Section 084: A Noble Clan Tests Scholarship and Martial Skill

Li Dong found it odd. A stranger had broken into the courtyard, yet why had the guards at the gate not reported it to him?

As he wondered, another voice rose, and he instantly recognized it as his father, Li Hun. Whoever came with him did not need to be announced by the guards.

When his father spoke to that man, he was all deference and apologies, repeatedly offering him every courtesy. Li Dong thought, This man must be of very high standing. Yet all he heard were perfunctory responses, as though the fellow could not care less about a word his father said.

This was his own home, and his father was the master here. Why should he treat a guest so humbly? Before even seeing the man’s face, Li Dong already felt a trace of displeasure. What a grand pose for a petty show!

While they spoke, his father escorted the man into the courtyard.

The man was middle-aged, not tall, about five feet in height, with a fair complexion and sparse whiskers. He wore a long robe and walked with a steady tread; he seemed no weakling. No wonder he kept surveying the surroundings with utter indifference to his father.

When he saw Li Dong standing before the door, his eyes lit up, and he asked in a cool, arrogant tone, “And who might this young man be?”

“My son, Li Dong, my son, Li Dong, ha-ha...” His father, Li Hun, was still in official attire, smiling ingratiatingly and showing the man the utmost respect.

Li Dong’s temper flared at once. Whatever your status may be, no matter how lofty, to face an elder with such arrogance was utterly out of line. At the very least, he ought to be taught a lesson, to let him know that respecting the old is a fine Chinese tradition, and one that should hold true even in the twilight of the Sui.

Hearing that this was Li Dong, the man’s expression brightened. He stepped forward with measured confidence and said, “Since ancient times, heroes have risen young, and it is indeed true. I am Cui Shiling of the Cui family. Greetings, Young Master Li.” His expression and tone did not soften in the least; he still did not give Li Dong the slightest regard.

“Oh! I seem to have heard of the Cui family somewhere, more or less, perhaps, vaguely, maybe, if only I could remember where. The Cui family is...” Li Dong rattled off a string of uncertain guesses, then pretended to search his memory hard for where he had heard of them. He answered Cui Shiling’s cold arrogance with utter indifference, leaving him extremely embarrassed.

Cui Shiling’s face changed abruptly, and he flew into a rage. But remembering his family’s repeated instructions before departure—that he must bring the newly risen Li Dong into the Cui fold, and that if the Central Plains Li family got there first, they would miss this talent and, worse still, unwittingly gain a formidable rival—he had no choice but to swallow his anger.

He forced out a stiff reply. “Indeed! The Cui family is the foremost great clan of our age, with countless talents in abundance. In civil affairs we can bring peace to the realm and govern the state; in arms we can take cities and conquer lands. Our literary and martial accomplishments will benefit generations to come. I take great pride in being born into the Cui family!”

Whether your surname is Cui or Crooked, once you stand in the Li family’s courtyard, you are a guest. To usurp the host’s place and boast shamelessly is not only discourteous, but also a failure of judgment. Li Dong could not understand why the Cui family had sent this man to speak on their behalf. Better to have no such Cui family at all.

Li Dong smiled faintly and said, “I quite agree. But since you take such pride in the Cui family, why come to the Li family’s courtyard at all? I too take great pride in that.” He meant, If your Cui family is so glorious, why bother asking me to join you? I take pride in the Cui family personally coming to my door. In truth, he was speaking in irony; pride here meant shame.

For the second time he had been mocked and shut out by Li Dong, and Cui Shiling could no longer keep up appearances. His ferocity showed, his arrogance returned, and he snapped in a voice like ice chips, “Hmph! Young boy, do you not know your own limits? Do not think that merely because you have won a few skirmishes you can strut about and bark commands. The Cui family is deep-rooted and flourishing.”

“Then leave,” Li Dong said with a light flick of his hand toward the gate. His voice was ten times colder and so frigid it seemed to freeze the air. “Different roads do not lead to the same destination. Go.”

Before the man could answer, Li Hun could no longer bear it. Trembling, he cried, “Dong’er... do not speak nonsense. The Cui family truly is renowned for both culture and valor...”

Hearing Li Hun’s words, Cui Shiling tipped his face toward the sky and snorted through his nose, growing even more imperious. “My standing in the Li family’s courtyard is your honor. If not for the battle at Zhangqiu, you would still be nothing but a peasant!”

“Civil learning is not for governing a state and securing a clan, but for cultivating oneself and refining one’s nature, for tempering the spirit so that one remains unshaken amid upheaval, calm even when Mount Tai collapses before one’s eyes. To steady the world, one must first steady oneself; this is the unity of heaven and man.

Military skill is not merely for riding into battle, but for strengthening the body, loosening the sinews and nourishing the bones, so that one does not fear danger and chaos, nor blink when deer spring up at one’s left; surrounded by powerful enemies, one remains composed and at ease. This is the sage within and the king without.

What good is it to sweep the world if one cannot even sweep one’s own house?”

Li Dong’s words came like firecrackers, bursting out in a stream. They made Cui Shiling’s face change from white to red, from red to purple, and at last to a dark, liver-colored purple like the kind of pork belly once sold for twenty yuan a jin in shop windows before he had crossed over.

Your Cui family is so formidable, your strategy and valor unmatched under heaven, yet you cannot even grasp the simplest principles of conduct. Standing in another man’s courtyard, you show no respect to his father, and then, before the son’s very eyes, you prattle on at length, utterly ignorant of the word humility. You have tarnished the virtues of the ancients. You have truly swept aside all refinement and lost every shred of face.

“I cannot agree with your words!” Cui Shiling could no longer restrain the rage in his chest. He shouted, “Since there is unity of heaven and man, and the sage within and king without, why not step forward to set the world in order, report to the court above, comfort the common people below, and earn a name for yourself?”

“Vulgar, utterly vulgar! Would a sage ever lack civil governance and martial skill by his side? Among the so-called ‘Five Great Clans and Seven Eminent Houses’ of the realm, is the Cui family the only one capable of such things?” Li Dong took three steps back, putting distance between them, and said, “You and I are not of the same road. Better not cling to one another and make each other miserable.”

“Escort the guest out!” Li Dong did not even give him a chance to reply. He swung his hand sharply toward the gate.

With a roar, the man was consumed by fury. He flung back his sleeve, clenched his fist, and struck with a Night Demon Probes the Sea blow, his fist slicing through the wind as it shot straight for Li Dong’s face.

Li Dong gave a cold snort. “Overestimating yourself!” He shifted his body slightly and swiftly avoided the lethal strike. The wind of the blow whipped the long hair at his forehead.

In the next instant, Li Dong thrust out his left hand and seized the pulse point at the man’s wrist, cutting off his strength, then yanked him forward with sudden force.

Almost at the same time, he planted his right foot against the man’s ankle, blocking the pull and throwing him off balance.

With a crisp thud, Cui Shiling was sent flying from outside the gate to inside it.

Cui Shiling flipped over at once, sprang to his feet, and kicked toward Li Dong’s lower abdomen.

Li Dong abruptly crouched, dodging the tip of the kick, yet in that motion he hooked the man’s leg over his shoulder. Then he stood up suddenly, wrapped both arms around the man’s body, and hurled him outward with all his strength. “Be gone!”

Cui Shiling was flung once more from the room into the courtyard. Along the edge of the blue-brick path in the yard stood a row of jagged brick ridges, and they struck squarely into his waist, leaving him sprawled there, unable to get up for a long while.

“In argument, you lost; in arms, you lost again. I am only letting you know that the world is vast, and beyond every man there are others greater still. Never think too highly of yourself, never grow too arrogant, or you will only humiliate yourself and make a fool of yourself!” Li Dong stood where he was, not even out of breath, and warned him:

“Go back and tell the ones in charge of your clan not to provoke our Li family. Otherwise, I will teach you that sugar is sweet, salt is salty, and blood is bloody!”

Having suffered defeat twice at Li Dong’s hands, Cui Shiling knew full well that he was no match. He said nothing, only rose with a darkened face and staggered away, disappearing beyond the gate in no time.

His father, Li Hun, was frightened to the point of turning ashen. His hands trembled so badly he did not know where to place them, and he stammered, “You... you fool... you have brought down a terrible disaster!”

“Hmph! Let him dare!” Li Dong snorted out a breath of chilling menace.