward, slammed his folding fan against the floor, and shouted angrily, “If we can’t investigate now, then detain them all for a year or two and be done with it! One keeps pressing, while the other keeps sighing; what exactly do you all want?!”

Everyone was stunned. Whispers filled the hall as they glanced at one another in speechless astonishment.

What madness has possessed this young master now…

Li Xixuan was stunned by the shout. As Li Minggong’s father, no one had ever dared show him such disrespect. His pale face flushed red with anger as he ground through his teeth, “You—”

Li Zhouming had been burning with fury throughout the entire exchange. His crimson robe flared as he stepped forward and cursed, “I call you elder out of courtesy, but if not for that good daughter you bore, what are you worth?! I may be a wastrel, but at least I know when to stay in my place! What is it you want? What is it?! While the Daoist Master is away, you think you can bully us juniors, is that it? You—you—you—damn you, you—”

Filthy words were about to spill from his mouth when Li Chengzhi, startled out of his sickly stupor, jolted upright and seized his son by the sleeve, shouting, “Beast! Are you trying to rebel?!”

The hall instantly fell into chaos. Li Zhouming was indeed a rash libertine, yet his temperament had always been predictable; no one expected him to suddenly go mad. As the direct grandson of the Purple Mansion Realm line, few dared confront him. Everyone backed away except his father, Li Chengzhi, who leapt up, his waist no longer aching, his legs no longer weak, gripping his son and scolding him with renewed vigor.

But the father was only a mortal and could not restrain him.

Though Li Zhouming was frivolous, he had still reached the third stage of the Qi Cultivation Realm. Among the four elders present, only Li Chengdan possessed cultivation, and even his was a stage lower. When the wastrel lost his temper, he charged forward like a bull. Terrified that one slap might kill him, Li Xixuan stumbled backward in a panic, nearly tripping over himself.

Li Chengdan and two younger men quickly rushed forward to shield him.