The Li Family Viper, Li Yaowen

"Gained their trust?"

Li Xiang narrowed his eyes. Sometimes, setting up a scheme requires a significant investment of time.

However, while playing this game, Li Xiang focused more on the development of the Li Family. With time accelerated, he had no idea what Li Yaowen had been up to, so he had to have the Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python ask her.

"Hiss~ sss~"

As the Temple Guardian Beast issued the inquiry.

Li Yaowen understood immediately. She said respectfully, "Ancestor, we have our people in Tailin Town. I have kept them watching the movements of the four great families. Finally, three months ago, the maid I planted in the Chen Family sent word that the Chen Family's playboy young master had snuck off to a brothel to seek pleasure."

"So, I had my second sister concoct a potent aphrodisiac. That very night, Hu Wei of the Hu Family—the man who once sent people to severely injure Father—was also there, drinking himself into a stupor."

"I had him carried into the room of the lust-crazed Chen young master..."

???

"Thud!"

Li Xiang slid off his chair in shock. Explosive, absolutely explosive!

As for what happened that night, the mental image was too vivid; he dared not dwell on it.

"When Hu Wei woke up the next day, he scoured the world for Chen Gandang of the Chen Family, swearing that he would not rest until one of them was dead."

"Later, when Chen Gandang fled Tailin Town, I arranged for him to encounter danger, which led him straight to our Zhien Village."

"The fourth brother of the Chen Family head has been secretly contacting me to ensure Chen Gandang's survival."

Li Xiang was filled with deep emotion.

He felt a profound sense of admiration for Li Yaowen's calculated, step-by-step approach. At the very least, he would never have thought of such... unique ideas.

Yet, as Li Yaowen recounted all of this, she didn't even blush or skip a beat. This girl seemed to believe that as long as the goal was achieved, the nature of the process was irrelevant.

She even seemed somewhat dissatisfied with the current outcome.

"Ancestor, Yaowen still made a miscalculation. I thought Hu Wei would wake up from his drunken stupor early and kill Chen Gandang, after which we would proactively contact his father. I never expected Chen Gandang to still be alive."

"..."

Li Xiang was speechless. He silently typed—

[The world is unpredictable; observe the changes as they unfold.]

As the Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python relayed the message, Li Yaowen's eyes lit up. "Yaowen understands. The Ancestor means we can strike again. While the Chen Family is sending people to trade, we shall have someone take Chen Gandang to meet them. At the same time, we will secretly leak the news to the Hu Family. Hu Wei is a man who holds a grudge for every slight; he will not let Chen Gandang go!"

"Then... things will escalate even further!"

"That is the unpredictability of the world—a scheme within a scheme. Even if the Chen Family knows it was us, they have already seen blood. Like us, they have become enemies of the Hu Family. The enemy of an enemy is a friend!"

Li Xiang gasped.

This second-generation descendant of his was, without a doubt, the most ruthless person he had ever met in his life.

"Go and act."

Li Xiang had nothing more to say. Li Yaowen had clearly planned everything out; his interference would only be counterproductive.

His goal was simple, anyway.

That was to break the Tailin Town blockade against the Li Family and conduct trade!

If he could thoroughly eliminate the Li Family's two enemies and annex the entirety of Tailin Town, the Li Family's progress would be even more rapid!

Soon.

When Li Xiang checked the map, he discovered that outside Zhien Village, Li Yaozu was fleeing back to the village with two spirit beasts and a group of battered, wounded people.

The current Li Family possessed five spirit beasts. Excluding the one contracted by Xu Cuihua, there were four remaining.

These were all products of the Silver Iron Forest. With the help of the Purple Thunder Heavenly Sun Python and Xu Cuihua's day-after-day taming, they had no choice but to submit.

The Hundred-Eyed Demon Spider, the Gale Winged Tiger, the Chaoyang Beast, and the Eight-Leaf Flower Demon.

At this moment, the ones Li Yaozu was leading were the latter two.

The Chaoyang Beast was a bird-type demon beast, resembling a crane but covered in red feathers. When it flew, its demonic aura could manifest as raging fire; it was an extremely fierce beast. In normal times, it helped Li Yaotie with blacksmithing.

The Eight-Leaf Flower Demon was a plant-type demon beast that had gained sentience over many years and taken on a beast-like form. It could walk on its roots and take root wherever it landed. It used its flying leaves to injure people and bewitch their minds.

At the same time, it was also the weakest spirit beast Xu Cuihua had ever seen...

As long as one wasn't bewitched or cut by its eight leaves, even someone in the Qi Refining stage could burn it to a crisp with a single flame.

At this moment.

Outside a room, pink dust drifted from the stamen of the Eight-Leaf Flower Demon.

Unknowingly, the wounded who were being treated by Li Yaoqing inside the room were filled with grief and indignation.

"Hu Wei of the Hu Family killed my clansmen! This blood feud shall not go unavenged!"

"If it weren't for the timely rescue by the young master of the Li Family, I fear we would have lost our lives as well."

"I never expected that wretch Hu Wei to be so insane!"

Looking at the words above the heads of those animated characters in the room, Li Xiang raised an eyebrow.

He knew that Li Yaowen's plan had succeeded, and the results were even better than expected!

Under Li Xiang's intrigued gaze.

Outside the room, a maid pushed the frail and sickly Li Yaowen into the chamber.

"And this is..."

There were four survivors rescued from the Chen Family this time. The leader was a middle-aged man who, to Li Xiang's knowledge, was the third brother of the Chen Family head. He was at the ninth level of Qi Refining and was named Chen Chuang.

As for Chen Gandang... that kid and his father had been killed on the road by a trap set by Hu Wei.

Li Yaozu had already met the Chen Family members on the road, so seeing them ask, he smiled and said, "Friends of the Chen Family, this is my younger sister, Li Yaowen."

After the introductions were made.

Li Yaowen furrowed her delicate brows and said in a solemn voice, "Uncle Chen Chuang, I would like to ask, has your Chen Family long held a grudge against the Hu Family?"

"Long held a grudge? Why do you ask, niece Yaowen?"

Chen Chuang pondered for a moment and said, "If we are talking about grudges, there are plenty. To be honest, you might have heard that the Four Great Families of Tailin stand together against common enemies, but that is only how it looks to outsiders. Twenty years ago, my Chen Family and the Hu Family fought over a stone mine, and both sides suffered heavy casualties. By the way, Hu Wei's eldest uncle died in that very accident."

"Just as I thought."

Li Yaowen let out a long sigh.

Seeing Li Yaowen like this, Chen Chuang was even more confused. "Why does my niece sigh?"

Li Yaowen said, "To be honest, when Brother Chen escaped to our Li Family, he said that he was dazed when he went looking for entertainment that night and had no idea what happened. The next day, Hu Wei was already out for his blood, and Hu Wei even had the moral high ground."

"Yet, Hu Wei searched the entire city for Brother Chen, and Brother Chen still managed to escape Tianlin Town. Don't you think that is a bit too coincidental?"

Chen Chuang's expression changed. "What are you trying to say?"

"I want to say that it is very likely that this was a trap set by the Hu Family!" Li Yaowen's expression held a hint of relief.

"A trap?" Chen Chuang seemed to realize something.

"Yes, a trap!"

Li Yaowen spoke eloquently, "Over the years, our Li Family and the Hu Family have had a blood feud, as you know, Uncle Chen. But your relationship with the Hu Family is also poor, so the Hu Family has been plotting in the shadows to wipe us all out."

"They deliberately created the conflict between Hu Wei and Brother Chen, and deliberately let Brother Chen go, all for the sake of today!"

"Uncle Chen, think about it carefully. If all the people from your Chen Family had died on the way to our Li Family to pick up Brother Chen, what would your family think?"

This time, Chen Chuang finally turned pale.

"Our Chen Family would think that it was your Li Family who did it, after all, you previously... tricked the Wang Family members into coming to the Li Family and killed them."

"Exactly." Li Yaowen said with lingering fear, "This way, the Hu Family could not only kill your people but also make your family hold a grudge against us. Then, the Hu Family could incite you to become our enemies!"

As she spoke, Li Yaowen gave a bitter smile, "If that happened, having to face three of the Four Great Families of Tailin at once, our Li Family would surely be doomed."

"What a ruthless scheme!"

Chen Chuang gritted his teeth. Even with a broken leg, he struggled to stand up. "I am going back now to tell our ancestor and make the Hu Family pay the price!"

But Li Yaowen shook her head. "Wait, Uncle Chen. Do you think that if Hu Wei has already moved against you, they would let you return alive? I fear the road to Tailin Town is already filled with the Hu Family's traps."

"This..." Chen Chuang finally calmed down.

Li Yaowen continued, "Uncle Chen, please recover well at our Li Family. We can continue discussing the business we were meant to talk about. As for making the Hu Family pay, it is better to plan carefully. After all, a family feud concerns survival. You should seriously consider whether it is worth putting your Chen and Hu families in a life-or-death situation over this."

"Sigh."

Chen Chuang let out a long sigh. "These days, both the Hu and Wang families are saying that your Li Family is vicious. Public opinion is truly terrifying."

You really are something!

Watching the scene in the game, Li Xiang felt a sense of admiration.

At such an age, Li Yaowen was already wise to the point of being monstrous!

She had grasped almost every detail, step by step dragging the Hu and Chen families into an abyss of total hostility, and even making the Li Family's image appear to be that of a benevolent and charitable clan in the eyes of Chen Chuang.

After Li Yaowen was pushed out of the room, Li Xiang immediately bestowed a 'Love from the Ancestor' upon her.

"Thank you for the reward, Ancestor!" Li Yaowen was all smiles, delighted by the Ancestor's gift. She had lost count of how many times she had received such rewards. She was frail and sickly, easily catching colds and fevers, but every time, the Ancestor would bestow grace upon her, dispelling her illnesses and disasters.

Otherwise, Li Yaowen wasn't sure if she could have lived to her current age.

This was also the reason why Li Yaowen dared to drag her sickly body to pursue the path of a Literary Cultivator, which was as difficult as ascending to heaven. She believed that the Ancestor would protect everyone in the family, and that the Ancestor, with a spirit in heaven, cared for her even more than her own parents.

Meanwhile, in front of the screen.

Li Xiang was watching Li Yaozu and the Chen family members discussing business. The Li Family possessed a vast amount of medicinal herbs, monster materials, grain, and even monster cubs.

The Chen Family possessed various resources, and they even owned a chamber of commerce in the county town.

The Li Family would soon gain a massive amount of resources to develop the family through this trade!

Not long after.

The deal was finalized. Chen Chuang stayed at the Li Family to recuperate. As the heavy snow fell, everyone in the Li Family gathered in the Ancestral Hall.

Even Li Dalong, who had been in seclusion, broke his retreat with a face full of stubble.

The once-in-a-decade Grand Sacrifice began!

[Your family has presented you with a large number of sacrificial offerings!]