Hostage

Divine Wood City.

Li Family.

Patriarch Li Haimo's study.

"Tianliang, come in." Li Haimo's voice rang through the study, heavy with authority.

Li Tianliang, an elder of the family's Cultivation Hall, put away the book in his hands and entered the room. He stood respectfully before the clan leader, eyes lowered as he looked at the white-haired old man.

"May I ask what instructions you have for me, Clan Leader?"

"Among the disciples you're teaching this year, are there any geniuses?" Li Haimo asked in a low voice.

Li Tianliang furrowed his brow and considered the question for a moment before shaking his head. "All the disciples are still learning about poisons and how to identify them. They haven't started cultivating yet, so it's truly hard to tell who's a genius and who's mediocre."

"Then who has the most spiritual insight?"

"These children are all quite bright and clever."

"Do you think they'll all be able to obtain a Spirit Companion after passing through Five Poisons Cave this time?" Li Haimo asked again.

"They'll all succeed." Li Tianliang nodded firmly.

Li Haimo nodded, then said gravely, "This time, ten disciples can stay with the family and continue their training here. The rest will be sent to the Five Poisons Sect for training. Remember: keep those with the best talent, and send the less talented to the sect. Any girls with exceptional looks must stay. If a family has brothers, separate them: keep the younger one here and send the older one to the sect."

After hearing this, Li Tianliang hesitated. "Clan Leader! The Five Poisons Sect is a Demonic Sect, and the competition within it is brutally fierce. Many of our family's outstanding disciples have already died during the sect's trials."

"The Five Poisons Sect is a superior sect! Don't call it a Demonic Sect again. Besides, the Five Poisons Sect's trials are brutal, but do you think the family's missions don't risk death?"

"I understand."

"Submit the list to me before you leave."

"Clan Leader, this puts me in a difficult position." Li Tianliang hesitated.

"There's no need to make a fuss. Submit the list first. In the end, who stays and who goes will depend on their Spirit Companions."

"Yes, Clan Leader." Li Tianliang looked troubled, but finally nodded to show that he would follow the clan leader's decision.

Li Family.

Li Haoshan's residence.

His father, Li Haoshan; his mother, Madam Jiang; Li Shuidao; and his two five- or six-year-old younger siblings sat together in the little courtyard, bathed in the glow of the setting sun as they shared a cozy family dinner.

"You're going to Five Poisons Cave tomorrow?" His father, Li Haoshan, looked worried.

Li Shuidao nodded. "Yes, Father."

His mother, Madam Jiang, was a mortal. She asked anxiously, "Is it dangerous?"

Li Shuidao smiled gently. "Mother, don't worry. We've been preparing for this for a long time. Everything will be fine."

"That's not what I'm worried about." Li Haoshan shook his head, then stopped, seeming unsure whether to continue.

"If you have something to say, Father, just say it." To Li Shuidao, Li Haoshan still seemed quite young. He had only just turned thirty and was in the prime of his life.

They were both father and son, and friends. There had never been any distance between them.

"All these years, at least half of the family members who obtained a Spirit Companion were sent to the Five Poisons Sect."

"The doctor told us long ago that the family doesn't have enough resources to train everyone. We really do need to send our people to the Five Poisons Sect to be trained there," Li Shuidao said.

"When our family first settled on Black Mountain, even more of our children were sent to the Five Poisons Sect. After I obtained a Spirit Companion, the family left me there, and I became a disciple of Daoist Black Light." Li Haoshan furrowed his brow.

"Father, you've never told me that before." Li Shuidao was quite surprised. He'd thought his father had never been to the Five Poisons Sect and had always been trained by the family.

"Don't remind me. I spent three years raising spirit beasts at the Five Poisons Sect. I had to do laundry and cook, scrub toilets, and handle endless odd jobs. I was often chopping firewood until late at night. Fortunately, my Spirit Companion was a gecko that could hunt for itself. Otherwise, it might have starved to death."

"..." Li Shuidao's brows drew together.

"Did you learn any cultivation methods during those three years, Father?"

"I never even saw my master's face. How could I have had a chance to learn cultivation methods? Those who became favorites of their masters either had a silver tongue and knew how to flatter, or were bold fighters who stood out in the trials. Otherwise, they could only do odd jobs. They had no chance to practice cultivation methods, let alone receive cultivation resources. That's why, when you were six, I told you to learn your manners. I thought that when you entered the Five Poisons Sect and followed your master, you could flatter him and win his favor. Maybe he'd even pass his legacy on to you. But with how dull you are, it's obvious you won't win Daoist Black Light's favor." Li Haoshan frowned deeply as he spoke.

Li Shuidao was absorbed in studying the fundamental nature of poison cultivation, and had already written hundreds of thousands of words on the subject in Chinese characters.

A person who studied a problem to such depths would naturally seem a little dull and not particularly likable.

"Um... Then how did you come back, Father?" Li Shuidao asked with great interest.

"Daoist Black Light lost a duel and died out there. His disciples, including those of us who followed him, were naturally sent back to our families. It was only after I returned that I started cultivating. It wasn't easy."

"What if Daoist Black Light hadn't died?"

"Then I'd probably still be doing odd jobs at the Five Poisons Sect. Do you know that Spirit Refining Realm cultivators usually live for two hundred years? They can reach the Spirit Refining Realm in their fifties or sixties. There's no chance of waiting for them to die of old age."

"Then if you couldn't work anymore, Father, couldn't you retire?" Li Shuidao continued.

"Impossible. If I couldn't work anymore, my master would send me to take part in all sorts of dangerous trials," Li Haoshan said.

Li Shuidao stared at his father's face for a long time. Li Haoshan began to feel that his son was acting strangely.

"Father, that can't be right, can it?"

"Why not? I saw it with my own eyes."

"If you already knew that was what would happen, why didn't you find a chance to run away?" Li Shuidao lowered his voice when he said "run away."

Li Haoshan stared back at Li Shuidao, his own gaze equally meaningful. After a long while, he finally said, "If I ran away, it would be the same as betraying the sect. If I betrayed the Five Poisons Sect, my whole family would die. You'd only just been born then."

At that, Li Shuidao suddenly understood.

There was a strange rule in the clan regulations that he'd never quite been able to make sense of. Now he finally understood.

Whenever a family member joined the sect, they would arrange for him to marry and have a child within a year. As soon as his wife became pregnant, the family would send him back to the sect.

If a disciple was married and had a child, the sect would certainly grant him leave.

This wasn't about having a son at all. It was about making hostages.

"Child, you could go far away and become a rogue cultivator. Your mother and I could be dragged into it, and so be it, but your younger brother and sister are still so young. They shouldn't..." Li Haoshan sighed, unable to finish.

Li Shuidao looked at his young parents, then at his two younger siblings, who knew nothing of what was happening. The food in his bowl suddenly lost its flavor.

Night fell...

Li Shuidao walked alone toward the brazier at the entrance, holding a thick, thread-bound book.

He flipped through the pages with a rustle...

The book was filled with Chinese characters.

Li Shuidao threw the thread-bound book into the brazier. Flames roared as his gaze grew deep as water.

He had to prepare for the worst...

If he was sent to the Five Poisons Sect, then first of all, he would still try to find a way for both sides to win.

If he could get along with his master, that would be the best outcome for everyone.

But if he really was driven into a corner with nowhere left to turn, how would he break out of it?

Li Shuidao's gaze was shadowed, his expression grave.