Yi Yang's Blunt Refusal

At the kitchen doorway, Jiang Yuexin could no longer hold herself back. She still clutched the little knife she had used to chop wild greens, its tip pointing down, the back of her hand taut with the force of her grip.

She rushed in front of Yi Yang, shielding the old man behind her.

"I wear old dresses because I want to!"

Her voice rang clear yet trembled, leaving everyone in the room stunned.

Jiang Yuexin clenched her teeth. Tears clung to her lashes, but she stubbornly refused to let them fall.

"Whether Grandpa treats me well isn't for you to say!"

She turned toward Yi Xun, her small body rigidly upright. Her thin shoulders looked painfully frail, yet she stood firm.

"Grandma told me everything before she passed away."

"Your family took the shops, the silver, and the connections. My grandpa got a few acres of poor farmland and three rundown rooms, and he never argued a word."

"And now, after staying away for decades, the first thing you do when you come is try to sell my grandpa's house and fields."

"Are you relatives, or have you come to raid our home?"

Outside, the villagers eavesdropping against the wall nearly thrust their necks through the window cracks.

Those words were outrageously bold.

After years of being bullied by Yang Er, the people of Three Trees Village had learned to be afraid. The sight of respectable folk from town was enough to make their knees weaken.

Yet Jiang Yuexin, who usually greeted everyone sweetly as auntie or uncle, was now like a spark leaping from the stove, too scorching for anyone to touch.

Yi Xun's face tightened under her rebuke.

He glared at Jiang Yuexin. "What do you know, you little junior? When adults are talking, who gave you the right to interrupt?"

Yi Zhanzhi frowned as well.

He looked at the little girl in clothes washed pale, and condescension crept into his voice.

"Little Sister Yuexin, the adults are discussing important Lineage matters. You're young. You don't understand the sacrifices involved."

"What don't I understand?"

Jiang Yuexin raised her face, her eyes frighteningly red.

"How to feed your future with someone else's blood?"

At those words, Yi Zhanzhi could no longer maintain his arrogant expression.

He had grown up showered with praise.

Gifted, blessed with excellent martial aptitude-the Yi Family's young prodigy.

At home, his elders cherished him.

At the martial arts hall, his peers yielded to him.

At the county town's Thundercloud Martial Arts Hall, even the hall master was willing to take him as his final personal disciple.

Never had a village girl talked back to him like this.

And in front of the steward, his grandfather, and all the watching villagers, no less.

Humiliating.

Utterly humiliating.

Yi Zhanzhi's cheeks burned. His right hand settled on his saber's hilt, and he was about to speak when his gaze lingered on Jiang Yuexin's face.

Her cheeks and the tip of her nose were red with anger, her lashes wet, her lip marked faintly where she had bitten it.

Her old pale-green dress had been washed nearly white, and kitchen ash stained its hem, yet her face was so fresh and pure.

So pure that it seemed entirely out of place in this shabby house.

Something else flickered in Yi Zhanzhi's eyes.

It passed so quickly that even he failed to catch it.

But Yi Yang caught it.

Standing behind her, the old woodcutter narrowed his cloudy eyes.

The battered fan in his palm turned halfway around.

Its handle was worn shiny, its edges rubbed smooth.

The movement made no sound.

But had anyone who knew Yi Yang been present, they would have understood that the old man had already entered this offense in his ledger.

Yi Yang raised his hand and pressed it to Jiang Yuexin's shoulder.

"That's enough. Go back to the kitchen."

Jiang Yuexin refused to move.

"Grandpa..."

"Be good."

Yi Yang lowered his head, softening his voice until only she could hear.

"Grandpa can handle this."

Jiang Yuexin looked up at him. His face still bore the weariness of an old country man-deep wrinkles, white whiskers, an old short jacket-but the hand resting on her shoulder was strong.

Biting her lip, Jiang Yuexin retreated two steps. At the kitchen doorway, she glanced back again.

Yi Yang nodded to her.

Only then did the little girl turn and go inside. She braced both hands against the stove, her shoulders trembling gently.

Inside the room, Yi Xun exhaled the anger burning in his chest and lowered his voice. After so many years making his way in town, he knew that pushing too hard could ruin things.

No one changed faces better than a businessman. Moments ago, he had been furious at her barbs; now he once again wore the air of a brother discussing family affairs.

"Big Brother, let me speak plainly."

"Of the five hundred taels, you only need to contribute eighty."

"The courtyard and fields together are worth about that much."

"Move to town. Once we get through this stretch, I'll give you spending money every month. When Zhan Zhi makes something of himself, you'll share in the honor as his granduncle."

Yi Xun paused, then pushed the tea bowl forward, making a full show of sincerity.

"Big Brother, you're almost sixty."

"Living alone in the village, what if you collapse in the mountains one day? Who will look after Yuexin?"

"At least I'm her family. In town, Yuexin will have someone to look after her."

His words sounded warm, almost caring.

But after sixty years of life, Yi Yang had long since seen his younger brother's character clearly.

Turn those words over, and they meant only one thing.

You're old. You can't protect her. Hand over the girl and the land.

"Yi Xun."

For the first time, Yi Yang addressed his younger brother by his full name.

Hearing his name, Yi Xun's brow twitched. "Big Brother?"

"Do you remember the day my martial aptitude was tested when I was sixteen?"

Yi Xun did not understand why he had brought this up, and his expression stiffened.

Yi Yang said slowly, "The instructor said I had no future in martial arts."

"After we went home, you laughed over dinner for ages."

The room suddenly grew much quieter. Yi Zhanzhi looked at his grandfather. Yi Xun tightened his grip on the walnuts in his hand. It was true.

At sixteen, Yi Xun had just learned that his own martial aptitude was passable and was riding high. After all, for the first time, he had surpassed the elder brother whom the neighbors always praised as clever.

A youth's triumph cut deepest, because he did not know how to rein it in.

Nor did he want to.

Yi Yang continued, "Back then, I thought you were happy because you had a path forward."

"Only later did I understand."

"You were happy because, from that day on, nothing in the family-the money, the medicine, the meat, our parents' favor-had to be shared with me anymore."

Yi Xun's Adam's apple bobbed. With difficulty, he said, "Big Brother, what's the point of bringing up something from decades ago?"

"There is a point."

Yi Yang looked at him, his tone neither hurried nor heated.

"If a man can't even mention what was stolen from him in this life, that's when there's no point."

"Back then, our parents told me to yield to you."

"When we divided the household at twenty-five, I yielded."

"You took the shops in town, the connections, and the silver. I took this broken courtyard and a few acres of poor farmland."

"For decades afterward, you lived as a respectable man in town while I chopped firewood in the mountains."

"I never made a scene at your door, never cried injustice outside your shops, and never cursed you before our parents' graves."

Yi Yang paused, folded his fan, and laid it across his knees.

"Now you've come, but not to discuss anything."

"You've come to take the last thing our parents left me."

"Just like back then."

Yi Xun's face alternated between livid and pale. Having old accounts laid bare to his face was unpleasant.

Especially in front of his grandson.

Over the years, the story he had told the younger generation about the Yi Family's rise was that his martial aptitude, willingness to endure hardship, and courage to risk his life had brought the family prosperity.

As for his elder brother? He dismissed him with a single word: useless.

Now Yi Yang had torn away that respectable veneer, exposing the sordid old accounts of who got the meat and who got the broth. The guilty unease in Yi Xun's heart began to seep out.

Yi Zhanzhi could no longer hold back.

He thought this granduncle was utterly unreasonable.

He refused money, refused a home in town, and refused even the honor awaiting him in the future.

He guarded three shabby rooms as though they were an imperial palace. This was not mere stubbornness-the firewood smoke had addled his brain.

He stepped forward, the new saber at his waist swaying with the movement.

"Granduncle."

The young man's blood ran hot, his cheeks flushed. "Since we've gone this far, I won't beat around the bush either."

"Eighty taels for your courtyard and fields is already a courtesy."

"At the property exchange in town, no one would pay even fifty taels for land somewhere like Three Trees Village."

"It's only because Grandfather has connections with those officials that we can sell it for this price."

"If it were anyone else..."

He left the rest unsaid, but who in the room failed to understand?

After hearing this, Yi Yang rose. His movements were unhurried, yet he looked just as Yi Xun remembered his elder brother looking in his youth.

Yi Yang looked at his younger brother, Yi Xun, and said each word distinctly. "The fields are not for sale."

"The house is not for sale. We are not moving."

His gaze fell on the young man's hand resting on his saber. "Zhan Zhi, I won't stop you from seeking a master."

"That's your road. But walk your own road without trampling my land."

"Three shabby rooms and a few acres of poor farmland are all I, Yi Yang, have left after sixty years."

"No matter who comes to take them, I won't hand them over."

Outside, the villagers listened with their scalps tingling.

Someone muttered, "Old Yi's really... standing firm today."

The person beside him hurriedly covered his mouth. "Keep quiet. The Yi Family in town isn't someone we can afford to offend."

"Offend, my ass. Didn't you hear? They're trying to sell the old man's house."

"Even blood brothers act like this. Ah, these days, money runs warmer than blood."

Yi Xun stood, his face livid. He had assumed that a destitute old woodcutter would bow his head at the prospect of life in town, monthly spending money, and a grandson whose future lay at the Qi-Blood Second Level.

But Yi Yang had not. Instead, his words had left Yi Xun no way to save face.

"Big Brother, you'd better look out for yourself."

Yi Xun swept his sleeve and strode outside. Liu Fu hurried after him with his head lowered, not daring even to touch the tea bowl again.

Yi Zhanzhi lingered behind. Standing in the doorway, he swept his gaze over the shabby house.

An old table, broken stools, chipped tea bowls, and several bundles of firewood hanging in the corner.

"Granduncle."

Yi Zhanzhi's face was cold, his tone airy.

"In this world, fists do the talking."

"You can guard these scraps of property today, but can you guard them tomorrow?"

Yi Yang did not answer. He simply stood at the doorway and watched Yi Zhanzhi leave the courtyard.

Yi Xun climbed into the carriage, and Yi Zhanzhi ducked inside after him.

Liu Fu gathered the reins. The wheels rolled over the dirt road, kicking up dust that stung the eyes of several villagers watching the spectacle.

The carriage receded into the distance.

The people at the village entrance hurried to disperse, talking about going home to cook, though their feet dragged.

Everyone understood that Old Yi had badly offended the Yi Family in town today.

A poor old man had stood his ground against a wealthy town household with a martial artist for a grandson.

It felt good to hear.

But what came after that satisfaction?

Jiang Yuexin came out of the kitchen, her eyes still red.

She walked to Yi Yang's side and said quietly, "Grandpa, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have rushed out just now."

Yi Yang picked up the battered fan from the table and tapped her lightly on the head.

"If you hadn't rushed out, what if holding it all in had made you sick?"

Jiang Yuexin sniffled.

"But will they come back?"

"They will."

Yi Yang answered without hesitation, leaving Jiang Yuexin stunned.

Yi Yang looked in the direction the carriage had gone, his aged face once more expressionless.

"People like that, if they go home empty-handed, even their pillows feel like rocks when they try to sleep."

"Then what do we do?"

"Eat."

"Huh?"

Yi Yang turned and headed for the kitchen. "If we don't get those wild greens into the pot soon, they'll get tough."

Jiang Yuexin stood stunned for a long moment, almost laughing in exasperation. "Grandpa, at a time like this, you're still thinking about wild greens?"

Yi Yang clasped his hands behind his back, his voice slow and unhurried. "Even if the sky comes crashing down, we still need to fill our bellies first."

"Besides."

The old man paused at the threshold. "Anyone who wants to take something from me, Yi Yang, had better weigh their own strength first."

The line of small text only he could see appeared before his eyes.

[Wood-Nurturing Longevity Art, third level: (4200/6000)]

The old man watched that line of progress, and deep in his eyes, something burned in utter silence.