After the path was cut off

The Li family residence is located in a corner of Baixi Town. Although it is called a mansion, it is actually just a few neat large tile-roofed houses.

The walls were made of rough mountain stones, without any pavilions or carvings, relying entirely on a few clumps of wild grass in the corners for decoration.

The house was completely empty. The most ordinary wooden tables and chairs, the roughest cloth and bedding. The entire Li family home was so simple and clean that one could pack their bags and leave at any time.

This is not because the Li family is poor.

Rather, even the best family fortune becomes nothing more than a burden that must be discarded when the shadow of heretical practices or the tide of refugees looms.

Every migration starts from scratch.

On this land, prosperity and stability are a luxury too extravagant to even dream of.

At this moment, dusk was falling.

Li Qinghan held her sword, coldly watching the last rays of the setting sun on the horizon. The warm afterglow softened her cool profile, but could not dispel the deep worry that clung to her brows.

Li Qingfeng stood beside her, and without asking, he knew what she was thinking.

She was simply suspicious of the "Mirror Master" who had suddenly appeared. She was a suspicious person, yet she didn't bother to hide it, making her thoughts easy to see through.

"Grandfather has become increasingly nostalgic over the years, mentioning his great-uncle more often than before. Now that his great-uncle has returned, it has relieved him of a worry." Li Qingfeng deliberately avoided mentioning the Mirror Master.

Li Qinghan ignored this question and instead asked coldly:

"What do you think of that talking mirror?"

"Divine power is unfathomable and should not be taken lightly."

Li Qingfeng looked up at the sky, his expression devout, his tone resolute: "To meet the 'Mirror Master' is an honor beyond measure; to receive the supreme Dharma is a blessing earned through ten lifetimes of cultivation. If I can obtain the Mirror Master's assistance, I will repay him with my life."

"snort!"

Li Qinghan's lips pressed into a cold, hard line. She suddenly turned around and walked straight to the study where the two of them usually discussed matters.

The room was simply furnished with a bed, a table, and two chairs. On the table were neatly stacked copies of the Daoist canon that Li Wangxiang had sent back over the years. The pages were yellowed and the edges were worn, clearly indicating that they had been read repeatedly.

Li Qinghan closed the door behind him, a faint light flashing at his fingertips, and an invisible spiritual barrier instantly separated the inside from the outside.

Li Qingfeng watched her skillful movements, a hint of helplessness appearing on his face:

"With your great-uncle here, this is disrespectful. Besides, such a petty trick probably won't fool the Mirror Master."

"Having only met him once, you address him as 'Master of the Mirror' and even say you'd die for him. Li Qingfeng, do you even remember your own name?"

Li Qinghan's face was frosty, his gaze piercing straight ahead like a quenched sword:

"Don't you think all of this is too much of a coincidence?"

"My great-uncle had just encountered a great calamity, and this so-called master of the mirror 'coincidentally' appeared? The so-called life-saving was merely keeping my great-uncle barely alive; doesn't that give him the most sufficient reason to return home?"

"Next came the instruction of the Dharma, promising to ignite our spiritual apertures... What better way in the world than to have such a perfectly timed opportunity fall right on our heads!"

She paced anxiously for a couple of steps, her voice growing more hesitant:

"Also, don't you think it's... too 'weak' and too easy to talk to?"

"I admit that the oppressive aura was vast as the ocean, but it couldn't scare anyone at all. I should draw my sword and slay it? But the punishment is only to seal my swordsmanship for three days?"

She gave a cold laugh:

"What kind of punishment is this? This behavior is nothing like the legendary celestial treasures that reside high in the heavens, indifferent to all living beings!"

Li Qingfeng listened quietly without interrupting. Only after she finished expressing her concerns did he speak slowly:

"You suspect that the 'Mirror Master' is all show and no substance. You suspect that the 'Mirror Master' is bait. You suspect that the 'Mirror Master' has ulterior motives. Therefore, you do not believe him."

Why should I believe?

Li Qinghan remained unfazed:

"What if this is a demon disguised as a celestial artifact?"

"Using these sweet promises to lure us into a trap, ultimately turning the entire Li family, and even Baixi Town, into its puppets and prey! Are such methods uncommon among evil cultivators?"

"What can you do if you don't believe me?"

Li Qingfeng's gaze remained calm:

"The 'Mirror Master' can seal your swordsmanship. My great-uncle treats him with utmost respect. My grandfather sees him as the hope of Baixi Town. Now, all we can do is listen to our elders and follow their lead."

He paused, his voice even lower:

"Even if the 'Mirror Master' truly has ulterior motives, we must emulate our grandfather's approach in dealing with the murderous enemy."

"First gain its trust, then approach it, and finally... understand it, even..."

Li Qinghan was speechless for a moment, but the unease in her heart did not dissipate. She loathed this intricate situation that was beyond her control and impossible to break through with her sword.

"I know you only believe in the sword in your hand. But Qinghan," Li Qingfeng said with a sigh.

"We stand too low to see what lies hidden deep within the clouds and mist of the heavens. Right now, we can only see the path beneath our feet."

"The appearance of the 'Mirror Master' at least gives us a path forward that we can look forward to. We have no reason to reject this 'hope'."

"I know." Li Qinghan's tone finally softened, but the worry in her eyes deepened.

"I'm just afraid that hope hides an even greater despair. Qingfeng, have you ever considered whether such an extraordinary opportunity is something that despicable people like us can truly bear? What price will we have to pay for it in the future?"

Li Qingfeng was silent for a moment, then uttered a startling statement:

"Perhaps, we simply...have no future."

"What do you mean?" Li Qinghan frowned.

Li Qingfeng walked to the table, pulled out a scroll of old drawings he had secretly made from the stack of Taoist books, and slowly unfurled it. The drawing was densely marked with dozens of dots.

"Qinghan, we have both participated in three migrations."

"This is the current location of Baixi Town. These points represent the various settlement sites where Baixi Town has been relocated throughout history. Can you see anything?"

Li Qinghan stared intently at the scattered dots, which were not disordered, but rather vaguely formed an irregular ring.

"We...have we been going around in circles in one large area?" She looked up, a hint of horror flashing in her eyes.

"That's right. We've never truly escaped this area spanning hundreds of miles." Li Qingfeng's voice grew increasingly cold.

"Why do you think that is? Is it just because we're lucky and can always find a suitable place to stay, or is it because... we simply have nowhere to escape to?"

Li Qinghan's breath hitched.

Li Qingfeng did not stop.

"And what about those refugees outside the town? Don't you find that strange?"

"Baixi Town is concealed by an illusion array left by my great-uncle, making it difficult even for ordinary cultivators to find. So how did these refugees find us so accurately?"

Li Qinghan's expression changed drastically. She thought of those ragged, dejected refugees with numb, hopeless eyes. Every acceptance meant a food shortage and the beginning of another migration.

A horrifying thought exploded in her mind. She murmured incoherently:

"It was evil practitioners who drove them away."

"Each time, after the refugees have gathered in three or four waves... the evil cultivators arrive. Each time, it happens right after the harvest."

Many things simply cannot withstand close scrutiny.

She remembered her grandfather's solemn face before each decision to migrate, and the villagers who died during the migration.

"During each migration, those who were slaughtered were often the strongest and most capable laborers in the group. Those who were deliberately spared were always women and children, and always those groups carrying some of their savings and precious grain seeds."

"They...are shearing the sheep."

Li Qinghan's voice trembled with utter absurdity and chilling murderous intent, "Trying to treat our Baixi Town like livestock? Harvesting it periodically, leaving only the parts that can continue to reproduce and provide 'value'?"

Li Qingfeng nodded heavily: "Perhaps we should be 'grateful' for their 'restraint,' for not exterminating us completely, giving us a chance to breathe and reproduce."

"I'm going to kill them all!"

Li Qinghan gripped the scabbard tightly, his killing intent boiling. His swordsmanship, sealed by Xuan Li, was stirring restlessly, almost breaking free of its seal.

The faces of those who bravely sacrificed themselves to protect women and children flashed before her eyes. The evil cultivators' actions were the greatest desecration of all the victims. Such trampling of dignity and life was merciful. Letting them live one more moment was an act of kindness!

"Kill?" Li Qingfeng's voice was unusually calm.

"You're alone, a Qi Refining cultivator. Do you know who your opponents are? How many are there? What are their cultivation levels? Where are they hiding? Are they a lone, evil cultivator entrenched here, or some organized evil force? How are you going to kill them?"

He pointed to the location of Baixi Town on the map and drew an invisible circle:

"Actually, you don't need to kill them; they will come to us on their own."

"This time, our great-uncle is going to lead us out of Zhongzhou and completely break out of this circle. Do you think the 'shepherd' behind it all will easily let us, the 'fat sheep' he's raised for so many years, go?"

"They will never give up easily!"

Li Qinghan pursed her lips, her eyes flashing.

Li Qingfeng looked at her with complicated emotions. He knew that Qinghan wanted to take her sword and leave the town again.

In the past, during migrations, once Qinghan had her eye on a certain evil cultivator, she would chase him for a hundred miles without letting him go. Her grandfather had told her this many times, but she never listened.

Her reasoning was simple: "I'm only one person, I can't protect the entire Baixi Town, so I'll kill. I'll kill them one by one until they're afraid, until they dare not kill me."

"Qinghan, you are too outstanding."

"In this 'sheepfold,' a 'sheep' with sharp horns that can injure the 'sheepdog' is often the first target to be eliminated."

"In the past, they might have been wary of your status as a true disciple of the Heavenly Profound Sect, and thus hesitated to send high-level cultivators to harm you. But now, the sheep is leaving the pen..."

He sighed deeply, his voice filled with profound helplessness:

"Besides, even if we manage to escape this trap, who knows if we'll find an even bigger 'cage' ahead?"

"The Central Plains are teeming with heretical cultivators. Before we reach Cloud Hidden Lake, how many of our more than 100,000 people will be left?"

"In this vast world, where can one find a truly pure land, free from hunting and fishing, where one can live in peace and security?"

The murderous intent in Li Qinghan's eyes gradually faded, leaving only cold embers and heavy confusion.

She stared at the map filled with cages and, for the first time, felt so clearly that the noose of despair was tightening.

Her strength, the strength she had always relied on, seemed so pale and powerless in the face of this invisible giant net.

She couldn't help but think of Li Qingfeng, her grandfather, and the horrific sight of those faces lying in pools of blood in the town—dreams she had countless times during the nights she was awakened by.

"Is there... really no way out?" For the first time, weakness showed in Li Qinghan's voice.

Li Qingfeng remained silent for a moment, and the "Taiyi Dividing Light and Mirroring Secret Seal" imprinted by the mirror master appeared in his mind. The illusory image of the precious mirror flowed deep in his spiritual platform, emitting a faint and mysterious light.

"There is a way..."

Li Qinghan's eyes lit up, hope rekindled: "What method?"

Li Qingfeng glanced at the earnest-looking girl and suddenly sighed softly.

"Forget it... you probably wouldn't do it even if I told you."

Li Qinghan was taken aback for a moment, then raised an eyebrow:

"Speak up! What time is it and you're still dawdling?"

"If you don't speak, I'll draw my sword and kill you!"

Li Qingfeng cleared his throat twice, gesturing for Li Qinghan to come closer.

Li Qinghan frowned, but still took half a step closer.

Li Qingfeng lowered his voice and whispered a few words in her ear.

"You do it this way, like this and that."

Upon hearing this, Li Qinghan was first surprised and doubtful, then her pretty face flushed red.

The blush rose rapidly, spreading from her ears all the way down, burning her face in the blink of an eye. As if she had been scalded, she abruptly took half a step back, and her hand holding the sword even went limp for the first time in ages.

"Li Qingfeng!!"

Her voice was strained, and unusually, it carried a hint of girlish embarrassment.

Unfortunately, this shyness and annoyance only appeared once in the girl's life.

There's no way to record it.

All I see is Li Qingfeng, and you and me in front of the book.