“`
“Five Brother, it was clearly your own carelessness.”
Another five-year-old child said with a teasing smile.
The rivalry among the three stopped, and the slightly older boy huffed discontentedly, “If you ambush me like this again, next time I’ll fight for real!”
“Five Brother, if you fight for real, wouldn’t that be bullying?”
The five-year-old child laughed.
“Hmph, it’s because you always ambush me.”
“Father says, in battles, there’s no such thing as an ambush, it’s all strategy!”
“We’re just sparring.”
Watching the children argue, Li Hao’s gaze shifted, and from their conversation, he could roughly guess their identities.
With a thought, a golden light appeared before his eyes.
Li Hao looked at Chen Hefang, but noticed she was completely unaware of the golden light floating before his own eyes, and as he turned his head, the light with its letters shone on her cheek.
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Li Hao quickly did the math in his mind, realizing he was just a little over a year old.
That meant he should be able to talk and walk now.
“Mother?”
Li Hao mustered up his courage and tentatively spoke, immediately producing a clear sound.
Chen Hefang was taken aback by the childish cry and looked down at Li Hao, her smile turning into surprise:
“Ten Lang, can you call me mother now? Call me again, I want to hear it.”
“Mother.”
Although Li Hao felt odd, he bravely repeated the word, realizing that his vocal cords had indeed developed properly.
Seeing how clever Li Hao was, truly understanding her words, Chen Hefang’s smile bloomed beautifully as she repeatedly praised him with a sing-song “good, good, good.”
The few children who were causing commotion in the courtyard, hearing the sounds here, ceased their training and came over.
The three-year-old child brandishing a stick ran over but forgot to drop the stick he held, nearly hitting Li Hao on the head, and was promptly blocked by Chen Hefang.
“Jun Ye, don’t hurt your brother.”
Chen Hefang said with a light laugh, but she did not reprimand the child.
Little Li Junye was also startled and quickly threw the stick aside, curiously approaching to look at Li Hao.
“Little brother can speak?”
“Call me Brother!”
The previously older child, Li Xuanli, said in surprise.
And another sturdy child, Li Tiangang, directly asked Li Hao to call him Brother, his face full of pomp, teasing Li Hao.
Another child, who appeared to be Li Fenghua, was fair and clean, with eyes carrying a gentle beauty, seemingly inheriting more of Chen Hefang’s nature, simply smiling without saying a word, showing a bit of shyness.
Li Hao knew that all of this was the persistence of that great-grandfather; more precisely, it was part of his memories.
The truthfulness of the memories remained to be verified.
After all, even he himself was counted as Ten Lang, indicating that some factors could alter the other’s memories.
Watching these guys squish his cheeks like curious babies, Li Hao felt a bit helpless, closed his eyes for a moment, and after about ten seconds, he felt the surrounding noise gradually fade away, as if he was being pulled away by something.
Several minutes later, when Li Hao opened his eyes again, a wooden stick was whooshing towards his forehead.
Startled but reacting quickly, he rolled on the ground to dodge the stick, and then, feeling a wooden sword in his hand, he swung it up in response.
A thud sounded as he blocked the incoming stick, and Li Hao then saw that his three-year-old attacker was Little Li Junye.
He now stood in the courtyard he had seen earlier, a wooden sword in his hand.
Thinking of what his Fourth Uncle had said, it seemed he had fast-forwarded a bit in time, and he was now part of this training process.
Li Hao looked at his hands and feet, which hadn’t changed much from before, deducing he had only grown by two or three months.
Starting cultivation from toddlerhood… Li Hao thought with an inward wry smile, noting that the cultivation environment of the previous generation was somewhat different from the solitude he had experienced in that courtyard.
As his opponent was about to attack again, Li Hao quickly said, “I’m not playing anymore, I’m tired.”
This type of training wasn’t very beneficial for him.
Seeing Li Hao admit defeat, Little Li Junye paused, looking somewhat perplexed.
Li Hao looked at Chen Hefang, who was smiling and beckoning:
“If you’re tired, come rest for a while and have something to eat.”
Li Hao obliged, tossing aside the wooden sword and running over to climb onto a chair. Just as he was about to grab a pastry to eat, Chen Hefang caught his little hand and carefully wiped clean the dirt from his fingers with a handkerchief before tapping his forehead:
“All you think about is eating.”
Li Hao felt awkward inside, but still began to eat.
The courtyard was once again filled with the sounds of wooden swords, and as Li Hao watched Little Li Xuanli for a moment, a prompt suddenly appeared:
[Basic knowledge learned, record it?]
Here it comes!
Li Hao was elated and immediately chose Yes.
Soon, a message appeared on his panel:
Swordsmanship: Not yet a beginner (can be upgraded)
Sword Technique: Mysterious Sword Treasure Record (Not yet a beginner)
Skill Points: 0
Li Hao thought of the many sword techniques in Listening Rain Tower, noting that this particular technique was a superior one, good for beginners to start with.
Next, it was time to gather Skill Points.
Having finished his pastry, Li Hao dusted off his hands and hopped down from the stool:
“Mom, I’m going to play.”
“Hm?”
Chen Hefang looked at Li Hao somewhat surprised but didn’t intervene, merely instructing the maidservants next to her to keep an eye on Ten Lang.
“`