On the outskirts of Cheng 'an, it was snowing heavily on the eleventh of November.
Every year, the eleventh of November was a big event for the Li family, second only to the end of the year.
Most people worshipped their ancestors on Qingming, but to the Li family, they worshipped their ancestors on the eleventh of November. The reason was simple, because the founder of the Cleansing Moon Sect, Li Yue, passed away on the eleventh of November.
Hence, every year on the eleventh of November, the Li family would hold a grand ceremony to worship their ancestors.
Every time the Li family migrated, they would find a way to take away the ashes of their founder, Li Yue, as well as the spirit tablets of their ancestors. Once they arrived at a new place to settle down, they would choose a good place to bury them.
The Li family of the Cleansing Moon Sect was well-versed in Fengshui. When they came to Cheng 'an, they did not follow the crowd and choose a mountain ridge in the west of the city. Instead, they chose a mountain ridge about twenty miles south of the city.
There were still three days before the ceremony. Madam Xie had already ordered her servants to prepare the offerings and livestock needed for the ceremony. On the eleventh day, the entire Li family, from Master Li Chun to Madam Xie, from Young Master Li Chengfeng to the servants and maids, brought all sorts of offerings and drove their carriages and ox-carts to the southwest of the city.
Not many of the servants here knew that they were leaving Cheng 'an City under the guise of paying respects to their ancestors. No one knew that a terrible disaster was waiting for them.
Cheng 'an City was surrounded by mountains. The Li family's ancestral grave was located at the bottom of a mountain range that stretched for hundreds of miles. At the end of the mountain range was the famous Spiritual Mountain Sect.
The Li family's chosen grave was at the other end of the mountain range. The top of the mountain was split into two, extending left and right like a tiger or a dragon. It was the best place to bury one's bones.
Li Chengfeng had been beaten up quite badly a few days ago, but Madam Xie had specially let him sit in a horse carriage when he left. However, Li Chengfeng was angry that she had chased Xiaobao away, so he stubbornly rode on a horse.
In this group of people, there were already five carts of livestock and ten carts of fresh fruits and vegetables.
In the past, in order to make the procession more lively, Madam Xie would invite some gangsters from Cheng 'an City to make up the numbers and pay them according to the number of people. As time went on, there would be many gangsters who would come to the Li family to worship their ancestors at this time of the year.
Including those from the Li Clan, there were more than a hundred of them. The entire caravan lined up in a long snake-like formation. The procession was at least one or two hundred meters long. From afar, they could hear the beating of gongs and drums as they moved forward.
When he was young, Young Master Li would excitedly run from the front of the team to the back of the team on this day. He would kick the sheep on this cart and whip the pigs on that cart. He would not stop until the whole team was in chaos.
Even when he had grown up, Li Chengfeng would still tease the maids from the front to the back of the line. However, this year, he realized that he had lost a companion who had grown up with him. His heart felt empty and uncomfortable.
Logically speaking, as the future Young Master of the Cleansing Moon Li Family and the only heir, Li Chengfeng should be walking at the front of the line with the Li Clan's plaque.
However, at the front of the line was the majestic Master Li Chun, clad in full armour. He was bragging to the gangsters about the Cleansing Moon Li Family's glorious past.
Li Chengfeng really did not want to go up because he was afraid that his crazy father would do something stupid again. What if he grabbed his arm and called his child's mother, or pointed at the pig in the cart behind and called him son? He could not afford to lose face like that!
The rugged mountain road was very bumpy. Li Chengfeng sat on the horse's back and his butt hurt from the jolting. However, he gritted his teeth and endured the pain without saying a word. At least his stomach full of doubts and worries distracted him quite a bit.
Over the past few days, a series of events had occurred, catching everyone off guard.
Ever since he robbed the Spiritual Mountain's offerings, bad things had happened one after another. Unbelievable things had happened one after another.
Even though the case at Zhixi's Restaurant had been mostly solved, and Liu Zhixi, Yin Chai, and Zhou Anyang's relationship had been resolved, there was still one more important thing that they had yet to figure out. Why was the governor's beloved concubine, Su Zhixian, there?
This was an unsolvable mystery, unless Su Zhixian could come back to life.
Also, Xiaobao had been chased out of the family. How was he going to bring him back?
The Li family had offended the Zhan family of the northwest. How was he going to resolve this in the future?
These thoughts piled up in Li Chengfeng's mind, causing him to unconsciously frown. Even when someone called out to him, he did not notice.
"Young Master, Young Master?" A crisp voice rang in his ear.
Li Chengfeng was taken aback. He turned to see a pretty face leaning against the window of the carriage, smiling at him. He recognized this pretty servant girl as the new servant girl his mother had bought. She was very doted on, which made Green Bead very nervous.
Li Chengfeng forced a smile. "What is it?"
She smiled. "I'll let you know, Master is calling for you at the front of the procession."
Li Chengfeng snapped, "I'm not going!"
She looked at him in confusion. "Why is that?"
"If you don't want to go, then don't go. Why do you have so many reasons?"
"Oh …" She thought for a moment. "Madam asked me to ask if you're still hurting.
Do you want to sit in the carriage? "
Li Chengfeng straightened his back and smirked. "Go tell her that I'm not dead yet!"
Yuehan didn't seem to notice his hostility, "Oh, I understand!"
Madam Xie's voice came from the carriage. "Then tell him to stay alert. Don't let outsiders laugh at us."
Yuehan stuck out her tongue slightly, but she didn't dare to pass on the message in front of this mother and son pair who were at odds with each other.
Li Chengfeng scoffed and pointed his horsewhip in front of him. "With my father here, do you think I'll be laughed at?"
Madam Xie's voice trembled. "My son, you have to know that no matter what, he's still your father!"
"Hmph!" Li Chengfeng glared at Li Chun. "I don't have such a shameful father!"
Madam Xie raged. "You!"
Su Yuehan quickly tried to smooth things over. When she saw Green Bead riding towards them, she yelled, "Sister Green Bead, where are we?!"
Although Green Bead was secretly wary of Su Yuehan, she still smiled and replied, "We're at Wind Ridge!"
Li Chengfeng's attention was diverted as he realised that the group had reached a mountain pass. Both sides were steep cliffs that looked like they had been cut by knives and axes. They were tall and precipitous, and there was only one narrow mountain pass that they could pass through. The mountain wind gathered at this mountain pass, causing the wind to howl loudly, like the howling of a monster.
This road used to be infested with bandits, but after a few encirclements by the Spiritual Mountain Sect, it was now peaceful. Pedestrians on the road were at ease, and the Li family did not have any guards or preparations. The group passed through the mountain pass of Wind Mountain without any pause.
The mountain pass was not long and they passed through it in a short while. However, the most difficult part of the journey was the mountain path.
The mountain path wound upwards. On the left was a terrifying cliff and halfway up the mountain was shrouded in mist. It was impossible to tell how deep the mountain was.
On the right was a steep hill. Horses could not climb it and humans could not climb it either. They had to use both their hands and feet.
Li Chengfeng was not in the mood to argue with his mother. He focused and steered his horse forward, following the group slowly. The noisy people on the road also kept quiet, afraid that they would make a mistake and fall off the snow-covered official road.
As they walked, the group in front suddenly stopped. Li Chengfeng looked up in confusion to see a man and a woman standing in the middle of the mountain path. They stood out in the wilderness.
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