Li Qingxiao returned to his house, put away the shovel, carefully cleaning off the remaining snow and fresh mud, then changed into fresh clothes before heading out again.
After walking two li, he could see the "Great Peace, No Worries" archway, where the population grew denser. A young man a few years older than him approached - his cousin Li Qingshu.
Their relationship was neither particularly good nor bad, just as bland as water.
Li Qingshu greeted Li Qingxiao: "Bai Zao, have you noticed any suspicious outsiders lately?"
"No," Li Qingxiao replied with a mix of surprise and confusion. "I've been holed up at home these past few days."
Li Qingshu added, "People from the Jade Capital have also arrived."
Li Qingxiao let out a soft "ah," his heart stirred but his face remained calm. "What are they doing on Penglai Island? The Great Master hasn't returned in years."
Li Qingshu deliberately lowered his voice: "The Great Master is busy with state affairs, of course he can't come back. But I heard his grandchildren are here this time, officially for ancestral worship, but I don't think it's that simple."
Li Qingxiao's heart raced, but he feigned indifference. "Even if there is something going on, it's a matter for the main branch. What does it have to do with us, the distant branch with no money, no power, and no favor?"
Li Qingshu chuckled, "Speaking of which, we are related to them."
Li Qingxiao sneered, "They'd have to recognize us! There are thousands of Lis on Penglai Island. Aren't we all related? We were one family five hundred years ago. But now, is our 'Li' the same as their 'Li'?"
Li Qingshu felt deflated by this remark. Their distant relatives were even less important than the main branch's retainers, let alone these proper young masters and misses.
Li Qingshu changed the subject: "I heard the Eight Scenic Residences' spirit officials have increased their security. Could it be related to those outsiders?"
The Eight Scenic Residences was the Li family's ancestral home, where the Great Master's grandchildren would stay during their ancestral worship.
Speaking of which, Li Qingxiao had been eyeing the Eight Scenic Residences for a long time.
Since he could remember, Li Qingxiao knew he was an orphan. When others had parents, he naturally asked, "Where are my parents?"
His teacher told him: His parents died for the Daoist Sect, a glorious death. Therefore, he was the Daoist Sect's child, and the Daoist Sect was his parents.
Li Qingxiao was lonely. Whenever night fell, he would imagine what his parents looked like. He couldn't help but ask, "How exactly did they die?"
When Li Qingxiao asked his teacher, the teacher just shook his head, saying he didn't know.
Over time, this became Li Qingxiao's obsession.
So after joining the Beichen Hall, he took great risks to infiltrate the Hall's Intelligence Department to check the confidential archives.
When things were exposed, Li Qingxiao was isolated and investigated by the Beichen Hall's Discipline Department for three months. Thanks to his pure lineage and his honest confession of his motives, plus the intervention of a powerful patron, the Beichen Hall decided to be lenient, considering his circumstances and status as a martyr's orphan. They merely dismissed him from his position.
Fortunately, Li Qingxiao's risky gamble wasn't entirely fruitless. In the Beichen Hall's confidential archives, he found some clues. All records about his parents' last days mentioned Penglai Island, the Li clan's ancestral home.
In the past year, Li Qingxiao had ostensibly been living like a wandering ghost, but in reality, he had traveled the entire Penglai Island. Now that he had eliminated other possibilities, only one place remained - the Eight Scenic Residences.
Li Qingxiao feigned disinterest: "Maybe. Do you know where these outsiders are from?"
Li Qingshu replied, "Hard to say. Some speak with a Southern accent, others with a Fenglin accent. They all came by sea."
Li Qingxiao showed appropriate curiosity: "That's strange. The outsiders arriving with the main branch's young masters and misses on Penglai Island can't be coincidence. You're saying these outsiders are targeting them, which is why the Eight Scenic Residences has increased security?"
Li Qingshu nodded vigorously: "You finally get it? That's exactly right."
Li Qingxiao pretended to be unconvinced, saying deliberately: "Are you sure? What did these outsiders do - murder or arson? Why would the Eight Scenic Residences be so alarmed? Maybe those nobles are just putting on a show, used to living in the Jade Capital's Supreme Quarter, looking down on our rural place."
Li Qingshu, provoked by Li Qingxiao, immediately said: "Bai Zao, don't be stubborn. While these outsiders haven't committed murder or arson, they've been secretly spying on the Eight Scenic Residences with ill intentions. The Tiankui Department's spirit officials have already caught two and are interrogating them. My father was called to help since he's from the Beichen Hall and skilled at this. Just wait - once they get results, they'll start arresting people, not letting anyone escape. It might even involve the Great Master."
Li Qingxiao immediately realized his opportunity had come.
Going alone into the Eight Scenic Residences was a pipe dream, with only failure and capture by the spirit officials as the outcome.
But now things were different. Those outsiders also wanted to enter the Eight Scenic Residences and had made quite a stir, drawing all the spirit officials' attention.
The water had to be muddied to catch fish.
This was a rare opportunity, perhaps the only one, that couldn't be missed. Even with risks, it had to be tried.
In that instant, Li Qingxiao made his decision: first scout the situation at the Eight Scenic Residences, then plan his next move.
But first, he needed to get rid of Li Qingshu.
So Li Qingxiao deliberately brought up a sore subject: "By the way, how's it going with the Lu family girl? Is it her parents holding out, or is she using them as an excuse because she doesn't fancy you? Better get it straight, don't let her play you."
Li Qingshu immediately lost interest in talking to Li Qingxiao, giving a few careless replies before leaving dejectedly.
Li Qingxiao quickened his pace toward town.
The town was called Penglai Town.
Though named a town, it was actually larger than a county.
The entire town was built around the Eight Scenic Residences, with Li clan members closer to the main branch living nearer to the ancestral home. People like Li Qingxiao, who only retained the Li surname, didn't even have the right to live in town, forced to live in remote areas where no one would notice if they were killed.
As Li Qingxiao passed through the city gate, he indeed saw several outsiders.
There was a tall man, cold and aggressive.
There was a man with a cane, looking like a consumptive, pale-faced and coughing lightly.
And there was a young man about Li Qingxiao's age, smiling brightly but whose gaze held no friendliness, only challenge.
Li Qingxiao ignored the young man's provocation; he had more important things to do.
An old man with white hair coughed lightly, and the young man slightly restrained himself, spitting out, "Boring."
The old man gave a piercing look at Li Qingxiao as he passed by.
For an instant, Li Qingxiao felt a chill down his spine, forcing himself not to look back as he quickly entered the city gate.