"Impossible... It's impossible! I don't believe it!"
Inside a tavern, Qingyu – still appearing much as she had years before – clutched a letter in her trembling hands. As her eyes scanned the characters, her face instantly became ashen, the words burning themselves into her vision:
[Message: Li Clan... Annihilated...]
Uncertain, disbelieving, Qingyu stared at the letter in her hand, her eyes tracing the devastating words again and again.
Her body suddenly felt drained of all energy; a dull fog clouded her mind. Her lips trembled, endlessly repeating, "Impossible... My Li Clan... we've always been so meticulous, so cautious in our every move! We had so many trump cards! How... how could we meet such a catastrophic end?!!"
Though far from home, she had, without fail, kept abreast of all intelligence pertaining to her family, checking at regular intervals.
For years now, the clan had, true to its nature, consistently campaigned far and wide.
Qingyu knew they had been steadily growing in power and influence, their name even becoming renowned across the whole of the Azure Dynasty.
She had taken joy in the clan's expansion. Though they had faced numerous trials during that time, they had, for the most part, navigated them safely.
When this message arrived today, she had initially hoped it signaled yet another success for the clan. Never, ever had she conceived it would bring such devastating news!
What's more, the letter didn't even detail what exactly the family had faced. It merely stated that a group of unidentified assailants had breached the Azure Cloud region Li residence, and that in less than two hours, before any reinforcements could reach them to offer aid, all that was left was a scene of utter devastation.
"I don't believe it! I DON'T BELIEVE IT!!!" Qingyu screamed in her despair – she didn't even know the identity of the enemy who had brought this ruin upon her clan!
Li Chang'an's cheerful voice carried in from outside. Qingyu, her face a mask of white, drifted to the window. She watched her son and grandson approach, Li Chang'an shouldering a basket overflowing with fresh fish. A storm of conflicting emotions raged within her; she didn't even know whether she could, or should, break this devastating news to her son and grandson, both still blissfully ignorant of their true heritage.
Usually, when her son and grandson came home, she would always be there to greet them. But today, she instead rushed anxiously into the family's Ancestral Hall and fell to her knees before the Ancestor's Spirit Tablet.
"Ancestor," she pleaded, "Tell me it isn't true! Tell me the family is safe! They are safe, aren't they?!"
"Our family... this time too, just like all the other times, we'll find that one crucial chance in the midst of disaster, and turn this defeat into victory! That's what will happen, isn't it? Right?! Please, I beg you, tell me this is all just another strategy by the family! Tell me our people are only pretending to be dead! That's it, isn't it?!'"
Down in the street below, the Wine Maniac's eyes were vacant and unfocused.
He, too, was clutching a letter. A letter from a sworn brother, a companion from his days in the Thunderfire Demon Cave! Gazing at the message in the letter, the Wine Maniac stood stunned, unable to recover his senses for a long, long while.
"How could they suffer such a fate? How could such a disaster befall them, ah?" A long, sorrowful sigh escaped his lips.
"This time..." he murmured to himself, "...this time the Li family has truly, truly angered an existence they should never have crossed."
As he murmured these words, a pained look settled on the Wine Maniac's face. "Yet, is this not the way of the world?" he mused sorrowfully.
"One group finishes their song, another takes the stage. He himself had once stood with the Li family, battling the Azure Cloud Pavilion, contending with Elder Qiuye and Xiao Huang, clashing with the Azure Cloud region's great sects, and warring against the Wu Clan. Again and again, the Li family had performed a perilous dance on the precipice of oblivion. Yet, where in all the world can one find a dancer who never falters?"
"At the very least," his gaze drifted towards the tavern, "a trace of their bloodline remains."
The Wine Maniac watched Li Xingchen emerge from the tavern, apparently heading to the local martial arts hall to instruct the village children in their training.
A complex look crossed the Wine Maniac's face. "The Li Clan... gone. That means I, too, am finally free," he thought, a hollow feeling accompanying the words. "But this world is so immense... where now is there a place for me?"
Lost in these musings, he rose to his feet, staring out at the distant horizon. But after a long moment, he merely sighed and sank back down onto his seat.
With a final, drawn-out sigh, the Wine Maniac seemed to reach a decision. "Ah, what the hell," he thought, a new resolve forming. "What's the harm in watching over this one remaining family branch for a lifetime? Besides, I refuse to believe the Li family could actually be completely annihilated. Those rascals... they're a notoriously hard bunch to kill!"
Muttering this to himself, the handsome Li Xingchen approached. After a series of furtive glances left and right to ensure no one was watching, he squatted down conspiratorially before the Wine Maniac. "Venerable Senior," he whispered, his voice earnest, "That technique you imparted to me previously? I've already achieved complete mastery. Might you... Might you perhaps have any techniques that are even more potent?"