Family Cultivation: I Become a Mirror-Chapter 183 - 170 Clan Head Courtyard

The Clan Head Courtyard was situated at the foot of Lijing Mountain, hugging the base of the slopes—it used to be the Li Family's large compound below the mountain, flanked on either side by two smaller courtyards, with the entire estate facing southwards while situated on a north-south axis, forming a rectangular shape.

The front courtyard was built of stone bricks, an open space where each stone brick was personally tamped into place by the four brothers of the Li Family—Li Changhu and Li Tongya laid the bricks, while Li Xiangping and Li Chijin filled in the gaps. If one were to closely observe the gaps in that wall, one may still find the youthful fingerprints of the Sword Immortal; the family's own work was done with utmost attention to detail, fitting together without a gap, standing strong against wind and rain without a single leak to this day.

Li Xiewen, now in his thirties, had become a solemn and dignified middle-aged man. Dressed in his usual attire, he stood in the front courtyard. With Li Xuanxuan in seclusion for cultivation and Li Yuanxiu managing household affairs, Li Xiewen conscientiously handed over the town's work to his eldest son, Li Pingyi, and came to work at the Clan Head Courtyard.

It was like the night when Li Yesheng handed over Lijing Town to him—Li Xiewen took Li Pingyi by the hand, and the two talked throughout the night by candlelight. Starting from the days when Elder Li Yesheng raised ducks on the Meichi River to how the lineage of Li Xiewen had become so illustrious now, Li Xiewen, holding Li Pingyi's hand, said earnestly,

"Our lineage has governed Lijing Town for generations. Your great-grandfather died in the Shanyue Region alongside Public Xiangping, while I have worked with the Lord to maintain equilibrium among the various families in Lijing Town, disciplining the disciples for eighteen whole years. You must understand that the rise and fall of our lineage rest entirely on the Young Master, so you must act with great caution!"

Li Pingyi was already a shrewd person, always observant since childhood. He had learned to follow Li Yuanxiu closely and naturally understood his father's painstaking efforts. Having assisted Li Yuanxiu in managing family affairs for just over a year now, he had never been negligent.

Li Xiewen stood in the courtyard, with clan soldiers passing by bowing and greeting him, to which he responded in kind. After waiting the time it took for an incense stick to burn, he finally saw his eldest son, Li Pingyi, emerge from the courtyard and say with a clasped hand,

"Family Head, the Clan Head has descended the mountain. Please follow me."

Both men had their duties within the Clan Head Courtyard, and with all the clan members' eyes on them, they naturally did not dare to address each other as father and son while in the courtyard. Li Pingyi referred to his father by his title of "Family Head" in the courtyard, and Li Xiewen replied respectfully,

"Thank you, sir."

Li Xiewen followed Li Pingyi into the Central Hall and saw many clan soldiers silently standing there, while two men kneeled below, their upper bodies stripped and being whipped with thorny switches, with their blood splattering all around. Both men clenched their teeth, not daring to utter a sound, with greyish wooden slips inserted in their necks. Li Xiewen looked closely—one was labeled "Bullying the daughter of a commoner," the other "Extorting money." Judging by their appearance, neither seemed to be kin of his own, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.

Passing through the dim and lightless Central Hall, the light in the back room was much brighter, with windows on both sides letting in streaks of sunlight and glistening lamps that seemed to have been lit with mana, devoid of any soot or smoke.

A youth sat at the head of the room, appearing to be sixteen or seventeen, with neatly combed black hair and wearing a jade crown. With calm eyebrows and smooth facial lines, his dark gray eyes looked over, and he smiled, saying,

"I heard that Uncle Xiewen was looking for me, and Yuanxiu hurried down the mountain in such a rush, making Uncle Xiewen wait a bit longer. Please, forgive me."

"Not at all! Not at all!"

Seeing his earnest face made Li Xiewen feel relieved, yet he did not dare to presume too much and said in a grave tone,

"I've taken on this position of Family Head by appointment, with the duty to oversee the minor households and branch cultivators. Recently, I've received news and hastened here to report."

"Please, Uncle, speak."

Li Yuanxiu nodded slightly, and Li Xiewen proceeded with a bow, continuing,

"The Chen Family's son has become a disciple of Li Qiuyang and is betrothed to his sixth daughter. The Chen Family has thus thrown in its lot with Qiuyang's lineage, which will…"

"Uncle had already discussed this matter with me."

Li Yuanxiu waved his hand, clearly already aware of the issue, and chuckled,

"Uncle and Qiuyang Family Head are both pillars of our family; this is a trifling matter."

Li Xiewen could see that Li Yuanxiu did not wish to delve into the issue, purposely interrupting him; some things, once said, could offend others, so he decided to drop it and continued,

"Currently, the Li Family's Ye Clan branch has over six thousand five hundred members, while the minor families number one thousand two hundred, with eight cultivators among them. The disciples involved in the conflicts with the three major external cultivator families have all been identified—one by one. There are over six hundred commoners... and three cultivators."

"Hmm."

Li Yuanxiu slightly furrowed his brows and pondered for a few moments, then whispered,

"Most of these mortals have married into families with outsider cultivators, so entanglements are inevitable..."

"As for the cultivators of our clan, small sects are not households of their own, they have their own families and relatives, with closeness and aversion, likes and dislikes, and the entanglement of interests is not easy to handle."

Glancing at Li Xiewen seated below, Li Yuanxiu softly said,

"Uncle, you have a good eye for selecting disciples with promising talents and moving them to Huaqian Mountain to cultivate with their uncle, keeping them away from these disputes. As for the others, they are just cultivators who will be stuck in the Fetal Breathing stage for life. Let them fight if they want to; in the end, it's nothing but a handful of ashes. Have someone keep an eye on them; as long as it's not too unsightly, let the rest be."

"Yes."

Li Xiewen responded gravely, gave instructions on some complex and detailed matters, then bowed and withdrew. Li Pingyi, who was next to him, turned to Li Yuanxiu and said in a low voice,

"Family Head, should our people continue to fan the flames...?"

"No need, pull them back."

Li Yuanxiu gathered the wooden slips from the case, took a sip from his tea bowl, and replied,

"If this goes on for too long and True Fire erupts, it would be unseemly. The current intensity is just right, letting them fight tooth and nail yet feel helpless."

"With each day, the number of cultivators in our family grows. They're not truly immune to worldly affairs. The fight over Spirit Rice and Spirit Stones is enough to make them break their heads over it. Conflict is inevitable sooner or later. With this push, who is cunning, who is clever, who is steady, who is honest—it's all clear. If something really happens later, we'll have a reference."

Li Pingyi nodded in acquiescence. Li Yuanxiu held his brush and sketched something on the fabric in front of him, his slender brows lifting as he said softly,

"However, with most of the family elders in seclusion, we should still proceed with stability in mind and avoid alarming the elders. Assign a few people to keep close watch; if something really goes wrong, warn them in advance. It would look bad if it resulted in death."

"Understood."

Li Pingyi bowed and, after reviewing the reports from the past few days, suddenly thought of something and said in a low voice,

"Family Head, a Tian Clan member has broken through to the Fifth Layer of the Yujing Wheel of Fetal Breathing, which led to the birth of Spiritual Sense; they can sense everything around them clearly. Our clan's children were almost exposed several times, so I had to pull them back to avoid giving anything away."

"Cultivators at the Fifth Layer of Fetal Breathing transcend the mundane world and can be hard to manage; I've considered this matter."

Li Yuanxiu put down the writing brush he was holding, clearly having already had concerns and quietly said,

"Cultivators who have reached the Fifth Layer of Fetal Breathing, or its peak, are no longer ordinary people with their enhanced cultivation levels, beyond the control of the Clan Head Courtyard."

"I am considering submitting a letter to Meichi Peak to separate the cultivators above the Fifth Layer of Fetal Breathing from the masses. It would be too wasteful to have them with Spiritual Sense farming the land. They could go into the mountains to kill demons or make Talisman Paper, no need to be managed by those below the mountain."

Li Yuanxiu paused, meticulously reviewed his thoughts, and continued,

"The issue is that there are too few of our own cultivators who have developed Spiritual Sense to form an organization. But as the outsider cultivators within our family gradually grow, this matter will inevitably need to be brought to the forefront."

"Young Master has given this thorough thought."