"Meeting is fate," Li Dingxun blew a breath at the woman, and her injuries immediately healed.
After healing her, he continued on his way, with no intention of lingering.
He traveled all the way to Lotus Mountain, and as soon as he stepped onto the mountain path, a disciple spotted him. His portrait was now being eagerly viewed by many martial artists, which brought him great fame, forcing him to change his appearance for a few days while traveling in Guangzhou. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to enjoy the calls of "handsome young man" and would instead be surrounded by people calling him a great hero.
Upon returning home, he naturally used his original appearance. The disciples were excited to see him; some with quick feet rushed up the mountain, shouting, "The Young Sect Master is back!"
The remaining disciples forgot their guard duties, and those wandering on the road followed behind Li Dingxun. He was now like a true Lion King, and his pride, like his mane, clung closely to him, not daring to leave for a moment.
His father, Li Piguang, stood on the training grounds halfway up the mountain. He watched Li Dingxun walk step by step towards him. Two generations, one with young disciples standing behind him, the other with many elders.
The old gives way to the new, a natural law.
"Father," Li Dingxun bowed slightly.
Li Piguang shook his head, then nodded, "Good, it's good to be home. How long do you plan to stay this time?"
"About a month, then I need to take a ship to The Ends of the Earth."
"Alright, get some good rest. When you have time, go see your mother. She's been troubled by your fourth brother lately."
Li Dingxun scanned the crowd on the training grounds. Most people appeared quite nervous, straightening their bodies when their eyes met his, as if they were battle lions being inspected by a beast king. The only one who was calm and could even smile at him was a man in white.
This person was the current Taiwu.
Li Dingxun nodded to him, then headed towards his residence at the mountain peak.
Returning to his own large house, he first went to his parents' courtyard. Pushing open the vermillion-lacquered gate, he found his second brother, Li Zhongshou, standing under the eaves. Beside him knelt a person who, from his back, looked somewhat immature—it was his fourth brother, Li Shuangxuan.
Hearing footsteps, Li Zhongshou turned his head. Seeing his elder brother's expressionless face, he immediately lowered his head and respectfully called out, "Elder Brother."
His fourth brother also twisted slightly and turned his head. At this moment, the door of the house suddenly opened, and Li Meizheng walked out, craning her neck to look around, and immediately spotted her eldest son.
"My son, you've returned."
"Ah Ma is well."
Li Meizheng nodded kindly, then her expression turned stern. She grabbed her fourth son Li Shuangxuan's ear and lifted him up. "You, Ah Ma would rather have given birth to a piece of char siu than you!"
"Xun-zai, you need to properly discipline your fourth brother. This boy's wings have grown hard now; Ah Ma can't tell him anything. As his elder brother, you should teach him the principles of being a person."
Li Shuangxuan, having his ear pulled in front of his elder brother, was instantly furious, glaring with wide eyes, as if he had suffered an immense personal insult.
Oh, Li Dingxun expressed understanding; his rebellious phase had arrived.
"Alright, I will discipline him well."
Li Meizheng sighed, "Alright, I'm going back for my nap. You siblings should have a good get-together. An'an is in her room." With that, she let go. Li Shuangxuan twisted unhappily, venting his emotions, and the second brother, seeing this, reprimanded him.
Li Dingxun waved to the fourth brother, "Come here, let's go find your third sister."
Li Shuangxuan was fuming, but he dared not disobey his elder brother, so he ran to Li Dingxun's side and stood still with his head down.
"Second brother, go call third sister."
The four younger siblings each had a courtyard, mostly adjacent. Li Dingxun's room was the furthest from his parents, and the third sister's was the closest, just one wall away. So, third sister Li Yuanan was eavesdropping behind the wall. As soon as she heard her elder brother looking for her, she lightly jumped over the wall.
Li Yuanan was a beautiful, tall young girl, who would soon reach her coming-of-age ceremony next year, but her personality was still not at all steady.
"Elder Brother," she called out timidly, her voice completely different from her bold actions, which made her mother Li Meizheng frown deeply.
"A girl should be more reserved!"
Li Yuanan was afraid of her elder brother, but she was not very reserved with her mother, secretly making a face. Li Meizheng smiled and shook her head, pointing a finger at her daughter, then turned and went into the house.
The four younger siblings, led by Li Dingxun, headed up the mountain.
They passed through stone steps in the forest, with many epiphyllums planted along the way.
"Elder Brother, you said you wanted to plant them in the Pure Land, so we planted epiphyllums on all the mountains, big and small, around Lotus Mountain," Li Zhongshou pointed to a cluster under a certain tree. "Those are the ones I planted."
Under the shade of the trees, sunlight dappled the epiphyllums. Looking closely, the flower clusters actually formed the character 'guard' (shou, meaning guard or protect), which was quite childish.
"Mm."
The fourth brother looked up and asked curiously, "Elder Brother, why do you say the safety of all living beings hangs by a thread?"
"It's related to Xiangxu," Li Dingxun said concisely.
His younger brother didn't understand, "Is Xiangxu really that terrifying?"
His third sister couldn't hold back at this point and began to explain, "Of course it's terrifying! Taiwu has said it many times. Those seven Sword Tombs, Xiangxu's incarnations, 'Hwaaah' – it's truly, tsk tsk tsk."
The young girl used a lot of onomatopoeia, but she couldn't quite describe the actual situation.
Li Dingxun's tone was calm, "In a few months, I will take that Taishi Successor to resolve all seven Sword Tombs, and then it will be time to face Xiangxu."
Li Zhongshou stopped, turned to stare at Li Dingxun, and asked, "Elder Brother, why do you always like to do such... dangerous things?"
The third and fourth siblings were stunned to see their second brother contradict their elder brother. They dared not speak, fearing that a single word would provoke a farce of an elder brother beating his younger brother.
Li Dingxun did not stop walking and continued upwards. His attitude made Li Zhongshou calm down, and he dejectedly followed behind his elder brother.
"Feeling danger is because you fear death. If I handle the dangerous things, you won't have to be afraid."
His younger siblings fell silent.
Before long, they reached the mountain peak.
There was an open space here, with stone steps extending to a small wooden pavilion. Inside the pavilion was a statue of Lu Yuan Bodhisattva, three prayer mats, and a square incense burner. The burner was covered in ash and had dozens of burnt incense sticks still lit.
Li Dingxun stood before the Bodhisattva statue but did not kneel. His younger siblings, however, dutifully bowed three times.
"Elder Brother, why don't you worship the Bodhisattva?"
Worshipping the Bodhisattva is an act of gratitude, not asking for divine intervention, so people are happy to do so.
Li Dingxun shook his head, thinking, 'How can I worship myself?'
No one dared to insist on what he wanted or didn't want to do. The four sat on the stone benches by the pavilion, gazing at the distant green mountains and the long river winding through them, chatting about everyday family matters.
They stayed until the sky was filled with stars and moon, and the mosquitoes became noisy, then they all returned to their rooms.
...
In the Pure Land, Li Dingxun had to instruct Fu Xixi in her cultivation every day. However, tonight, his little sister was in a frantic hurry. As soon as she saw Li Dingxun, she asked him to save the swordsman.
"He's started cultivating, hasn't he?"
After the Daoist discovered something was wrong, he informed the elders of Ran Mountain, but they had no good solution. So they found his little sister again and asked her to seek Li Dingxun.
Only his little sister could find Li Dingxun in the Pure Land, as he was truly too elusive.
"No need to rush. Wait a few months, and he will naturally recover. For now, you just focus on practicing your own skills."
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