Li Hao was surprised that the other party did not seem angry or reproachful.
The man's appearance was stern and majestic, his thick eyebrows exuding an air of authority even when he was not frowning. But at this moment, his gentle expression softened the accumulated gravitas between his brows, giving him a warm and gentle aura like a spring breeze caressing the willow trees.
"What are you drawing? Let me see."
Li Tianzong walked over and looked at the silhouette that Li Hao had sketched on his drawing board, barely making out the figure of a woman.
Li Hao's painting skills were not yet at the level of entering the duan (a measure of skill or talent)
, and at this moment, his drawing was more of a rough likeness. Li Tianzong asked curiously, "Who is this a portrait of?"
"Mother," Li Hao replied, referring to Chen Hefang, the mother of his current body.
He felt a little embarrassed as his painting skills were still quite lacking. His portraits could not even be considered proper likenesses, let alone be recognizable.
If he were to draw a wanted criminal, the criminal would probably not be identified even if they saw the sketch themselves...
Li Tianzong was taken aback for a moment when he heard Li Hao's answer, but he soon laughed and said, "It's a good drawing, but your mother is even more beautiful than this. You still need to practice more."
Li Hao was even more surprised by the other's words, feeling that he was not being discouraged from engaging in this "tangential skill."
"I will work hard," Li Hao said.
Li Tianzong ruffled his hair affectionately and said, "When your painting skills improve, draw me a portrait as well. Include your brothers and Little Hongzhuang in the picture too."
As he spoke, he glanced at the little Li Hongzhuang sitting beside him, enjoying her snack.
Little Li Hongzhuang: "?"
Her big, watery eyes looked at the two of them in confusion, unsure what they were talking and laughing about.
Li Hao felt the warmth of his palm as it ruffled his hair, and a sense of paternal love washed over him. He paused for a moment, and although he knew that this was Miew River and that the "father" before him was his long-deceased grandfather, he couldn't quite explain the emotions he was feeling.
It was as if a long-festering tear had finally begun to heal at this moment.
He fell silent for a moment before nodding seriously and saying, "I will hone my painting skills!"
Li Tianzong smiled and said, "When you've finished the painting, I'll keep it safe. Aside from my son's talent in martial arts, he also has a gift for the arts. Haha!"
He laughed a few times and then said, "But don't forget to learn your characters as well. After your bone measurement when you're five years old, you'll need to start reading your martial arts manual every day, understand?"
His expression turned slightly more serious as he spoke.
"Mm!" Li Hao nodded, his white teeth shining in his childlike smile.
"Come, let's go get something good to eat."
Li Tianzong picked up Li Hao and then put his other arm around Li Hongzhuang, holding one on each side as he carried them out of the side room.
When Chen Hefang saw Li Tianzong carrying Li Hao and Li Hongzhuang in the courtyard, she quickly walked over and chided gently, "Look at you, they're already so big, and you're still carrying them. Don't you worry that others will see and mock us?"
"Who dares mock my son?"
Li Tianzong's eyebrows rose, and his expression turned slightly fierce, but he soon laughed again and said, "The situation outside Dragon City isn't good, and I rarely get to spend time at home. Of course, I want to spend more time with the children."
"You must also be careful when you're outside," Chen Hefang said, her smile fading into worry as Li Tianzong mentioned Dragon City.
Li Tianzong shook his head and smiled. "They're just minor issues. I'll handle them. Let's not talk about these things at home. Come, let's get some snacks and go watch the older boys practice their martial arts in the training field. Anyone who isn't performing well will be sent to train in the famous mountains outside."
Chen Hefang couldn't help but smile at his words, knowing his temperament. She didn't try to dissuade him further and instead instructed the maids to bring some snacks from the kitchen.
Li Hao's eyes flickered as he glanced at them. Although the current warmth was precious, going to the training field to watch his "older brothers" practice held little significance for him.
The time he spent conscious in this world would be returned to his original body upon leaving Miew River, so he chose to fast-forward through the time.
As the couple led Li Hao and Li Hongzhuang to the training field, chatting and laughing along the way, Li Hao closed his eyes and accelerated time.
In the blink of an eye, several days had passed.
Li Hao continued to refine the Demon King's exotic blood daily. During his free time, he would go and draw, accumulating experience in his painting skills.
With each stroke of his brush, Li Hao's mind gradually calmed, and he seemed to relax. He focused intently on his painting in the side room.
One by one, the sheets of Xuan paper (a type of Chinese rice paper)
were peeled off, and the figures depicted on them became clearer and more beautiful, like delicate jade.
It wasn't until his painting skills reached the second duan that Li Hao's brushstrokes seemed divinely inspired. His control over the brush improved greatly, and his portraits became more precise and lifelike.
Li Hao painted portraits of Chen Hefang, Li Tianzong, Little Li Hongzhuang, and others, and he found that the experience he gained from painting different people varied.
The floor of the room was littered with discarded Xuan paper.
It wasn't until the courtyard grew dark and Zhao Bo called him for dinner that Li Hao stopped. He then chose to fast-forward through time once again.
The surroundings changed, and it was once again several days later during another free moment.
Li Hao was still sitting in the side room, painting, but what surprised him was that the Xuan paper that had been scattered on the floor was now gone.
Li Hao thought for a moment and decided to focus on painting first.
Each time he closed his eyes to fast-forward through time, it would be at least three or four days, and sometimes even half a month, before he opened them again. It was difficult for him to control the exact duration.
As he was painting, Little Li Hongzhuang pushed open the door, poked her head in, and then scampered into the room. She handed Li Hao a snack.
Li Hao's painting was interrupted, but he wasn't annoyed. He smiled and took the snack with his mouth, asking as he ate, "Hongzhuang, what happened to my paintings?"
"Father took them all away," she replied.
"He took them away?" Li Hao's heart tightened slightly.
Little Li Hongzhuang held a wooden toy horse in her hand and pushed it along the floor as she spoke, "Father said to Zhao Grandpa to keep them all safe. He said that when you get married and have your own courtyard, he'll display them there so that your wife can see how talented you were as a child."
She was only two years old, but her speech was clear as she repeated word for word what she had overheard.
After she finished speaking, she looked up at Li Hao in confusion and asked, "Older Brother Li Hao, what does 'getting married' mean? Is a wife something delicious?"
The little girl's face was full of puzzlement, but the "Older Brother Li Hao" she was addressing sat in front of his sketchpad like a statue, silent and unmoving.
With seven consecutive jumps, months had passed in Miew River, yet to Li Hao, it felt like he had merely sat and painted for seven days.
Each time he shuttled through time, the scattered Xuan paper around him would mysteriously disappear.
The drawings he had haphazardly tossed on the floor were later found neatly stacked on a cabinet in the main hall one day when he had fast-forwarded to dinnertime.
The cabinet had previously held precious artifacts, such as divine weapons, ceramics, and imperial jade gifts, but now, most of those items had been removed to make room for thick stacks of Li Hao's artwork.
"My son's painting skills are improving day by day, and I hear his progress in literacy is remarkable as well. His teacher says he only needs to be shown once to learn!"
Li Tianzong laughed heartily during the dinner.
Li Hao, however, remained silent.
This was the first time he had joined his "father" and "mother" for a meal since arriving in Miew River.
He chose not to skip this time, quietly eating from his bowl.
"Older Cousin Li, I heard you drew a portrait for everyone but me?" A child at the table stood up and asked. It was little Li Tiangang.
News of Li Hao's artistic endeavors had spread, and his "older brothers" had all seen his drawings, marveling at the lifelike sketches. But little Li Tiangang, after flipping through the stack, couldn't find his own portrait.
Li Hao glanced at him, noting the resemblance in his eyebrows and eyes to the Li Tiangang he remembered, even at such a young age.
Li Hao said nothing and continued eating.
"Older Cousin Li, why aren't you answering me?" Little Li Tiangang asked anxiously.
Li Hao closed his eyes slightly, and the scene before him shifted as he accelerated time once more.
He found himself standing in the courtyard, his body being wiped down by a maid after absorbing the Demon King's exotic blood.
The tutor arrived and led Li Hao away to learn his characters.
Every day after absorbing the blood, Li Hao would learn his characters, and only after that would he have free time to himself.
Li Hao didn't skip this time but followed the tutor obediently, already knowing the material being taught. As the tutor explained, Li Hao practiced writing poetry in his notebook.
[Calligraphy Experience +53]
[Calligraphy Experience +46]
...
With each poem he wrote, his calligraphy experience increased.
The tutor, noticing Li Hao's focus on his writing, leaned in to take a closer look, his eyes widening in surprise.
On the paper were not the characters he had been teaching but several poems.
The tutor quickly snatched the notebook to examine it more closely, his eyes widening further with each line he read. Finally, he looked at Li Hao in disbelief:
"Y-you wrote these?"
Li Hao nodded.
This wouldn't expose him; it could be attributed to his poetic talent.
Only if he were to mention something that a child his age in this world wouldn't know, like the events in Liangzhou or the Demon King Candlelight, would his identity be compromised and create a dissonance with his current circumstances.
"Th-this..."
The tutor was shocked beyond words.
This child was a genius of the ages, a future great scholar!
To be able to write poetry after just learning the characters was extraordinary, even for a child born into a family of great scholars.
And for a child born into a martial family, it was almost unheard of!
Add to that his incredible talent for cultivation, which had already spread throughout the Divine General Mansion, marking him as one of the most exceptional geniuses the Li family had produced in centuries!
A master of both the pen and the sword!
"I must tell the master about this!" The tutor exclaimed, "If Lord Li knew of your talent and intelligence, he would be overjoyed!"
Li Hao thought of his "grandfather" and felt a strange sense of anticipation.
Throughout history, children who could recite poetry before they could even read were considered prodigies. There were also stories of great scholars who, as toddlers, could compose poems about the chickens and ducks they played with.
But those children were usually born into families of scholars, where they were constantly exposed to elegant language and literary discussions. Some were also naturally gifted with a talent for words, believed to be blessed by the star of literature.
After the tutor rushed out in excitement, Li Hao quietly made his way to the side room to continue painting.
He immersed himself in his art, his eyes serious and focused as he thought of the paintings now displayed in the main hall.
"Once your painting skills improve, draw one for me as well. Include your brothers and Little Hongzhuang..."
"When you've finished, I'll keep them safe. Aside from my son's talent in martial arts, he also has a gift for the arts. Haha!"
Li Hao's brush moved steadily, his mind wholly absorbed in his painting, oblivious to the world around him.
He painted...
Li Hao's brushstrokes were graceful, each line carefully crafted.
He was completely engrossed, his thoughts consumed by the painting.
A majestic figure began to take shape on the paper—a towering, stalwart figure with a dignified expression and kind eyes, standing tall and proud, a true warrior.
As Li Hao made the final stroke, a prompt appeared before his eyes.
But Li Hao ignored it.
He sat in silence for a while, his mind drifting, before finally acknowledging the notification. He opened the panel to read it.
[You have comprehended the Heart of Painting]
[Heart Realm: Heart of Painting]
Li Hao was surprised. His painting experience hadn't even reached the third level yet, and he had already comprehended the Heart of Painting.
He paused for a moment, then gently blew on the painting to dry the ink before carefully setting it aside instead of discarding it on the floor as he had done before.
He picked up another sheet of paper and continued to paint.
One painting after another.
His painting experience continued to grow.
When he reached the third level, it quietly rose to the fourth, and his Artistry Points increased by one.
Li Hao checked his current Artistry Points. Aside from the one he had used for the first level of swordsmanship, he now had four points, three from painting, and two from calligraphy.
He hadn't touched chess, sculpting, or fishing yet.
Li Hao thought of the Listening Rain Pavilion and decided it was time to pay it a visit.
As he thought of the pavilion, he also thought of the Second Young Master. He wondered what the Second Young Master had looked like in his youth.
During dinner that evening, Li Hao left the side room and returned to the main hall.