CHAPTER 52: CHAPTER 52: THE REASONING MUST BE ARGUED CLEARLY

The sun after the rain gave people a sense of freshness and splendor. The sun was not as unbearably hot as before, and Li Jing was in an exceptionally good mood.

His career was smooth, and because he had handled things well, he received a letter from Zhaoge. It said that Lord Fei Zhong and Lord You Hun were planning to recommend him for a promotion to oversee all matters, big and small, at Chentang Pass.

However, there were too many people sending gifts to these two lords, so the matter had to be prioritized, and it couldn’t be rushed at the moment.

Li Jing indeed was not in a hurry. Before sending the gifts, he had carefully considered that these two lords were favored by the Emperor. Although they didn’t have a good reputation, since they were famously efficient upon receiving money, now that they had accepted his gift, the promotion was naturally not far off.

The issue with Lv Ping was also resolved smoothly. Lady Yin’s attitude became more relaxed, and the few shops that hadn’t been rented out could collect rent smoothly next month.

Moreover, from the current perspective, the youngest son in the family, who always worried him the most, seemed to have a stroke of luck, befriending the Dragon Palace Third Prince Ao Bing, and now looked more pleasing to the eye.

He wrote like a dragon dashing across the paper, scribbling two lines on the ’paper’ created by Nezha at home.

The bustling world is all for profit.

The bustling world moves for profit.

Profit!

Profit!

Profit!

The more Li Jing thought about it, the more his mood cleared. He felt that all affairs under heaven were nothing but profit; parents were profit, friends were profit, wives were profit, and sons were also profit!

After introspection, he felt even more that he had really lost his head recently. Although Lv Ping was young and beautiful, how could she compare to Lady Yin?

Lady Yin’s family, the Yin family, was a prominent clan in the Shang Dynasty with blood ties to the royal family. By the time it reached Yin Suzhi’s generation, though the bloodline was thin and they became a collateral branch, a skinny camel was still larger than a horse. Initially, even with the recommendation of Shi Ji Niangniang, without the help of his wife’s family, he wouldn’t have settled into the position of General of Chentang Pass.

Li Jing mumbled to himself with emotion, "Almost forgot my roots."

Suddenly, he heard someone knocking on the door. Li Jing hurriedly tidied the writing on the table, his brows as sharp as painted swords furrowing tightly: "Who is it?"

"Father, it’s me."

Hearing it was Nezha, Li Jing’s expression slightly softened. He realized how long it had been since he really looked at this child.

He should treat him better in the future, otherwise, this child would only be close to his mother and not close to him, the father, which would contradict the family traditions of the Li Family.

Li Jing got up, opened the door, and saw that a strong wind was blowing outside.

He looked at the child outside the door with slight surprise. Nezha was currently looking down at a termite crawling on the ground, letting the fierce wind tug at the red silk he was wearing and his wildly tousled hair. Sunlight flowed over the golden bracelet on his hand, revealing an indescribable weightiness.

When Nezha slowly raised his head, Li Jing’s heart was filled with an icy chill.

He was awestruck, unable to help but wonder what kind of eyes these were, carrying such determination and fortitude that it didn’t seem like they belonged to a seven-year-old child.

He couldn’t help but recall the early question he had selectively forgotten: Nezha might really be possessed by demons after all.

"Father?"

Nezha’s childish voice pulled Li Jing from his boundless imagination back to reality. He cleared his throat and said: "You came at the right time. I heard from your mother that you have been studying ’Annotations to Chengtang’ with Mr. Fan. Let me quiz you on it."

"Father, I’m here for another matter."

"What matter can be more important than learning?"

Nezha couldn’t resist Li Jing, so he let him quiz him. Li Jing’s questioning was not as thorough as Mr. Fan’s and, naturally, couldn’t stump him.

Li Jing raised the sheet of paper, seeing that although Nezha’s handwriting was somewhat ugly, it was entirely correct with a few insights and reasonings. He couldn’t help but feel even more delighted.

He said, "With your learning, in the future, seeking an accomplished teacher and finding someone distinguished to recommend you, you might just become an official in Zhaoge."

Nezha only nodded his head, thinking that with the current state of the world, if he really became an official in the future, it might not be in Zhaoge but in Xiqi.

Li Jing continued, "The paper you created is also good. Writing on it may not be as smooth as fine silk but is low in cost, and if there are mistakes, it doesn’t feel painful to correct them. Instruct the servants to make more, cut it into several pieces, and I will take it to give to others."

Nezha sighed in his heart and simply said directly, "Report to Father, Nezha wants to ask, when did Uncle Feng Xiaonian, whom we met last time, come to Chentang Pass?"

Li Jing was taken aback and replied casually:

"About three years ago. Why do you ask?"

Three years ago.

Left-hand cultivator.

In these three years, a cultivator was harming people at Chentang Pass.

After connecting these, Nezha felt a chill in his heart, worried that he might wrong a good person without evidence, so he said directly, "Report to Father, this matter originally stemmed from the death of my maid Lv Zhu’er. Everyone says she drowned, but when I went to the East Sea to search, they said there were no drownings in the sea, and instead told me that Chentang Pass had an additional people-eating cultivator in the past three years, practicing left-hand mystic skills and consuming countless of our Chentang Pass residents."

After speaking, he noticed that Li Jing’s face suddenly darkened, feeling his heart skip a beat.

Li Jing said, "So you suspect Feng Xiaonian?"

Nezha nodded.

Li Jing, with a dark face but an exceedingly calm tone said, "If you confirm that the people-eater is indeed Feng Xiaonian, how would you handle it?"

Nezha said, "Naturally, according to the law, report it to the authority of Chentang Pass and have the person in charge there conduct a trial."

Li Jing nodded, hearing Nezha’s statement, his expression slightly softened, and he said, "Not too outrageous yet, but the matter should end here. You should not get involved. Feng Xiaonian is my man, and I know best whether he consumed people or not. As for the death of that Li Cunxin, I will speak to the authority, asking them to expedite the investigation."

Upon hearing these words, Nezha’s face also turned cold. Staring at Li Jing in front of him, he wished he could strike him dead with a Qiankun Ring.

He knew he should not have asked at this time; still, he gritted his teeth and asked word by word, "How does Father know my maid’s father was named Li Cunxin?"

"Nonsense!"

Li Jing slammed the table, stood up, and shouted, "Just because you’ve learned some insignificant spells, do you dare speak to your father like this?"

When reasoning failed, Li Jing retrieved the ’authority’ of a father, and his demeanor made Nezha understand everything instantly.

He knew everything.

There was nothing more to say with such a person.

"Hmph!"

The fire in Nezha’s heart flared up, he shot a glare, coldly snorted, and turned away without looking back.

"You! Unfilial son!"

Li Jing watched Nezha’s departing figure, trembling with anger from head to foot.

After considering, assessing for a moment, he suddenly leapt, vaulting over the table like a fierce tiger, rushing out of the room.

Nezha, hearing commotion behind him, turned to see Li Jing striking a palm toward his chest. In his astonishment, Nezha hastily retaliated, not blocking Li Jing’s palm but rather kicking at Li Jing’s shoulder.

A cracking sound echoed; both flew backwards from the impact.

Nezha quickly stood up. His bones and muscles were resilient; although his chest was somewhat stifled, he didn’t feel severely impaired, and after rising, both the Qiankun Ring and Chaos Sky Silk were already in his hands.

Li Jing, however, collapsed to the ground, propping himself up with one hand, while the other shoulder was shattered, having been broken by Nezha’s kick.

He looked at the Taoist magic treasures in Nezha’s hands, a trace of fear flickering in his eyes, then ferociously said, "You unfilial wretch, do you dare to lay hands on your father?"

He attempted to suppress Nezha with feudal teachings, but from Nezha’s face, he saw a cold smile, and instantly felt a chill rising from the soles of his feet upwards.

Nezha sneered, "Father, let’s be reasonable. It was you who tried to attack me from behind first. That palm just now, if not for this son’s abnormal body, would have gotten me killed long ago."

Li Jing, sitting on the ground, spat blood staining his lips, watching in awe as Nezha’s aura exuded a kind of chilling, murderous intent he had only seen on the battlefield, terrifying him further. He thought to himself that Nezha was more formidable than he had anticipated, surpassing by threefold, no wonder he could kill a Yaksha.

He argued, "I am your father, how could I not know your physique is beyond the ordinary? This palm, hitting a mortal, would naturally kill directly, but touching you, it would be painless. My action wasn’t to harm you, merely to seal your Five Elements Escape Technique, to prevent further incidents!"

"Seal my Five Elements Escape Technique?"

Nezha was startled, then circulated the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi within, his body’s tunnel light briefly flashed, only to disintegrate into particles of spiritual light dissipating in mid-air.

His face grew darker, he stepped forward and said, "Undo it for me."

Li Jing extended a hand to wipe the blood from his mouth, stood, then with one hand concealed behind his back, discreetly making spell gestures.

He pondered, should Nezha act, he would employ thunderous might to suppress this uncontrollable disobedient child, while earnestly saying, "I do this for your own good, this method is but a temporary seal. It can be undone in the future, and it is just right for you to spend this time at home reading, cultivating yourself, and tempering your violent tendencies."