Being a Late Bloomer in the Cultivation World

After she finished speaking.

Mrs. Li Tong raised her head, cautiously observing Wei Tu’s reaction to what she had just said.

The King of Mingzhou was not a Prince enfeoffed by the Zheng Country Court, but one of the thirty-two Rebel Kings of the Guangyuang Prefecture Rebel Army.

Her son, Li Xingye, had thrown his lot in with the King of Mingzhou and become an advisor. This was treason, a crime punishable by the extermination of nine generations of kin according to the laws of the Zheng Country.

An ordinary person, upon hearing such a thing, would likely see it as a disaster. Not only would they refuse to help, they would probably turn her over to the Government Office to be dealt with.

To be implicated in treason—

even an official could hardly escape punishment.

What surprised Mrs. Li Tong slightly was that after hearing the news, Wei Tu showed no shock, no anger—only a placid expression.

"Show her out."

Wei Tu took a sip of his tea and glanced at the maid beside him, his words brief.

—He had long since repaid the Li Family’s kindness over the past thirty years.

If the Li Family had asked for a small favor this time, he might have helped for old times’ sake. But this involved treason... even if he had the ability, he had no desire to get himself burned.

As soon as he spoke,

Mrs. Li Tong fell to her knees with a THUD. Her face was a mask of desperation as she pleaded, "I did not come to beg Captain Wei out of some foolish hope that you would rescue my entire family..."

"I only ask that Captain Wei lend a hand and save one of my grandsons."

"Please don’t let the Li Family’s line be extinguished."

As if she just remembered something, Mrs. Li Tong quickly added, "I have two grandsons, from my second son’s family! They have nothing to do with that monster, Xingye!"

"One grandson?" Wei Tu’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He did not immediately refuse.

Mrs. Li Tong hadn’t "escaped" from the county jail through any great skill of her own, but with the help of one of his "old acquaintances."

In other words, the situation wasn’t so dire that helping was impossible.

Treason was a major crime.

But the officials handling the case were, after all, local officials. They had the power to bend the rules for personal reasons.

It was just that the favor was too great. The officials of Qingshan County would not dare to grant it without his approval first.

In other words.

Helping the Li Family carried the risk of getting burned, but this danger was still within a certain controllable range.

Otherwise, Mrs. Li Tong would never have been able to get out.

Beyond that,

there was another possibility.

A certain official who disliked him might have set this up as a trap to frame him.

’Just one grandson... with my connections, I could get him out. But it would inevitably leave me with a weakness that the Qingshan County officials could exploit...’

’And this isn’t some minor weakness. It’s leverage related to treason.’

’I can’t be careless!’

’What if I used my martial skills...’

Wei Tu pondered silently.

With his Martial Arts prowess, sneaking into the county jail to rescue one person shouldn’t be too difficult.

But he had no desire to personally risk his neck by running to the county jail over this matter.

...

The living room was silent for several minutes.

Wei Tu shook his head, having made up his mind. First, he had Xinghua fetch two silver ingots and give them to Mrs. Li Tong as travel money.

Then he once again said to the maid, "Show her out."

Li Xingye didn’t even care about his own wife, children, and elderly parents. Why should he, an outsider, care about the lives of the Li Family?

Saving one grandson would be easy.

But the subsequent arrangements and handling of the situation would be extremely risky. He had a wife and children of his own; how could he drag his family into danger over this?

"Captain Wei, Lord Wei..."

"Is it really impossible?"

At the back door of the Wei Mansion, the white-haired Mrs. Li Tong stepped over the threshold. Still unwilling to give up, she turned back and stared at Wei Tu for a few moments, her lips trembling as she asked her question.

In the nearly thirty years of their acquaintance, Wei Tu had been "responsive to every plea" from the Li Family. This was why she had clung to him as her last hope.

She had never expected Wei Tu to refuse so decisively this time, leaving no room for negotiation.

Hearing this,

Wei Tu fell silent for a few breaths before speaking. "If you had asked me this twenty-some years ago, Matriarch, then even though I would have feared the implications, I would have helped the Li Family overcome this tribulation."

"However, things are different now."

"Favors and feelings can be exhausted."

Despite his words, Wei Tu thought to himself that even if the Li Family had run into this disaster twenty-some years ago, he still wouldn’t have been willing to help them.

To put your own head on the line for a "benefactor"—even the most loyal and righteous person would find that difficult to do.

Besides, his past with the Li Family hadn’t exactly been pleasant.

Back then, if he hadn’t managed to buy his freedom a step ahead of them, he and the Li Family would have long since become bitter enemies.

"Favors and feelings... exhausted..." Hearing this, Mrs. Li Tong murmured to herself and sighed several times.

The Li Family claimed to have saved Wei Tu’s life, but in reality, they had taken advantage of a famine, when lives were cheap, to buy and keep slaves.

Three years ago, her son Li Xingye had written a "rebellious poem" in a tavern, landing the entire family in prison. It was thanks to Wei Tu’s connections that they had survived and not lost their entire fortune.

A life for a life.

If anyone owed a debt, it was the Li Family who owed Wei Tu their lives.

"I will take my leave."

Mrs. Li Tong gave a partial bow and turned to leave through the back door of the Wei Mansion.

Within a few breaths, she had disappeared around a corner of the alley.

...

After Mrs. Li Tong left the Wei Mansion,

Wei Tu did not let his guard down. After ordering a servant to close the rear courtyard gate, his figure flickered, and he leaped onto the eaves, tailing Mrs. Li Tong from a distance.

A pint of rice is a kindness, but a bushel is a grudge.

He hadn’t helped Mrs. Li Tong save the Li Family this time. If she held a grudge and went to the Government Office to report that he, too, had traitorous intentions,

then he would be in grave danger.

’Someone else is following Mrs. Li Tong besides me? Could it be people from the Qingshan County Yamen?’

After following Mrs. Li Tong for a moment, Wei Tu suddenly noticed a thin, middle-aged man secretly tailing her from about fifty paces behind.

He deduced that this middle-aged man was most likely sent by the Qingshan County officials.

And the purpose of the Qingshan County officials in sending this man was likely the same as his own: they were worried that after her plea for help failed, Mrs. Li Tong would harbor resentment and start making wild accusations.

A quarter of an hour later,

Mrs. Li Tong walked to the vicinity of the Government Office entrance.

Seeing this, Wei Tu, who stood on the eaves, felt a cold glint appear in his eyes. He flipped his palm, and a vibrant green leaf appeared between his fingertips.

He had casually plucked this green leaf from an elm tree in someone’s yard while following her just now.

—If Mrs. Li Tong were to report this to the authorities, he would not hold back. He would strike first and kill her.

Then, Wei Tu glanced over at the middle-aged man following behind Mrs. Li Tong.

Just like him, the middle-aged man’s eyes glinted with murderous intent, and a short blade had appeared in his hand. He had clearly also decided to kill.

Mrs. Li Tong lingered at the entrance to the Government Office for a short while. She climbed the steps several times, but each time, she came back down.

She never knocked on the main doors of the Government Office.

After Mrs. Li Tong left, Wei Tu let out a breath of relief.

Killing Mrs. Li Tong, someone he knew, would have been a trial for him.

That it didn’t come to that,

was, in itself, a blessing.

Wei Tu continued to follow Mrs. Li Tong and the middle-aged man. After seeing her leave the vicinity of the Government Office only to be arrested by constables from the County Yamen—he immediately found a way to retrieve the two silver ingots he had given her, then withdrew and left.

...