Chapter 35: Chapter 32: The Child King Li Hao
Hearing her child’s careful instructions word by word, He Jianlan’s expression tightened slightly. She nodded gently and said warmly,
“Great Lady will convey all that you have said; you need not worry. Practice well with your Second Grandfather, obey his words, and avoid acting rashly. When you have free time, you may also go to the martial training ground to practice, where you are always welcome.”
She had not asked Li Hao to go to the martial training ground before for fear he would be bullied, but now that Li Hao had embarked on his cultivation path, visiting the training ground for sparring and real combat practice would be beneficial for his progress.
After Li Hao left with Li Fu, He Jianlan couldn’t help but let out a gentle sigh.
By her side, Xuejian, seeing her demeanor, asked cautiously, “Why do you sigh, madam?”
“Xiao Qi is busy with military affairs in Northern Yan, perhaps too busy to remember. This couple, too, after so many years without seeing each other, I wonder why they don’t send more letters to inquire about the child. Hao Er is actually very understanding…”
He Jianlan murmured softly, her tone laced with a hint of helplessness and reproach.
Xuejian, quick-witted, was taken aback and said, “Could it be that what madam just said was all…”
He Jianlan glanced at her, and Xuejian immediately stopped speaking, bowing her head but unable to resist quietly looking towards the courtyard entrance, where the small figure had already walked far away.
So all the words of concern and greetings madam had just expressed were made up by her? Yet the young master had taken them seriously…
Back at Mountain and River Courtyard.
Li Hao had not yet taken out his drawing board when he received another letter delivered by a house servant. Seeing the signature, a smile emerged on his face, and the feeling of loss in his heart dissipated.
Although he did not have much contact with that couple from Northern Yan, strangely enough, in the quiet of some late nights, he somewhat missed them.
Maybe it was the warmth of that embrace, which somehow came back to him in a dream.
Or perhaps it was those genuine eyes, which he had not forgotten to this day.
The letter in his hand was from Sword Saint’s retreat, naturally sent by that lovely young girl.
Ever since she went to the retreat, she would send letters every so often. Initially, it was one every three to five days. Later, as the letters said, her Sword Saint Master became stricter, wanting her to focus more on cultivation, so the frequency of writing letters gradually decreased. But now, he still received one every month.
The letter no longer contained daily matters since she had written about them so many times already. The cultivation at Sword Saint’s retreat was quite monotonous and repetitive, such was the nature of foundational training.
Li Hao opened the letter, sat on the sunlit lounge chair, and with a smile, leisurely read every word, leaving none unread.
Inside, he saw a misspelled word, accompanied by a circle and a cross, indicating that she wrote the wrong character but didn’t know the correct one and simply skipped it.
In his mind, Li Hao could almost picture the young girl scratching her head in frustration as she sat writing the letter, and he couldn’t help but chuckle softly.
The letter described her recent meals and the precious medicine her Sword Saint Master had obtained for her. Her cultivation had reached the fifth level of the Zhou Tian Realm, and she had opened twenty-one mystic veins, practicing the most powerful Qi Circulation Skill in the retreat.
Li Hao had heard Second Grandfather mention that the retreat’s Qi Circulation Skill was the Galaxy Sword Qi Skill, a top-tier technique. If one achieved Cycle Heaven Realm Perfection, they could open up to 49 veins!
In comparison to the Li Family’s 54 veins “Dragon River Divine Meridian” Cultivation Technique, it was only ever so slightly inferior.
Besides, the young girl had already opened the Taiyin Mystic Vein and was highly favored by her Sword Saint Master.
Seeing this, Li Hao couldn’t help feeling happy for her. The Dragon River Divine Meridian Cultivation Technique was not shared outside the direct lineage and was off-limits to even Bian Ruxue, his fiancée, as well as all the wives of the various courtyards, including the Great Lady He Jianlan.
However, the techniques they were allowed to practice were also top-notch, only slightly less superior.
If someone possessed extremely high talent and could open up two special major veins by themselves, they could compensate for the gap in foundational techniques. However, such talented individuals were few and far between in the world.
After reading the letter, Li Hao called for a house servant to prepare pen, ink, paper, and a letter for him.
He wrote with ease and care, slowly finishing a piece, sharing his recent endeavors in painting, cooking, and the joys of fishing, as well as befriending an interesting elderly predecessor.
Of course, the letter did not mention the title or the name of the Thief Saint.
After all, Feng in Dayu belongs to the antagonists, unpopular among the various forces; it was only someone with the casual and unconstrained nature of the Second Master who would become close friends with such a person. However, outsiders were unaware of their relationship, otherwise, they would have loudly cursed behind their backs, “Colluding with corrupt officials, no less!”
Having finished, Li Hao, as usual, casually drew a small emoji to encourage her to work hard at her cultivation and to strive together.
After entrusting the letter to a house servant for mailing, Li Hao moved his drawing board over and began to draw as usual. Now at the second level in the Art of Painting, his technique had improved even more than before.
The changes in his seemingly simple sketches were not significant, but upon closer inspection, it was evident that the eyes in his paintings had become more lifelike, as if gazing out from the paper itself.
While he was in the midst of an unfinished painting, a group of figures came galloping into the courtyard, their noise preceding them, and from a distance, someone yelled, “Hao, we’re here!”
Looking up, he saw three rowdy kids tumbling their way over.
They were the only child of the Sixth Lady, Li Yuanzhao,
the second son and third daughter of the Fifth Lady, Li Yun and Li Zhining.
On the day they said farewell to Bian Ruxue as she departed for the Sword Cottage, these legitimate “classmates” came to the Mountain and River Courtyard to see her off and thus had met Li Hao.
Afterward, that kid Li Yun came over multiple times, inquiring about Bian Ruxue’s whereabouts and when she would return. It was then that Li Hao realized this young rascal, not even fully grown, dared to set his sights on his little girl.
However, he didn’t stoop to arguing with the kid.
He simply spanked him soundly, swelling the boy’s buttocks.
Then, after a bit of intimidation and threats, he made sure the young brat didn’t dare complain to the Fifth Lady, because after all, it’s no fun when adults get involved in children’s squabbles.
Of course, the main reason was that he could win.
Since then, Li Yun would carry a hint of a shadow and fear around Li Hao, but that didn’t stop him from coming back to the Mountain and River Courtyard. He later brought his sister and the other youngster from the Sixth Lady’s to bolster their courage and came over together.
After several interactions, Li Hao easily became the king among these three children.
“Hao, last time you were telling us about the monkey that got suppressed, but you haven’t finished. What happened next?”
Li Yuanzhao, plump and short, ran up to the drawing board, his dirty little hands hesitating to touch the paper, lest he get a knock on the head from Li Hao.
“Yeah, yeah,” Li Yun nodded repeatedly, his head bobbing like a pecking chicken, already tamed by Li Hao.
Next to him, the little girl Li Zhining handed Li Hao a food box, her bright eyes sparkling as she said, “Brother Hao, this is the crispy cake my mother made. We’ve all tried it, and it’s really delicious. We brought some for you.”
“I haven’t tried it yet,” Li Yuanzhao blurted out, instantly exposing a flaw, and reached out his dirty little hand, fresh from martial practice at the training field, to grab some. But Li Zhining twisted her body to dodge and gave him a fierce glare.
The little fatty instantly looked at her with a mix of hurt and appeal.
Li Hao laughed and, without any hesitation, took the food box and opened it. A pleasant aroma wafted out. He tried a piece and found it indeed delightful, then he shared the rest with the others, saying, “You go grab a little stool for yourselves and come over. Eat while I finish the story.”
“Zhao, chairs!” Li Yun immediately bellowed.
Li Hao knocked on his head in annoyance, “Zhao is not someone you can order around; get it yourself!”
Covering his head, Li Yun appeared somewhat timid and muttered something unintelligible. He then pointed at a house servant and ordered, “You, bring me a stool over here.”
The servant did not dare disobey and went to fetch it with a smile.
Li Yuanzhao and Li Zhining, familiar with the routine, ran into the house to find small stools for themselves and sat down obediently beside Li Hao.