21. Fishing

Chapter 21: Fishing

Second Uncle?

Li Hao was surprised. In the family hierarchy, Li Fu was considered part of his father's generation, so anyone he called "uncle" had to be from the first generation of the Li family.

"Oh."

The old man didn't pay much attention to Li Fu's respectful greeting and simply responded with a casual acknowledgment. Then his gaze shifted, noticing the finely dressed Li Hao, with a dragon blood jade pendant at his waist, and the body refinement manual in his hands.

"I heard there's a martial arts waste in the Li family. Could it be this child?" the old man asked casually.

Li Fu, ever respectful, bowed and replied, "Reporting to Second Uncle, it is indeed Hao. He's the child of Marquis Xingwu, born with blocked meridians, unable to practice martial arts."

"Oh," the old man chuckled lightly. "So, this is the child of that stubborn fellow. Huh, this little guy is planning to refine his body, eh? That's a hard path."

Li Fu maintained his respectful demeanor, "Body refinement is a hard path, but it's the only way to ensure the child has a promising future."

"Bah."

The old man scoffed dismissively. "How much of a future can body refinement have? Even if you reach the height of historical body cultivators, what of it? In the grand scheme of things, you're just a slightly larger stone."

Li Fu smiled bitterly, acknowledging the truth in his words. "But as a Li family member, dying on the battlefield is an honor."

The old man's smile vanished, and his expression turned grim as he let out a cold snort.

"What nonsense. Are Li family members just meant to die on the battlefield? Honor, my foot! You all must be brain-dead!"

"Surviving the battlefield, that's what takes real skill!"

"Uh..." Li Fu was taken aback by the sudden scolding. He had heard that this second uncle had a peculiar temperament and had done many unconventional things in his youth, and indeed, he was different from most people.

"Is this Li Tiangang's idea, or yours?" the old man asked, seemingly angered.

Li Fu answered cautiously, "It's the Marquis's and our idea..."

"Hmph, that Tiangang, getting more useless with age."

The old man sneered, "Forcing a child, what skill is that? If he has the ability, let him break through the three immortals and reach the Four Establishments. That's how you defy fate."

"Any trash, cripple, or fool could become a supreme talent. Instead of making the child strive, why doesn't he try harder himself? Is he admitting his incompetence?"

"Ah, this..."

Li Fu was left speechless, unable to respond.

The Four Establishments? It was easy to say but hard to achieve! Only a handful of people in Dayu could reach that level.

Beside him, Li Hao couldn't help but smile, thinking this old man was quite interesting.

He had expected a stern elder, like Li Fu, to tirelessly lecture him about hard work and diligence, but the old man's words were quite the opposite.

"Does our mighty God General's residence really need to starve a child?"

Seeing Li Fu unable to reply, the old man scoffed, "We've fought and bled, and those few children died on the battlefield. Can't we let a younger one enjoy the wealth we've won?"

Li Fu nodded repeatedly, too scared to reply further.

The old man rolled his eyes at Li Fu, knowing it was futile to talk to him. From his youth, he had witnessed too much and understood the ideas and styles passed down by the Li family for centuries.

But as his eyes moved, he noticed the little boy next to him smirking and couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"Kid, I said your father is useless, and you laugh?"

"Old man, I think you're right," Li Hao replied with a grin.

"Hao!" Li Fu was startled, quickly reprimanding, "Show some respect! Is that how you speak to your elders?"

The old man wasn't angry; instead, he looked surprised. "What did you call me?"

"Old man," Li Hao replied with a smile. "I can't exactly call you a young man, can I?"

The old man's face darkened slightly. "Hasn't anyone taught you how to address your elders?"

"You called me a little brat, so I call you old man. We're even," Li Hao replied. "Hasn't anyone taught you how to address your juniors?"

Li Fu was so shocked he broke into a cold sweat, quickly covering Li Hao's mouth and saying to the old man, "Second Uncle, please don't mind him. When he was born, the Marquis and Madam went to the Yanbei battlefield. No one taught him manners, so he's a bit wild, without proper rules..."

The old man raised an eyebrow, snorted lightly, and said, "The boy makes a good point. Let's consider it even."

Li Fu was stunned but relieved, saying, "Thank you, Second Uncle, for your generosity!"

Li Hao pried away Li Fu's sweaty hand from his mouth and wiped his face with his sleeve. Then he glanced at the old man's fish basket and asked, "You only caught one? It's so small. Who can it feed?"

The old man replied, "I fish for fun, not for food. You're too young to understand."

"If it's for fun, then your fishing skills are lacking," Li Hao said. "Only catching one is no better than being an empty-handed fisherman."

Mentioning being empty-handed, the old man reacted more sharply than before, glaring at Li Hao:

"What do you know, kid? I wasn't seriously fishing today. It's a new lake, unfamiliar waters. Watch me tomorrow, and I'll show you how much I can catch!"

As if to prove his point, he raised the basket to Li Hao's face, "You think this is just an ordinary fish? This is a monster! If I let it out, it might not be something this guy could handle!"

Clearly, "this guy" referred to Li Fu beside him.

Li Fu was embarrassed. What did this have to do with him?

"Second Uncle, such a dangerous creature should be kept away from Hao..." he said cautiously.

The old man snorted, "In my basket, it can't cause any trouble."

"A monster?"

Li Hao was intrigued, examining the fish in the basket.

The fish was no longer than a chopstick, with a golden back and red belly. Strangely, the scales on its head resembled eyelashes.

As Li Hao leaned in for a closer look, the fish seemed to notice the ignorant human child and glared at him fiercely.

Li Hao could distinctly feel malice and murderous intent in its eyes, and he couldn't help but exclaim. It was the first time he'd seen a monster up close.

"Old man, are your fishing skills so impressive that you can catch monsters? Why don't you teach me?" Li Hao asked.

If he remembered correctly, fishing was one of the arts listed on his panel.

Along with carving, painting, and playing musical instruments.

He had thought fishing was just for catching fish, but in this world, one could even catch monsters.

How was this different from martial arts?

The old man paused, his eyes lighting up.

"You want to learn how to fish?"

"Yeah, can I?"

"Of course, you can!"

The old man laughed heartily, "It's rare for you to have such insight, different from these blockheads. What's the point of practicing body refinement? I'll teach you fishing, and tomorrow I'll show you my skills. I wasn't boasting. I just wasn't familiar with the new lake today..."

Even at the end, he was still explaining, clearly bothered by Li Hao's comment about being empty-handed and wanting to prove himself.

"Uh..."

Li Fu was dumbfounded, having finally gotten Li Hao to settle down and practice martial arts, only to have him led astray.

"Second Uncle, Hao actually has a talent for body refinement. In just three months, he mastered a lower-tier body technique. He's a good seedling. You can't delay him!"

Li Fu, speaking boldly, was prepared to be beaten up for this.

"What talent? Even if he trains, how strong can he get? Can he compare to ten thousand Li family soldiers?"

The old man replied irritably, "Why turn such a delicate, lovely child into a tanned little black bean?"

I won't turn into a little black bean... Li Hao thought to himself.

Finished speaking, the old man ignored Li Fu, snatched the Dragon Spine manual from Li Hao, and stuffed it into Li Fu's arms:

"Go on, get out of here. What rubbish. What future can come from practicing this stuff? Hao, right? Come on, haven't you eaten yet? I'll cook this monster for you, give you a good meal."

"Yes, yes."

Li Hao nodded enthusiastically, delighted.

"Second Uncle, you... you can't do this!" Li Fu's call behind them was filled with despair.

As the old man led him away, Li Hao realized the boldness of this second uncle. He was cooking on the seventh-floor terrace of Tingyu Pavilion, the place where the Li family's most precious manuals were stored for centuries.

And at this moment, not far from these manuals, which might be older than them, a fire was blazing for cooking.

During their conversation, Li Hao learned the old man's name: Li Muxiu.

Xiu as in rest and rejuvenation.

Also... Xiu as in relentless and undying.