My Family Is Beyond Saving

After Yang Lingrui was taken away by Pei Xuejian, Li Cheng remained deeply anxious, pacing restlessly as he waited in his pavilion.

This matter had fallen entirely outside his calculations.

He had never imagined that the talismans refined by the Yang Family would actually catch the eye of the Su Family.

Yang Lingrui had come to the Dharma Assembly purely upon his invitation. If anything terrible happened to him as a result, Li Cheng would truly become the vicious sinner Li Qingwan had accused him of being, dragging the Yang Family into ruin.

"Young Master Li, I have brought Fellow Daoist Lingrui back."

Hearing Pei Xuejian's voice drifting from outside the pavilion, Li Cheng immediately flipped over the sill and leaped out the window.

His heart had initially relaxed with relief, but the moment he saw Yang Lingrui's deathly pale face, anger flared in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Pei, what happened to Lingrui? Didn't you say before you left that you would bring him back safely?"

Li Cheng supported Yang Lingrui. The young man's aura was so weak it hovered at the very limit of exhaustion, his appearance exactly like someone who had just endured a brutal interrogation.

"Heh, Fellow Daoist Lingrui's life is intact. Was he not brought back safely?"

Pei Xuejian smiled faintly, showing absolutely no intention of explaining himself in the face of Li Cheng's questioning.

"Is this how the Su Family, as a noble clan, treats its guests? Today, Li Cheng has truly seen it for himself!"

"Young Master Li, I must remind you that the Su Family has its own methods. It is not the place of an outsider to offer instruction."

The moment Li Cheng delivered his sarcastic remark, a flash of ferocity crossed Pei Xuejian's face.

Seeing this, Yang Lingrui quickly forced himself to stand straighter. "Young Master Li, I am fine. Young Master Su simply wished to purchase my family's talismans. It is my own fault-I became overly excited, causing my qi and blood to surge, which is why I look like this."

"Lingrui, I..."

Li Cheng's heart tightened. How could he believe such a childish excuse? Just as he was about to argue further with Pei Xuejian, a faint, cold laugh interrupted him.

"Heh. I didn't expect Young Master Li to still have the leisure to meddle in the affairs of other families."

Pei Xuejian stared at Li Cheng with a mocking gaze. "If I were you, I would go home and spend a little more time with Old Ancestor Li Yuande, and perhaps visit Miss Qingwan a few more times."

At these words, Li Cheng froze in place. The furious fire in his eyes was instantly extinguished, as though his entire spirit had been hollowed out in a single breath.

Watching this, Yang Lingrui did not dare speak another word.

Taking in their expressions, Pei Xuejian's gaze turned slightly contemptuous. "The person has been delivered. I will not overstay my welcome. You two, until fate allows us to meet again."

With that, he turned, taking a few leaping steps before vanishing once more into the illusion formation.

"Young Master Li, Young Master Li... Li Cheng!"

Yang Lingrui called out twice. Seeing that Li Cheng was still staring blankly, he finally shouted his name aloud.

Li Cheng snapped back to reality. His gaze darted flusteredly toward Yang Lingrui, and he had to take several deep breaths before his composure returned.

"I am fine. Let me take you back to your courtyard first."

On the return journey, neither of them spoke a word, walking shoulder to shoulder in heavy silence.

Yang Lingrui's body was pushed to the extreme limits of exhaustion; simply parting his lips took an immense effort.

Li Cheng had been stripped of his spirit and had no desire to say anything at all.

It was only after escorting Yang Lingrui back to his lodgings that Li Cheng sank onto a meditation cushion, letting out a long, heavy exhale of foul air from his chest.

"How was the Su Family?"

"I dare not say."

"Did they really want to buy your family's talismans?"

"Yes. They ordered one hundred Divine Movement Talismans. The Spirit Crystals are in this bag."

Li Cheng took the Storage Bag and swept it with his Divine Sense.

"There are five hundred extra?"

"Compensation for my trouble."

"Damn them! Truly..."

Li Cheng wanted to curse aloud, but Pei Xuejian's parting words still echoed in his mind, and he ultimately swallowed the grievance.

Yang Lingrui leaned back against the headboard and offered a weak smile. "Don't think too much about it. Honestly, suffering this once and walking away with five hundred Spirit Crystals... I've actually come out ahead."

"You! You still have the mood to joke! Do you have any idea that you almost lost your life!"

"Heh, heh... cough, cough..."

Li Cheng reached into the Storage Bag and retrieved the three Rejuvenation Pills.

These three pills were all of fine quality for the late Qi Gathering stage. A single pill was worth no less than three hundred Spirit Crystals.

If Yang Lingrui consumed just one, his body would recover more than half its vitality. With a short period of breath regulation, he would be almost fully healed.

However, deeply distrustful of the Su Family, Yang Lingrui hadn't touched the pills. He intended to find an opportunity to sell them and convert them all into Spirit Crystals.

"If you refuse to take these, how will your injuries heal?"

"You are the Second Young Master of the Li Family. Do you not have any healing pills on you? Take however many Spirit Crystals you need straight from the bag."

Li Cheng, who had been tangled in dark thoughts, was actually amused by this. He pulled two mid Qi Gathering Qi Supplement Pills from his own Storage Bag and tossed them to Yang Lingrui.

After swallowing the pills, Yang Lingrui entered meditation and regulated his breathing for half an hour, managing to restore about sixty percent of his condition.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Li Cheng standing by the window, his expression utterly bitter.

Yang Lingrui had also heard Pei Xuejian's parting words.

Combined with the conversation between Su Lingyun and Old Qin in the upper courtyard, it wasn't difficult to piece together the hidden truth.

"Senior Li Yuande, and Miss Li..."

"Yes."

Yang Lingrui spoke only two names, offering no further questions, and Li Cheng nodded in quiet acknowledgment.

"My Yang Family cannot afford to involve itself in a matter of this magnitude. And right now, I have no way to help you, either."

"I know."

"Thank you for the recommendation. The entire Yang Family will remember this favor."

"Sigh..."

Li Cheng bent forward, leaning his weight against the windowsill as he shook his head. "At this point, what is the use of saying all this?"

The two men fell into silence once more.

It is said there is no greater sorrow than a dead heart. The Li Cheng standing there now possessed not a fraction of the brilliant pride he once held.

Yang Lingrui wanted to offer something more, but seeing his defeated posture, he kept his silence.

The current plight of the Li Family was a rot settled too deep to excise. It could not be solved simply by pulling in a few extra helpers. Even if they somehow managed to find a Condensed Origin cultivator to back them, it might still not be enough to turn the tide.

Putting himself in Li Cheng's shoes, just thinking about the suffocating situation filled Yang Lingrui with a deep sense of powerlessness and despair.

For Li Cheng to have carried this secret burden in his heart for so many years without breaking, his Dao Heart and resilience were already worthy of respect.

After leaving behind two more Qi Supplement Pills, Li Cheng departed the courtyard to return to the Li Family.

Before stepping through the door, he left Yang Lingrui with a single sentence.

"My family is already beyond saving, but your family still has a chance. Be extremely careful, be absolutely cautious, and whatever you do, do not fall into their trap."

Long after Li Cheng had gone, Yang Lingrui closed his eyes, silently turning those words over in his mind.

In the eyes of the major factions, the current Yang Family was still an insignificant pawn, completely disposable.

It was precisely because of his outward display during this trip that others assumed the Yang Family was short-sighted and grasping, blinding them to the family's true potential.

Under such circumstances, if they maneuvered with care, there was indeed a genuine chance to carve out a sliver of survival in the tightening gaps between the Wangchao, the Sects, and the aristocratic clans.

And the most critical piece of that board was whether the family could birth a Condensed Origin cultivator.

After pondering for a long time, Yang Lingrui slowly opened his eyes.

In the end, whether they succeeded or failed rested on him.

The ruin of the Li Family was a bloody warning written right before his eyes. If he failed to seize his opportunity and break through to the Condensed Origin realm, the Yang Family would inevitably walk that exact same path.

They would be carved up like a piece of fat meat set upon a banquet table, left entirely to the mercy of those sitting in the high seats.

However, Yang Lingrui was not consumed by pessimism. When he looked toward the Yang Family's future, a quiet confidence anchored him.

"Favorable terrain and a united clan-our family possesses both. As long as the Immortal Venerable remains, he will provide the heavenly timing we lack!"

With that thought, the churning waves in his Dao Heart finally settled into stillness.

But in the very next instant, his aura shifted sharply, and a cold, dense murderous intent flooded his eyes.

The faces of Pei Xuejian, Su Lingyun, and that old man surnamed Qin surfaced sharply in his mind.

The shame he suffered today, the utter humiliation forced upon him-it was now carved deep into the very marrow of his bones.

"A gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years. Su Family... just wait. Just bide your time. One day, I, Yang Lingrui, will return this favor to you in full!"

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