22. Freedom
Chapter 22: Freedom
The gold-backed, red-bellied fish in the basket was released, revealing its true nature as a monster. As it leapt from the basket, it soared into the air, transforming into a body several dozen meters in length. Its scales glinted like an array of knives, and its fins stood sharp as banners. It spoke in a pitiable woman's voice, begging for mercy:
"Senior, I swear I will never harm another life. Please spare me."
The enormous, grotesque fish head nodded up and down as if imitating a human kowtowing in midair.
Li Hao smelled a fishy odor wafting toward him and pinched his nose, almost gagging.
This fish...really stinks!
"Sparing you would mean I'd really go home empty-handed."
Li Muxiu's words instantly dashed the fish demon's hopes, making it tremble with rage but not daring to show it.
"Into the pot!"
Li Muxiu pointed with his hand.
Though the fish demon had been pleading, it had planned to escape once it took on its original form. Seeing that the old man wouldn't let it go, it tried to sway its body, turning the sky into a lake, and attempted to flee into the distance.
But before it could turn, it suddenly convulsed as if electrocuted. Blood spurted from its gills and mouth, and its hideous body was sliced apart midair as if by invisible blades on a celestial chopping block.
Amazingly, the spurting blood never reached the ground, whisked away by the wind until it disappeared. The fish demon's dismembered body vanished similarly, leaving only a fist-sized, dark purple, lustrous demon core and several pieces of snow-white fish meat suspended in the air.
Li Muxiu gestured, and the demon core fell into the boiling pot. The white fish meat was sliced into paper-thin pieces by unseen forces before entering the pot.
At this point, the old man produced a salt jar from somewhere, scooped two spoonfuls into the pot, and covered it to cook.
Li Hao was amazed by this display, gaining a concrete understanding of the martial prowess of this world's warriors.
So this is a demon, and this is a powerful martial artist!
"Old man, that purple meatball is a demon core, right? Shouldn't it be eaten raw?" Li Hao asked curiously.
"Where did you hear that?"
Li Muxiu glanced at him sideways and said calmly, "Aren't you afraid of the stench? Demon cores need to be refined with various herbs to be effective. Plus, you can't mix them willy-nilly because different demons have different properties. Only professional alchemists can do it. Eating it raw...that's like a commoner killing a tiger and expecting to gain strength from raw tiger bones. Can you digest that?"
"Then why are you doing this?"
"As ingredients, of course. While this wastes much of the potency, it's not like I need it. I'm just sampling the taste. For you, drinking some broth and eating a few slices of fish is enough. This level of demon core isn't something you can handle yet."
"I see."
Li Hao nodded, not feeling too disappointed.
After all, the God General's residence had an endless supply of spiritual pills and herbs. The raw material of this demon core was nothing compared to the refined pills.
However, after his foundation establishment failure, he found that these spiritual pills were just food to him, unable to unleash their extraordinary effects.
Even with the abundant resources, the distribution among the residence's children was very restrained.
After all, even mundane medicine has its risks. Although pills can offer rapid advancement, reaching the pinnacle usually requires relying on one's own strength to avoid backlash.
...
The water in the pot boiled again, causing the lid to rattle gently.
The old man casually lifted the lid with a bare hand. Steam rose but was whisked away by a breeze, leaving no trace on the building's beams.
A mix of fish aroma and a lingering fishy smell wafted out.
Li Hao frowned slightly. He hadn't tasted it yet but instinctively felt it wouldn't be delicious.
"Here, try it."
Li Muxiu somehow produced a pair of chopsticks, black and shiny, wiped them on his clothes, and stabbed them into the pot's demon core, eating it heartily.
Meanwhile, he gestured, causing a branch from a nearby tree to break off and fly into his hand.
He handed it to Li Hao, "Peel off the bark, and it's ready to use."
Li Hao didn't complain.
Not one to be inflexible, Li Hao sat down with the old man, tearing the bark from the branch. He snapped it in half, using it to fish a slice of crystal-clear fish from the pot.
To Li Hao's surprise, the fish had not disintegrated under the boiling water, remaining firm and jelly-like.
He used the pot lid to shield himself from any splashing broth and slurped the fish.
"How does it taste?"
"Pretty good, not bad at all, just a bit fishy."
"Fishy? I didn't notice."
"You're already fishy; of course, you wouldn't notice."
"Heh, kid, watch your tone."
"It's true, and I'm not wrong."
"Hmph, you're lucky it's me. Another elder would've spanked you long ago."
"I wouldn't talk to them anyway."
"Hah, quite the talker."
The old man and the boy continued to eat, neither acting like senior or junior. After finishing the fish and soup, they both leaned back, stretched out their legs, and sighed in unison:
"So comfortable!"
Their postures were remarkably similar.
"You..." Li Muxiu glanced at Li Hao and suddenly laughed heartily.
Li Hao merely smiled, placing his hands behind his head as he gazed forward. Outside the eaves, night had fallen, and weak starlight was starting to appear.
A gentle breeze swept up from below the building and the surrounding hills, bringing with it a refreshing sense of ease.
He suddenly felt that all the worldly splendor and servants' attention didn't compare to this moment of freedom and comfort.
Lying there quietly, resting for a moment, Li Hao turned his head, "Old man, when you fish, do you have any special techniques?"
"What, interested in learning now?"
Li Muxiu looked at him with interest.
"Tomorrow I'll try it myself. Why not see who catches more?" Li Hao said with a grin.
Hearing this, Li Muxiu chuckled.
Who would have thought the stodgy heads of the Li family could raise such a lively, interesting child?
"Alright, from now on, you'll learn fishing with me. I'll teach you; fishing is also a form of cultivation. With one cast, even the Triumvirate would be caught by the lip!"
Li Muxiu smiled gently, his eyes filled with pride—not in his cultivation but in his fishing skills.
Li Hao chuckled, picturing it in his mind, and couldn't help laughing out loud.
A mighty warrior at the peak of the Triumvirate realm getting his mouth caught by a fishing hook...what a vivid image!
"What are you laughing at? Don't believe me?" Li Muxiu raised an eyebrow, feigning a stern look.
Li Hao laughed, "I believe you, of course. It's just such a funny scene."
With that, he burst into laughter again.
Thinking it over, Li Muxiu also found the image amusing and chuckled, "Tomorrow, when we get there, I'll show you how to fish. Practice a bit. Telling you now won't make sense. Get some rest tonight. I'll find a rod for you."
He got up, patted himself off, and swept the embers and pot on the terrace into his sleeve.
With a step, he vanished into the night sky.
The next morning.
At first light, Li Muxiu woke Li Hao.
Fortunately, Li Hao had slept early the previous night, so he wasn't too groggy. "We're leaving so early?"
"Of course, the best time for morning fishing is early. That's when the fish bite."
Li Muxiu was in high spirits. Normally, he fished alone, but today, having a young companion made the prospect even more exciting.
"Here's your rod. Hold it well."
The old man produced a black fishing rod from nowhere and handed it to Li Hao.
Li Hao found it surprisingly heavy, though manageable for someone with his perfect mastery of the Tongli realm's strength—ten times that of a typical practitioner.
Li Muxiu, seeing Li Hao handle it with ease, raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Looks like Li Fu wasn't exaggerating. You do have a talent for body refinement. Which technique are you practicing? Really reached mastery?"
Only then did Li Hao realize the old man had chosen the rod based on his cultivation level, putting some thought into it.
The Mighty Bull Technique was a low-tier body refinement method. Mastering it meant strength comparable to about the fourth or fifth level of the Tongli realm.