the li family is split by its “outside” and “inside.” the outside is just that; the appearance that they have when dealing with people from outside of the clan. this “outside” part has various business ventures and businesses in hong kong, and this was started by li’s father, li jié, and this is the cause of the a lot of the wealth the li family has today. in fact, the li family is one of the most influential families in regards to the business world. the “inside” part is the magical part and are very traditional in nature. this “inside” part is split between the main house and the branch house. the main house has the closest descendants of clow reed, which includes li, his mother, and his four sisters. the branch house has more distant relatives of clow reed. also, traditionally, the main house had more magical power and potential than the branch house, and that is still considered true.
li’s father, li jié, died when li was two years old. with it, the issue on inheritance of the companies he was the ceo of came into place, and so li’s uncle became the ceo of li’s father’s companies. when li has graduated college with a business degree, he will be groomed to become the ceo of the li family companies. li honestly has no recollection of his father, and he’s not exactly sad about his passing. he does wish he could have met his father at least once, especially with some of the stories his sisters had told him about his father.
li’s mother, li yelan, is the leader of the “inside” of the clan; although, she has five advisors that are elders from the branch house. together, all six of them talk about the direction of the inside part of the clan; such as, with magical training and punishment for members of the clan. however, yelan has the most power, and she is the one who makes the final decisions.
main vs. branch house. all members of the main house ( yelan, li, and his sisters ) all have magical powers; although, li has the most potential for magical ability and strength in his family. in the branch house, only about forty percent of the members have magical abilities, but everyone in the li clan have an awareness of magic and do, at least, study the books of the li magical books. there are certain ones, however, that are only available to those in the main house. these books contain some of the more dangerous and forbidden magics. the members of the branch house are still under servitude towards those of the main branch.