If he had a power that was a generational blessing from a demon long ago, everything would fit together in a much better fashion.
The demonic qi that surrounded his head during attacks was the power granted by the demon, allowing him to manipulate others mentally.
The sickness that passed through generations of the Li family was this taboo ability, which his father had also carried--and his father, and his father, and so on.
Li Chenyuan's uncle, Li Fengguang, may have even been especially jealous of Li Chenyuan, mistreated him and abusing him because it was that kid who inherited the demonic power, and not himself.
And, just as the blacksmith had said, that night when Qiu Yunru had been feeling strangely thinking about how Pan Fa, Lei Ruolan, and Fang Hai didn't care about him at all...Hadn't he gone out to the hot springs late at night, only to find Li Chenyuan also there? Wasn't that a strange coincidence?
He had felt a strange mental sensation that night--as though the air around him was bending with heat, and a nail was being shoved into his brain. Come to think of it...
Hadn't he felt that sensation more recently?
Where had it been?
Hadn't it been at the Dragon Boat Festival?
At the end of the Floating Dragon Lantern contest, right when the results were announced, he had felt a little dizzy, and his thoughts had grown sluggish. Hadn't there been a small commotion about the announcement, with the announcer taking back the first name he'd said? Hadn't Li Chenyuan asked him which float was his favorite earlier, and hadn't that float won in the end?
Putting aside what had compelled Li Chenyuan to use such powers to do such a small thing as change the winner of a contest for his shixiong, didn't that mean Li Chenyuan had used these powers on him multiple times?
And if this Senior Blacksmith and his associate sensed the use of these powers daily on Li Hua Mountain...
"Senior Blacksmith," Qiu Yunru wondered aloud. "This one wonders who your associate might be...?"
The blacksmith was up to something else, now. Having heated up the cooled metal for some time, he was now sliding it across a whetstone.
He didn't reply.
Assuming he hadn't heard, Qiu Yunru repeated himself awkwardly:
"Senior Blacksmith...?"
Again, no reply. There was, however a distinct air of annoyance coming from the blacksmith's back now. How he could sense this, Qiu Yunru wasn't sure, but it was surely there.
Maybe it was a touchy subject...
"Senior Blacksmith...what do you recommend this one should do?"
Kill him.
Qiu Yunru paled. For some reason, he had expected this kind of harsh, simple answer.
But, how could he be expected to kill this kid? After all...
Well, not only was it possible his golden core might be rescinded by the fickle game menu if he failed to keep that kid alive, but he would feel bad in general! After all, through all these months, he'd...really begun to develop a bit of affection for him...
"Li Chenyuan is my shidi...and...even though what Senior Blacksmith says makes sense, I don't have confirmation from him. What's more, he hasn't shown any violent tendencies. Would it really be the best course of action to...kill him...? Surely there is another way? Perhaps I can steer him away from such tendencies...?"
There isn't.
Qiu Yunru began to sweat a little.
This guy--he was getting straight to the point, but wasn't that unhelpful in this situation? Couldn't he understand Qiu Yunru's position a little bit?
Or was it that there really was no other way?
You don't believe me.
"Ah...that's not it..." Qiu Yunru scrambled, bowing his head. "This one doesn't wish to distrust Senior Blacksmith...but telling me to kill my shidi, who has done nothing wrong, and has only been abused all his life, is really...hard to agree with..."
This was the most he'd stood up to someone stronger than him since arriving here in this life. A bead of sweat dripped down Qiu Yunru's neck, sliding uncomfortable down his chest. However, he really didn't feel he could back down in this kind of situation.
The alternative was to bow his head and murderer an innocent kid!
The blacksmith was silent for a while. The scrape of that strip of metal against the whetstone was rhythmic and skilled, grating over and over again.
...I have seen many things. Wars of a thousand years, demon uprisings, revolutions, betrayals. There is not one man granted power above others whom I have not seen become a monster eventually.
The grinding of the metal continued.
...Kings grow corrupt. Nobles abuse their servants. Men assault their wives. A man with the ability to manipulate even a person's mind will surely do far worse. He can raze sects and subdue cities if he learns to use his abilities well. Given enough time, that child will learn to do so. As his father did, and his father, and his father.
Qiu Yunru swallowed dryly.
Such wise-sounding words...but...
"Isn't there any hope that Li Chenyuan can...turn out differently? Surely he shouldn't be treated as a lost case when he hasn't even hurt a single person yet...? Isn't that a preemptively hopeless outlook? Isn't he...just a child still?"
A hopeless outlook is practical in situations like this. Should we leave the cultivation world to be destroyed, or reduce the risk of danger?
Seeing the hesitant, pale expression on Qiu Yunru's face, the blacksmith went on:
Do you know what he will do, given time and a reason to be filled with anger? I have lived five thousand years. The past, present, and future are not so rigid to me. I will show you.