Chapter 660: 485 Chapter Jiao Ge_2

"If Xiuyue does not take action, the Yuan Family will continue to suffer misfortune..."

As he rode the wind and surveyed the town, he saw several figures flying in from the horizon.

The Jade Courtyard Guards hurriedly surrounded him, and Li Chengliao took a closer look; it seemed to be the Xiao Family's attire. Since these people were approaching him directly, Li Chengliao silently assessed the situation, ready to adapt to any changes.

The leader, a woman in white garments, appeared to be in her mid-thirties, a Middle Stage of Qi Cultivation with a quite impressive aura. Her face was very familiar.

Following her was a young man in black clothes, looking stern. Not yet thirty, he already possessed Qi Cultivation of the early stage. Li Chengliao recognized him; it was Xiao Muyun from the Yu Mountain lineage of the Xiao Family. He had visited to pay his respects when Li Yuanping passed away.

The group stopped ahead, and the woman alone stepped forward and asked,

"I am Li Qingxiao from Yu Mountain... I wonder which member of the family is in charge now..."

Li Chengliao stared blankly for a moment before replying,

"Greeting, Miss."

This person was indeed Li Qingxiao, the daughter of Li Jingtian and Chen Donghe. Li Chengliao had seen her return once when he was young, but the memory was too distant to recall clearly. Now, she had taken on the role of a decision-maker for the Xiao Family's Yu Mountain, and her actions and demeanor exuded an air of authority.

Li Chengliao led her into the mountains, but he saw that Li Qingxiao seemed a bit lost as she set foot on Qingdu Mountain. She looked around and said in a tart voice,

"It has been many years, and the home has already changed beyond recognition."

It was only then that Li Qingxiao began to walk a few steps on the stone pathway, when the sound of thunder rumbled above. A bolt of purple lightning struck down, and a woman dressed in jade armor and white boots descended, her fingers pinched in a spell. The spear slanted toward the ground, and her almond eyes were full of shock as she exclaimed,

"Little sister!"

Li Qingxiao quickly looked up, the jade beads in her hair tinkling. Their eyes, somewhat similar, met, and Li Qingxiao's expression grew complicated as she spoke softly,

"After decades, elder sister hasn't changed at all."

Li Qinghong, however, remained silent, her gaze lowered. The Li Qingxiao before her had changed entirely from the one in her memories and resembled the dignified Madam Dou. She seemed to possess the poise of someone in a high and powerful position.

She hurriedly descended, took her younger sister's hand, and Li Qingxiao, looking at the purple lightning, filled her eyes with envy and said,

"Congratulations, elder sister, for achieving your heart's desire and cultivating the Immortal Foundation."

Li Xizhi, who was carrying a demonic creature, gave Li Chengliao a meaningful look, and soon, everyone stepped back, leaving the two sisters to walk alone in the mountains. Li Qinghong was slightly taller, and Li Qingxiao looked up at her. Both struggled to find words and remained silent.

The two sisters did not say much but could feel that the atmosphere they once shared as children wandering the mountains was gone. They walked further and further apart, each on their own path, seemingly with even fewer topics to talk about.

Li Qingxiao had no choice but to speak,

"I was in seclusion a few days ago and missed the news..."

With a slight pause, she said mournfully,

"Our brother passed away one after the other, leaving just the two of us sisters."

This remark struck deep in Li Qinghong's heart. She and her sister had imagined many different futures for themselves, both tragic and mundane. Li Qinghong had always thought she would die seeking the Dao, never having foreseen a future where only the two sisters remained.

She was about to speak again when she saw a light flare up beyond the formation, and a husky voice came through,

"Liu Changdie... has come to visit!"

Li Qinghong sighed softly, watching as someone went out to greet the visitor. She did not move but calculated with her fingers. All of Li Yuanjiao's remaining relatives and friends should have paid their visits. She spoke softly,

"I'll take you to see our brother. It's time for closure..."

As the two women made their way to the cemetery, Liu Changdie, standing in the formation, was greeted by Li Xuanxuan personally. He looked dispirited, standing dazedly in the rain, his face filled with disbelief.

Li Xuanxuan called to him several times, noting that he had reached Foundation Establishment, truly a rare achievement, but there was no response from him. After several breaths, he finally asked,

"Senior, please don't deceive me, is Yuanjiao really dead or is this a ruse?"

"What kind of talk is that..."

The expression on Li Xuanxuan's face did not seem feigned, and Liu Changdie felt as if his world had collapsed, choking out two lines of hot tears, and muttering in grief and confusion,

"How is that possible!"

He hid his thoughts, daring not to voice them:

'How could this be? Since my rebirth, I have changed so much... There were no mages besieging the mountain, Li Qinghong didn't commit suicide, and Elder Tongya even slain Maha with his sword. Li Xuanfeng's might shook the Southern Border, and Li Xuanxuan hadn't reached the point of madness and confinement... In the end... In the end, it was Jiao who was harmed!'

'Why did it turn out like this!'

He walked as if in a daze, unable to hear clearly what Li Xuanxuan was saying beside him. His mind was a whirlwind of thoughts:

'Is this better or worse... Yes! The Li Family is more prosperous, but Jiao ran into the Cave Heaven and lost his life instead! It was me... I disrupted everything... It was I who caused his death!'

Liu Changdie felt a suffocating sense of guilt. In this life, he had been busy chasing Spiritual Objects and power, constantly plagued by growing anxiety. He gradually realized that this world was completely different from what he had imagined, filled with countless conspiracies and machinations.

And while he was busy with all these, he had lost his dearest friend from his previous life, and even caused his death. Liu Changdie felt dizzy and blinded by tears, kneeling in front of the stele, crying softly.

Clearly, the members of the Li family around him didn't understand why he was so grieved, and some looked incredulously at him. Liu Changdie was crying so emotionally that even Li Xuanxuan began to have doubts.

"Could it be that Jiao had such a profound friendship with this person in life?"

Liu Changdie cried bitterly, to the point of panic. In his previous life, he was foolish and ignorant, always seeking advice from this old friend who managed to arrange everything perfectly. He hadn't had the chance to repay these kindnesses.

In this life, relying on his foreknowledge, he never asked for a single stratagem and had barely exchanged a few words with Li Yuanjiao before he hastily departed. As time passed and his advantages faded, he saw more and more, only to understand how ignorant he had been in his previous life, which made him even more anxious.

He cried for a long time, until Li Xuanxuan couldn't stand it anymore and came to console him. Only then did Liu Changdie stand up, and with great sorrow, he said:

"Brother Jiao!"

...

Yuan Fuyao had stayed with the Li Family for several months, sending people around to inquire, but they all came back mute.

His men first approached the Jade Courtyard Guards, secretly stopping one in the street, and coaxed him to an isolated spot on the pretext of entrusting a task, trying to slip something into that man's hands.

Little did they know that the guard, dubious as he entered the alley and saw something being passed to him, reacted as if he'd touched a red-hot piece of charcoal. He jumped high on the spot, scattering the Spirit Stones all over the ground.

"I've never offended Young Master Fuyao! Why are you trying to harm me!"

The two men from the Yuan Family were chased out of the yard, stumbling over themselves, feeling like they'd had the worst of luck, having encountered a fool, and they went to look for two clan soldiers.

In theory, mere clan soldiers could hardly find out anything about the betrothal gifts, they just hoped to have an insider within the Li Family. But to their surprise, the two burly men became flushed and almost came to blows.

The two men from the Yuan Family returned in disarray. In the meantime, Yuan Fuyao, after giving items to his attendants, was turned away just the same. He was rejected with warm politeness and sat there stunned.

"The Li Family... to enforce such stern and harsh punishments! Every soldier and civilian lives in fear!"

Regret showed immediately on his face as he turned to his attendants and said:

"The bribery failed; they'll certainly take this to the Li Family to claim credit, leaving me embarrassed."

The attendants exchanged glances, muttering to themselves:

'The old ancestor instructed you repeatedly to be humble, and look what has happened now!'

Yuan Fuyao felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. Seeing the confusion on the faces of his men, he gritted his teeth and said:

"What do you two understand! My father only told me to obey orders, but I am not completely ignorant. There could be trouble at home! I just need to ask about the dowry, so that I can have something to rely on in the future, whether to stay or go."

"If I truly join the Li Family, on the one hand, I would lose my freedom, and on the other, I'd have no support. Who would then spare me a second glance? Should trouble arise at home again, I fear I may become an outcast of the Li Family!"

Upon hearing this, the two attendants felt there was some truth to it, and their attitudes softened considerably as they hurried to ponder, while Yuan Fuyao said uneasily:

"Yet my father hid such important matters from me, not discussing the arrangements of the betrothal gifts with me before he left for the East Sea, what exactly is he planning..."

The attendant on his right didn't know how to console him and simply said:

"The old ancestor must have his reasons for arranging things this way."