Chapter 21: Fishing
“Second Uncle?”
Li Hao was stunned. In the Li family, Li Fu’s seniority was calculated based on the generation of his father. Among those he could call “Uncle,” only the older generation of the Li family qualified.
“Oh.”
The old man paid little attention to Li Fu’s respectful greeting, merely responding with a casual hum. His gaze shifted to Li Hao, who stood behind Li Fu, dressed in fine robes and wearing a jade pendant made of Dragon Blood Jade, and holding a Body Refining Technique Manual in his hands.
“I heard there’s a Martial Waste Body in the Li family. Could it be this child?” the old man asked casually.
Li Fu bowed deeply, showing utmost respect as he answered, “Reporting to Second Uncle, it is indeed Hao’er. He is the son of Marquis Xingwu. Unfortunately, he was born with blocked meridians and cannot practice martial arts.”
The old man chuckled lightly. “Ah, so he’s the son of that stubborn fellow. Tsk, this little guy plans to practice body refining? That’s a tough path.”
Li Fu maintained his respectful demeanor and replied, “Though body refining is indeed arduous, it is the only way for this child to have a future.”
“Pfft.”
The old man snorted disdainfully. “How much can body refining achieve? Even if he reaches the heights of those historical body cultivators, so what? Amid thousands of troops, he’s just a slightly larger stone.”
Li Fu smiled wryly, knowing the old man wasn’t wrong, but still said, “As a son of the Li family, it would still be an honor to die on the battlefield.”
Hearing this, the old man’s expression instantly darkened, and he let out a cold snort.
“What nonsense! Are the sons of the Li family destined to die on the battlefield? Honor? I think your brain must be damaged!”
“Surviving the battlefield, now that’s a damn skill!”
“Uh...” Li Fu was stunned by the sudden reprimand. He had long heard that this Second Uncle had an eccentric temperament and had done many unconventional things in his youth. Now it seemed the rumors were true.
“Is this Li Tiangang’s idea, or yours?” the old man asked angrily.
Li Fu cautiously replied, “It’s the marquis’ idea... and ours.”
“Hmph. That kid Tiangang is getting more and more useless as he gets older.”
The old man sneered. “Forcing a child to bear such a burden—what kind of skill is that? If he has the ability, why doesn’t he break through the Three Immortals Stage himself and step into the Fourth Pillar Realm? That would truly change fate.”
“No matter what kind of waste, cripple, or fool you are, you can become a peerless genius if you reverse the heavens. Instead of pushing the child to work hard, why not put in some effort yourself? Or is it because you know you’re useless?”
“Ah, this...”
Li Fu was left speechless, completely caught off guard by the sharp critique. He didn’t dare respond.
Fourth Pillar Realm? It sounded easy, but how many in all of Great Yu could achieve such a level? One could count them on their fingers.
Nearby, Li Hao couldn’t help but chuckle, thinking the old man was rather amusing.
He had expected a serious elder of the family, like Li Fu, who would earnestly lecture him about working hard, enduring hardships, and striving for success. Yet the old man’s words were the complete opposite.
“Does our grand Divine General Mansion really lack the means to support one child?”
Seeing Li Fu rendered speechless, the old man snorted coldly. “We risk our lives, and many of our children have fallen on the battlefield. Isn’t that enough to let one junior enjoy some of the wealth we’ve earned?”
Li Fu trembled with fear and could only stammer, “Yes... yes,” not daring to refute.
The old man rolled his eyes at Li Fu, knowing it was futile to argue with this blockhead. He had seen too much during his life and understood the deeply ingrained traditions of the Li family, passed down through the centuries.
Still, as his gaze shifted, he noticed the boy beside him smirking. He raised an eyebrow.
“You little rascal, I just said your father is useless, and you’re laughing?”
“Old man, I think you’re absolutely right,” Li Hao said with a grin.
“Hao’er!” Li Fu jumped in shock and hastily scolded, “Mind your manners! How can you talk to an elder like that?”
The old man, however, wasn’t angry. Instead, he seemed surprised. “What did you call me?”
“Old man,” Li Hao replied, still smiling. “I can’t very well call you a young man, can I?”
The old man’s expression darkened slightly. “Didn’t anyone teach you how to address your elders?”
“Well, you called me ‘little rascal,’ so calling you ‘old man’ evens things out, doesn’t it? Surely someone must have taught you how to address juniors too, right?”
Li Fu broke into a cold sweat, quickly covering Li Hao’s mouth and addressing the old man, “Second Uncle, please don’t take this child’s words to heart. When he was born, the marquis and his wife went to the Yanbei Battlefield, and no one was around to teach him proper manners. That’s why he’s a bit wild and unruly...”
The old man raised an eyebrow and snorted. “The boy makes a fair point. Let’s just consider it even.”
Li Fu froze in disbelief but quickly breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you, Second Uncle, for your magnanimity!”
Li Hao pried away Li Fu’s sweaty hand from his mouth and wiped his cheek with his sleeve. Then he glanced at the fish basket near the old man and asked, “You’ve only caught one? It’s so small—who’s it supposed to feed?”
The old man replied nonchalantly, “I don’t fish to eat. Fishing is about enjoyment, something you’re too young to understand.”
“If it’s about enjoyment, your fishing skills are terrible. Catching just one fish? That’s no better than coming back empty-handed.”
At the mention of being empty-handed, the old man reacted as if someone had stepped on his toes. His response was more intense than before as he glared at Li Hao.
“You brat! What do you know? I wasn’t serious about fishing today, and I went to a new lake where I’m unfamiliar with the waters. Tomorrow, I’ll show you how many I can catch!”
To emphasize his point, he picked up the basket and brought it closer to Li Hao. “Do you think this is just any ordinary little fish? This is a demon! If I let it out, even this guy here might not be able to handle it!”
Clearly, by “this guy,” he meant Li Fu.
Li Fu looked embarrassed and thought to himself, What does this have to do with me?
“Second Uncle, such a dangerous demon shouldn’t be near Hao’er...” he said cautiously.
The old man snorted. “Once it’s in my basket, do you think it can cause any trouble?”
“Demon?”
Hearing this, Li Hao became curious and peered at the fish inside the basket.
The fish was only as long as a pair of chopsticks, with a golden back and crimson belly. What caught his attention were the peculiar inverted scales near its eye sockets, resembling eyelashes.
As Li Hao leaned in for a closer look, the fish seemed to notice the curious human child. Its eyes glared back fiercely, exuding a palpable sense of hostility and killing intent.
Li Hao gasped in astonishment. This was his first time seeing a demon up close.
“Old man, your fishing skills are amazing! You even caught a demon. Can you teach me how to fish?” Li Hao asked, looking up at the old man expectantly.
If he remembered correctly, “fishing” was listed as an art form in his panel along with carving, painting, and playing musical instruments. He had initially thought fishing was just for catching fish, but in this world, one could even fish for demons.
How was this different from practicing martial arts?
The old man was momentarily taken aback but then grinned, his eyes lighting up.
“You want to learn fishing?”
“Yes! Can I?”
“Of course, you can!”
The old man burst into laughter. “It’s rare to see someone with such good taste. You’re different from these blockheads! Why bother with that useless body refining nonsense? I’ll teach you fishing instead. Tomorrow, I’ll take you to see my skills in action. I’m not just bragging—today’s poor results were only because I wasn’t familiar with the new lake...”
Even as he spoke, he was still explaining himself, clearly still bothered by being called empty-handed earlier.
“Ah, this...”
Li Fu stood to the side, completely dumbfounded. He had worked so hard to get Li Hao to settle down and focus on body refining, only to see the boy now lured away by the old man.
“Second Uncle, Hao’er actually has a lot of potential for body refining. In just three months, he’s mastered a lower-grade body refining technique. He’s truly a promising talent! You can’t let him be distracted!”
Toward the end, Li Fu’s tone grew firmer, as though bracing himself for a scolding. At worst, he thought, he’d just endure a beating and lie in bed for a few weeks.
“Potential? Talent? Even if he trains successfully, how strong could he get? Strong enough to match the Li family’s ten thousand-strong army?”
The old man scowled. “You really want to turn such a delicate and charming child into a sun-scorched little black charcoal from body refining?”
I won’t turn into a little black charcoal... Li Hao thought silently to himself.
The old man, clearly irritated, didn’t bother waiting for Li Fu’s response. Instead, he snatched the Dragon Spine Manual from Li Hao’s hands and stuffed it into Li Fu’s arms.
“Take this trash away! What’s the point of practicing this? Hao’er, right? Come on, you haven’t eaten yet, have you? I’ll cook this demon for you to give you a good meal!”
“Mm-hmm!”
Li Hao nodded enthusiastically, clearly thrilled.
“Second Uncle, you can’t do this!” Li Fu’s voice called out in despair from behind them, but it went unanswered.
...
When Li Hao was finally led away, he gained a firsthand glimpse of just how bold this Second Uncle of the Li family was. The man’s cooking setup was shockingly on the seventh-floor terrace of Tingyu Pavilion, a place where the Li family’s most precious manuals and books were stored.
At that moment, not far from these ancient tomes, some of which were older than the family itself, flames were burning brightly beneath a cooking pot.
As they chatted, Li Hao learned the old man’s name: Li Muxiu.
The “xiu” in his name stood for nurturing and repose—yet it also carried the meaning of “unyielding” and “unrelenting.”