Nine Transformations of the True Spirit.

The sunlight shone into the room through the old yellowed window paper. Chen Yuan sat cross-legged on the bed, meditating with his eyes closed. The spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathered together, and the energy in his body fluctuated.

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

A crisp voice was heard through the bamboo curtain, and the spiritual energy surging around Chen Yuan slowly subsided. He opened his eyes, and a gleam of brilliance flashed by.

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

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

Chen Yuan's face seemed to be shining with a layer of warm jade light, and his eyes were deep, like a deep pool, bottomless, which made people unconsciously immersed in it.

"Miss Qinglan?" Chen Yuan called out.

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

Chen Yuan smiled and followed Qinglan into the yard.

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

But the remaining injuries cannot be healed 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 in his hands that can restore essence and blood. After refining the elixir, and infusing the body with starlight, it will take a year to recover.

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

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

Hunters make a hard living and often fail to hunt. They finally kill a king wild boar, but after more than half a month, they have eaten most of the meat. The remaining meat has to be eaten sparingly.

Although it was just breakfast, it was quite rich. There was a dish of pickles, a large plate of pork with vegetables, a dish of dried pork, and a lot of steamed rice. Inferior rice was not valuable, and Li Dalong and Li Tiezhu had big appetites, so the middle-aged woman steamed a whole pot of rice.

Her surname was Mi, and she was also from Qingshan Village. She was a girl from a farming family and had no real name, so everyone called her Li Mi.

As usual, there was a small bowl of rice in front of Chen Yuan. He picked up the chopsticks and chewed slowly.

Qinglan was also very graceful when eating, but Li Dalong and Li Tiezhu were very rough in their eating manner. They picked up a piece of bacon with chopsticks, put it in their mouths, and then scooped up a big mouthful of rice and wolfed it down.

Hunters don't have the rule of not talking while eating or sleeping. After eating for a while, Li Dalong picked up a piece of pork jerky and put it in his mouth. He chewed it hard, looked at Qinglan, and said slowly: "Qinglan, Dad went to the county town yesterday and sold all the skin and tusks of the wild boar king. He exchanged them for three large copper coins."

"Dad used the money to buy Tiezhu an iron spear, and also bought some dowry for you. He asked Granny He in the village to find a good husband for you in another village, and it was done in the next two months."

Qinglan had just picked up a piece of rice with chopsticks. When she heard this, her wrist shook slightly, and the chopsticks trembled, and the rice spilled back into the bowl, leaving only a grain of rice on the chopsticks.

But she pretended not to see it, put the chopsticks into her mouth and chewed slowly, as if she wanted to chew the rice into powder.

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

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

Li Tiezhu tightly grasped the bowl in his hand, buried his head, and shoveled rice into his mouth in big mouthfuls without eating a single bite of vegetables.

Li Mi picked up a piece of fat and lean pork belly and silently put it into Qinglan's bowl.

A teardrop fell on this piece of pork belly, two drops, three drops...

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

Qinglan's body stiffened, she raised her head and looked at Chen Yuan.

Her eyes were filled with tears, and two lines of tears flowed down her cheeks, making her look like a pear blossom in the rain, and she looked so pitiful.

"Nothing... 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 hand, and said in a muffled voice: "I'm full."

After saying that, she lowered her head, stood up and walked towards the hut in the west.

Chen Yuan frowned and was about to say something, but suddenly paused and turned to look at the courtyard gate.

boom!
The two half-closed wooden doors were pushed open forcefully. Li Dalong and his wife, as well as Li Tiezhu, all turned their heads to look over.

Qinglan, who had just stood up, subconsciously stopped and looked up.

Several people walked into the courtyard. One of them saw Qinglan with tears on her face. He immediately stepped out of the crowd, ran to Qinglan, grabbed her left hand, and shouted, "Sister Qinglan, why are you crying? Who provoked you? Tell me, I will help you vent your anger!"

Qinglan's face showed panic, and she struggled hard: "Don't touch me!"

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

"Hey hey hey! Let go!" Li Wenjuan had to let go and screamed in pain.

Qinglan quickly took two steps back, turned sideways, clenched her hands tightly together, and held them against her chest. Her eyes were filled with panic, like a frightened deer.

"Hmph! If you dare to touch my sister again, I will break your hands!" 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 so disrespectful..."

"That's enough!" Before the man could finish his words, he was interrupted by an old voice.

Several other people came up to him, and one of them glared at him sternly. He closed his mouth in annoyance, but the look he gave Li Tiezhu was still fierce.

Li Wenju was wearing a thin light blue silk dress, which was breathable and refreshing, most suitable for summer, and it was obvious that it was worth a lot of money.

This man was also quite handsome, but he was thin, his eyes were puffy, and he had dark circles under his eyes, which greatly ruined his handsome appearance.

The person who interrupted Li Wenju was a fifty-year-old man with a thin figure. He was wearing a white gown made of thin and breathable silk. He had a short beard, a large jade ring on his hand, and a dignified look.

There were four other people behind the old man, all of them were tall and strong, wearing brown cotton short coats, with distinct muscles on their arms. They stared at Chen Yuan and the others with fierce eyes, and one could tell at a glance that they were thugs or bodyguards.

After Li Fugui stopped Li Wenju, he swept his eyes over everyone 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 infatuated with Qinglan. When I go back, I will definitely punish him. Please don't be offended."

Snapped!
Li Dalong swallowed the pork jerky in his mouth and slammed the bowl and chopsticks 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 stepped forward and shouted angrily.

"Don't be rude! This is my future in-law, it's not your turn to be rude!" Li Fugui turned around and scolded in an extremely harsh tone.

The servant immediately lowered his head and dared not say anything more.

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

"You're dreaming! My sister will never be his concubine!" Li Tiezhu said angrily.

"Tiezhu!" Li Dalong scolded, and then looked at Li Fugui, "I don't agree with this marriage, please go back."

"What did you say?" Li Wenju glared, "I've even signed the engagement letter! This is to take a concubine. Originally, I just need to give some money and take her away. I have done all the formalities and want to marry Qinglan in a sedan chair carried by eight people. This is unprecedented. You say you don't agree?"

Li Dalong glanced at him, a trace of disgust flashed in his eyes, and he said coldly: "Why? My parents' orders and the matchmaker's words, I won't agree, I just won't agree!"

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

"Okay!" Li Fugui raised his hand to stop him. "We'll talk about this later. May I ask, Your Excellency, what is..."

He turned to look at Chen Yuan, bowed, and had a questioning look in his eyes.

Chen Yuan said calmly: "I am just a nobody, a guest of the Li family."

Li Fugui laughed: "You are handsome and have an outstanding temperament. You must be an ordinary man."

"I have a wide range of acquaintances among the gentry in Yunrui County. I wonder which family this young talent belongs to?"

Chen Yuan said: "I am not from this place."

The smile on Li Fugui's face faded a little: "Your Excellency's conversation is elegant, and you must be a scholar. May I ask, do you have any achievements?"

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

The smile on Li Fugui's face faded even more, and when he looked at Chen Yuan again, there was a flash of contempt in his eyes.

He was afraid of Chen Yuan's extraordinary temperament, but when he heard that Chen Yuan had not passed the imperial examination, was not a local gentry, and was wearing a linen robe, and associated with a poor hunter family like Li Dalong, his vigilance disappeared.

But Li Fugui prided himself on being a gentleman of integrity, and was known for his deep sophistication and his inability to show his emotions. As a result, he did not change his expression immediately. He just nodded to Chen Yuan with a forced smile and ignored him.

He looked at Li Dalong, a smile reappearing on his face: "Dalong, our families are both surnamed Li, and we are just five generations apart. Why did we have to make such a fuss?"

"Wen Ju used to act somewhat willfully, but I have recently disciplined him strictly and he has reformed himself. He is even more infatuated with Qing Lan. Although she is called a concubine, she is actually the same as his wife."

"Qinglan is not young anymore. Wen Ju will marry her in a grand sedan chair. From now on, she will be well-dressed and well-fed. I will not treat you, my relative, unfairly. What else are you dissatisfied with? You may as well tell me and we can discuss it slowly."

Li Dalong said coldly: "No need, I am a hunter, I can't marry you. Qinglan is hot-tempered and doesn't want to get married, so please go back."

Li Wenju looked at Qinglan with lustful eyes: "It's okay, Qinglan, I don't dislike you, as long as you can marry me, even if you beat me and scold me, I am willing!"

Qinglan looked at him with disgust and lowered her head.

Li Tiezhu shouted angrily: "Don't dream, my sister will never marry you!"

Li Fugui's smile faded, he looked at Li Dalong and said slowly: "It seems that you don't want to drink the toast, so you have to drink the penalty?"

Li Dalong said: "My daughter, if I don't let him marry, even the king of heaven can't do anything about it!"

Li Wenju laughed: "Don't think I don't know. Yesterday you found that old woman surnamed 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. No matchmaker dares to propose marriage to Qinglan within a hundred miles, and no family dares to marry Qinglan!"

Li Dalong opened his eyes wide: "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, which one can be hidden from my Li family?"

"Old man, just let Qinglan marry me. Since you are Qinglan's father, I will support you financially in the future. You don't have to go hunting in the mountains anymore, to avoid being eaten by tigers or blind bears one day!"

"Li Wenjuan, you're looking for death!" Li Tiezhu clenched his fists, took a step forward and was about to hit him.

Li Wenjuan was so frightened that his face turned pale. The two servants behind Li Fugui rushed out together, stood in front of Li Wenjuan and grabbed Li Tiezhu's wrist.

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

Another servant raised his fist and was about to hit him.

"Hey, wait!" Li Wenju stopped him and looked at Qinglan with lustful eyes, "This is my future brother-in-law. What if I beat him up and Qinglan gets upset?"

The two servants then loosened their hands and let go of Li Tiezhu. Li Tiezhu rubbed his wrist and glared at the two servants, but he didn't dare to attack again.

Li Dalong was verbally insulted by Li Wenju and his son was almost beaten by the servants. He was extremely angry.

He clenched his fists, veins bulged on his arms, his eyes were wide open, and he wanted to fight this group of people.

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

Li Wenju's expression immediately changed, and he glared: "Hey, you old guy..."

"Okay." Li Fugui raised his hand to stop, "Since you insist on doing this, Dalong, I won't force you. After all, my Li family has been a gentry in Qingshan Village for hundreds of years. We have always been kind to the people of the village and never bully our neighbors, let alone our relatives."

Li Dalong didn't expect Li Fugui to be so easy to talk to. He was stunned and said quickly, "Then please go back..."

"No hurry." Li Fugui said with a fake smile, "I came here today for another matter."

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

Li Fugui looked up at the sky and said with a smile, "It's the beginning of autumn. In another month, the government will collect this year's land tax. As the head of Qingshan Village, it is my duty."

"After the new Magistrate Ma took office, he urged the payment of the arrears of money and grain over the years. Liu Dianli from the Household Department has already come to my house to ask for payment once."

"Your family has been in arrears with the land tax for three consecutive years, including this year, a total of four years. If you can't pay it in full, the county police will take you to jail. Don't blame me for not reminding you."

Li Dalong was stunned and said, "Land tax? My family has been hunters for generations, why should we pay land tax?"

Li Fugui smiled and raised his right hand: "Give it to me."

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

Li Fugui showed the paper and said, "If you have land at home, you must pay the land tax."

"On the sixth day of the second month four years ago, I sold you ten mu of land. Your handprint was stamped on the land deed, but you have never paid the land tax once, and have been in arrears for four consecutive years."

"You must pay it all off this autumn. Otherwise, I will exercise my duty as the village head, report it to Sun Dianshi, and send arrestees to capture you!"

"You are slandering me!" Li Dalong raised his hand and pointed at Li Fugui, his face flushed, "I have never bought ten acres of land from you, and I don't have the money to buy land. This land deed was not signed by me, it's fake!"

Li Fugui was stunned and said, "Li Dalong, because we are relatives, I kindly sold you the land at a low price. It was ten acres of excellent irrigated land, and I never asked you to pay the land tax. How can you be so ungrateful?"

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

The two servants behind Li Fugui immediately took two steps forward, blocked Li Fugui, and stared at Li Dalong.

Li Dalong held the wooden stool tightly in his right hand and pointed at Li Fugui with his left hand, his body trembling: "Just wait, I will go to the county to sue the officials tomorrow. I don't believe that the county government will believe the fake land deed in your hand!"

Li Fugui stroked his beard and smiled: "Li Dalong, go ahead and sue the officials. Do you know which direction the gate of the government office faces?"

"I have the land deed in my hand as proof, written in black and white. Even if you sue me in the county government, or even in the prefecture government, I'll still be in the right!"

Li Dalong laughed in anger: "Okay, okay! Your Li family is domineering in Qingshan Village, and you want to dominate Yunrui County?"

"I will go to the county tomorrow and beat the drum to protest my grievances, and ask the great judge to make a decision for me!"

Li Fugui laughed: "My Lord? To tell you the truth, when Magistrate Ma took office, I also toasted him with a glass of wine at the welcoming banquet and gave him a hundred taels of silver."

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

"As for County Magistrate Zhao, Dianshi Sun, Chief Clerk Zhang, and the six clerks, I pay tribute to them every year."

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

"This is too much! I will fight you!" Li Tiezhu roared and rushed towards Li Wenjuan.

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

Li Tiezhu wanted to dodge, but the 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.

He bent his hands back again, put them together, placed them behind his neck and pressed down. Li Tiezhu fell to his knees with a thud.

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

But the servant's big hands seemed to be made of iron, and they did not move at all, pressing him firmly to the ground.

Li Mi exclaimed, "Iron Pillar!"

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

Qinglan exclaimed, "Brother!"

She rushed forward and tried to pry the servant's hand apart. Another servant in front of Li Wenju came over and grabbed Qinglan's wrist. Qinglan cried out in pain: "Ah!"

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

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

Just as he was about to hug Qinglan, he suddenly stumbled and fell to the ground.

"What the hell dares to trip me, young master!" Li Wenju turned back angrily, but there was nothing on the ground. He was stunned.

Qinglan continued to pry open the other servant's hand, but her strength was too weak and it was of no use.

The servant was afraid of hurting her and upsetting Li Wenju, so he simply ignored her and let her struggle. His hands did not move at all, still holding Li Tiezhu firmly to the ground.

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

The two servants in front of Li Fugui took a step forward and were about to chase him, but were stopped by Li Fugui: "Wait, he won't run, you retreat first."

The two servants stepped aside as instructed. At this moment, the bamboo curtain of 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 the bamboo arrow on the bow, pointed it at Li Fugui, his eyes red, and shouted: "Let go of Tiezhu! Or I will kill you!"

The two servants behind Li Fugui's face changed drastically. They took a big step, came in front of Li Fugui and blocked him tightly.

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

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

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

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

Li Fugui was aimed at by the bamboo arrow, but he didn't care. He smiled and said, "Li Dalong, killing someone means paying with your life. Do you dare to kill me?"

"Do you think I'm afraid of death?" Li Dalong shouted angrily, with murderous intent in his eyes.

Li Fugui stroked his beard and smiled, as steady as a rock: "You are a hunter. You have killed so many beasts that are more ferocious than humans, so killing people is naturally not a problem for you."

"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 bloodshot. He exerted force with his hands and pulled the bowstring tighter.

Li Fugui smiled and said, "Go ahead. I believe you are not afraid of death, but I don't know if you are afraid that your son, daughter, and wife will die with you?"

"Hu...Hu..." Li Dalong's chest heaved and he breathed 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 that can't be said in a nice way?"

"It is my duty as the village head to collect the arrears of taxes and levies."

"I have the land deed signed by you in my hand. No matter where you sue, you must pay the four years of arrears in land tax."

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

"Without you going into the mountains to hunt, I wonder if Tiezhu and Qinglan can survive this winter?"

Li Dalong said word by word: "What should I do to make you let my family go?"

"What do you think?" Li Fugui asked back.

boom.

Li Dalong loosened his grip, and the bow fell to the ground. He closed his eyes, and two lines of turbid tears slowly flowed down his cheeks. He whispered, "You guys go. In three days, eight people will carry a sedan chair to marry Qinglan!"

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

Li Tiezhu cried out in agony: "Dad, you can't let my sister marry that beast Li Wenju! He visits brothels every day and has ruined the innocence of so many decent girls. He also likes to beat and scold his wives and concubines. You can't push my sister into this pit of fire!"

Li Wenju had already climbed up from the ground. Upon hearing this, he angrily said, "You little bastard, what are you talking about..."

"Go!" Li Dalong opened his eyes, stared at him and roared.

Li Wenju shuddered all over, feeling as if he was being stared at by a tiger. His hair stood on end and he dared not curse anymore.

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

"Yes!" the servant responded and turned to walk out of the yard.

Li Fugui bowed to Li Dalong again, and said with a fake smile: "My relative has been hunting in the mountains for a long time, and he is very skilled. Crossing mountains and ridges is no problem for him."

"But I'm afraid my mother-in-law and Qinglan can't walk far in the mountains, right?"

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

After saying that, he turned and left. Li Wenjuan gave Qinglan another lustful look before following him.

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

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

Qinglan wiped the tears from her face, went up to hold Li Tiezhu's shoulders, and said softly: "Brother, get up..."

"Sister!" Li Tiezhu hugged Qinglan and burst into tears. (End of this chapter)