Chapter Thirty-Six: Scheming

The old clan chief was beginning to entertain thoughts of retreat. He truly had no idea how to handle the upheaval of this day. The young girl before him had already grown strong—no longer someone either he or the entire Li Family Village could so much as touch. She now had a Guardian Master as her teacher, was the adopted daughter of the Empress Dowager, and had been granted the title of Princess by imperial decree. The villagers didn't know, but his own son had received letters from colleagues in the capital, spelling it all out clearly. Who would have thought the orphan girl of years past would come to such fortune? If they didn't acknowledge her, so be it—pretend they didn't know. But if they did recognize her, wouldn't he, at his age, have to kneel before this little girl?

Just as the two sides remained deadlocked, someone quick-witted in the crowd had already run off to Yunhua's paternal grandparents' home to spread the news. Speaking of which, the grandparents' household had been declining year after year. The able-bodied men in the family had nearly all become invalids, no longer fit for heavy labor. Day in and day out, aside from quarreling and blaming one another, all they did was curse Yunhua as unfilial and wish her an ill death. Vile words like "little hussy," "little—" running off with some wild man at such a tender age—the things they said were unbearable to hear. Now that Yunhua had returned, naturally there were those who wanted to see how her grandparents' family would cope.

Yunhua's feelings were complicated—there was hatred, resentment, and things she could not let go. Yet she didn't know what to do with this group of so-called kin. She could only turn in silence, preparing to leave. She would find a day to rebury her parents together, and ask various people to help watch over the graves. She couldn't expect that family to harbor even a shred of familial feeling toward her branch.

With a whistle, a snow-white fox dashed out from the underbrush. Yunhua wrinkled her nose at the filthy creature; ignoring its frantic resistance, she grabbed it by the scruff of its neck as if hoisting a fur coat, ready to leave.

Who would have thought—she had barely taken two steps when a voice sounded from behind, the same voice that had jolted her awake from countless nightmares in her childhood. Yunhua no longer wished to stay in this place of sorrow. She only wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

"You must not have visited that shameless mother of yours' grave, have you! A woman like that, who didn't keep to her place, should have been left to rot in the wilderness, a lonely ghost with no one to burn incense for her. Let the wild dogs devour her. And she deserves a proper grave with a headstone? Pah! Don't think you're so mighty now. You don't even have the slightest sense of filial piety or decency. I had your mother's grave dug up long ago—don't bother looking for it!" Yunhua's grandmother simply didn't know how much she hated her granddaughter. Wasn't the family's current ruin entirely that little wench's doing? How many times had she regretted not drowning the girl along with her mother in the pond back then? By leaving that scourge alive, she had brought ruin to the whole family. Day and night, her curses had nearly consumed every thought in the old woman's mind, leaving only hatred. Now that she heard the little wench had returned, how could she hold back? Rage blinded all reason, and she struck with whatever venom she could muster. As long as she could see the other party unhappy, she was happy.

The moment Yunhua's grandmother spoke, not only did Yunhua's expression change—the clansmen's faces changed as well. The clan chief was both furious and frantic, wishing he could strangle this muddle-headed old crone. If it was hatred, the clan chief hated her more than she did. But one had to read the situation! As he silently cursed his misfortune, he shot meaningful glances at those around him, preparing to have the old woman, who clearly couldn't grasp the gravity of things, locked in the ancestral hall to cool her head.

Yunhua turned around. Looking at her grandmother, who had aged so much compared to six years ago, she suddenly smiled. "Grandmother, I imagine you haven't been faring well either! When you hounded my father to death, killed my mother, abused me, and tried to sell me off as a burial companion—did you never think that karma would come to this world? You don't consider me a member of the Li family. Fine, then I won't be one. My name is now Yunhua—I am Princess Kangle, conferred by the imperial court. I have nothing to do with that helpless orphan girl anymore. What can you people do to me?"

The more lightly Yunhua smiled, the heavier the clan chief's heart sank. The meaning in her words was clear: she had severed all ties with the Li family. There was no longer any kinship to speak of between her and Li Family Village. This was not a good thing. Because if one was flesh and blood, naturally one couldn't defy the cardinal relationships and the bonds of kinship. But if not, then they were strangers. If she wanted revenge, she wouldn't hold back. Clearly, the clan chief wasn't the only one who understood this—others who did grasp her meaning also turned their eyes to the clan chief. How to proceed was entirely up to his orders.

"Seize her!" The clan chief's thoughts raced, countless schemes flashing through his mind to die in an instant. Seeing that matters had reached a point of no return—Yunhua's last shred of attachment had been ruthlessly shattered. If the clan could dig up her mother's grave and leave the body exposed to the wilderness, then this matter certainly wouldn't end peacefully! He might as well take her captive first and figure things out later.

When the clansmen heard the chief's decision, they moved at once. If Yunhua's master were still present, no one would dare stir a finger. But Yunhua was just a young girl, delicate and frail-looking. Even if she had cultivated some skill, it had only been a few years. A dozen or so young men immediately lunged toward Yunhua. In principle, men shouldn't have been the ones to grab a young girl—the village was not short of sturdy women, and plenty were standing right there. Why was it men who moved? The intentions behind that decision were truly vicious and vile.

The clan chief watched the dozen-odd young men charge forward and immediately sensed something amiss. But in the end, he only moved his lips and said nothing. Yunhua's eyes blazed with fury. That someone could still devise such a despicable scheme at a moment like this—truly, the Li family had a legacy of such cunning. She formed hand seals at her chest and cried out softly, "Banishing evil and slaying demons, let the Five Elements thunder fall—haste!" At her command, several bolts of lightning struck down from the sky, landing mere meters before the young men in the lead, blasting huge craters into the earth. The thunder roared, scaring the impure-minded fellows nearly out of their wits. They collapsed on the spot, soiling themselves in terror. Those who hadn't charged as fast were frozen in shock, not daring to move an inch. The crowd around them went pale, gazing at Yunhua with eyes full of fear—including Yunhua's grandmother, who had refused to concede until now. For she had never imagined that Yunhua might one day become something so utterly beyond reach.

In the end, Yunhua was still soft-hearted, a young girl at bottom. She sighed to herself. Far away, hundreds of li off, Liaochen also sighed, silently worrying about the path of wandering that lay ahead for Yunhua.

"Don't try any more crooked tricks. This immortal is not going to be lenient next time." Yunhua gritted her teeth and spat the words, her eyes blazing with fury as she looked at her clansmen. Calling to the fox with a whistle, she turned and left resolutely—this place made her want to vomit just looking at it.

Yunhua left, and none of the clansmen dared to forcibly stop her. The clan chief, pale-faced, looked at the clansmen who were still each harboring their own schemes, and let out a long sigh. The murder of her mother. The pain of abuse. The resentment of being hounded to death. The hatred of a grave desecrated. This feud only grew deeper and deeper. And even now, there were still louts in the village with ill intentions, eyeing that young girl as prey. Truly, they had no idea what it meant to stay alive. The clan chief seemed to have aged decades in an instant. He could barely walk without someone supporting him. In a daze, he was led back to his home. Lying in his rocking chair, sighing and weeping without end, he remained that way until his son, who had been away visiting friends, rushed home upon hearing the news. Only then did the old chief find his anchor once more, and he recounted the whole affair in detail. When he finished, he sought counsel from his worldly-wise son.