Showing off and a letter

Before long, Li Muxiu landed on the fishing platform where he had been earlier.

He swept his gaze over it, but Li Hao was nowhere to be seen. His expression changed at once. A quick scan of the surroundings revealed Li Hao crouching low beside a mound of earth a thousand meters away, hiding there as he fished.

"Couldn't sit still after all, eh?"

Li Muxiu shook his head slightly and was about to head over when, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a fish demon with its skull smashed open.

He paused in surprise, then flickered over to the fish demon as though he had teleported.

After examining it closely, he realized the wound had been smashed into it with a bare fist.

Li Muxiu reached out to feel the fish demon's body, probing it carefully. His expression changed at once.

The Circulation Realm? And around the third level, at that!

This fish demon... had that little fellow killed it?!

A trace of shock appeared in Li Muxiu's eyes. He couldn't help looking toward Li Hao in the distance. Without another word, he shot across the thousand meters and arrived beside him in an instant.

"Boy!"

The sudden voice startled Li Hao.

He had been concentrating so intently on the Fish Float that he hadn't even noticed when the old man arrived.

"Shh!"

Li Hao hurriedly gestured for silence.

Li Muxiu froze. The question on his lips stopped short, and he followed Li Hao's gaze toward the Fish Float.

His gaze pierced through to the riverbed, where he immediately spotted a fish demon circling near the hook underwater, seemingly hesitant.

What surprised Li Muxiu was that the hook was completely covered by bait. It was so well concealed that there was no way to tell a hook lay hidden inside the food.

Well, well! When had he learned this Hidden Hook Technique?

While Li Muxiu was still marveling, the fish demon circling underwater finally lost patience. Though it vaguely sensed something was wrong, it couldn't say why. In the end, tempted by the bait, it threw caution to the wind and impulsively bit down.

Hooked!

Li Hao's eyes lit up. Once the Fish Float sank, he jerked the rod upward.

The hook caught firmly in the fish demon's mouth. The sharp pain sent it struggling, churning waves across the water.

Li Hao didn't hold back either. He swiftly reeled in the line, using his earlier fish-playing techniques to skillfully drag the fish from side to side through the water, wearing down its strength.

Several minutes later, Li Hao hauled the fish demon ashore. It was a minor demon at the sixth level of the Power Through Realm.

Seeing how easily Li Hao had managed it, Li Muxiu's eyes flickered. Only after Li Hao removed the hook from the fish demon's mouth and flung it onto the hillside behind him did Li Muxiu ask, "That fish demon over there-did you kill it?"

"Yes."

Li Hao nodded in acknowledgment.

There was no one else here, so lying would be pointless.

"Do you know what realm that fish demon was in?" Li Muxiu narrowed his eyes slightly and stared into Li Hao's, as though he meant to see straight through the child's soul.

"The Circulation Realm?"

Li Hao made his estimate based on the strength that fish demon had unleashed underwater.

At any rate, it definitely couldn't have been in the Power Through Realm.

"That's right. At least the third level of the Circulation Realm!" Li Muxiu stared at Li Hao. "You've only practiced Wild Bull Strength, so you should be at the sixth level of the Power Through Realm at most. Tell me honestly-have you secretly practiced something else?"

Li Hao had already prepared his explanation. Seeing the old man hand him an opening, he pretended to hesitate before nodding. "Yes."

"Which manual?"

"The Thousand Dragons Sacred Body on the Sixth Floor," Li Hao said.

Li Muxiu raised his brows. What a coincidence. He had been thinking that if Li Hao truly had a gift for body refining, he wouldn't mind teaching him this Body Refining Manual later. Who would have thought the boy had already gone and learned it himself? And judging by the situation, he seemed to have progressed quite far!

"What layer have you reached?" Li Muxiu asked, watching him intently.

"The second layer," Li Hao answered truthfully.

The second layer was the Dragon Body, which could unleash the strength of half a dragon. Even without entering the Circulation Realm, he could wield strength comparable to its early stages, which would explain how he had killed that fish demon.

At those words, Li Muxiu inwardly drew a sharp breath. Good heavens-the second layer?

He looked at the child before him, not even eight years old. Such a tiny little thing, yet he had already reached the second layer?!

It seemed that boy Li Fu hadn't been wrong. This child really did have a damned gift for body refining.

"Even with the Dragon Body, hauling that fish demon ashore would have been no easy feat. You little fellow, not only do you have a gift for body refining, you've got tremendous potential for fishing too!" Li Muxiu praised him, his face brimming with satisfaction.

Li Hao scratched his head and smiled modestly, but inwardly he grumbled. From the old man's tone, why did it seem his talent for body refining made him less happy than his talent for fishing?

"They all think you're useless at the Martial Dao. Who would have thought you could already kill a Circulation Realm demon at such a young age? Hahaha..."

Li Muxiu burst into hearty laughter. Whatever limits his future held, at least right here and now, Li Hao's fighting strength surpassed even those supreme prodigies with a ninth grade battle body!

When his laughter subsided, something occurred to Li Muxiu, and he lowered his head to look at Li Hao.

"Come to think of it, Li Fu probably doesn't know about this, does he? You little rascal, when did you start secretly cultivating on your own? Why didn't you tell Li Fu? Don't you trust him?"

"I started learning a few years ago, when I first entered the Listening Rain Pavilion."

With an innocent expression, Li Hao said, "Uncle Fu... he never asked."

Li Muxiu rolled his eyes. "So if someone doesn't ask, you don't tell? Give me a break. No wonder you mastered Wild Bull Strength in just three months. With a foundation like that, practicing Wild Bull Strength must have been as easy as eating and drinking! Did your father tell you to keep this hidden?"

Li Hao thought for a moment, then shook his head slightly.

"Then it was your own decision?"

Li Muxiu narrowed his eyes.

When Li Hao remained silent, many possibilities flashed through his mind. A cold glint surfaced in his eyes. "Could someone in the residence have designs on you, so you've been keeping a low profile and putting on an act?"

Li Hao looked into the old man's eyes and saw the chilling murderous intent within. After considering it, he simply gave a slight nod.

"Who is it?!"

Seeing his suspicion confirmed, Li Muxiu flew into a rage.

To make a seven-year-old child suffer such injustice-those little wenches of the second generation were practically trying to overturn the heavens!

Li Hao shook his head slightly. "I don't want to say yet."

"Why?" Li Muxiu paused, staring at Li Hao, then immediately grasped what the child was thinking.

"You don't trust me? You think I might be connected to whoever has designs on you? Heh, you're overthinking it. I have no children, and there are few people in this world worth my concern."

Li Hao still shook his head without speaking.

Li Muxiu stared at him with a somber expression. After a while, the anger vanished from his face. He actually nodded slightly, revealing a faint, approving smile.

"We've only just met, and we don't know each other well. It's only natural for you to stay this cautious. But since you won't tell me who that person is, why were you willing to reveal your strength in front of me? You could have let that fish demon slip the hook. Even letting the Fishing Rod drag away would have been fine. You could have kept hiding your strength."

Li Hao smiled slightly. "Because you're not a bad person, old man."

Li Muxiu froze. Looking at the bright smile on Li Hao's face and the clarity of his eyes, he was momentarily lost in thought.

Only after a long while did he recover, letting out a somewhat self-mocking laugh.

"Then you've misjudged me. I'm not a bad person, but when I do turn bad, I'm not much of a person at all."

"Then what are you like?"

"Once you leave the Divine General Residence someday, you'll hear my name out there," Li Muxiu said with a smile.

Seeing that, Li Hao didn't press him further.

"You little fellow, so young and already so shrewd. What a pity." Li Muxiu studied Li Hao, growing ever fonder of the child. If a seedling like this could cultivate normally, he would most likely become another Xiao Jiu, wouldn't he?

Still, he felt only a little regret, without any deep fixation.

After all, what good had becoming Li Junye done? Hadn't he still died on the battlefield? It seemed to be the fate of the Li Family's sons.

"From now on, you don't need to hide your talent for body refining from me. Show it openly. I've seen plenty of geniuses. Someone like you is only at the level of an ordinary first-rate genius. You're not enough to frighten this old man."

Li Muxiu said evenly, "If anyone in the residence still has designs on you and thinks you're getting in someone's way, I'd like to see whether our Divine General Residence truly has no room for a child who practices body refining."

After gathering their catch, Li Muxiu took Li Hao flying back to Qingzhou City.

To encourage Li Hao's interest in fishing, Li Muxiu didn't land directly at the Listening Rain Pavilion in the inner residence. Instead, he landed at the residence's main entrance, then had Li Hao carry the fish basket as the old man and the boy swaggered inside together.

"Old man, what are we doing?" Li Hao asked in confusion.

"You don't understand. This is the fishing tradition."

Li Muxiu held his head high and puffed out his chest, looking utterly proud and self-assured.

"Not counting the one you beat to death or the one you lent me for bait, you caught four more afterward. For a beginner like you, that's already a bumper harvest. We have to let everyone have a look."

"Is that really a rule?" Li Hao asked in surprise.

Li Muxiu rolled his eyes at him. "It is if I say it is."

"Mu Tianhou!"

The servants and maids they passed jumped in fright upon seeing Li Muxiu. They couldn't understand why this Pillar of the Sea, who had long resided in the Listening Rain Pavilion, would be here. They hurriedly knelt and paid their respects.

Li Muxiu ignored them as though he hadn't seen them and led Li Hao straight past.

The two wound this way and that, heading only for places crowded with people.

Inside the Martial Arts Arena, the clan's younger members were practicing while the Military Elder lectured from the front. Li Muxiu pushed open the door and walked in.

The Military Elder was about to frown, but once he saw Li Muxiu's face, he jumped in fright and hurriedly rose to greet him. "This old veteran of the Yuan Character Camp pays his respects to Mu Tianhou!"

"Giving a lesson, are you?"

Li Muxiu asked the obvious, then said casually, "I took Hao'er fishing today. It was his first time, and he had no experience, so he only caught these few little demons. Would you like them to go with your wine?"

The Military Elder paused. Seeing the fish demons in the basket Li Hao carried, he hurriedly said, "Thank you for your kindness, my lord, but I already have food to accompany my wine today."

A tactful refusal.

Having spent so many years in the residence, how could he not know this old lord's temperament? He immediately understood that this was the usual routine: he had come to show off.

If he actually accepted them, the old lord would surely get angry and sneak over at midnight to give him a vicious beating.

He might not even be able to get out of bed tomorrow.

He didn't dare take such a risk.

"Oh, all right, then. Carry on with your lesson." Li Muxiu spoke with casual indifference, then turned and left with Li Hao.

Li Hao was utterly speechless. This was the fishing tradition? What a painfully forced display!

After passing through the Martial Arts Arena, they headed to the Evergreen Courtyard.

"Second Uncle, what brings you here? It's almost lunchtime. Shall I have the servants set another place for you? What would you like to eat?" He Jianlan had been chatting with Fifth Madam Gao. Upon seeing Li Muxiu, both women hurriedly rose to welcome him.

Li Muxiu said indifferently, "Hao'er caught a few little fish. You can make soup with them."

"Hao'er caught these?"

He Jianlan paused, looking at Li Hao with the fish basket and the little fish wriggling and struggling inside it.

"Who else? Do you think I'd catch little fish like these?" Li Muxiu shot her an irritated glare, his face displeased.

He Jianlan was speechless. She knew this Second Uncle had an eccentric temperament. Being rude to him was a minor matter, but one absolutely mustn't say the wrong thing about fishing.

"Yes, yes. Since they're a gift from you, Second Uncle, I'll accept them with thanks," He Jianlan said at once.

"What are you thanking me for? They're Hao'er's fish," Li Muxiu emphasized.

He Jianlan paused, then could only say helplessly, "Then thank you, Hao'er."

"You're welcome, First Madam," Li Hao hurriedly replied, while casting a sidelong glare at the old man. This tradition truly left him sitting on needles, with thorns digging into his back and a bone lodged in his throat.

They handed the fish to He Jianlan. After the old man and boy left, she examined the little fish and realized they were all minor demons in the Power Through Realm. She couldn't help being surprised.

She had previously heard Li Fu mention that Li Hao had a talent for body refining. It seemed that was indeed true.

"Did that child really catch these?"

Gao Qingqing looked at the little fish in surprise. Everyone knew Li Hao had a martial dao wasteland physique, and they had all assumed the child was just an ordinary person. Who would have thought he could catch minor demons in the Power Through Realm? This meant Li Hao had also embarked on cultivation and was making decent progress.

"Second Uncle wouldn't lie about fishing," He Jianlan said.

She looked toward the courtyard gate, where the old man and the boy had already disappeared. "It seems that child has begun cultivating through body refining. That's a bitter road to walk. Poor child."

Gao Qingqing couldn't help shaking her head slightly and letting out a soft sigh.

Though Li Hao had a talent for body refining, that path was too painful, and few could persevere to the end. If he were her child, she would rather let him remain a mortal and enjoy his life.

"It must be Seventh Brother and his wife's idea... how hard-hearted of them," Gao Qingqing murmured softly.

As they returned to the Listening Rain Pavilion, Li Hao spotted Li Fu waiting outside from afar.

Li Muxiu saw him too and gave a soft snort.

Upon seeing the two of them, Li Fu immediately came forward. He glanced at the fish blood staining Li Hao's clothes, and his expression changed. "Second Uncle, Hao'er..."

"When you're fishing, you're bound to tussle with fish demons. Don't worry. With me beside him, Hao'er won't get hurt," Li Muxiu said calmly.

Li Fu sighed in relief, then handed what he was holding to Li Hao. "This is a letter from the Sword Hermitage. It should be from Miss Xue'er. Have a look."

(End of chapter)