The first thing Li Xuan heard was a scream.
It tore through the thin wooden walls, sharp and raw, pulling him from the weight of sleep. For a while, he just lay there, eyes open in the dim light, his heart beating too loudly in his chest. Then came the pounding of heavy fists against the front door, followed by angry voices carried on the morning wind.
"Open up! You've had your time!"
He pushed himself upright, the threadbare blanket slipping down his shoulders. The air was cold, damp with the scent of herbs and earth. Pale light crept through the cracks in the wall, painting thin bars across the dirt floor. His breath hung white in the air.
"Aunt Mei?" he called softly.
No answer but just another scream.
He stumbled out of his room, the floorboards groaning beneath his bare feet. A middle aged woman stood in the narrow entryway, both hands braced against the door as it shuddered beneath the force of each blow.
Besides her seemingly weak body,she managed to hold off the pushing
"Li Xuan, stay back!" she cried just as li Xuan walked towards her .
The next strike splintered the wood. The door burst open with a crash that threw her backward onto the floor. Two men stepped inside with rough faces and muddy boots, the smell of sweat and metal clinging to them. Behind them walked a thinner man wearing a dark coat, his hair was slicked back in an ugly manner
Aunt Mei scrambled up, her body shaking just slightly .
"Zhao Lin… please,You promised to give us one more week before we find a proper home to live in ."
Zhao Lin looked around the room with disdain, brushing invisible dust from his sleeve.
"A week?" His tone was almost amused. "You've already had three. Debts don't pay themselves,old woman . This land belongs to the Zhao family now and you should better know your place just as the other one did .."
Li Xuan clenched his fists, stepping in front of his aunt, this fool was clearly talking about his mother , sometimes he thought they had something to do with her death but without enough evidence,he could prove his instincts right .
"You can't take it, This house and land rightfully belongs to the Li family,not to some greedy pigs running naked and wild ."
"Oh , isn't that cute," Zhao Lin said, eyes glinting, " This seems the Li family still has some people with balls, but yours are too small to question my authority "
" so says the bully who has nothing to do and follows pathetic orders like a puppet while your brothers are doing something sensible ", li Xuan shot back .
Zhao Lin's face twisted,then smiled, half impressed
"You must be Li Xuan," he said finally. "You have her eyes.....stubborn and useless."
Then he waved his hand. "Clear it out."
The two men began their work with cruel efficiency. One kicked over the small table while the other dumped a chest's contents across the floor :a small wooden box , a cracked photo frame and a few letters tied with faded string .
Aunt Mei rushed to stop them, but a rough hand shoved her aside, sending her sprawling to the ground.
Li Xuan moved without thinking. He stepped between her and the men, despite his thin frame , his voice was steady and echoed just enough for everyone to hear.
"Enough," he said.
For a moment, everything stilled. Then one of the men sneered and grabbed his shoulder to push him away.
He jerked back with a hiss.
"What—what was that?" he muttered, staring at his palm as if burned.
Zhao Lin frowned. "Don't start your superstitious nonsense once again"
The man's face had gone pale.
" How dare you burn me ,you little freak"
Li Xuan said nothing. The warmth pulsing in his wrist was faint but real like something alive, something breathing beneath his skin. He quickly lowered his sleeve, hiding the flicker of the golden pink light before anyone could see.
Zhao Lin's gaze lingered for a moment
" I think that is enough for today,we're done here. Leave them whatever scraps they can carry."
The men muttered but obeyed. Soon, the little house was stripped bare with only chairs overturned and a chest opened with the smell of dust rising from the floor. Zhao Lin paused at the doorway, his shadow long and dark against the morning light.
"Next time,I won't be so kind . Our Zhao family has even you a lot of time to clear up and yet you disobey what we tell you ,hope you are still whole before we crush everything around you "
"You should have remarried, Mei," he continued quietly. "Pity doesn't keep you warm."
Then he was gone .
For a long time, neither of them spoke. The silence that followed felt heavier than the shouting had. The open door let in a weak light, turning the dust into drifting gold.
Aunt Mei sat on the ground, her face hidden in her hands. Li Xuan knelt beside her, his fingers cold and trembling with anger
"Aunt Mei…" he called out
She looked up at him, her eyes red with tears .
"i really don't know what to do . Our Li family is losing everything we built over the centuries in just days, if only I had taken up cultivation and crushed those arrogant fools"
He just exhaled, glancing at her trembling fists.
He reached for the small wooden box lying near the doorway,it surely fell out of the chest when those morons were crushing almost everything . Inside was a silver pendant with a golden signature displaying the name li family in bold letters .
Aunt Mei noticed it.
"That is the last symbol of heritage for our Li family, it bears no use to us "
Li Xuan shook his head
"The Li family was the strongest family to ever live in mingdu,no matter how bad we have fallen . There is still room for regrowth "
He pulled a thin chain from his pocket and looped it through the small hole of the pendant. Carefully, he placed it around her neck.
"This is for you. I can't repay for everything you have done to keep the Li family's name alive, but I am sure the my mother would be happy if you became the matriarch of the Li family "
Her lips trembled. She pulled him close, holding him tightly.
"You shouldn't have to live like this"
Li Xuan smiled faintly.
"And neither should you. Parents suffer to feed their children, but that doesn't mean we don't see it. Or care,the little you offer shows how much courage you have and that also gives us hope to withstand the cruelty of the world"
He took her hand. "I promise you, anyone who undermined our Li family will suffer the consequences"
Li Mei's tears shimmered as she pinched his cheek. "You're crazy," she said, forcing a weak laugh.
"Yesterday you skipped school, but not today. And by the way—the food you prepared last night was good except you forgot to add enough salt ."
He almost smiled. She stood and began gathering what little was left, her movements weary but determined. Even after losing everything, she still smiled and cared
Li Xuan watched her for a long time. No one else in the family had taken him in. Only her. It was like she cared for him even more than her own mother but the warmth of a mother could never he replaced by anyone let a lone someone who cares more with all her heart
Outside, the wind howled through the broken door. The sky was turning gray, thunder murmuring far beyond the hills.
When morning finally stretched fully into light, Aunt Mei said quietly, "We'll go to the village. Old Mrs. Han will take us in for a while."
Li Xuan's jaw tightened. He knew that old woman with a cruel tongue and sharp eyes. She would make Aunt Mei cry again and he couldn't let that happen.
" I think I will have to go to school early,this time" he said.
" you should take some money for breakfast ",she bent down and picked up a coin from the ground then threw it towards li Xuan .
Li Xuan grabbed it and nodded his head. Surely that might have been the only coin in the house incase you didn't count the small saving but she was ready to offer it .
He looked at her for a moment and felt as if a heavy stone was placed on his chest . All this pain was caused by the brats of the Zhao family and he couldn't let them go unpunished no matter the consequences of his own actions
Li Xuan stepped outside. The path was muddy from last night's rain. Mist hung low over the fields, pale and silent. Behind him, the small house stood like a broken memory.
He said nothing despite the argue to scream to the heavens for this bad fate ,he only turned away and followed the muddy trail toward the road the men had taken.