Chapter 2557 - 2621: The Ancestor
While the two of them were chatting warmly, Li Xiang, who had been carried away by his subordinates, woke up.
After waking up, Li Xiang’s expression was so sinister it was like he wanted to eat someone. His subordinates all felt that he was like a raging lion, on the verge of exploding at any moment.
After quite a while, Li Xiang finally said, "You really don’t have any other way?"
"Young master, once Li Yifei stuck his hand into this matter, it really became hard to deal with. That man’s influence in Ning Province is too great, and this is also a hot topic, it really is hard to handle." one subordinate said, bracing himself.
Li Xiang let out a heavy breath, looking somewhat dejected. He couldn’t accept this failure, especially when it wasn’t even at Li Yifei’s hands, but Su Lio’s... The moment he thought of Su Lio, he felt a painful suffocation rising in his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut, his mind full of the words Su Lio had said, her expressions, her movements...
What right does she have to become so powerful, what right do I not have, what right!
"That pair of dogs!" Li Xiang cursed.
Several subordinates didn’t dare respond. Very soon Li Xiang said again, "About Li Da’s matter... if the Elder Lord finds out, he’ll blame us!"
But it’s not really our fault, it was Li Da himself asking for it, causing such a big mess and still putting on airs just because of his status, the few subordinates complained silently in their hearts.
"Li Yifei..." Li Xiang clenched his fists. He wanted to take Li Yifei out right now, but after overdrawing his strength, let alone fighting another battle, he could barely even stand up at this point. He would need at least a few days to recuperate, let alone go looking for trouble with Li Yifei.
"Inform the family and request support." Li Xiang made his decision. Although this decision sounded very humiliating, he had no other choice.
"Yes, young master!" His subordinates let out a sigh of relief. They were just afraid Li Xiang would make some reckless decision.
Once the family was informed, although this matter was not exactly to their advantage either, it wouldn’t be so hard to handle anymore.
When this matter was reported back to the Li family, it really did alarm the Li family’s Elder Lord. The old man had just come out of seclusion, and as soon as he heard it had something to do with Li Yifei, he began to ask about it in detail.
So when Li Yifei received a call from the Li family’s Great Elder, he was still slightly surprised. After all, Li Yifei hadn’t expected the other party would be able to contact him.
The old man’s accent was a bit strange, and Li Yifei could barely understand him. From the phone, the other party’s breath seemed very weak, but Li Yifei knew the old man was more than ten, almost twenty years younger than Murong Yuanqing. Although his body had some hidden illnesses, they weren’t serious, so in theory the old man shouldn’t have any major problems.
Once he knew the other party’s identity, Li Yifei greeted him respectfully. You had to be respectful to seniors. The Li family’s Elder Lord let out a dry chuckle and said, "I’ve heard about you from Brother Murong. Very good, at such a young age you’re already an Innate Expert, and you’ve done quite a lot for the country. Brother Murong has a worthy successor."
"Senior, you flatter me. This junior still has many shortcomings and needs to learn from all of you seniors." Li Yifei said modestly.
"Haha, still so modest, that’s different from what I’ve heard!" the Li family’s Elder Lord said.
Li Yifei thought to himself, so you praise me first and then you’re going to cut me down? He replied, "This kid’s personality is indeed a bit stubborn, I tend to get stuck on things. This kind of personality isn’t good, it makes it easy to suffer losses in society."
"There aren’t many people who can make an Innate Expert suffer a loss, so there’s nothing bad about it. We Cultivators need that bit of stubbornness, not submitting to anyone, fearing no one, contending with heaven and earth—that is what a Cultivator should be!" The Li family’s Elder Lord raised his voice a little, but seemed to find it somewhat strenuous.
Li Yifei felt slightly odd and replied, "What you say is true, elder. I’ll remember it."
"Hehe, alright, I won’t say anything else. I just came out of seclusion and heard that the juniors have some friction with you, so I called to ask. If they were in the wrong, this old man will apologize to you!"
"Senior, that’s too serious. Since you brought it up, I’ll just tell it like it is. This matter has indeed caused quite a big impact, and the nature of it is very vile..."
"I know, that’s why I’m calling to apologize to you. I’ve fully understood this matter— that junior went way too far and did something utterly beastly. He deserves punishment. It’s not the old society anymore, and even back then there were laws and people in charge of such things. So you did nothing wrong. The point of my call is to tell you to give him a ruthless lesson. Daring to stain the reputation of my Li family— we don’t need a junior like that."
This old man was interesting. Li Yifei nodded. He’d originally thought the old man was calling to make trouble, but hadn’t expected this attitude instead. Hm, was this a test? Li Yifei said, "The police already have the evidence. Whatever laws he’s broken, whatever evil he’s done, the police will handle it. I just happened to run into this and stepped in. Elder, don’t get too upset. Among descendants it’s inevitable there will be such people. Once they’re discovered, you deal with them, that’s all."
"You little brat, now you’re lecturing me? Heh, Brother Murong really has a good eye. As they say, a true knight serves the country and the people— what matters is that righteous spirit. Just now I said I don’t submit to anyone, I’m not afraid of anyone— that’s what I was talking about. You’re not bad! As for that junior, deal with him however he should be dealt with, no need to worry about me. I’ve got dozens of grandsons and great-grandsons; how could I possibly keep an eye on all of them?"
"With those words of yours, I can rest easy! But... there’s another matter that probably also involves the Li family. I don’t know if you’re aware of it, Elder." Li Yifei said.
The Li family’s Elder Lord grunted and said, "What matter? Don’t tell me there’s something else?"
"There is indeed one more, and we already have enough evidence in hand." Li Yifei said.
The Li family’s Elder Lord’s voice grew slightly displeased. As one of the Five Great Masters, for him to take the initiative to call Li Yifei, and even speak in such a tone, was already extremely rare. Yet Li Yifei still wanted to dig into more trouble, so it was inevitable the old man felt a bit uncomfortable.
"Elder, this is actually the same case. Li Da and those people came to Dan City in fact to smuggle goods. What they were smuggling are items the state strictly forbids from being transported to neighboring countries. You know the neighboring country hasn’t been very stable these years, always trying to stir up trouble. Sending these things over— sure, the money’s made, but isn’t that just giving them the capital to cause trouble?"
"What’s going on?" As soon as the Li family’s Elder Lord heard this, he immediately frowned and pressed, "I don’t know anything about what you’re talking about. Li Yifei, don’t talk nonsense. The thing I hate most in my entire life is traitors!"
"Elder, don’t get worked up yet. We already have conclusive evidence on this. Right now we’re investigating who’s responsible, the specific people in charge. I know the Li family is now split into an open and a hidden branch. If it’s only the open branch where Li Da is, that’s easier to handle. But if the investigation shows the hidden Li family is also involved, then this is no small matter."
"Hurry up and talk." Heavy breathing came through the phone as the Li family’s Elder Lord urged.
Li Yifei went over the whole thing in detail. On the other end of the line came curses in a dialect; even through the phone screen Li Yifei could feel how furious the old man was. But Li Yifei felt it was a little strange— was there a need for the old man to get this angry? He’d seen all kinds of storms in his life; yet with this matter he was reacting with such intense rage...
The Li family’s Elder Lord cursed for a while, then picked up the phone again and said, "I’ll send people over to investigate. If it’s true, I will definitely not spare the ones involved, no matter who they are!"
"Alright, Elder. I’ve told you what’s going on— it’s fine if you handle it. After all, they’re Li family people, and if I step in it’ll easily cause conflict." Li Yifei said.
"Thank you. I’m an old man now; I haven’t meddled in things for many years. The people below think I’m truly old, so they can do whatever they want. Hmph. But what they don’t know is, as long as I’m not dead, the Li family has to listen to me. The thing I hate most in my life is traitors. These descendants are going to piss me to death!" the Li family’s Elder Lord said furiously.
Traitors— this was what the old man hated most. Not for no reason. If Li Yifei knew the history of the past, he would know that the Li family’s Elder Lord had once been a merchant, traveling all over the country, and only later did he throw himself into saving the nation. He had once deeply trusted an elder brother— it was that man who’d led him onto the path of cultivation. But because he trusted him too much, even after several betrayals, the Li family’s Elder Lord never suspected him.
Until finally he was sold out in an even bigger way. In that battle, he lost as many as eight thousand men— eight thousand young soldiers, many of whom had followed him all over the land— and they were completely wiped out by the enemy, all because of that elder brother’s betrayal.
After he figured out the truth, the Li family’s Elder Lord took up a blade and charged straight into the enemy camp, hacking that elder brother to death inside his tent. It was also in that battle that he used a blood-burning technique too excessively, leaving his body with chronic ailments that have persisted to this day.
In that era, "traitor" was an extremely insulting word, and also the kind of person countless heroes hated most. So the moment he heard what Li Yifei described, the old man’s first reaction was "treason," and that’s why he was so furious.
After hanging up, Li Yifei felt a bit of respect for this elder he’d never met and only heard of. The old man was still pretty decent; it’s just that among his descendants it was inevitable that scum would appear— they’d even stoop to making this kind of money...
His thoughts turned back to his own family, and Li Yifei once again fell into contemplation. Hm, it was time to establish some family rules. Their generation had to strictly abide by them, and from the next generation on there would be requirements, to prevent scum from appearing. Thinking of his own temper, as soon as he imagined there might be scum among his descendants, he also felt extremely angry.
But since the Li family’s Elder Lord had said he would send people to handle it, there was no need for Li Yifei to stay here any longer. He was still willing to trust the elder’s integrity. If the elder only brushed him off, then when the time came Li Yifei would naturally go and demand a clear explanation. The elder was worthy of respect, but if the job was done badly, Li Yifei would have every reason to seek justice.
They went to see Li Manli’s parents. Su Lio left some money for Li Manli’s mother. She refused to accept it, but Su Lio still left it behind. Li Yifei gave Wu Gang a stern warning, and after Wang Feng found out about Li Yifei’s identity he was scared half to death. Thinking about how he’d almost hit the richest man in Ning Province, Wang Feng felt like dying. But seeing how mild and easygoing Li Yifei was, he relaxed a lot and promised to keep Wu Gang in line from now on.
Li Manli was already dead, and in such a tragic way. Even though justice had been done, she was gone. On the way back, Su Lio couldn’t help feeling a bit sad, and Li Yifei offered her a few words of comfort.