Inside Merit City.
After returning home, Li Xinnian was truly busy to the point of being overwhelmed.
First, he went before the Old Ancestor's spirit tablet to offer incense. Then he had to go to the Heaven-Piercing Coffin to kowtow to Li Dalong and Xu Cuihua; fly up into the sky to kowtow to Li Yaozu, Li Yaowen, and Li Yaotie, who were cultivating with their eyes closed; and finally, go to the Outer City to serve tea to Li Yaoqing, who was lounging on her recliner.
"Go on, go on. The Physician has entered meditation. Go find your other elders to pay respects to."
The Immortal Boy, his face looking utterly miserable, was using his True Qi to maintain the fire in the pill furnace.
Li Xinnian was already used to the arrogant air of this child, who clearly held everyone else in disdain.
Afterward, he simply found an open spot and began to kowtow continuously toward the ground.
Seven of his ancestors were hidden in the earth, along with an old senior he had never met.
He had only just finished kowtowing when seven deep, resonant voices—both male and female—traveled up from beneath the ground.
"The pretty boy is here to kowtow again, jiejiejie (sinister laugh), so filial!"
"What damn 'pretty boy'? What kind of elder calls their own kid that? Believe it or not, I'll rip your head off!!"
"Shut up. Cultivate!"
"..."
Li Xinnian wiped the cold sweat from his head before going to pay his respects to his Great-Grandmother Qingyu, his grandparents, and his father and mother.
In the entire family, only his own branch and Great-Grand-Uncle Tianming were somewhat normal. However, Great-Grand-Uncle Tianming was just a bit timid and kind-hearted.
He was probably out handling matters with the other two Great-Grand-Uncles right now.
Immediately after, he arrived before the Old Tree to pay his respects to Grand-Uncle Changsheng. Grand-Aunt Changyao was also beneath the Old Tree.
Ever since he was little, this Grand-Uncle Changsheng had been sleeping. Now that he was thirty-eight years old, Grand-Uncle Changsheng was still the same.
There were many other elders in the family.
The Divine Tree, the Guarding Divine Beast, and the many guest retainers supported by the family —like Senior Shanchen, Senior Dongfang Xuan, Senior Old Man, and Senior Gu Yinming...
After returning, Li Xinnian went to see them all, one by one. This was his usual routine after being away for a long time; just paying respects to the seniors would take up the better part of his day.
The entire Eternal Sun Prefecture and the Duravia Trade Prefecture revered the Li family as their masters, yet to this day, Li Xinnian still didn't know exactly how powerful his family truly was.
To him, the elders were a group of incomparably mysterious existences. They rarely appeared in the world, just like a group of living legends.
After he returned, the family's old steward was already waiting for him.
"Grandfather Huang."
Li Xinnian was unfailingly respectful toward Huang Xiujin.
Everyone in the family had told him to maintain his respect for Grandfather Huang, as he was a remarkable man.
If one truly traced back the generations, Grandfather Huang had even shown a nurturing kindness to his Great-Grandmother and his deceased Great-Grandfather.
"Ah."
Huang Xiujin was in the middle of directing the servants. When he saw Li Xinnian return, a flash of delight crossed his eyes, and he asked, "Young Master, are you here for medicinal cuisine? I will have someone arrange it at once."
"No."
Seeing that no one else was around, Li Xinnian gave a bitter smile.
"Grandfather Huang, there is one thing this Xinnian doesn't understand."
"Oh?"
Seeing Li Xinnian's troubled look, Huang Xiujin had him sit down and speak in detail.
Li Xinnian said, "Grandfather Huang, I did something today. I used my friend—a life-or-death friend."
"Why? Did you cause harm to your friend's life?" Huang Xiujin's expression suddenly grew calm.
"No." A flash of guilt crossed Li Xinnian's eyes.
"I clearly knew he would become a pawn in the family's grand scheme, yet I did not stop it.
I also knew that with just a minor scheme, I could have rescued the woman he loves, but I did not intervene too much."
Huang Xiujin remained unmoved, merely asking quietly, "Did you harm the family's interests?"
"No."
"Did you place your clansmen in peril?"
"No."
"Did you feel joy?"
"No."
After the three questions were asked and answered, Huang Xiujin slowly rose to his feet and led Li Xinnian to the courtyard where Qingyu resided.
This courtyard was in a remote corner of Merit City.
He saw his Great-Grandmother sitting cross-legged in cultivation within a brightly lit thatched hut, and opposite her was his Great-Grandfather's spirit tablet.
"Great-Grandmother."
Li Xinnian bowed respectfully to Qingyu, then bowed reverently toward his Great-Grandfather's spirit tablet before rising.
During this, Qingyu merely blinked her eyelashes lightly and paid no mind to this great-grandson, continuing her cultivation.
Huang Xiujin led Li Xinnian away. He smiled and said, "Your elders dote on you greatly. They hope you can become a kind and good person. A dashing young nobleman, unparalleled in the world—who wouldn't hope for their own child to be so dazzling? But Xinnian, ah, this time, you did very well."
Li Xinnian followed behind Huang Xiujin, silently listening to his guidance.
"The path of the family and the path of the individual man are not the same; their methods are different.
A man can act openly and magnanimously, free from constraints.
But the path of a family disciple is like steering a boat through a rain-filled night.
One wrong step means the boat is destroyed and everyone in it is lost."
Huang Xiujin's voice was leisurely. "On this precarious spirit boat, if you do not row the oars, then the ones rowing with all their might will be your clansmen. And you will only become a heavy burden."
"I am very gratified. You may have wronged your friend, but you have done right by your bloodline and your clansmen. Just like your ancestor—he did right by the entire family, but wronged only himself."
Beneath the moonlight, one old and one young walked through the long night.
Li Xinnian's gaze grew increasingly resolute. He wasn't a fool; in fact, he had long known that his elders wanted to see him be kind, gentle, and refined.
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