He Jianlan's expression tightened slightly as she listened to the child carefully deliver his requests, word by word. She nodded gently and said in a warm voice:
"I'll pass all of that along for you. Don't worry. Study hard under your Second Grandpa, listen to him, and don't get up to mischief. When you have time, you can go practice at the Martial Arts Arena too. You're always welcome there."
She had not previously asked Li Hao to visit the Martial Arts Arena because she had worried he would be bullied. Now that he had embarked on cultivation, sparring and exchanging pointers there would hone his combat skills and help his progress.
After Li Hao and Li Fu left together, He Jianlan could not help letting out a soft sigh.
Beside her, Xue Jian noticed her expression and cautiously asked, "Madam, why are you sighing?"
"Xiao Qi is so busy with military affairs in Northern Yan. Perhaps it simply slipped his mind. Honestly, that couple... They haven't seen him in so many years, yet they don't even send more letters home or show this child a little concern. Hao is actually such a sensible boy..."
He Jianlan murmured to herself, her voice carrying a hint of helplessness and reproach.
Quick-witted as she was, Xue Jian froze for a moment. "Then the things you just said, Madam, were all your own...?"
He Jianlan glanced at her, and Xue Jian immediately fell silent and lowered her head. Still, she could not resist stealing a look beyond the courtyard, where that little figure had already wandered off into the distance.
So those caring words and inquiries had all been made up by Madam on their behalf? Yet the young master had taken them as real...
Back at the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard.
Before Li Hao could take out his drawing board, a servant delivered another letter. Seeing the sender's name, he immediately smiled, and his faint sense of disappointment dissipated.
Though he had had little contact with that couple in Northern Yan, strangely enough, he could not help missing them sometimes in the stillness of the night.
Perhaps the warmth of that embrace had resurfaced in some dream.
Or perhaps it was the sincerity in those eyes, which he had yet to forget.
The letter in his hand came from the Sword Hermitage, naturally sent by that adorable little girl.
Ever since she had gone to the Sword Hermitage, she had sent letters home at regular intervals. At first, one arrived every three to five days. Later, she mentioned that her Sword Saint master had begun supervising her more strictly, wanting her to settle down and focus on cultivation. Her letters gradually became less frequent, but even now, one still arrived every month.
The letters no longer chronicled her daily routine. After all, she had described it so many times already. Cultivation at the Sword Hermitage was dull and repetitive. That was simply how cultivation worked; building a foundation inevitably grew tedious.
Li Hao opened the letter and sat on a lounge chair in the sunshine, smiling as he leisurely read every word without skipping a single one.
He even spotted a misspelled character, along with a circle and a cross where she had written another character incorrectly, then simply skipped it because she did not know how to write it.
He could almost picture the little girl hunched over her letter, scratching her ears and head in frustration, and could not help chuckling.
The letter described what she had eaten recently and the precious medicine her Sword Saint master had obtained for her. Her cultivation had already reached the fifth level of the Circulation Realm, and she had opened twenty-one meridians. She was practicing the strongest Qi Circulation Method in the Sword Hermitage.
Li Hao had once heard the Second Master say that the Sword Hermitage's Qi Circulation Method was the Star River Sword Qi Art, a top-tier cultivation art that could open forty-nine meridians upon reaching perfection in the Circulation Realm!
Compared with the Li Family's Dragon River Divine Meridian art, which opened fifty-four meridians, it was only slightly inferior.
Moreover, the little girl had actually opened her Grand Yin Nether Meridian, earning her Sword Saint master's deep affection.
Reading this, Li Hao could not help feeling happy for her. The Dragon River Divine Meridian art was never taught to outsiders; only direct descendants could practice it. Even Bian Ruxue, his fiancée, was ineligible. The madams of the various courtyards, including First Madam He Jianlan, were not qualified to cultivate it either.
Still, the arts they could practice were all top-tier, merely a little less powerful.
Someone with extraordinary talent could make up for that difference in the arts' foundations by opening two special great meridians on their own. But clearly, people with such talent were exceedingly rare in this world.
After finishing the letter, Li Hao called a servant over and asked him to prepare brush, ink, and stationery.
His brush flowed freely as he slowly filled a letter, describing his recent studies in painting and cooking, the pleasures of fishing, and his acquaintance with a certain interesting old senior.
Of course, he mentioned neither the Thief Saint's title nor his name.
After all, Old Feng was regarded as a villain in Great Yu, unwelcome among every faction. Only someone as free-spirited and easygoing as the Second Master would become close friends with such a man. Outsiders knew nothing of their relationship, though. Otherwise, they would surely curse them loudly and viciously behind their backs: officials and thieves in cahoots!
When he finished, Li Hao casually drew a little expression as usual, encouraging her to work hard at cultivation so they could spur each other on.
(_)
After handing the letter to a servant to send, Li Hao brought out his drawing board and painted as usual. Now that he had reached the second stage of the Painting Dao, his skills were more refined than before.
His sketches appeared little changed at first glance, but closer inspection revealed that the eyes had become increasingly lifelike, as though they were gazing out from the paper.
Before he could finish a picture, a noisy group of figures came charging toward the courtyard. From far away, someone could already be heard shouting at the top of his lungs, "Hao Ge, we're here!"
He looked up to see three little brats scampering toward him.
One was Li Yuanzhao, the Sixth Madam's only son.
The other two were Fifth Madam's second son and third daughter, Li Yun and Li Zhining.
On the day they had seen Bian Ruxue off to the Sword Hermitage, these fellow "classmates" from the direct line had also come to the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard to bid her farewell, and thus met Li Hao.
Afterward, the boy named Li Yun had repeatedly come by to ask about Bian Ruxue and when she would return. Only then had Li Hao realized that this little brat, who had not even grown his first hairs, actually dared to set his sights on his little girl.
Still, he had not stooped to quarreling with the little brat.
-He had merely beaten his backside until it was thoroughly swollen.
Then, after a round of threats and intimidation, he had made the little brat too afraid to complain to Fifth Madam. After all, fights between children lost all their fun once adults intervened.
Of course, the main reason was that he could win.
From then on, Li Yun felt a lingering dread and fear whenever he saw Li Hao. Yet that had not scared him away from the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard. Instead, he later brought his younger sister and that other little rascal along to bolster his courage.
After a few encounters, Li Hao easily became the Child King among the three children.
"Hao Ge, last time, the monkey in your story got pinned down, but you didn't finish! What happened next?"
Li Yuanzhao's short, chubby body came trotting up to the drawing board, but he did not dare touch the paper with his grubby little hands, afraid Li Hao would knock him on the head.
"Yes, yes!" Li Yun nodded repeatedly, his head bobbing like a chick pecking grain. Li Hao had long since brought him to heel.
Beside them, little Li Zhining handed Li Hao a food box, her eyes sparkling. "Brother Hao, these are crispy pastries my mother made. We've all tried them, and they're really tasty. We brought these for you."
"I haven't tried them yet," Li Yuanzhao immediately contradicted her. He reached out to take one with a filthy little hand, fresh from training at the Martial Arts Arena, but Li Zhining twisted away and shot him a fierce glare.
The little fatty immediately looked at her with an aggrieved expression.
Li Hao smiled and accepted without standing on ceremony. As he opened the food box, a delicious fragrance greeted him. He picked up a pastry and tasted it. It was indeed good, so he shared the rest among them and said, "Go fetch yourselves little stools. I'll tell you the story while you eat."
"Uncle Zhao, chairs!" Li Yun immediately shouted at the top of his lungs.
Li Hao knocked him on the head in exasperation. "Who are you to order Uncle Zhao around? Go get one yourself!"
Li Yun clutched his head, looking rather frightened, and muttered something unintelligible. Then he pointed at a servant. "You, bring me a stool."
The servant did not dare disobey and obediently went to fetch one with a smile.
Li Yuanzhao and Li Zhining, meanwhile, knew the way well. They ran into the house, found little stools themselves, and sat obediently beside Li Hao.
(End of chapter)
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