Сhapter 232: The Inside Stоrу 5
Just as thе two wеrе аbоut to rаisе thеir fists аgаinst Liu Zongуuan, he quicklу оfferеd an exрlanatiоn, "Brothеrs, рlеаsе саlm down. I cаmе herе nоt tо angеr yоu, but аctuallу tо discuss sоmething."
"With our eldеr brother in this statе, whаt mоre dо you havе tо sаy? If уоu hаdn't intrоduсеd that sоrсerеr to him, wоuld he havе endеd uр likе this todау?" Li Каirui's anger surged аs he pointed at Liu Zоngyuan and lаunched intо a tirаdе.
"You still hаve the nerve to come looking for us? Look at how badly you all deceived our elder brother. Now even his manor and fields have been sold off. Don't you heartless scoundrels fear retribution?" Ji Dafu was also furious, shouting angrily at Liu Zongyuan.
Liu Zongyuan hurriedly took out the deeds from his pocket to explain, "The sale of the manor and fields truly caught me by surprise as well. After learning about it, I tried to make amends. Brother Li has already fallen too deep into it to pull himself out. All I could do was help minimize his losses. Over these past few days, I have been managing his business on his behalf. I have already recovered all the sold manor and fields, all under Brother Li's name. If you don't believe me, look at these documents—they are the proof."
Unable to contain his anger, Li Kairui snatched the deeds and examined them carefully. Finding them genuine and seeing Liu Zongyuan's remorse, he forgave him.
"So it seems that Yuan Bayuan really is a fraud," Ji Dafu clenched his fist, wishing he could smash Yuan Bayuan with a single punch.
Liu Zongyuan quickly added, "To be honest, I still have some faith in Immortal Yuan's mystical arts and have personally witnessed his powers. But I never expected Brother Li to become so obsessed with achieving immortality that he would even sell his manor and fields. It truly took me by surprise."
"What should we do now? Our elder brother is already like this—we can't just abandon him," Li Kairui said anxiously.
After a moment of thought, Liu Zongyuan replied, "If we go talk to Brother Li now, he definitely won't listen. Why don't we wait a little? In two days, once Brother Li has calmed down, we can discuss this matter properly with him."
Liu Zongyuan's words made sense. At the moment, Li Kaixiang was still furious, and even if they talked until they were blue in the face, he might not listen.
With that, the two turned to leave, agreeing to meet again in two days to find Li Kaixiang and guide him back to the right path.
Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and Li Kaixiang had calmed down.
When he saw his brother and brother-in-law arriving, he greeted them with a smile, expressing remorse for his behavior that day.
Seeing Li Kaixiang's repentance, the two felt greatly relieved. After exchanging glances, they decided to first create a harmonious atmosphere before gradually guiding their elder brother back to his proper duties.
Liu Zongyuan was also present. After spending these days together, they felt he was someone worth befriending.
The group drank merrily, speaking freely, and hadn't felt this happy in a long time.
After several rounds of drinks, Liu Zongyuan suddenly gave Ji Dafu a meaningful look. Understanding the signal, Ji Dafu set down his wine cup. Liu Zongyuan quickly said, "Brother Ji, I suddenly remembered there are some business matters I don't quite understand and would like to ask for your advice. I also need to hand over the accounts I've been managing on Brother Li's behalf recently. Let's step aside for a moment."Hearing this, before Ji Dafu could respond, Li Kaixiang was displeased. "It's rare for us to gather again today, with wine and meat. We should put aside all those trivial matters and drink to our hearts' content. Why bring up such things again? It really spoils the mood."
"Brother Li, you are mistaken. There will be plenty of days for drinking and eating meat in the future, but business cannot be left unclear for even a day."
As Liu Zongyuan spoke, he gave Li Kairui a meaningful glance. Li Kairui understood perfectly—this had been arranged by the three of them together, hoping to let the two brothers have some time alone and take the opportunity to share their thoughts.
Catching the hint, Li Kairui quickly added, "We're all brothers here, so there's no need for such formalities. Elder Brother has suffered a lot these days and has grown noticeably thinner. Since Brother Liu is willing to help, Elder Brother shouldn't worry about these matters."
Li Kairui's words carried deeper meaning. Before Li Kaixiang could argue, Ji Dafu also stood up hastily. "Exactly, exactly. You two go ahead and drink. We'll join you again once we're done with our business."
Liu Zongyuan also rose to his feet. "Brother Ji is right. It won't take long. You two elder brothers drink first, and we'll be back soon."
With that, before Li Kaixiang could stop them, the two left the room.
Seeing that they had already gone far, Li Kaixiang had nothing more to say. He poured a cup of wine for his younger brother, and the two began drinking again.
After three cups of wine, Li Kairui felt it was the right moment. Hoping his elder brother would return to the right path, he spoke up, "Elder Brother, look at what you've become lately. It's only been a few days, and you've grown so thin. From now on, stop following that Yuan Bayuan. Living a good life for yourself is what matters most."
Hearing Li Kairui bring this up again, Li Kaixiang felt a knot in his heart, but his attitude this time was indeed much better than before.
"Little Brother, we are blood brothers. I thought even if others didn’t understand, you should at least understand me. Yet, I never expected you to be just like the others, always trying to persuade me as if I were in the wrong."
"Can’t Elder Brother see the truth even now? You haven’t been following Yuan Bayuan for long, but look at what you’ve become. Have you looked in the mirror lately? Do you even resemble your former self? Even if you don’t care about yourself, you should think of Sister-in-law and the children. If you weren’t my elder brother, I wouldn’t bother with these matters."
Being scolded like this by Li Kairui, Li Kaixiang felt indignant.
Still holding onto the mindset of an elder brother being like a father, he calmly said to Li Kairui, "It’s not that I’m criticizing you, but even if I were to deceive everyone, I would never deceive you. That Immortal Yuan truly possesses divine powers. He can summon immortals to descend to the mortal realm—I’ve seen it with my own eyes, Little Brother. In my opinion, why don’t you also set aside those trivial matters at hand and join me in cultivating immortality? Let’s achieve eternal life together."
"Elder Brother!"
Seeing his elder brother so stubbornly deluded, Li Kairui grew furious. He slammed his palm on the table and roared at his brother,
"What immortals descending, what eternal life—those are nothing but tricks to deceive people! Elder Brother, after all the hardships we’ve endured over the years, how could you so easily believe in such things? And to be so deeply immersed in them—do you have no shame before our parents in heaven? Do you have no shame for all the efforts we’ve put in over the years?"Seeing Li Kairui's anger, Li Kaixiang also felt rage rising in his heart. "You're truly foolish, not even believing your own elder brother's words. Would I lie to you? Since we can't see eye to eye, what more is there to say?"
Li Kaixiang no longer wished to speak with Li Kairui, while Li Kairui himself was burning with fury. After fiercely downing a cup of wine and finding it still unsatisfying, he directly picked up the wine jar and gulped it down in large swallows.
After several big mouthfuls, he grew dizzy and lightheaded, yet he still wanted to persuade his elder brother to listen to him and return to the right path.
What he hadn't expected was that Li Kaixiang was currently consumed by rage. Watching Li Kairui drink like this, he made no attempt to stop him, instead turning his head away with an unhappy expression.
The sound of their quarrel was overheard by villagers passing by the door, who could only sigh helplessly.
Li Kaixiang had always had a bad temper, frequently clashing with others. Quarrels like today's were nothing unusual to them.
Li Kairui was somewhat drunk, seeing double images of his elder brother before him. Just as he was about to open his mouth to plead again, he uncontrollably slumped over the table.
When he groggily awoke, his elder brother was already dead, his head missing, with only a large pool of blood spreading beside him.
"Ah!" A horrified scream echoed throughout the entire village. Before long, the authorities arrived.
Only Li Kairui was beside the corpse, and before the incident, people had heard their quarrel. He was undoubtedly the prime suspect.
Upon learning of this, Liu Zongyuan was both grief-stricken and deeply shocked. But what had happened could not be undone.
Li Kairui was thrown into prison. Since the two brothers had no other relatives, they could only help Ji Dafu handle the funeral arrangements.
With Li Kaixiang dead, Yuan Bayuan's stay lost its meaning. Liu Zongyuan paid him off to leave.
Ji Dafu had matters to attend to, so it was Liu Zongyuan who single-handedly arranged Li Kaixiang's funeral.
These actions by Liu Zongyuan were not only witnessed by the villagers but also praised by Ji Dafu himself.
Ji Dafu never believed Li Kairui would kill his own brother, always feeling there must be some injustice involved. He began busying himself with appealing for Li Kairui's vindication.
Out of trust in Liu Zongyuan, the handover of the Li family business had to be temporarily set aside.
Not many days later, Liu Zongyuan left this place of sorrow, thoroughly erasing all traces of his presence there.
With one Li brother killed and the other imprisoned, Liu Zongyuan now held possession of Li Kaixiang's family assets. This vast sum of money clouded his judgment.
His visits to the Scented Pavilion became more frequent, and each time he came, he would always request the establishment's top courtesan, Xiuxiu, to accompany him.
Before this, Liu Zongyuan had visited Xiuxiu a few times, but his recent visits differed from the past. He would always bring gold, silver, and jade ornaments to win Xiuxiu's favor.
Seeing him suddenly become so generous toward her, Xiuxiu felt great delight, yet amidst her joy, she also grew curious.
To uncover the truth, during casual conversations, she would always get Liu Zongyuan thoroughly drunk. And each time he was intoxicated, Liu Zongyuan would let slip fragments of information.
Though his words were disjointed, the attentive Xiuxiu pieced these fragments together, thus forming today's story.
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