Li Changhu only saw the young man reveal a blade under the hide, a cold glint that didn't blink, savage and sharp like the eyes of a wild beast, staring at Li Changhu's eyes with both delight and ferocity.
The cold gleam was as fast as lightning, thrusting directly at Li Changhu's throat. He had only enough time to take a step back in shock before hurriedly reaching out to block.
Too fast!
This stab had been practiced for twenty-two years, piercing through countless bundles of straw, suppressing years of hatred night after night.
That cold gleam was like a bright silver bolt of lightning yet moved as nimbly as a fish, dodging the hand that Li Changhu put up to block and piercing directly into his throat.
Li Changhu only had time to emit a few blood-curdling gasps before collapsing heavily to the ground, his vision blurring, faintly hearing the screams and roars close by.
"Beast!!!"
Tian Shoushui, standing behind Li Changhu, bellowed heart-wrenchingly. He was shorter than Li Changhu and had been completely shielded from view until Li Changhu collapsed, not realizing what had happened until then.
His eyes were bloodshot, veins on his forehead protruding as he reached out to grab the young man.
The young man, having landed a successful blow, tossed aside the dagger and took advantage of the momentary chaos as people rushed to Li Changhu's aid to roll on the ground, skillfully dodging Tian Shoushui's grab, crashing into the crowd of refugees like a nimble vole.
Tian Shoushui strode forward to chase, the refugees scattering like frightened birds, and he caught only a glimpse of the young man darting into a reed bed at the edge of the village, fleeing into the distance like a wisp of smoke.
"Damn it."
Tian Shoushui, without looking back, followed the trail into the reed bed, leaving the refugees behind him huddled in alarmed disarray.
"Cursed! Possessed by dogs!"
The people began to react, and the middle-aged man was pinned tightly in a corner by the villagers, crying and cursing as he wailed:
"I swear I'm innocent! I don't know that young man; he mixed in with us on the road!"
"Shut up!"
Liu Linfeng, face drained of color, cursed, teeth clenched as he helped Li Changhu on the ground, casting a severe look at the middle-aged man, momentarily losing his composure.
Watching his nephew spit blood, already beyond saving, his mind was in turmoil: how would he explain this to his sister? How would he face Li Mutian? His nephew had just died senselessly before his own eyes!
Ren Ping'an was sitting dazed on the ground; his daughter from the Ren Clan had just become pregnant by Li Changhu, and now Li Changhu was dead. The child he had watched grow up was dead!
Everyone was panicked, and Li Changhu lay on the ground with eyes open towards the sky, feeling the hot blood flow on his chest, his consciousness gradually fading.
"I can only apologize to Xiangping, turning his celebration into a funeral."
Li Changhu's fading consciousness thought dimly as pain and suffocation finally plunged him into boundless darkness.
Amidst the chaos, unnoticed by all, a silver glint quietly rose from his Dantian flying toward the sky with a trailing tail, circling like a swallow returning to its nest and heading toward the back courtyard of the Li Family.
Not far away.
Old man Xu, bent with age, stood trembling in place, watching the young man thrust the dagger into Li Changhu's neck, the tip even slightly poking out the back. He felt a surge of blood rushing from his abdomen to his head, his vision darkening, nearly fainting on the spot.
"A tragic fate!"
He was overcome with tears, clutching a string of grass crickets he had prepared for Li Changhu, covering his heart in pain.
"Beast..."
Old man Xu took a deep breath, wiped the tears from his face, and began running toward the back mountain, muttering to himself:
"I've outlived my wife, seen the end of my masters, met more people than the number of shits pulled by you wild wolves. Just you wait! Just you wait! I'll come for you!"
————
The Li Family.
In the hall, Lu Jiangxian sighed silently. He had woken up the moment Li Changhu was ambushed, but it was too far from the head of the village, and he was powerless to do anything but watch as it all unfolded.
Looking at the silver glint circling like a butterfly near the mirror, with just a thought, he could turn this Talisman Seed into pure essence to nourish his Divine Soul.
Yet Li Changhu had not yet cultivated Xuanjing, the Talisman Seed conferred only a meager benefit, he sighed, Lu Jiangxian's spell reversed, using the "Mysterious Pearl Spirit Offering Art" to stimulate the Spiritual Sense within this Talisman Seed, streams of Mana extracted from the Talisman Seed appeared in the courtyard, extending towards the Li Family members gathered there.
Li Mutian lied down for over an hour before he drifted off to sleep, only to see moonlight pouring in like water through the windows and door cracks, bright as daytime outside, his eldest son, Li Changhu, was standing by the bedside, silently gazing at him.
"What has happened?"
Li Mutian asked his eldest son in a hoarse voice.
Li Changhu pressed his lips together without speaking, intently staring at Li Mutian's face, as if to firmly imprint it in his memory.
"Cough, cough, cough."
Li Mutian coughed forcefully several times, frowning and asking:
"Changhu, what has happened?"
But Li Changhu leaned over his father and bowed respectfully, his voice choked as he spoke:
"Father, take care..."
As soon as the words fell, Li Changhu's figure scattered like sand in the wind, the moonlight like water slowly dimmed, and the courtyard that was as bright as day also darkened.
Li Mutian was extremely unsettled, he reached out trying to grab, continuously calling out.
"Child, speak to me! Changhu! Li Changhu!"
He suddenly woke up from the bed, staring blankly out the window.
————
The side room.
"Do cultivators also dream?"
In the side room, Li Chijin opened his eyes full of tear stains and got up, walking outside, he saw Li Tongya sitting by the wooden table.
Seeing his younger brother coming out, Li Tongya quickly wiped the tears from his face and squeezed out a smile, asking:
"What's wrong?"
But Li Chijin just stared blankly at his brother and looked up, asking:
"Where's big brother?"
"Big brother was called out early in the morning by a tenant, probably something about the fields,"
Li Tongya replied with a smile.
But they heard the door creak, and Li Mutian stood at the doorway, his face fraught with unease, calling out:
"Tongya! Go call your big brother back... never mind, I'll go myself."
Li Mutian hurriedly put on his shoes and as he pushed open the door to the front courtyard, he was taken aback.
Outside the door, a large circle of villagers had gathered, all holding torches and shedding tears. Three people knelt at the bottom of the stone steps, with something covered in a white cloth laid out before them.
Seeing the expressions of shame and sorrow on Tian Shoushui and Ren Ping'an's faces, Li Mutian's unease peaked. Trembling, he stepped down the steps, pushing aside the weeping Liu Linfeng who came up to support him, and gently lifted the white cloth.
Li Mutian's vision went dark and he almost fainted, the brothers who followed him out were also unsettled. Li Chijin stepped forward for a look, fell to his knees with a thump, crying out:
"Brother!"
Collapsing on Li Changhu's body to check his breath, Li Chijin suddenly looked up, weeping and looking at the surrounding villagers and shouted harshly:
"Who! Who is it?! Who dares?"
This sharp cry, like a tiger's roar, startled the crowd who all stepped back, looking at him with trepidation.