Chapter 89: THEY TRASHED HIS COURTYARD

Li Yan let his gaze sweep over his brother’s trembling form, cold, satisfied clarity settling behind his eyes. He would never forget the brutality Li Wei had shown him, the years of neglect, the final act of selling him off to be beaten to death without a shred of hesitation. If Li Wei wanted to see him as some ghost, Li Yan intended to make certain his continued presence in this sect was exactly that way, a haunting he could never escape, no matter how far he tried to run from it.

Li Wei attempted to straighten, some remnant of his old bravado struggling to reassert itself despite the fear still written plainly across his face.

"You think you can threaten me? Whatever you are, whoever you are, I am still your—"

"You are still nothing to me." Li Yan’s voice cut through cleanly, cold enough that Li Wei’s mouth snapped shut on instinct. He did not bow his head. He did not cower the way he once might have, the way years of conditioning had taught him to whenever Li Wei raised his voice.

Instead, Li Wei found himself the one forced to look up, however slightly, at the brother he had once dismissed as beneath his notice.

"Best stay out of my way, brother." Li Yan let the word land with deliberate weight, mocking rather than warm. "Brother Hanye already knows what you have done. Should you push me far enough to unleash my wrath properly, you will beg for death long before it ever arrives. Good luck with your cultivation journey."

He stepped past Li Wei without waiting for a response, leaving him standing frozen in the middle of the narrow mountain path, robes still swaying faintly from the speed of his passing.

Rage and humiliation twisted together in Li Wei’s chest as he watched his brother’s retreating figure. Whatever had happened to Li Yan, whatever strange power now radiated off him, Li Wei refused to simply accept being spoken to like that, dismissed so thoroughly by someone who used to flinch at the mere sound of his footsteps.

His fists clenched at his sides, nails digging into his palms hard enough to leave marks. Every disciple who had witnessed their exchange along the path would surely spread word of it before the evening was through, and the thought of his own humiliation traveling through the sect only sharpened his anger further.

Two could play whatever game Li Yan intended to start. He would find a way to make his brother regret ever speaking to him with such contempt, whatever it took, however long he needed to plan it properly.

Li Yan continued toward his residence, the encounter leaving a bitter taste that lingered long after Li Wei disappeared from view. He quickened his pace, eager to put the entire exchange behind him and enjoy the small comfort of the walnut cakes still tucked safely in his sleeve, already imagining the quiet evening he intended to spend recovering from the day’s endless demands.

The moment he reached his courtyard, he stopped cold.

The protective array that should have sealed his residence lay shattered, fragments of spiritual energy still crackling faintly along the broken boundary like the last embers of a dying fire. Breaking through an array of that strength took considerable effort, enough that whoever managed it had clearly come prepared, unwilling to be denied entry regardless of the protections meant to keep intruders out.

Beyond it, his courtyard had been thoroughly ransacked, furniture overturned, shelves emptied, personal belongings scattered and destroyed across the ground. Even the small garden Xiaoxiao had helped him plant showed signs of trampling, stems snapped and soil kicked loose in careless, deliberate destruction. Whoever had done this had not simply broken in and left. They had taken their time, making certain the damage was thorough enough to send a clear message.

Li Yan’s jaw tightened.

Whoever had done this either did not know who his master was, or cared so little that the consequences meant nothing to them at all.

Either possibility struck him as remarkably foolish, given everything they had witnessed that very day regarding the price of crossing the wrong people.

He crouched briefly among the wreckage, sifting through a few overturned drawers, confirming that nothing of true value had been taken, only broken for the sake of breaking it.

"Xiaoxiao." His voice stayed level, deceptively calm. "Track the spiritual signature left behind. I have time this evening, and I would very much like to pay whoever did this a proper visit."

"At once, Master." A brief pause followed, the familiar hum of Xiaoxiao’s focus settling over him as she worked, tracing whatever faint traces of energy still clung to the wreckage around them. "I will burn everything they own to the ground, should you wish for it."

Li Yan allowed himself a small, humorless smile. "That depends entirely on whom it turns out to be."

The pause stretched only a moment longer before Xiaoxiao returned with an answer, something almost delighted, coloring her tone.

"The signature belongs to Mo Lang, Master."

Li Yan laughed outright at that, genuine and bright, some of the earlier bitterness from his encounter with Li Wei burning away entirely beneath a fresh wave of satisfaction. Of all the possible culprits, he could not have asked for a better one.

Ruining Mo Lang’s residence would prove considerably more enjoyable than ruining a stranger’s, given everything the man had already attempted against him during the mountain trial, and given how much he still owed him for that earlier humiliation.

He turned on his heel, already making his way back toward the path, purpose renewed with every step, the earlier exhaustion of the day forgotten entirely in favor of the satisfying prospect ahead of him. The walnut cake could wait a little longer. This felt far more worth his time.

"Let us go ruin someone’s day." His voice carried a lightness that did nothing to soften the promise beneath it. "Unless he chokes on his own hatred, I will not let him off easily. Mo Lang has spent long enough believing he could threaten me without consequence. It is well past time he learned otherwise."