Uncle?
Li Hao was astonished. In the mansion, Li Fu's seniority was calculated according to his father's generation. The only ones who could make him call them 'Uncle' were of the Li Family's older generation.
"Oh."
The old man didn't pay much attention to Li Fu's respectful greeting, merely answering casually before his gaze shifted and he noticed the richly-dressed Li Hao with a Dragon Blood Jade Pendant at his waist and the Body Refinement secret manual in his hands.
"I heard the Li Family has a martial arts cripple, is it this child?" the old man asked casually.
Li Fu bowed with his hands clasped, extremely respectful, "Reporting to Uncle, it is indeed Hao Er. He is the child of Lord Xingwu, born with blocked meridians, unable to practice martial arts."
"Oh ho ho…" The old man slightly smiled, "So, it's that stubborn fellow's child, huh? Tch, the little guy plans to undertake Body Refinement, huh? That's a tough path."
Li Fu still maintained a respectful demeanor, "Though Body Refinement is a difficult path, to let this child have accomplishments in the future, there's no choice but this."
"Pfft."
The old man scoffed with disdain, "How great an accomplishment can Body Cultivation be? Even if one reaches the height of those few historical Body Cultivators, what of it? In the midst of thousands of troops, they're but a slightly larger pebble at best."
Li Fu smiled bitterly, knowing that the other's words were not wrong, and only said, "But as a son of the Li Family, to die on the battlefield is also an honor."
Upon hearing this, the old man's smile vanished, his face suddenly darkening as he let out a cold huff.
"What nonsense are you spouting, should my Li Family's sons only die on the battlefield? What honor, I think your brains have gone bad!"
"To survive from the battlefield, that's what's truly called ability!"
"Err…" Li Fu was somewhat stunned by the sudden reprimand, having heard that this uncle was known for his eccentric personality and unorthodox actions in his youth, indeed different from ordinary people.
"Is this what Li Tiangang thinks, or is it your own thought?" the old man seemed somewhat angry as he asked.
Li Fu carefully said, "It's what the Lord and us think…"
"Hmph, that boy Tiangang, really has lived to become more and more incompetent."
The old man snorted, "What ability is it to force a child, if you have the ability, let him break through the Three Immortals himself, and enter the Four Stands Realm, then he can defy the heavens and change his fate."
"Regardless of any cripple, disability, or foolish dullard, all of them can be transformed into unparalleled geniuses. Instead of making the child strive, why not put in some effort yourself, knowing that you're incompetent, huh?"
"Ah, this…"
Li Fu was left speechless and did not dare to respond.
The Four Stands Realm? Although it's easy to say, how easy is it to enter that realm!
In the entire Dayu, the number of people who have reached that step can be counted on one's fingers.
By the side, Li Hao couldn't help but smile, thinking the old man was quite adorable.
He had thought he was meeting a stern elder of the clan, like Li Fu, who would tirelessly give him some good guidance, likely telling him to work hard, that only through suffering could one achieve success, and so on. Yet, what he said was quite the opposite.
"Our grand Divine General Mansion, can it not afford to raise a child?"
Seeing that Li Fu had no words in response, the old man huffed, "We fight wars, risking our lives, and several of our kids have died on the battlefield. Can't we allow a junior to properly enjoy the hard-earned wealth and honor?"
Li Fu, trembling with nervousness, could only nod his head in agreement, not daring to speak.
The old man gave Li Fu a dismissive glance, knowing that it was useless to speak with such a blockhead. He had seen too much from his youth and knew well the beliefs and styles rooted in the hundreds of years of tradition of the Li Family.
However, a glint appeared in his eyes as he caught the little guy at his side snickering and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
"You little thing, I call your father useless, and you laugh?"
"Old man, I think you're right," Li Hao replied.
"Hao Er!" Li Fu, startled, scolded, "Don't be disrespectful, how do you speak to your elders!"
But the old man didn't get angry, instead, he was taken aback, "What did you call me?"
"Old man," Li Hao said with a smile, "It's not like I can call you a young fellow, right?"
The old man's face darkened slightly, "Has no one ever taught you how to address your elders?"
"You call me little thing, I call you old man, we should be even," Li Hao said, "Surely someone has taught you how to address your juniors, right?"
Li Fu, sweating profusely, hurriedly covered Li Hao's mouth and said to the old man, "Uncle, please don't take it to heart with this child, His father and mother went to the Northern Yan battlefield when he was born, and no one was there to discipline him, this is why he's become a bit wild, lacking manners…"
The old man slightly raised his eyebrows and huffed lightly, saying, "The child does have a point, let's consider it even then."
Li Fu was stunned, then immediately sighed with relief, "Thanks to Uncle for his generosity!"
Li Hao pulled away Li Fu's sweaty hand from his mouth, wiped his cheek with his sleeve where it had touched, then glanced at the old man's fishing basket, inquiring, "Only caught one? It's so small, who's it for?"
The old man spoke indifferently, "I, the old man, don't fish for eating. Fishing is a pleasure, you're still young, you wouldn't understand."
"If it's just for fun, then your fishing skills are too poor,"
Li Hao said, "To catch only one fish, what's the difference from the air force?"
When it came to the air force, the old man reacted as if he had been stepped on, his response even more vehement than before, glaring at Li Hao:
"What do you know, you greenhorn? I wasn't seriously fishing today. I also went to Xinhu, a lake I'm not familiar with. Wait until tomorrow, and you'll see how many I catch for you!"
To add credibility to his words, he brought the basket closer to Li Hao's face and said, "Do you think this is just a regular little fish? This is a demon! If I were to let it out, this fellow here might not even be able to beat it!"
Obviously, "this fellow" he referred to was Li Fu standing beside them.
Li Fu, hearing this, had an embarrassed look on his face. What does this have to do with him?
"Uncle, keep that dangerous demon away from Hao Er…" he said cautiously.
The old man snorted, "In my basket, do you think it can still turn the heavens upside down?"
"A demon?"
Li Hao, hearing this, became curious as he examined the small fish in the basket.
The little fish was only as long as a chopstick, with a golden back and a red belly. Strangely, the fish's skull above its eyes had eyelash-like scales facing backward.
As Li Hao leaned in for a closer look, the little fish seemed to notice the ignorant Human Race child and glared back fiercely.
Li Hao could clearly feel the hatred and murderous intent in the fish's eyes and couldn't help but exclaim in awe—it was his first time seeing a demon up close.
"Old man, are your fishing skills really so impressive that you can catch a demon? How about you teach me?" Li Hao asked with his head raised.
If he remembered correctly, fishing was indeed considered an art within the categorization of the panel, alongside carving, painting, playing the zither, and others.
He had thought that fishing could only catch fish, but in this world, it turned out one could also catch demons.
How is this any different from practicing martial arts?
The old man was taken aback for a moment, his eyes gleaming with interest.
"You want to learn fishing?"
"Yeah, can I?"
"Of course, you can!"
The old man burst into laughter and said, "Rare that you have an eye for this, unlike those blockheads. Why practice some broken Body Refinement technique? I'll teach you fishing and let you see my skills tomorrow. I'm not just bragging—today I was just unfamiliar with Xinhu..."
Still explaining at the end, he clearly couldn't let go of Li Hao's 'air force' comment and wanted to prove himself.
"Ah this…"
Li Fu was dumbfounded and bewildered standing aside; he had finally gotten Li Hao to settle down and practice martial arts, and now he was being led astray?
"Uncle, Hao Er actually has a great talent for Body Cultivation. In just a short three months, he achieved Great Accomplishment in a low-grade Body Cultivation technique. He's definitely a promising seedling. You can't hold him back!"
As Li Fu spoke, he braced himself—it would be better to take a beating and lie in bed for half a month than for this to happen.
"What's all this talk about talent? Even if he masters it, how strong can he be? Can he match the Li Family's ten thousand soldiers?"
The old man said indignantly, "Do you really want to turn such a refined and adorable child into a little blackie by making him undergo Body Refinement?"
I won't become a little blackie... Li Hao thought to himself.
Hearing no more from Li Fu, the old man couldn't be bothered with him anymore. He snatched away the 'Dragon Spine' manual from Li Hao's hand and stuffed it into Li Fu's arms:
"Off with you. What's the use of learning such rubbish? There's no future in it. Hao, right? Let's go, have you not eaten yet? I'm going to slaughter this demon for you—to nourish your body."
"Mm-hmm."
Li Hao nodded again and again, thrilled.
"Uncle, you… you can't do this!" The calling from Li Fu behind them was filled with desolation.
Being led away by the old man, Li Hao also got to witness the courage of this Li Family's uncle. His cooking spot was actually on the seventh-floor balcony of the Listening Rain Tower, a place where the Li Family's most precious manuscripts from over the centuries were kept.
And now, not far from these ancient manuscripts, possibly older than any of them, a fire was burning.
Through their conversation, Li Hao also learned the old man's name, Li Muxiu.
Muxiu, as in the rest needed to recuperate.
And also… the resolve to not stop until one is Immortal.