Chapter 30 : Chapter 30
Chapter 30: The Medicinal Herbs Were Intercepted
A month later.
A grand wedding was held within Qingfeng Valley.
It was a marriage alliance of tremendous consequence.
A direct-line daughter of the Zheng family had married the grandson of the Li family’s Grand Elder. Both families were among Baihe County’s foremost great houses, so nearly every notable figure in the county had come.
Even the Song family, which bore grudges against the Li family, had sent an Elder with a gift of congratulations.
In the family council hall,
Li Xingge sat in the seat of honor and said, “Elders, I am preparing to enter seclusion. During the time of my seclusion, unless the family encounters a crisis of life and death, no one is to disturb me.”
“During this period, I will have to entrust the family’s affairs to all of you.”
The Elders accepted the order with pleasure.
In the Family Head’s seclusion chamber, the heavy stone doors slowly closed.
Li Xingge sat cross-legged upon a cushion. Feeling the dense spiritual qi around him, he slowly closed his eyes and began to cultivate with complete focus.
......
After Li Xingge entered seclusion,
the Li family quietly began to recuperate and rebuild. For a time, the whole of Baihe County appeared, at least on the surface, to have returned to its former peace.
A month later...
Upon a broad and level road, several carriages were moving forward at a slow pace.
Without exception, each carriage bore on either side a black banner fluttering in the wind.
Upon those black banners, the golden character “Li” stood out strikingly.
At both sides of the convoy were more than ten sturdy guards carrying sabers.
“Come on, brothers, put in a little more effort. Endure for another two hours and we can hand over the shipment. When that happens, I’ll treat you all to drinks at the pleasure house out of my own pocket.”
The burly man riding at the front wiped the sweat from his brow and laughed loudly.
“Seventeenth Master is generous!”
The others burst into laughter. At once, everyone seemed to feel strength surge through their bodies, and even their pace quickened.
Within the dense woods on both sides, killing intent quietly surfaced.
A flash of cold light shot out like lightning, and one guard clutched his throat before collapsing to the ground in agony.
The sudden turn of events stunned everyone.
At the sight of it, the leading man shouted at once, “Raise your guard!”
The words had barely left his mouth when another wave of arrows came raining down.
The guards drew the blades from their sheaths and swung them to deflect the incoming arrows.
After that volley, four more men fell.
“Kill them!”
A booming voice rang out from within the forest.
One after another, black-clad figures who had long been lying in wait rushed out of the woods, brandishing all kinds of weapons and surrounding the convoy completely.
“How dare you! Do you know who we are? If you withdraw at once, you may still be spared death!”
The man the others had called Seventeenth Master roared in fury.
“Hahahaha, of course I know the great name of the Li family.”
A black-clad man with a face full of scars and one blind eye slowly walked out from the forest, laughing loudly as he spoke.
Then his tone changed, and his gaze turned sinister.
“But the people I intend to kill are precisely the Li family’s men.”
Seventeenth Master’s heart sank.
It seemed that today’s uninvited guests had come for the Li family from the start.
At this point, there was clearly no room for a peaceful resolution.
With that thought, Seventeenth Master made a snap decision and let out a furious roar. “Brothers, kill!”
The moment the words fell,
he charged forward first.
Two black-clad men saw this and hastily drew their blades to meet him.
A streak of cold light flashed past, and the two men were already separated from their heads.
The black-clad leader watched all of this without the slightest change in expression, though the chill in his eyes deepened a few degrees.
“So you have a little skill. But today, you must die!”
With that, he drew the heavy saber slung across his back and brought it down in a slash toward Seventeenth Master.
Seventeenth Master raised his own blade to block. Metal clashed against metal, sparks burst forth, and a piercing ringing sound filled the air.
Seventeenth Master’s body was driven several steps backward.
His expression turned ugly as he said, “Minor Accomplishment of the Physical Body Realm!”
“Hmph. Enough nonsense. Hand over your life!”
Having gained a slight advantage, the black-clad leader pressed forward without mercy.
He unleashed a fierce and relentless saber art, forcing Seventeenth Master into utter misery.
“So this is all the Li family amounts to!”
The black-clad leader mocked him with open disdain.
“You’re courting death!”
That sentence thoroughly enraged Seventeenth Master. With a powerful slash heavy as a mountain, he attacked the black-clad leader once more.
Under that life-for-life style of combat, the two men, who had originally differed by quite a margin, were for a time locked in an even struggle.
“Seventeenth Master, stop fighting! Don’t mind us—run!”
A tragic shout rang out from behind him.
Seventeenth Master hurriedly turned his head, and at once half his heart went cold.
His accompanying guards had already been all but wiped out under the siege of the many black-clad men.
And the final one, before his very eyes, was struck by a blade that split his skull apart.
“No!”
Human hearts were made of flesh, after all. Watching the brothers who had accompanied him day and night be slaughtered one after another, Seventeenth Master’s eyes reddened as well.
With tears brimming in those tiger-like eyes, he roared, “I’ll kill you all!”
.........
Qingfeng Valley.
Four Li family disciples of robust aura were guarding the only route into the valley.
From the distance, a single rider came galloping toward them. One of the Li family disciples immediately shouted angrily,
“Halt! Dismount!”
Seeing that the rider had no intention of stopping, the four were just about to move and forcibly intercept him when the rider on horseback seemed to lose all his strength. He toppled headfirst from the saddle and crashed to the ground.
The four approached warily and surrounded him. But when they saw his face clearly,
they immediately cried out in alarm, “It’s Seventeenth Uncle!”
This rider was none other than the leader of the convoy, Seventeenth Master.
“Flying... Dragon... Gorge... the med... med... medicinal herbs... were... intercepted...”
After forcing out those words, Seventeenth Master’s head lolled to one side and he fainted.
“Quick! Something terrible has happened! Report it to the Elders at once!”
.......
Within the family council hall, an emergency meeting of the Elders was convened.
“Everyone, a report has just come in from the family disciples. Our convoy transporting medicinal herbs was ambushed and slaughtered at Flying Dragon Gorge. The herbs were stolen, and Seventeen has suffered grievous injuries. His life is hanging by a thread!”
The Grand Elder spoke with a grave expression.
When the Elders heard this, all of them flew into furious rage.
This was a slap in the Li family’s face.
The hot-tempered Second Elder abruptly shot to his feet. With a dark expression, he roared, “Who did this? I want him dead!”
As he spoke, he slammed his palm down and shattered the table before him into pieces.
At the sight of this, the Grand Elder shot him a fierce glare.
He rebuked him angrily, “Second Brother, restrain your temper. Seventeen is your son. I understand that you’re anxious. But this is the council hall—a place where the family discusses major affairs—not a place for you to throw a fit!”
The Grand Elder’s rebuke forced the Second Elder to calm down, at least for the moment.
He forcibly suppressed the raging fury in his heart and sat back down.
“Grand Elder, do we know who did it?”
The Sixth Elder, Li Yanzhao, asked with a solemn expression.
The Grand Elder shook his head. “Not yet. I only just received the news myself. The only person who knows the details is Little Seventeen, and he still hasn’t woken up.”
“That batch of herbs is extremely important to our Li family. Many of the younger generation in the clan are waiting for those herbs to temper their bodies. If their cultivation is delayed, then when the Family Head emerges from seclusion, how are we supposed to answer to him?”
The Third Elder interjected.
“What if we purchase another batch at the last minute?”
“It’s too late.”
The Sixth Elder shook his head.
“The Medicine Pavilion’s herbs are far from sufficient to meet demand. Our Li family is only able to buy a shipment once every six months.”
Everyone’s expressions grew darker and darker.
“We have to get that batch of herbs back.”
The Second Elder said with a black face.
“Whose territory is Flying Dragon Gorge?”
The Grand Elder narrowed his eyes.
“Blackclad Stronghold.”
The Third Elder answered in a deep voice.
“So, it’s the Blackclad Stronghold. If I remember correctly, the chief of the Blackclad Stronghold is Mountain-Shaking Tiger, yes?”
“That’s right. I say Mountain-Shaking Tiger has truly grown tired of living! Just because the Blackclad Stronghold is easy to defend and hard to attack, does he think we can do nothing to him? Grand Elder, gather the clan’s elites and flatten the Blackclad Stronghold!”
Several Elders spoke up one after another.
“Everyone, do not be hasty. Don’t let anger cloud your judgment. Mountain-Shaking Tiger may be arrogant, but over all these years he has kept to his own waters and never crossed ours. I fear there may be something strange behind this.”
“The Grand Elder’s words are not without reason. Logically speaking, Mountain-Shaking Tiger should not have the courage to lay hands on our Li family.”
The Li family of the past had already been something he dared not offend in the slightest.
Not to mention the present Li family, flourishing like the midday sun after marrying into the Zheng family.
Unless Mountain-Shaking Tiger had been kicked in the head by a donkey.
“No matter what, since this happened within the Blackclad Stronghold’s territory, we naturally have to go and trouble Mountain-Shaking Tiger. And if this truly was his doing, then my Li family is not made of paper either.”
The Grand Elder’s voice turned icy.
“Wise indeed, Grand Elder!”
“Sixth Elder, I’ll have to trouble you to make the trip.”
“Yes!”
Li Yanzhao accepted the order gladly.