From the family treasure tree to build an eternal family

Chapter 171 Return the favor
"Young Master Yuan, stop playing around, Young Master Li Jing is almost crying."

Li Yuan didn't actually leave with his men; he was observing from a distance. Some of his companions couldn't bear to watch and tried to dissuade him.

He was watching Li Jing, who was groping around, from afar, with great interest: "Shh~~ Keep your voice down, don't let Li Jing hear you."

Do you think he can find his way back?

"Young Master Lijing is only four years old, he can't see yet..."

In the distance, Li Jing held a thin wooden stick in his hand, exploring the surroundings.

He was already used to the darkness around him, because he had never seen the light since birth. But this was the first time he had no one to look after him.

At first he was very scared. He cried out a few times but no one responded, so he calmed down.

After a while, he fell down several times but got up again, explored the surrounding area, and had a vague impression of the surrounding terrain and environment in his mind.

With just a stick, he actually forged a path.

However, he was in a remote forest, and he didn't know the way home.

Just as he was feeling lost and helpless, several loud shouts echoed through the mountains and forests.

"Li Yuan~~"

"A ceremonial mirror!"

A group of people hurried over from a distance, led by Li Yuan's father, Zhong Huai, with Li Jing's father, Zhong Chao, following closely behind.

Li Yuan took him away from Li Jing's house, and the maidservant quickly informed Zhong Chao, who then went to find Zhong Huai.

The two men, accompanied by a group of servants, searched the vicinity for a while before finally finding Li Yuan and his companions there.

"Dad~~"

Hearing his father's voice, Li Jing felt at ease.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

After some questioning, Zhonghuai and Zhongchao learned what had happened.

Zhong Huai was furious, especially in front of Zhong Chao. He was so angry that his face turned red. He pointed at Li Yuan and said, "You brat, you are really lawless. It's one thing to play tricks on others, but you actually played tricks on the invisible Li Jing."
"You're really pushing your luck!"

He was really angry this time.

Previously, when Li Yuan climbed trees and went into the water, she was at most mischievous and daring. The worst thing she did was throw firecrackers into the latrine.

But this time, "bullying" four-year-old Li Jing was really going too far.

Li Yuan is Chung-hwae's only son, and he has a good talent for martial arts.

In Zhonghuai's family, it was inevitable that he would be spoiled.

Despite his doting nature, Zhonghuai often disciplined him, making him stand as punishment, copy books, and even spanking him. However, he was forgetful of punishments and was still young, so these disciplines had little effect.

“Father, I wasn’t teasing Li Jing. I was watching from the side and just wanted to see if he could find his way back.”

Li Yuan continued to argue.

"You're still being stubborn? He's only four years old, and he's blind. You treat him like a toy?!"

When Chung-hwa saw that Ye-won still wouldn't admit his mistake, he got so angry that he picked up a thick wooden stick from the ground and said, "I'll beat your ass to a pulp!"

As he spoke, he pressed down on Li Yuan with one hand and lashed him hard with a wooden stick in the other.

He really went all out, and after a few slaps, Li Yuan was screaming and howling in pain. His clothes were torn, revealing his swollen buttocks covered in stick marks.

Zhongchao hadn't expected him to hit so hard, and quickly stepped forward to stop him: "Brother Huai, that's enough, that's enough. Liyuan is still young, just a child. It's normal for him not to know any better. Please don't hurt him..."

As he spoke, he ordered the servants around him to help separate Chung-huai and Ye-yeon.

"Hmph, I'll deal with you when we get home!"

Zhonghuai finally stopped, partly because he was genuinely angry, and partly to show Zhongchao what he was doing.

“Zhongchao, it’s my fault for not disciplining the child properly, which caused Lijing to be frightened.”

"Brother Huai, Li Jing is fine. Even brothers fight. The kids were just playing around, they weren't serious."

Zhongchao said this on the surface, but in his heart he was heartbroken for his son. His four-year-old son was blind and had been left in the woods; how much fear must he have endured?
Afterwards, Chung-huai instructed his son, Ye-won, to apologize to Ye-kyung repeatedly, and also said that he would visit Ye-kyung at Chung-chao's house later, to express his apology to the fullest extent.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

a few days later.

At Xu Zhonghuai's home.

Li Yuan, who had been severely beaten, lay in bed for two or three days. Being young, he recovered quickly, and with the Xu family having good medicine for treating injuries, he was lively and energetic again.

"Li Yuan, come here!"

Zhonghuai lectured his son again: "Have you realized your mistake?"

"What's wrong?"

Li Yuan looked completely bewildered.

"Just a few days ago, there was the time you played a trick on Li Jing."

Zhonghuai frowned.

"I know, I admitted my mistake back then."

Li Yuan touched his buttocks, feeling a faint phantom pain.

"Where did we go wrong?"

"The mistake was playing with Li Jing's younger brother."

"..."

Zhonghuai knew that his son only remembered the pain of being beaten and did not truly realize his mistake.

"Let me tell you about your grandfather." "My grandfather?"

Li Yuan knew that his grandfather had passed away a long time ago, and he had heard that his grandfather was a very powerful martial arts master.

"Sit down and let me explain slowly."

Zhonghuai was actually unwilling to mention his father, Xu Xiaogou.

His father has been gone for fifteen years, and he still feels heartbroken when he thinks about it.

He asked Li Yuan to sit down and then had a maid brew a pot of tea.

He poured himself a cup of tea, took a small sip, and began to recount: "When your grandfather was your age, our Xu family was just a farming household in Baihe Village."

Back then, the Xu family struggled to afford meat at every meal, and practicing martial arts was a luxury.

The family wanted to choose someone to practice martial arts, and they ultimately chose your grandfather. Do you know how they chose him?

"Why choose just one person? Can't they all practice martial arts?"

Li Yuan was puzzled.

"We're short of money; we don't have that much money at home."

Does practicing martial arts cost a lot of money?

“I remember your grandfather saying that it cost ten taels of silver to become a martial arts master.”

Xu Zhonghuai didn't experience that period either; it was a story that Xu Xiaogou used to love telling.

Is ten taels of silver a lot?

"..."

As Li Yuan questioned him, Zhong Huai recounted, in fits and starts, the hardships the Xu family had endured and how the brothers and sisters had shown each other deference.

However, Li Yuan showed no reaction after hearing all this.

His living environment made it impossible for him to understand a time when even a few taels of silver were so important.

He was an only child and found it difficult to understand the bond between brothers.

Chung-huai and Chung-chao are cousins, so Ye-yeon and Ye-kyung are more distantly related by blood.

"Ah~~"

Seeing his son's reaction, Zhonghuai shook his head helplessly.

How can someone without siblings understand that kind of feeling?

Even now, Zhonghuai feels a pang of pain in his heart whenever he thinks of his younger sister, Zhongxi.

"Looks like we'll have to resort to drastic measures!"

If he doesn't find a way to educate Li Yuan, Li Yuan will never understand what it means to be a fellow clansman.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Chungcheol's alchemy room.

"Brother, help me make a pill, or a decoction will do."

Zhonghuai came to seek help from his older brother.

"What kind of pills are they?"

"It can temporarily blind a person with poison, but the antidote can restore their sight."

This was Zhonghuai's plan: to use their own methods against them.

Only by letting Li Yuan experience it firsthand can he realize how excessive his behavior was.

"what?"

Chungcheol was puzzled. What kind of request was this?
Seeing his confusion, Zhonghuai explained what had happened and his thoughts.

“My nephew has gone too far? He certainly needs to be disciplined, but isn’t this method too harsh? I know a few drugs that can cause blindness, but those are poisons, and Li Yuan is only ten years old…”

Chungcheol couldn't bear to use such ruthless methods against Yeyeon.

"Sigh, how can I not feel sorry for him? But now he's not only naughty, he's also selfish, only thinking about himself. If I don't take drastic measures, where will he put his elders, brothers, or even younger generations in his heart?"

Zhonghuai had no other choice but to come up with this idea.

"..."

After hesitating for a while, Zhongche nodded: "Okay, I will try my best to suppress the toxicity to the minimum and leave no aftereffects."

In the following days, Chung-cheol researched a poison that could cause blindness.

Since it was intended for Li Yuan, he tried to minimize the toxicity while still achieving the desired effect.

It does not require the use of spiritual plants and falls into the category of "ordinary medicine".

A few days later, Chungcheol successfully concocted the poison pill.

He personally tested the medicine several times to ensure that the toxicity of the poison pill was within a tolerable range before handing the finished product over to Zhonghuai.

Chung-hwa obtained the poison pill and gave it to his son, Ye-yeon.

"Liyuan, this is a pill that your uncle has just refined. Take one before bed and it will greatly improve your physical talent."

He was deceiving his son in this way.

"That's great."

Li Yuan had no suspicions and took a poisoned pill before going to bed that night.

That night he had a nightmare in which he fell into a bottomless abyss and could not climb out no matter how hard he tried.

(End of this chapter)