The muddy road glistened beneath the lanterns that hung from crooked poles, their light faint and wavering in the mist. Smoke rose from the chimneys of a few early taverns, mingling with the smell of wet earth and cheap wine. The world felt tired, as though it had already lived too long before the sun had even risen.
Li Xuan walked with his hands in his pockets, the hood of his worn coat pulled low. His feet made soft prints in the mud but his eyes were steady and calm
He found them easily.
The three men sat in a small roadside tavern at the edge of the mingdu city,their voices loud with their laughter heavier than the air. Through the open doorway, he could see the glow of lanterns dancing over rough faces and greasy tables. They were drinking, slamming cups, bragging about how quickly they'd "handled" a certain woman's home.
So early in the morning,they were busy drinking as if they had no care in the world.
Li Xuan stood in the rain a moment, listening.
Then he stepped inside.
The door creaked shut behind him. The tavern fell quieter, only the crackle of fire filling the space. The innkeeper, a hunched man with gray hair, looked up briefly and went back to polishing a mug. Drunk farmers and gamblers barely spared the newcomer a glance.
Li Xuan moved to an empty table in the corner. He didn't sit immediately. He studied the men,the same three faces that had stood over his aunt just minutes ago
The biggest of them, the one who had tried to shove him, was halfway through a bottle, his laughter loud and broken.
"You should've seen her face," he slurred. "Begging like a dog."
The second man spat on the floor. "That kid though… burned my hand somehow. Weird brat."
Zhao Lin chuckled. "You fool ,it was just spiritual energy . Though I never expected the Li family to ever possess cultivators "
Their laughter cut off when the someone spoke.
"Still laughing?"
His voice was quiet, almost soft but it reached them all the same.
Three pairs of eyes turned his way.
The drunkest one squinted, then let out a short, disbelieving laugh.
"You again? The brat from the li family?"
Li Xuan didn't answer. He stepped closer, the wooden floor creaking beneath his weight. His expression didn't change, and that silence made something cold crawl down their spines.
Zhao Lin banged his mug on the table.
"What, you come here to beg for your aunt? Get lost before I crush your little manhood"
Li Xuan's eyes narrowed on Zhao Lin's cup holding wine and it shattered under the Zhao Lin's grasp
The drunk man's words caught in his throat as he blinked down at the fragments of the cup scattered across the table .
Li Xuan approached the table took the empty seat beside one of the minions just opposite Zhao Lin,his face was calm as though nothing had happened.
"Your Zhao family has continued to harass our Li family,do you think we think we are fools who can't stand up against you"
Li Xuan reached for the bottle on the table and poured himself a drink. He took a sip,it was bitter but his face didn't flinch.
One of Zhao Lin's minions pushed back his chair. "You've got some nerve, brat—"
Before he could stand, his wrist slammed against the table with a thud that cracked the wood. Li Xuan's hand had moved again, pressing down gently and yet the man couldn't move .
There was no sign of spiritual energy in these fools,so controlling them with just his spiritual sense was much easier .
"Sit," Li Xuan said.
The man obeyed without realizing why.
The tavern had gone utterly still now. Only the faint hiss of rain outside and the soft drip of spilled wine broke the silence. The innkeeper froze behind his counter, pretending not to see.
Li Xuan took another sip.
"My aunt has never harmed anyone. Yet you threw her to the floor like she was trash."
He turned his gaze to the man beside him.
"Does that make you proud?"
The man opened his mouth to answer but no sound came. His throat convulsed once, twice, and then his head hit the table with a dull thump.
Li Xuan looked down at his own hand. The warmth under his skin had grown stronger, rising up his arm like slow fire. He didn't fully understand it, but it felt natural .
He stood.
Zhao Lin leaned back, probably intrigued by li Xuan's boldness to stand up against him .
" Tell me what you want before I lose my calmness "
Li Xuan tilted his head slightly, his eyes catching the firelight.
"You took everything we had and now I'll take the one thing you can't buy back."
"What—what thing?"
"Your peace."
The words fell like a whisper, but it was enough.
The lantern flames flickered. A cold wind swept through the tavern though no door had opened.
Li Xuan stood for a long moment, the empty cup still resting loosely in his hand.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"Strip yourselves naked," he said softly, voice calm but carrying through the tavern like steel under silk.
"Go up to my aunt's house and clean it… or else."
The room went silent. Even the fire seemed to hesitate.
"Or else what?" Zhao Lin sneered, forcing out a dry laugh. "You think a little aura from a half-trained foundation level brat will scare me? My Zhao family has men who could kill you just by looking at you."
Li Xuan swirled the wine slowly, watching it spiral in the cup like liquid moonlight.
"Pathetic,Just because you belong to a rich family doesn't mean you're rich. When your great Mr. Zhao dies, maybe you'll inherit a single bottle of wine… if you're lucky with your strength stuck at two turns foundation level"
The other man at Zhao Lin's side, already drunk, slammed his cup on the table and laughed harshly.
"Ha! Mr. Zhao Lin owns estates, women, and guards even though Mr Lin doesn't possess enough spiritual strength. Do you think we're afraid of some homeless brat?"
Li Xuan's gaze lifted lazily to the two men.
"I can see his guards ,Quite… pathetic."
Then he set the cup down.
The impact wasn't loud but the sound that followed was.
Boom.
The table splintered as it developed some cracks ,the shockwave rippling through the wooden floor. Bottles behind the counter exploded in a burst of glass and wine.
The old Innkeeper froze mid-breath, watching crimson liquid drip down his shelves like blood. He wanted to scream but his throat locked.
He didn't know who this boy was but anyone who could make Zhao Lin pale was not someone to offend.
The two thugs stumbled back, falling hard on their backsides. Zhao Lin remained sitting, though his face had turned red with a mix of shock and fury.
"You little bastard!" Zhao Lin roared, pointing a trembling finger at Li Xuan. "I'll show you what happens when you insult the Zhao family!"
The men on the ground scrambled to their feet, knives drawn. "Master Lin, we—"
"Shut up and beat him down! Make him crawl back to his dead mother!"
The words hit Li Xuan like a blade.
For a heartbeat, everything stilled. His expression didn't change, but his hand clenched so tightly that the faint sound of bones cracking filled the quiet tavern.
One of the men hesitated. "Master Lin, maybe we should—"
"Cowards!" Zhao Lin spun and slapped the man across the face. "Do it!"
Li Xuan looked up slowly, his deep blue eyes dull yet calm.
"Mr. Zhao Lin,if your family is so mighty, why send trash to fight for you? Or are you just afraid you'll soil your fine clothes?"
Zhao Lin's face twisted with rage. His chest heaved as a wave of spiritual energy burst out from him, distorting the air. It wasn't strong—but hot, fierce enough to send his men stumbling back from the pressure.
This guy at the best he was seven turns foundation level compared to his three turns but somehow Li Xuan wasn't intimidated by his sudden outburst .
"I'll show you the might of the Zhao family!" he bellowed, his eyes glowing faintly purple.
Li Xuan sighed, then raised his foot and kicked the broken table aside. His other hand lifted the cup in one smooth motion and tossed it.
It struck Zhao Lin square in the chest.
The sound was dull—then came the crash.
Zhao Lin's body flew backward, smashing through another table before crashing into the wall. The crowd gasped. For a second, no one even breathed.
Li Xuan rested one leg over the other, sitting casually amidst the chaos like a young king on his throne.
"The children of great families are always fools,do you think you are kings who can't be offended . Even kings are afraid of stronger ones"
Everyone stared wide-eyed,no one had ever seen Zhao Lin, the useless son of the Zhao family, thrown like a rag doll by a boy half his age.
"I said…" Li Xuan's voice deepened, echoing strangely through the room, "go to my aunt's house and beg for forgiveness or else."
As he spoke, a faint rusty golden pink light appeared in his palm, shaped like a feather, its lines glowing softly. He didn't even notice it.
But it seemed to have changed his voice,it seemed like it was his echo speaking but much softer and carrying unquestionable command .
"I said… go to my aunt's house naked, and beg for forgiveness or else."
Li Xuan flinched, but Zhao Lin and his men didn't move. Their eyes went blank for a second. Then, in one trembling motion, Zhao Lin knelt.
"Y-yes, young master…" he said hoarsely.
Before the stunned crowd, Zhao Lin began to strip off his outer garments. His two men followed without hesitation, their hands shaking as if controlled by unseen strings.
Li Xuan blinked in disbelief, but then a small, dangerous smile tugged at his lips.
"Good,Now—give me everything you have."
Zhao Lin staggered forward, fumbling at his belt pouch. He handed over several gleaming golden coins with a emerald gem in the center ,li Xuan's mouth nearly fell wide open . These were emerald gold coins,ten times more valuable than any common gold coin.
"H-here, young master. Five coins. Please…"
Li Xuan took them and nodded slightly. "Anything else?"
Zhao Lin swallowed hard. "What do you wish of me?"
"Go to my house," Li Xuan said, "clean every inch, buy back what you broke, and leave twenty more coins on the table.
Zhao Lin nodded and bowed his head, trembling like a cat thrown into cold water .
"Yes… young master."
They turned, half-naked, and stumbled out into the rain, their pale figures disappearing into the misty street.
The tavern stayed silent for a long time.
Every person inside could only stare at the door, as if afraid to breathe too loudly.
Then, slowly, Li Xuan rose from his chair. He walked to the counter and dropped one of the emerald coins before the old innkeeper.
"For the mess," he said softly.
The innkeeper's hands shook as he accepted it, bowing deeply without a word.
Li Xuan turned toward the door. The rusty golden pink light around his wrist faded, leaving only the dull warmth of his skin.
For the first time in a long while, he felt lighter.
He knew the Zhao family would come for him but he didn't care nor was he afraid to face them besides among the eight major families of mingdu,the Zhao family should be considered the weakest and most arrogant in every possible way .