"It seems... This is real..."
He neither asked for the year nor displayed any excessive shock. After a brief moment of dazed disbelief, he forcibly calmed himself and sat down.
He asked, "My little brother came looking for me... Has something happened at home?"
The nanny's heart skipped a beat. She knew there was no hiding it now. Sure enough, Li Suikuan smiled and said, "I came looking for elder brother. I just heard that our great-grandaunt from the lake is coming ashore! I came to find you the moment I heard!"
Great-grandaunt... That's right... At this time, she's still alive, and still a late Foundation Establishment Realm expert...
He rose absentmindedly without a word. After staggering forward a few steps, he stepped outside and slowly lifted his head, breathing in the lakeside breeze that made his heart tremble before gazing up at the sky.
There was only a single brilliant sun hanging in the sky. That martial star which shone day and night to illuminate the world had not yet appeared.
His heart started to race, as though it might leap straight from his throat. Hot blood coursed through his cheeks and eyes as he thought, Great Song has not yet been founded, and Shu's mandate has not yet been established... I am fifteen years old... There are still five full years before the first year of Siwu, before the Yang Family ascends the throne...
In this year, the Grand Daoist Master has not yet been granted the title of King of Wei. The Compassion Dao has not yet arrived, and the Changhe Rebellion has not yet occurred... Guest Cultivator Ding should still be on the lake, and that Wang fellow has not yet reached the Purple Mansion Realm...
My family has not even reached its peak yet. The days of splendor and prosperity have not arrived. The miracle of a single family producing four Purple Mansion Realm cultivators has not yet come to pass. And neither has the fall from that summit, the slow decline, nor the future in which our clan is exterminated in the southern border...
There's still time... Daoist Master Zhaojing will appear on the lake before departing for the Western Sea. There's still time for everything...
Countless thoughts rampaged through his mind, yet he forcibly suppressed every one of them. The skills he had honed over years of hardship, concealing his intentions beneath storms and snow, suddenly proved unexpectedly useful, allowing him to regain his composure in an instant.
I absolutely cannot expose myself... Even if the King of Wei once said that the various peaks benefited from Mount Dali and were protected by the [Azure Attainment Primordial Heart Instrument], beyond the sight of the great powers... I cannot underestimate them...
All these thoughts passed through Li Suining's mind in but a moment.
He turned back and smiled. "That's wonderful news!"
Li Suikuan puffed out his cheeks, drawing a fleeting softness into Li Suining's eyes. His own father had died young, while that great-granduncle, Li Chengzai, was hopelessly incompetent. Most of the Yuanwan lineage were mediocrities as well. Yet extremes often produced their opposite.
In the Suiyu generation, the brothers Li Suikuan and Li Suining, the only ones able to cultivate, were both exceptionally talented. Li Chengzai could never stand seeing him prosper, but Li Suikuan had always been clever, and had always sided with him. After the Battle of the Weidu, when the second manifestation appeared in the world, Li Suining had escaped alive, but this younger brother had died in battle long before, forever remaining beneath that mountain.
The clansmen often blamed him for the actions of his forebears. He hardly dared return to the lake, and never retreated a single step beneath that mountain...
In his previous life, only Li Chengzai had known of Li Minggong's arrival. He had merely instructed Li Suikuan to make preparations, but his younger brother had secretly come to inform him. Li Suining had immediately cancelled that day's autumn hunt and thus managed to meet her.
Thus, the two brothers had entered the island together. Otherwise, they would have arrived several days later. He might still have met Second Uncle Li Jianglong, but he would most likely have missed the chance to meet Li Ximing.
It was also because of Li Suikuan that he eventually stopped holding grudges against that fool Li Chengzai, though that was a story for another time.
He merely smiled and said, "Thank you, little brother... I had already agreed to join a few of the others for the autumn hunt today!"
Ignoring the nanny beside them, the youth strode forward, took his younger brother's hand, and led him outside.
When they reached the manor diagonally opposite, he calculated the time and said with a smile, "You go in first. It wouldn't be proper for me to visit empty-handed. I'll be there shortly."
Li Suikuan nodded and entered with a grin. Li Suining wandered around outside, picked up some fruit as a token gift, then kept his eyes fixed on the sky. Only when that streak of True Fire light arrived in an instant and descended into the courtyard did he step forward and knock on the door.
"Is my lady within? Suining has come to pay his respects!"
The door creaked open. Inside, everyone dropped to their knees in unison. A woman dressed in palace robes was standing at the center. Her features were dignified and elegant, her bearing gentle yet noble. Faint traces of True Fire shimmered about her body, while authority radiated from her eyes, carrying an overwhelming sense of pressure.
It was none other than Li Minggong!
Feigning pleasant surprise, he hurriedly bowed and respectfully said, "Greetings, great-grandaunt!"
Li Minggong nodded to him. Her gaze swept briefly over the fruit in his hands before she replied, "So you're second brother's descendant... Suining, isn't it?"
"Yes..."
The moment Li Suining saw her, his eyes began to sting.