Clan Cultivation: Starting with Building an Island Immortal City

28: Acts of kindness and goodwill can sow the seeds of future disaster.The next morning, the sky was faintly lit, and the chill had not yet receded.

Outside Linhai City’s west gate, beside the overgrown official road, the previously empty field was now densely packed with four to five hundred people.

Men, women, old, and young, dressed in rags, with sallow, emaciated faces, either leaned against withered trees or huddled in grass nests, their eyes hollow.

Only the sound of suppressed coughing and faint cries of infants could be heard, and the air was filled with the scent of despair and hunger.

These were all refugees who had fled from the Central Plains.

Suddenly, a dull sound of wheels and footsteps came from a distance.

The crowd stirred, looking with both apprehension and a glimmer of hope.

A procession could be seen approaching from the direction of the city gate.

More than ten servants of the Li Family pushed five flatbed carts, each carrying a large iron pot, as well as sacks of rice and bundles of firewood.

The elderly man leading them was none other than Butler Uncle Zhong; he wore a neat grey cotton robe, his expression solemn, and his steps steady.

The procession stopped at a relatively open area on the edge of the refugee gathering spot, and the servants, well-trained, began to unload the carts, build stoves, set up pots, and gather firewood, working swiftly and without delay.

”Clang! Clang! Clang!”

Three crisp gongs echoed across the wilderness, silencing all the noise.

Uncle Zhong stepped onto a slightly raised mound, holding a horn made of rolled tin, and spoke loudly:

”Fellow villagers! Elders!”

”I am Shi Zhong, the butler of the Li Family in Linhai City! By order of my Eldest Young Master, I have set up a porridge stall here to temporarily relieve your suffering from hunger!”

As his voice fell, a low murmur and stir immediately arose among the refugees.

Serving porridge? In these turbulent times of war, could there actually be such a good deed?

”Light the fire! Cook the porridge!”

Uncle Zhong said no more, waving his hand to give the order.

The servants immediately lit the firewood, and flames blazed beneath the five large pots.

Clear well water was poured into the pots, followed by large scoops of white, plump rice grains, and the aroma of rice slowly rose with the steam.

What made the refugees’ eyes widen even more was that the Li Family servants even brought out several large jars of dark brown, fragrant pickled vegetables.

The pickled vegetables were chopped into pieces with an axe and thrown into the large pots to be cooked with the rice.

The salty aroma mixed with the scent of rice wafted out, which, to the hungry, was the most enticing smell in the world.

The porridge was cooked very thick, the rice grains almost dissolving, sticky, soft, and steaming hot.

”Line up! Don’t push! Elders and children, come to the front! Everyone gets a share!”

Uncle Zhong commanded calmly, as several tall Li Family guards maintained order.

The refugees were initially a bit chaotic, but under the Li Family’s orderly arrangements, they quickly formed five long lines.

Bowls of thick, hot porridge and spoonfuls of glistening pickled vegetables were handed to trembling, dirty hands.

”Thank you... thank you, Master!”

”Living Bodhisattva!”

”Child, eat quickly, slowly, it’s hot...”

Sounds of gratitude, choked sobs, and children’s impatient slurping instantly filled the air.

Many elderly people, holding their porridge bowls, shed tears and continuously kowtowed towards Linhai City, oblivious to the dirt on their foreheads.

Uncle Zhong watched the scene before him, his expression calm, a trace of pity and compassion flashing in his eyes.

He raised the tin horn again:

”Fellow villagers! This porridge will be served by my Family for three days! Eat with peace of mind, there’s enough for everyone!”

”Today, there is only plain porridge and pickled vegetables, not because the Li Family is stingy, but because you have traveled a long distance, your stomachs are weak, and suddenly eating meat and fish might cause illness and harm you!”

He raised his voice, ensuring more people could hear:

”Tomorrow, chopped meat and ginger shreds will be added to the porridge to ward off the cold! The day after tomorrow, there will be well-cooked meat bone soup! Eat your fill for three days and regain some strength!”

At these words, bursts of joyful sobs erupted among the refugees.

Meat! There’s even meat!

Uncle Zhong changed the subject and continued:

”After three days, if any villagers wish to stay in the Linhai area to make a living, all of my Li Family’s businesses — the docks, farms, mines, and workshops — will send people here to openly recruit workers! As long as you have a clean background and are willing to work hard, the Li Family will provide a wage and a stable meal!”

”We dare not promise great wealth, but as long as you are diligent, supporting your Family and paying the government’s head tax will certainly be no problem!”

These words were like a giant stone thrown into a deep pool of despair, stirring up towering waves!

Not only offering a way to live, but also a long-term future!

”The Li Family is benevolent!”

”Thank the Li Family for their great kindness!”

”We are willing! We are willing to stay and work!”

The refugees were overwhelmed with emotion; many knelt on the ground, kowtowing like pounding garlic towards Uncle Zhong and Linhai City, completely unaware of the dirt on their foreheads.

Uncle Zhong nodded slightly, gestured for everyone to get up and eat the porridge, then stepped aside to carefully supervise the porridge distribution process, ensuring fairness and sufficient portions.

The Li Family’s banner flapped in the morning breeze.

Inside Linhai City, the City Lords Residence.

In the study, the warm stove radiated heat, a stark contrast to the bitter cold outside the city, like two different worlds.

City Lord Xia Donghai sat behind a huanghuali desk, holding a leisurely book, but had not turned a page for a long time.

His brows carried a hint of pampered laziness, but deep in his eyes, hidden calculations and gloom resided.

A Family servant in a green tunic and small cap stood bowed in the hall, softly reporting the details of the Li Family’s porridge distribution outside the west gate.

”...The porridge is extremely thick, almost able to stand chopsticks in it, and it’s accompanied by plenty of old pickled vegetables... They announced that minced meat would be added tomorrow, and meat soup the day after... They also promised to recruit workers after three days, offering wages...”

Xia Donghai listened expressionlessly.

After the servant finished reporting, he waved his hand, and the servant quietly withdrew.

Only the occasional crackle of the fire in the stove remained in the study.

”Hmph... What a Li Family! What a way to win over hearts!”

Xia Donghai suddenly sneered, throwing the book heavily onto the desk.

”A mere powerful Family that started as a Escort Agency martial artist, now playing the benevolent role of helping the poor and orphaned! Do they consider this Linhai City their private property?!”

He came from a declining noble Family in the capital; although his Family had fallen on hard times and he was relegated to this remote coastal city, the arrogance of his noble background and his disdain for commoners remained undiminished.

In his eyes, refugees were nothing but trouble and hidden dangers; he wished to drive them out of his jurisdiction as soon as possible, out of sight, out of mind.

Now, the Li Family was ostentatiously serving porridge and recruiting workers, gathering refugees. To him, this act was by no means simple charity, but rather harbored malicious intent, winning over hearts, expanding influence—their intentions were punishable!

Especially when he thought of Li Yinglong... A few months ago, at the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, that old fellow’s terrifying display of shattering a lock from a distance and releasing Internal Energy, and even earlier, his ability to kill the ”Immortal” invited by the Lin Family... Although later investigations revealed that the so-called ”Immortal” was merely a Qi Refining Second Layer, aging, and desperate Loose Cultivator, being able to kill a Cultivator, regardless of the means used, was enough to make Xia Donghai wary and hesitant to act rashly.

He had originally planned to benefit from the conflict between the Lin Family and the Li Family, allowing and even secretly encouraging them to fight. Whichever Family won would inevitably be severely weakened, and he could then step in to clean up the mess and further control Linhai City.

Unexpectedly, the Li Family won so cleanly and decisively, and after annexing the Lin Family, their power surged, virtually becoming the uncrowned king of Linhai City, almost completely marginalizing him, the legitimate City Lord.

This left him with a thorn in his throat, unable to rest or eat.

Now, that old man Li Yinglong has been out at sea for several months with some of the Family’s elite, with no news, his life or death still unknown... A dangerous cold glint flashed in Xia Donghai’s eyes.

Perhaps... this is an opportunity?

The Li Family’s current head is that seemingly honest Eldest Young Master, Li Qingshan... Although he has some ability, compared to his father’s shrewdness and decisiveness, he clearly lacks a great deal of experience.

If he could take advantage of his father’s absence, find an excuse to curb the Li Family’s momentum, or even...

He pondered for a moment, then said in a deep voice towards the door:

”Someone come.”

A trusted aide entered in response. This man wore a green robe, had a lean face, and bright, shrewd eyes.

”What are your orders, Master?”

The aide bowed.

Xia Donghai leaned forward slightly, his voice extremely low, audible only to the two of them:

”What do you think of the Li Family’s actions today?”

The aide’s eyes darted around, then he whispered:

”Winning over hearts, their ambition is not small. If this continues, the people of Linhai will only know the Li Family, and not the City Lords Residence.”

Xia Donghai nodded in satisfaction; that was the answer he wanted.

”Li Yinglong has been away for a long time, his life or death uncertain. His son, Qingshan, is good at maintaining, but lacks initiative... Now is a good time to test their strength.”

His finger lightly traced the desk:

”You are to immediately handle a few matters...”

His voice grew even deeper, almost inaudible.

The aide listened intently, nodding occasionally, a knowing glimmer in his eyes.

”...It must be done cleanly, without leaving a trace. Understand?”

”This subordinate understands! I will handle it properly!”

The aide responded solemnly, a knowing smile playing on his lips.

”Go.”

Xia Donghai waved his hand, leaning back in his chair, picking up the leisurely book as if nothing had just happened.

The aide bowed and withdrew, hurrying away.

Within half an hour, several swift horses quietly galloped out from the side gate of the City Lords Residence. The riders were all dressed as ordinary citizens, yet each was agile and fierce, riding in different directions, quickly disappearing into the crisscrossing streets of Linhai City and the post roads leading in all directions.

Behind the study window of the City Lords Residence, Xia Donghai stood with his hands behind his back, gazing into the distance at the faintly visible wisps of smoke and the bustling crowd outside the west gate, his eyes deep and cold as frost.

”Li Yinglong... I hope you are buried in the belly of a fish, never to return...”

Inside and outside the city, the charitable act of serving porridge and the hidden conspiracy, intertwined like ice and fire, quietly outlined the turbulent future of Linhai City.