Volume 2 - Chapter 13: A Gift Across Ten Thousand Miles
Upon witnessing the scene before them, Li Hao and the others were momentarily stunned. Even Feng Boping wore a look of surprise.
When Li Hao got a clear view of the woman’s face, he froze for a moment, utterly astonished.
It was none other than the gluttonous creature from the frigid pool—the Water Qilin, Song Qiumo.
Why was she here?
Li Hao distinctly remembered her promise to the first palace master of the Tangong Academy and the Song family’s ancestor to guard Tangong and not leave without reason.
Yet now...
This was Liang Province, over ten thousand miles away.
At that moment, under the gaze of several onlookers, Song Qiumo slowly approached the stronghold, dragging behind her two demon beasts as large as small hills.
She glanced at Li Hao’s dumbfounded expression in the camp and smiled, her presence turning the surrounding chilly winds into a pleasant breeze.
“Well? Aren’t old friends worth a proper welcome?”
Song Qiumo chuckled softly.
Her voice, as clear and refreshing as a mountain spring, brought everyone back to their senses.
Li Hongzhuang and Li He stared at Li Hao in shock. As descendants of the Li family who had grown up in Qingzhou City, how could they not recognize the great demon king of the Tangong Academy, the Water Qilin?
But this qilin demon king was here for Li Hao?
To their knowledge, this demon king rarely left her mountain.
Li Hao quickly composed himself and smiled. “Let me finish off this one first, then I’ll greet you properly.”
He was still holding onto the giant frog demon.
Earlier, the frog had been desperately trying to crawl out of the camp, but Song Qiumo’s arrival had blocked its escape route. Its greasy, bloated body was now quivering on the ground, too afraid to struggle.
With two Fourth Pillar Realm experts nearby, even if the frog managed to break free from the grip of the “little human,” it had no hope of escaping their combined might.
The frog was filled with despair and rage, its hatred for Li Hao growing deeper. Its only hope now was that serving this human might earn it some mercy...
“Need a hand?”
Song Qiumo glanced at the giant frog. Her casual question made the creature tremble so violently that its blubber quaked, sweat pouring off it like liquid. It stammered,
“F-foremost elder, I was wrong! Please spare me! I’ll do anything—be a horse, be an ox—whatever you ask, I’ll obey...”
Before it could finish, Li Hao tightened his grip on the line and began reeling it back.
The immense strength in his arms, capable of lifting tens of thousands of pounds, effortlessly dragged the giant frog closer.
The frog’s emotions were a conflicted mess.
Should it struggle or not?
If it struggled, it would show defiance.
If it didn’t struggle... it would likely die!
In the end, after an intense internal debate, the frog chose to remain limp, allowing Li Hao to drag it back, leaving a long trail of friction marks on the ground.
“Young one, I meant no offense. It was the old dragon who forced me! I’ve spent thousands of years cultivating, always helping others and spreading kindness. I—”
The frog was hauled before Li Hao, realizing its fate rested entirely in this young man’s hands. It quickly began to beg.
Li Hao smiled and asked, “Do you have a cultivation technique?”
“?”
The frog froze for a moment, then quickly replied, “I do, but our demon techniques are unique to us. Different species have different methods. For me, I’ve refined my essence by absorbing the sun and moon’s energy while drawing strength from the swamps...”
“If you have one, let me see it.”
Li Hao interrupted.
The frog hesitated, suspicious, and suggested, “I don’t have it on me, but if you follow me back to my lair...”
“Give it to me now.” Li Hao’s tone was calm, but his intent carried a hint of killing intent.
The frog shivered, its hatred for Li Hao intensifying. However, it quickly feigned a laugh, saying, “I just remembered, I might have a copy with me.”
Opening its mouth, it unfurled its tongue to reveal a slimy scroll wrapped in mucus.
With a wave of his hand, Li Hao used his object manipulation ability to strip away the mucus before pulling the scroll toward him.
After securing it, he smiled faintly and then raised his pig-tooth sword, charging at the frog.
The fishing experience from this creature had already been reaped. Releasing it to fish again wouldn’t yield much.
Repeatedly fishing the same target brought diminishing returns.
Seeing Li Hao’s sudden attack, the frog’s eyes burned with rage as it roared, “It’s all your fault! Even if I die, I’ll devour you first!”
Realizing escape was impossible, the frog had harbored thoughts of counterattacking during its capture.
Now, it opened its mouth wide, releasing a thick poisonous mist.
But before the mist could spread, a shimmering water barrier neutralized it—Song Qiumo had intervened.
In the next instant, a stream of water flowed into the frog’s mouth, causing its body to swell unnaturally.
The frog let out a shrill cry as blood sprayed from its bulging eyes like arrows. Blood gushed from its body as it deflated rapidly, its once-massive frame now shriveled like a corpse left to soak for months.
Li Hao halted his attack just in time to avoid the mess, ensuring his clothes stayed clean.
Moments later, the frog’s body was nothing but a dry husk, its eyeballs shrunken and wrinkled.
Li Hao looked at Song Qiumo, his expression a mix of gratitude and resignation. “I could have handled it myself.”
“You make it sound like I’m to blame,” Song Qiumo replied with a playful smile.
Scratching his head, Li Hao realized his words were unfair and quickly said, “That was uncalled for. Thank you for your help.”
“No need for apologies. Even if I hadn’t come, you would’ve been fine.”
Song Qiumo cast a glance at Feng Boping, who hovered on the clouds above. “I thought you were struggling, but it seems you have someone watching over you. I suppose my timing wasn’t as urgent as I thought.”
Li Hongzhuang and Li He exchanged knowing looks. It was clear the Water Qilin had come specifically for Li Hao.
Li Hao quickly smiled and said, “Nonsense! If it weren’t for you, those great demons would’ve escaped. Speaking of which, why did you come all this way? Were you just fighting that Dragon Lord?”
“That old dragon was lurking nearby. I wanted to ambush him, but he’s too cautious.”
Song Qiumo’s expression showed a trace of regret. “Still, the old dragon’s strength isn’t beneath mine. Holding him down would have been difficult. If it weren’t for someone else being here, he might have decided to fight me seriously.”
Feng Boping chuckled lightly from the clouds. “You’re too modest.”
Song Qiumo glanced at him and, in that moment, recognized his identity. Her gaze carried a flicker of surprise before shifting back to Li Hao. She couldn’t help but smile faintly.
This guy truly had no fear when it came to making friends.
“I came to deliver a sword technique to you.”
Song Qiumo’s voice was calm yet deliberate.
“A sword technique?” Li Hao was taken aback.
“Have you forgotten? You’re a registered mentor of the Tangong Academy. As per the agreement, after you completed your lectures, you were entitled to one of Tangong’s supreme techniques.”
Song Qiumo floated gracefully to stand before Li Hao.
A faint orchid-like fragrance wafted through the air, as if fresh fruit blossoms had bloomed all around.
Li Hongzhuang and Li He tensed slightly from the pressure of her presence but quickly forced themselves to relax upon realizing she meant no harm.
“But I only taught two lessons...” Li Hao began.
Before he could finish, Song Qiumo flipped her hand, seemingly retrieving an item out of nowhere. A sword manual appeared in her grasp.
Li Hao glanced at its title: Tai Chi Qian Kun Sword.
“The palace master said the remaining lessons would be credited to you. When you have time, you can return to complete them,” Song Qiumo said with a slight smile.
Li Hao stared at the manual in silence for a moment.
Back when he taught at Tangong, he had been a peerless genius of Qingzhou City, celebrated across the world. Yet Tangong had imposed all kinds of conditions on him.
Now that he had fallen to the desolate lands beyond Tianmen Pass, they had crossed ten thousand miles to deliver this.
“Thank you,” Li Hao finally said, accepting the sword manual.
Li Hongzhuang and Li He exchanged glances. They could discern from Song Qiumo’s tone that this gesture was meant to make a point. The delivery of the sword manual wasn’t an indication of personal ties between Tangong and Li Hao but purely a matter of fulfilling their agreement with a registered mentor.
Considering Li Hao’s strained relationship with the Li family, helping him wasn’t likely to curry favor with them. If anything, it risked offending them.
Yet, despite this risk, Tangong had made the effort to deliver such a treasured technique. Their regard for Li Hao’s worth and potential was unmistakable.
Li Hongzhuang cast a glance at Li Hao. She had guarded Tianmen Pass for many years without ever receiving reinforcements of this caliber. Her nephew had been here less than two days, yet two Fourth Pillar Realm experts had shown up to protect him.
She didn’t recognize the figure shrouded in the clouds, likely someone concealing their true identity.
But for the Water Qilin of Tangong, who never descended from her mountain, to travel this far was simply unimaginable.
What was it about this child that drew such attention from these two figures?
Was it his connection to the Li family?
She had a feeling it wasn’t.
Li He, standing silently nearby, wore a serious expression. He quietly committed the events to memory, planning to report them back to the Duke.
Since the end of the Battle of Yanbei, Li Tiangang had risen from a second-class marquis to a third-class duke, his position soaring to new heights.
In the Li family, only the elders accumulated titles like dukes, and reaching the rank of first-class duke was typically the ceiling. Advancing further to the divine rank was essentially impossible, reserved only for the most extraordinary of heroes.
Fifteen years ago, Li Junye had saved the fallen Cangzhou and its hundreds of cities, elevating him from captain to marquis in one extraordinary leap—a record-breaking achievement.
As Li He observed the two Fourth Pillar Realm experts, he suddenly felt out of place and unnecessary.
Especially after witnessing Li Hao’s combat prowess, he doubted his own ability to provide meaningful protection.
“Isn’t there supposed to be a city here?”
Song Qiumo glanced around curiously, her hands clasped behind her back.
Li Hao put away the sword manual with a wry smile. “The city was destroyed.”
As he spoke, he noticed the barely breathing peacock demon and, with a flicker of intent, condensed his true energy into a hook. He cast it out, snagging the demon’s head and reeling it in with a swift pull.
[Fishing Experience +2820]
Wow, that’s quite a lot, Li Hao thought to himself in admiration.
Earlier, dragging in the giant frog demon had yielded nearly 8,000 experience points.
This peacock demon, already critically injured by Song Qiumo, offered him a third of its remaining value without much effort—a significant gain.
Had he fished this Three Immortals Realm demon solo, he could have garnered around 10,000 total experience points.
With his previous 20,000 experience, he now stood at approximately 35,000.
One more Three Immortals demon, and he’d be close to leveling up to the sixth stage.
“You really...” Feng Boping sighed, watching as Li Hao shamelessly fished from a half-dead creature.
Li Hao offered a sheepish grin. If not for the allure of experience points, he would’ve found such behavior beneath him as a proper angler.
“Later, I need to find some paper and sketch these demon corpses. Their value for accumulating experience in the Painting Dao is immense. It’d be a waste to miss this opportunity,” Li Hao thought to himself.
The conditions here were far from ideal for drawing, but a Three Immortals Realm demon corpse was a rare resource for honing his skills in the Painting Dao. Squandering it would be a shame.
“So brutal,” Song Qiumo said with a slight arch of her brow upon hearing Li Hao’s thoughts. However, she refrained from further comment.
“You must be hungry after traveling so far. Care for something to eat?” Li Hao asked.
Song Qiumo chuckled. “There’s no crispy pastries here, is there?”
“I could make some for you,” Li Hao replied with a smile, but then hesitated as a thought occurred to him. “Although, we don’t have the ingredients here. You’d have to help gather them.”
“Oh? Is this just an excuse to have me gather supplies so you can piggyback on the feast?” Song Qiumo remarked, clearly aware of the camp’s limited provisions, which primarily relied on demon beast corpses for sustenance.
Her words hit the mark, and Li Hao’s face flushed slightly. “Good things are meant to be shared!”
“And what about hardships?”
“I’ll handle those.”
Li Hao said with a smile.
Song Qiumo gazed at him intently for a moment before breaking into a melodious laugh, as clear and delightful as the sound of silver bells.