"What is this?"
Li Hao opened the gift box prepared by Uncle Zhao and found a delicate little dragon horn comb inside. There was also a small bottle.
Li Hao picked up the small porcelain bottle and shook it. Uncle Zhao quickly said, "This is a God Forging Pill. It can increase the power of your spirit. I heard Miss Wushuang is already in the Spirit Travel realm, so it should be useful for her."
"Uncle Zhao is so thoughtful," Li Hao praised.
He knew about the God Forging Pill. Those in the Spirit Travel realm could take it, and each pill could increase the travel distance of the spirit by about a hundred meters. Each person could take up to ten pills, which would reach the limit. Any more wouldn’t be absorbed.
So, ten pills would equal one kilometer. That was enough to surpass four or five years of hard training.
The only downside was that the spirit cultivated with the help of the pills had slight differences compared to one cultivated through personal training. In regular fights, this difference was hard to notice, but in battles between top experts, it could become a flaw.
This was what martial artists often said: relying on pills for improvement makes the foundation unstable and the body light.
Li Hao couldn’t absorb the pills, so they would be useless to him. Even if he could take them, he wouldn’t choose to. After all, he heard that Second Master and Master Feng never relied on pills. They only took some energy-rich spiritual food to strengthen their muscles and blood.
Since Second Master and the others were not body cultivators, they wouldn’t waste effort on body training.
So, relying on external things to boost physical strength was fine and had its benefits, but it wouldn’t affect their own cultivation level at all.
Uncle Zhao smiled slightly, knowing Li Hao didn’t take this matter to heart. He earnestly advised, "If you can get along with Miss Wushuang, you should spend more time with your cousin. After all, she’s from the Thousand Machine Sect, and it would be good to have her support in the future."
"Sure," Li Hao replied with a smile.
Uncle Zhao sighed quietly, following Li Hao like an old servant.
Before long, Li Yuanzhao rushed to Shanhua Courtyard, calling out Li Hao’s name as if he were entering his own yard.
"Is that Young Master Yuanzhao?" Uncle Zhao looked over, his face showing a kind smile.
Over the years, Li Hao had been laid-back and hadn’t shown any martial talent, so there wasn’t much interaction between the other courtyards and Shanhua Courtyard.
Even the Li siblings had grown distant from Li Hao, which he noticed.
There were only a few direct descendants of similar age to Li Hao, and now only Young Master Yuanzhao would come to Shanhua Courtyard to keep Li Hao company.
It wasn’t really anyone’s fault; Uncle Zhao, as the steward of Shanhua Courtyard, had connections and knew that the reasons might not solely be because of Li Hao.
It was also because other courtyards had heard some rumors from the Yanbei battlefield.
After more than ten years of prolonged war, many rumors had spread.
You see, although the Li family was rich and powerful, they also had political enemies in the court.
With the ongoing battles in Yanbei, the Li family had lost soldiers, and with no end to the war, they had no place to voice their grievances.
But the suffering of the people required funding from the court for logistics and support, which gave others a reason to gossip.
Don’t think that just because soldiers were out fighting, no one would dare to discuss things in the court. On the contrary, it depended on the environment and people's hearts.
"Hao Ge, the dishes you asked me to buy are ready and have been sent to Auntie’s courtyard," Li Yuanzhao said with a smile as he approached.
Uncle Zhao was surprised and looked at Li Hao, not expecting him to have prepared ahead of time. A hint of satisfaction appeared in his eyes.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Li Hao patted Yuanzhao’s shoulder and said, "Let’s go over there."
"Okay."
Uncle Zhao followed behind the two young masters, along with Li Hao’s maid, Qingzhi, as they headed to the banquet.
The carriage swayed as it left Shanhua Courtyard. Li Yuanzhao said they should stop by Linglong Courtyard first, where Fourth Aunt lived, who was also Li Yuanzhao’s adoptive mother.
Li Hao didn’t refuse and had the driver turn the carriage toward Linglong Courtyard.
When they arrived, Li Yuanzhao jumped down from the carriage and asked Li Hao and Uncle Zhao to wait a moment before rushing into the courtyard.
Before long, Li Hao saw Li Yuanzhao coming out with a graceful and dignified noblewoman.
Fourth Aunt was from the Xiao family, named Xiao Yujing. Her ancestors had once produced a top expert in the Fourth Realm. Her husband was a young master of the Li family, who, on their wedding night, received a call to the battlefield and had to leave his new bride behind.
Little did anyone know, he never returned.
Since then, Fourth Aunt could only live as a widow, and she had no children.
So, after Li Yuanzhao’s parents passed away, under the old lady’s arrangement, he was adopted by the fourth branch.
Seeing Li Hao and Uncle Zhao waiting by the carriage, Xiao Yujing frowned and her expression darkened.
Li Hao remembered that when he was younger, Fourth Aunt had held him and seemed very kind.
But over the years, she had become more withdrawn. Every time she saw him, she seemed a bit angry, and Li Hao didn’t know why.
"Didn’t I tell you today that your cousin Shuang’er is coming back? You should prepare a gift, yet you’re just messing around," Xiao Yujing scolded Li Yuanzhao without caring that Li Hao was nearby.
Li Yuanzhao scratched his head and said innocently, "Mother, I went with Hao Ge to prepare the gift. We already sent it to Auntie’s courtyard."
"What kind of gifts did you prepare?" Xiao Yujing frowned.
"Crunchy roasted goose from Hongxiang Tower..." Li Yuanzhao began to explain.
Before he could finish, Xiao Yujing interrupted angrily, "Are you really that foolish? She’s been out and about, already on the Qian Kun Ranking. What kind of food hasn’t she tried? Do you think she needs this? It’s just a few coins; sending this over makes us look cheap!"
Li Yuanzhao glanced at Li Hao and gained some confidence, saying, "Mother, our Li family has everything! Weapons, techniques—cousin can choose whatever she wants. She hasn’t been back to Qingzhou in years, so she must not have tried our local delicacies."
"She may not have tried them, but do you think she cares?"
Xiao Yujing rolled her eyes slightly, looking quite charming, and said impatiently, "Whether she needs it or not is one thing, but your gift can’t be cheap. You should at least be able to say it out loud. If people find out you only sent this little bit of food, they’ll laugh at you!"
As she spoke, she looked at the gift box beside the carriage and coldly said, "Look at this, what is it?"
Uncle Zhao saw her misunderstanding and quickly said, "Madam Xiao, this was specially prepared by this old servant for Young Master Hao to give to Miss Shuang’er."
"Hmph."
Xiao Yujing turned to Li Yuanzhao and said, "See? You treat her like Hao Ge, but she may not truly care for you. You’re being foolish, while secretly preparing a big gift for her."
"Now, you’re empty-handed with nothing to show for it. What will you take to see your cousin?"
Li Yuanzhao opened his mouth slightly and said pitifully, "But this was prepared by Uncle Zhao for Hao Ge, it’s not Hao Ge’s fault..."
"You!"
Xiao Yujing was so angry she almost raised her hand to hit him. What kind of spell had Li Hao cast on him that he wouldn’t listen?
She held back her anger, knowing Li Hao and Uncle Zhao were present, and suppressed her temper.
"Forget it, I’ve already prepared gifts for you. Bamboo fragrance, bring it to Yuanzhao," Xiao Yujing said.
A maid walked over respectfully and handed Li Yuanzhao a gift box.
Li Yuanzhao was curious and wanted to open it, but Xiao Yujing shot him a glare, so he reluctantly put his hands down, obediently following behind his mother.
"We have our own carriage, so we won’t join you," Xiao Yujing said to Li Hao and Uncle Zhao casually.
"Mother..."
"Shut up."
Li Hao felt helpless. Fourth Aunt seemed to have an inexplicable hostility towards him, which puzzled him.
"Yuanzhao, we’ll head over first. You can go with your mother," Li Hao said, giving the little chubby boy a wink.
Li Yuanzhao immediately nodded, "Hao Ge, we’ll be right there."
He turned slightly, sneaking a smile at Li Hao behind his mother’s back, showing off his white teeth.
Li Hao chuckled and left with Uncle Zhao first.
"Mother, why do you always stop me from being with Hao Ge? He actually..."
"Shut up."
Xiao Yujing glared at him. "I told you to spend more time with the girl from Piaoxue Courtyard. Why do you keep hanging around him? He could only train his body before, and now that his meridians are open, he’s starting late. That’s fine; I’m not a greedy person. I mainly don’t want you to get into trouble, understand?"
"Huh?"
Li Yuanzhao was confused. How could he get into trouble?
"You don’t understand. Just listen to your mother and get closer to that girl, Zhineng," Xiao Yujing said softly.
Li Yuanzhao was puzzled. He had asked a few times before, but his mother never explained. This time, he didn’t ask and just pretended to be obedient, saying, "Mm."
...
"Madam Xiao had her husband die on the battlefield during their wedding, so she has some grievances against the Li family over the years."
In the carriage, Uncle Zhao spoke to Li Hao quietly, being very careful.
This was originally a family matter, and they, as servants, shouldn’t discuss it. But he was worried Li Hao might develop a grudge against Xiao Yujing, and being so young, he might not know how to hide it and could get into trouble.
Li Hao nodded slightly, having thought of this reason. After all, he understood a widow’s resentment.
He didn’t have any anger towards Fourth Aunt; she often showed her displeasure openly and never schemed behind his back.
On the contrary, the Second Aunt from Shuihua Courtyard always greeted him with smiles and warm words, which made him uncomfortable.
And with Li Yuanzhao around, for his sake, Li Hao wouldn’t hold any hostility towards the Xiao family. At least, she treated Li Yuanzhao sincerely.
Before long, the carriage arrived outside Changchun Courtyard.
Several carriages were parked outside the alley, indicating that the ladies from other courtyards had already arrived.
Before entering the courtyard, they could hear lively voices from outside, vaguely saying things like "My Shuang’er is amazing," suggesting that a few ladies were surrounding the talented young lady and praising her.
Li Hao held the gift box given by Uncle Zhao and walked slowly into the courtyard.
(End of chapter)