Nine Transformations of the True Spirit

Sunlight shines into the house through the old yellowed window paper. Chen Yuan sits cross-legged on the bed, meditates with his eyes closed, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathers, and the energy around his body fluctuates.

"Mr. Chen, it's time to eat."

A clear voice sounded through the bamboo curtain, and the inspiration surging around Chen Yuan slowly disappeared. He opened his eyes, and a bright light flashed past.

"Thank you, Miss Qinglan. I'll go right away." He responded, got up and got out of bed, and raised the bamboo curtain.

Qinglan took two steps back and looked at Chen Yuan, but she stayed where she was.

A layer of warm jade light seemed to shine on Chen Yuan's face, and his eyes were as deep as a deep pool, bottomless, making people immerse themselves in it unconsciously.

"Miss Qinglan?" Chen Yuan called.

Qing Lan blinked and came to her senses. She looked away, not daring to look at Chen Yuan anymore. She turned around and lifted the bamboo curtain of the outer room and walked out.

Chen Yuan smiled and followed Qinglan into the courtyard.

After a night of meditation, at least half of his internal injuries had recovered, and his strength had returned to the middle stage of foundation building.

But the remaining injuries cannot be cured overnight. It will take at least a month to fully recover, not including the loss of essence and blood.

Essence and blood are extremely difficult to condense, but he has a few eight-hundred-year-old elixirs that can restore essence and blood. After making the elixir, and adding starlight to the body, it will take a year to restore it to the original state.

Under the shade of the locust tree, Li Dalong, his wife and Li Tiezhu were already sitting at the table, waiting for Qing Lan and Chen Yuan.

In the past half month, although Chen Yuan did not need to eat, he also ate with them every day, but he ate not much at each meal so as not to increase the burden on the Li family.

The hunting family has a difficult life and often cannot catch prey. Finally, they managed to catch a wild boar king. After half a month, most of the meat was eaten. The remaining meat had to be eaten sparingly.

Although it is breakfast, it is quite rich. There is a plate of pickles, a large plate of pork and stir-fried vegetables, and a plate of dried pork. The rice is also steamed a lot. The inferior rice is not worth it. Li Dalong and Li Tiezhu have huge portions, and the middle-aged woman has enough to steam. A big basin.

Her surname is Mi, and she is also from Qingshan Village. She is a girl from a farmer's family. She has no name, so others call her Li Mi.

As usual, Chen Yuan had a small bowl of rice in front of him. He picked up his chopsticks and began to chew slowly.

Qing Lan was also very delicate when eating, but Li Dalong and Li Tiezhu looked very rough. They picked up a piece of bacon with chopsticks, put it into their mouths, then took a big mouthful of rice and devoured it.

There is no rule in the Orion family that they should eat and sleep without talking. After eating for a while, Li Dalong picked up a piece of pork jerky and put it into his mouth, chewed it hard, looked at Qinglan, and said slowly: "Qinglan, dad went yesterday. During a trip to the county town, I sold all the skin and tusks of the Mountain Boar King for three large coins."

"Dad used the money to buy an iron spear for Tiezhu, and bought some dowry for you. He asked Granny He in the village to find a good husband for you in another village. The matter will be settled in the past two months."

Qinglan had just picked up a chopstick of rice. When she heard this, her wrist flicked slightly, her chopsticks trembled, and the rice was poured into the bowl again, leaving only one grain of rice on the chopsticks.

But she seemed not to have seen it. She put the chopsticks into her mouth and chewed slowly, as if she wanted to completely chew the grain of rice into powder.

Finally, she swallowed the grain of rice, lowered her head, and said softly: "Well, I understand, thank you, Dad."

Li Dalong slowly chewed the dried pork in his mouth and lowered his head. The wrinkles on his forehead seemed to get deeper.

Li Tiezhu clutched the bowl in his hand tightly, buried his head, and took big mouthfuls of rice without eating a single bite of the food.

Li Mishi picked up a piece of fat and thin pork belly and silently put it into the blue orchid bowl.

One drop of tear fell on this piece of pork belly, two drops, three drops...

Chen Yuan slowly put down his chopsticks and said, "Why is Miss Qinglan crying?"

Qinglan stiffened, raised her head, and looked at Chen Yuan.

Her eyes were filled with tears, and two lines of clear tears ran down her cheeks. The pear blossoms were covered with rain, and she looked pitiful.

"No...it's nothing." She forced a smile, raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face, put down the chopsticks and earthenware bowl in her hands, and said in a low voice: "I'm full."

After saying that, she lowered her head, got up and walked to the hut to the west.

Chen Yuan frowned and was about to say something when he suddenly paused and turned to look at the courtyard door.

Bang!

The two ajar wooden doors were pushed open forcefully, and Li Dalong, his wife and Li Tiezhu both turned their heads and looked over.

Qing Lan, who had just stood up, subconsciously stopped and looked up.

Several people walked into the courtyard, and one of them saw Qinglan with tears on her face. He immediately ran out of the crowd, ran to Qinglan, grabbed her left hand, and said loudly: "Sister Qinglan, why are you crying? Who provoked you?" You? Tell your brother, he will help you vent your anger!"

A look of panic appeared on Qinglan's face, and she struggled hard: "Don't touch me!"

"Li Wenju, let go!" Li Tiezhu yelled, slapped the bowls and chopsticks on the table, stood up and rushed over in two steps, raised his hand to grab the man's wrist, and squeezed hard.

"Hey, hey, hey! Let go!" Li Wenju was in pain and had to let go of his hand and shouted.

Qinglan quickly took two steps back, turned sideways, clasped her hands tightly together in front of her chest, her eyes panicked, like a frightened deer.

"Hmph! If you dare to touch my sister again, I'll break your hand!" Li Tiezhu snorted coldly, shook off Li Wenju's hand, and stood in front of Qinglan.

Li Wenju covered his wrist and glared at Li Tiezhu: "Li Tiezhu, you are not big or small..."

"Okay!" Before the man could finish speaking, he was interrupted by an old voice.

Several other people came to him, and one of them glared at him sternly. He closed his mouth angrily, but his eyes at Li Tiezhu were still fierce.

This Li Wenju is wearing a light blue silk dress, which is breathable and refreshing, most suitable for summer, and it is worth a lot at first glance.

This man is also quite handsome in appearance, but his figure is thin, his eyes are swollen, and his eyes are thick with dark circles, which greatly ruins his handsome appearance.

The person who interrupted Li Wenju was an old man in his fifties, with a slim build. He was wearing a long white gown made of light and breathable silk. He had a short beard and a large jade ring in his hand. He looked majestic.

There were four people behind the old man, all of whom were tall and strong. They were wearing brown muslin short clothes and had well-defined muscles on their arms. They stared at Chen Yuan and others with fierce eyes. At a glance, they could tell they were thugs and guards. .

After Li Fugui stopped Li Wenju, his eyes swept across the people in the courtyard, paused for a moment on Chen Yuan, then looked at Li Dalong, bowed his hands, and said with a smile: "Dalong, Wenju is young and his behavior is a bit frivolous, but he is also right. Qinglan is infatuated, I will punish him well when I go back, please don't take offense."

Snap!

Li Dalong swallowed the dried pork in his mouth and placed the bowls and chopsticks heavily on the table, causing the dishes to tremble slightly.

He stood up, stared at Li Fugui, and said, "Li Fugui, what are you doing here?"

"How dare you call my master by his name!" A servant took two steps forward and shouted angrily.

"Don't be rude! This is my future in-laws, it's not your turn to be arrogant!" Li Fugui turned around and scolded her in a very stern tone.

The servant immediately lowered his head and did not dare to say anything more.

Li Fugui turned around and smiled: "What else can I do? Of course it's for the marriage of Wenju and Qinglan. I sent someone to issue the letter of appointment a month ago. How do you think about it?"

"You're dreaming! My sister will not be his concubine!" Li Tiezhu said angrily.

"Tiezhu!" Li Dalong scolded, then looked at Li Fugui, "I don't agree with this marriage, you'd better take it back."

"What are you talking about?" Li Wenju glared, "I even signed the engagement letter! This is concubinage. Originally, I just paid some money and picked her up. I have done enough etiquette to marry Qinglan in a big sedan chair. , this is unprecedented, you said you won’t agree? "

Li Dalong glanced at him, with a trace of disgust flashing in his eyes, and said coldly: "There is no reason, my parents' orders, the matchmaker's words, I don't agree, I just don't agree!"

Li Wenju raised his hand and pointed: "You..."

"Okay!" Li Fugui raised his hand to stop us, "We'll talk about this later. I dare you to ask..."

He turned to look at Chen Yuan and bowed his hands, with an inquiring look in his eyes.

Chen Yuan said calmly: "An unknown person is just a guest in the Li family."

Li Fugui chuckled: "Your Excellency is handsome, handsome, and has an outstanding temperament. He is definitely an extraordinary man."

"Li is a well-connected gentry in Yunrui County. I wonder which family you are a talented young man from?"

Chen Yuan said: "I am not a local."

The smile on Li Fugui's face faded a bit: "Your Excellency is elegant in conversation and should be a scholar. I dare to ask you, do you have any fame?"

Chen Yuan shook his head: "I have no reputation."

The smile on Li Fugui's face became even fainter, and when he looked at Chen Yuan again, a trace of contempt flashed in his eyes.

He was wary when he saw that Chen Yuan had an unworldly temperament, but when he heard that Chen Yuan had not obtained any academic qualifications, was not a local gentry, was wearing linen clothes, and was associating with poor hunting families like Li Dalong, his wariness suddenly disappeared.

However, Li Fugui prided himself on being a pure gentry, emphasizing on the depth of the city and keeping his emotions and anger indistinct, so he did not change his face immediately. He just nodded to Chen Yuan with a smile on his face and ignored him.

He looked at Li Dalong, and a smile reappeared on his face: "Dalong, both your and my family's surname is Li, and we have just become relatives in the fifth server, why do we have to make such a fuss?"

"Wen Ju used to be a bit wanton in his behavior, but recently I have strictly disciplined him and he has changed his ways. He is even more infatuated with Qinglan. It is called being a concubine, but it is actually the same as being a real wife."

"Qinglan is not young anymore. Wen Ju married her in a sedan chair. From now on, I will not treat you badly. What else are you dissatisfied with? You might as well say it, and we can take our time." discuss."

Li Dalong said with a cold face: "No need, I am a hunter and I can't afford to be high. Qinglan has a fierce temper and doesn't want to get married. You'd better invite her back."

Li Wenju looked at Qinglan with a squinting expression: "It's okay, Qinglan, I don't dislike you. As long as you can marry me, I'm willing to even beat and scold me!"

Qinglan glanced at him with disgust and lowered her head.

Li Tiezhu shouted angrily: "Stop dreaming, my sister will never marry you!"

The smile on Li Fugui's face faded, he looked at Li Dalong and said slowly: "It seems that you are drinking as a penalty instead of toasting?"

Li Dalong said: "My daughter, I won't let her get married, even the King of Heaven can't control her!"

Li Wenju laughed: "Don't think I don't know. Yesterday you found the old woman named He and wanted to secretly marry Qinglan to another village."

"I advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible. Qinglan is the woman I like. There is no matchmaker within a hundred miles who dares to marry Qinglan, and no family dares to marry Qinglan!"

Li Dalong's eyes widened: "How did you know? Did Granny He tell you about this?"

Li Wenju said proudly: "You really blamed the old woman wrongly. She didn't say anything. But what happened in Qingshan Village? How can you hide anything from my Li family?"

"Old man, just let Qinglan marry me. For the sake of you being Qinglan's father, I will provide money to support you in the future, and you don't have to go hunting in the mountains to avoid being eaten blind by tigers and bears one day. "

"Li Wenju, you are looking for death!" Li Tiezhu clenched his fists and took a step forward to hit him.

Li Wenju changed his face in fear, and the two servants behind Li Fugui rushed out, stopped in front of Li Wenju, and grabbed Li Tiezhu's wrist.

One of the servants said: "You little bastard, you dare to scold my second young master, you are so tired of living!"

Another servant raised his fist and was about to smash it down.

"Hey, wait!" Li Wenju stopped him and looked at Qinglan with a leering look, "This is my future brother-in-law. If I break him, what will happen if Qinglan is sad?"

The two servants then let go of Li Tiezhu.

Li Tiezhu rubbed his wrists and glared at the two servants, but did not dare to do anything again.

Li Dalong was insulted by Li Wenju, and his son was almost beaten by a servant, and he was already extremely angry.

He clenched his fists, veins popped out on his arms, his eyes widened, and he wanted to fight with these people.

But the remaining reason allowed him to suppress the anger in his heart, gritted his teeth and said, "You go, even if Qinglan can't get married in the future, I won't let her be my concubine!"

Li Wenju's expression changed immediately and his eyes widened: "Hey, you old guy..."

"Okay." Li Fugui raised his hand and stopped, "Since Dalong you insist on this, then I won't force it. After all, my Li family has been a gentry in Qingshan Village for hundreds of years. In Deze Township, we never bully our neighbors. He will not bully his relatives."

Li Dalong didn't expect that Li Fugui would be so easy to talk to. His face was full of astonishment and he quickly said: "Then please come back..."

"There's no rush." ​​Li Fugui said with a smile, "I'm here today because I have another thing to do."

"What's the matter?" Li Dalong asked.

Li Fugui looked up at the sky and said with a smile: "It's already the beginning of autumn. In one month, the government will collect this year's land tax. As the head of Qingshan Village, I have a duty to do so."

"After the new Magistrate Ma took office, he urged to pay the money and grain owed over the years. Liu Dianli of the household has already come to my house once to urge him."

"Your family's land tax has been owed for three consecutive years. Together with this year, it will be four years in total. If you don't pay in full, the county government will take you to jail. Don't blame me for not reminding you."

Li Dalong said in astonishment: "Field tax? My family has been hunters for generations, what kind of land tax should I pay?"

Li Fugui smiled and raised his right hand: "Bring it here."

A servant behind him took out a folded piece of paper from his arms, unfolded it, and placed it in Li Fugui's hand.

Li Fugui flashed the paper and said: "If your family has land, you will naturally have to pay the land tax."

"On the sixth day of February four years ago, I sold ten acres of land to you. This land deed has your fingerprint on it. However, you have never paid the land tax once and have been in debt for four consecutive years."

"After this autumn, you must pay everything in full. Otherwise, I will definitely exercise my responsibility as the head of the district, report to Sun Dianshi, and send a catcher to arrest you!"

"You are so slanderous!" Li Dalong raised his hand and pointed at Li Fugui, his face turned red, "I have never bought ten acres of land from you, and I have no money to buy the land. This land deed was not signed by me, it is a fake! "

Li Fugui said in astonishment: "Li Dalong, for the sake of being a kinsman, I kindly sold you the land at a low price. It was still ten acres of good irrigated land, and I never urged you to pay the land tax. How can you be ungrateful?"

"You fart!" Li Dalong shouted angrily, swept around, and grabbed the wooden bench behind him.

The two servants behind Li Fugui immediately took two steps forward, stopped in front of Li Fugui, and stared at Li Dalong.

Li Dalong held the wooden stool tightly with his right hand and pointed at Li Fugui with his left hand. His body was shaking: "Just wait, I will go to the county to file a complaint tomorrow. I don't believe it. The county government will believe the fake land deed in your hand!"

Li Fugui stroked his beard and smiled: "Li Dalong, you can go ahead and sue the officials, but do you know where the yamen door opens?"

"I have the land deed in my hand as proof, and it's written in black and white. Don't say you file a lawsuit with the county government, even if you file a lawsuit with the county government or the government government, I will be the one to handle it!"

Li Dalong laughed angrily: "Okay, okay! Your Li family is running rampant in Qingshan Village, and you still want to dominate Yunrui County?"

"I will go to the county tomorrow, sound the drum of injustice, and ask Mr. Qingtian to make the decision for me!"

Li Fugui laughed: "Master Qingtian? To tell you the truth, when Magistrate Ma took office, I also toasted him with a glass of wine at the dust-washing banquet and presented him with a hundred taels of dust-washing silver."

"Master Wei beside him has visited my house many times."

"As for the county magistrate Zhao, Sun Dianshi, Master Zhang, and the officials of the six houses, I will offer them to you every year."

"Do you think they will make the decision for you, the hunter, or for me, the gentleman?"

"That's too much! I will fight with you!" Li Tiezhu yelled and rushed towards Li Wenju.

A servant in front of Li Wenju smiled disdainfully and grabbed Li Tiezhu's arm.

Li Tiezhu wanted to dodge, but this servant obviously knew some martial arts and easily grabbed his arm.

Li Tiezhu clenched his other hand into a fist and hit the servant. The servant smiled contemptuously and grabbed his other hand.

Then he pushed back, folded his two hands together, put them behind his neck, and pressed down. Li Tiezhu fell to his knees with a plop.

"Let me go, let me go!" Li Tiezhu struggled like a mad tiger.

But the servant's big hands seemed to be made of iron and remained motionless, pinning him firmly to the ground.

Li Mishi exclaimed: "Iron Pillar!"

She stood up and wanted to come to help, but somehow she suddenly lost her strength and fell limply to the ground.

Qinglan exclaimed: "Brother!"

She rushed up and wanted to break the servant's hand away. Another servant in front of Li Wenju came over and grabbed Qinglan's wrist. Qinglan cried out in pain: "Ah!"

Li Wenju said urgently: "Let go! You stupid slave, don't hurt Qinglan!"

The servant immediately let go of his hand. Li Wenju came up personally and raised his hand to hug Qinglan: "Sister Qinglan, let me rub it for you... Oops!"

He was about to hug Qinglan when he suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground.

"What dares to trip me up, young master!" Li Wenju turned back angrily, but there was nothing on the ground, and he couldn't help but be stunned.

Qinglan continued to squeeze the other servant's hand, but her strength was too weak to do anything.

The servant was afraid of hurting her and making Li Wenju unhappy, so he simply ignored her and let her pull her away. His hands did not move at all, and he still pressed Li Tiezhu firmly to the ground.

"Tiezhu!" Li Dalong saw Li Tiezhu being forced to kneel down, threw away the wooden stool in his hand, turned around and rushed into the west room.

The two servants in front of Li Fugui took a step forward and were about to catch up, but Li Fugui stopped him: "Wait a minute, he won't run away. You guys need to step back first."

The two servants stepped aside as instructed. At this moment, the bamboo curtain in the west room was knocked open, and Li Dalong rushed out, holding a bow in his right hand, a bamboo arrow in his left hand, and a pot of arrows tied around his waist.

He put a bamboo arrow on his bow and pointed it at Li Fugui. His eyes were red and he shouted: "Let go of the iron pillar! Otherwise I will kill you!"

The expressions of the two servants behind Li Fugui changed drastically. They took a big step and came to Li Fugui, blocking him tightly.

"Didn't I tell you to step back?" Li Fugui frowned and said with dissatisfaction.

"Master, he has a bow in his hand!" a servant shouted.

Li Fugui's face sank: "Back off!"

"Yes!" The two servants reluctantly stepped aside, revealing Li Fugui behind them.

Li Fugui was targeted by the bamboo arrow, but he didn't care. He smiled and said: "Li Dalong, you have to pay with your life for killing. Do you dare to kill me?"

"Do you think I'm afraid of death?" Li Dalong shouted angrily, his eyes filled with evil spirits.

Li Fugui stroked his beard and smiled, as steady as a mountain: "You are a hunter by nature. You have killed so many beasts that are more ferocious than humans, so killing people is not an issue."

"But if you kill me, what will happen to Tiezhu? What will happen to Qinglan? What will happen to your wife?"

"You!" Li Tiezhu's eyes were about to burst. He exerted force on his hand and pulled the bow string tighter.

Li Fugui smiled and said: "Let's do it. I believe you are not afraid of death, but I don't know. Are you afraid that your son, daughter, and wife will die with you?"

"Huh...huh..." Li Dalong's chest was rising and falling, and he was breathing heavily.

He slowly loosened the bowstring, put down the bow, and stared at Li Fugui.

Li Fugui smiled and said: "That's right. Is there anything you can't say properly?"

"It is my duty as the head of the district to collect the arrears of grain and land tax."

"I have the land deed signed by you in my hand. No matter where the lawsuit is filed, you will have to pay the land tax arrears for four years."

"If you don't pay the land tax after autumn, the ten acres of good irrigated land will be taken away by the county government, and you will be arrested and imprisoned, and you will be exiled for three thousand miles."

"I wonder if Tiezhu and Qinglan can survive this winter without you in the mountains for hunting?"

Li Dalong said word by word: "What should I do so that you can let our family go?"

"What do you think?" Li Fugui asked.

Bang.

Li Dalong let go of his hand, dropped his bow to the ground, closed his eyes, and slowly shed two lines of tears, and whispered: "You guys go, in three days, eight sedans will come to marry Qinglan!"

Qinglan stayed where she was and stopped trying to break the servant's hand.

Li Tiezhu shouted heartbreakingly: "Father, we can't let my sister marry this beast Li Wenju! He visits brothels every day and ruins the innocence of many good women. He also likes to beat and scold his wives and concubines. You can't push my sister into a pit of fire." ah!"

Li Wenju had already gotten up from the ground. Hearing this, he said angrily: "Little beast, what are you talking about..."

"Let's go!" Li Dalong opened his eyes, stared at him, and roared.

Li Wenju trembled all over, feeling as if he was being stared at by a tiger. His hair stood on end and he did not dare to curse any more.

However, Li Fugui didn't care. He turned around and ordered a servant behind him: "Go back and call a few people to guard the area."

"Yes!" The servant responded, turned around and walked out of the small courtyard.

Li Fugui bowed his hand to Li Dalong again, and said with a smile: "My relatives have been hunting in the mountains for a long time, and they are very skilled. It is easy to climb mountains and ridges."

"But my mother-in-law and Qinglan, I'm afraid they won't be able to walk very far in the mountains, right?"

"I'll take my leave now. In three days, Wen Ju will come again to pick up the bride."

After that, he turned around and left. Li Wenju glanced at Qing Lan again before following him.

The servant who forced Li Tiezhu to kneel down let go of his hand and walked out of the small courtyard with the other two servants.

Li Tiezhu knelt on the ground blankly, his head lowered, like a stone statue.

Qinglan wiped away the tears on her face, went up to hold Li Tiezhu's shoulders, and whispered: "Brother, get up..."

"Sister!" Li Tiezhu hugged Qinglan and cried loudly. (End of chapter)