Follow the path of Dao from infancy

Jiang Xian’er turned her head to Li Hao and said with a smile, “Hao Er, come sit. It’s been a long time since I’ve had the pastries you make.”

“If Ninth Mother likes them, I will make some for you tomorrow,” Li Hao readily took a seat and said with a smile.

While the two were speaking, Li Wushuang slightly frowned. She initially had no interest, but given that Second Mother had spoken in such a manner, if she didn’t take a look, it would seem as though she didn’t care enough.

She casually opened the gift box and saw the porcelain bottle and dragon horn comb inside.

Just as she had thought, common items. Li Wushuang shook her head secretly and with less interest, prepared to close it.

Yet Liu Yue Rong chuckled softly and said, “Hao Er has really put in the effort. The craftsmanship of this dragon horn comb is exquisite; you must have spent a lot of time on it. What’s inside the porcelain bottle?”

“Soul Casting Elixir.”

Li Hao said with a smile to her.

Li Wushuang’s eyebrows slightly rose as she closed the lid of the gift box and placed it on the side gift table, saying indifferently, “Do you think I need such pills?”

Though her voice was gentle, the atmosphere suddenly turned much colder.

This sentence was a difficult one to respond to.

Need it? That would plainly say that her talents are lacking and she needs to rely on pills.

Don’t need it? Then why send it at all?

Li Hao was taken aback for a moment but soon appeared somewhat helpless.

Indeed, giving gifts is a troublesome matter.

“Shuang Er.”

Lady Gao Qingqing, seeing that the tone of her child was off and that the family banquet was to celebrate her, naturally didn’t want any unpleasantness to occur, and tried to ease the situation with a smile:

“Hao Er also meant well. You haven’t seen each other for so many years, and he doesn’t know what you like. The dragon horn comb looks very good, and as for the pills, if you don’t need them, just keep them.”

Li Yun, who had been behaving properly and appeared very obedient, suddenly adopted a somewhat wild posture upon seeing Li Hao, as if he felt it was somewhat shameful to show such obedient behavior in front of Li Hao.

Seeing that Li Hao seemed to have been put in an awkward position, Li Yun immediately leaned back tactically and, mimicking Li Hao’s usual indifferent expression, huffed:

“Li Hao, do you know that my sister is a Ninth Grade Warrior, a top-notch prodigy! She absolutely doesn’t need pills to help her, and taking them would actually harm her. Are you looking down on my sister?”

Having said this, he looked at Li Hao with satisfaction, now with his elder sister’s backing, he wasn’t afraid of Li Hao.

The dumb son of the landowner… Li Hao looked at him with some speechlessness, thinking, this banquet is for your sister, if I lose my temper now, it’s your sister who will look bad, not me, foolish boy.

Indeed, upon hearing Li Yun’s words, Gao Qingqing’s expression changed slightly, and she quickly tugged at Li Yun’s back. They were all family, and with the elder sister-in-law present, it would be unacceptable to embarrass someone openly.

Li Yun winced from the tug and looked up to see his mother’s eyes exuding a hint of anger. Mother and son had a tacit understanding, and he instantly knew he had probably done something wrong.

But, what did I do wrong?

Isn’t what I said the truth?

While Li Yun was lost in thought, Li Hao just smiled slightly, naturally he wouldn’t get angry and stand up because of this. Of course, neither would he nervously explain anything.

“If Cousin Sister doesn’t need such pills, perhaps Cousin Brother might need them. You can keep them for him. As for the comb, could it be that Cousin Sister also doesn’t like it? Then I’ll give it to Sister Zhi Ning.”

Li Hao said, his tone seeming to convey a smile but not quite a smile: “What about the comb, Cousin Sister, you don’t like that either? Then give it to Sister Zhi Ning instead.”

Li Wushuang’s face darkened slightly, how could she not hear the implications in Li Hao’s words, implying her brother was not good enough?

“What do you mean?”

She stated directly, disliking beating around the bush, and as for saving face, she really didn’t care.

“Cousin, didn’t you hear me clearly?”

Li Hao feigned surprise, thinking to himself, how come both siblings seemed a bit slow-witted?

Li Wushuang’s eyes narrowed slightly, wanting to explode, but Gao Qingqing coughed in time to interrupt, saying,

“Shuang Er, Hao is still young and doesn’t know about your situation. He intended well by giving you the Soul Casting Elixir. Why are you taking offense at your cousin?”

Jiang Xian’er, sitting next to Li Hao, smiled charmingly, “Shuang Er, if you don’t like it, I’ll make it up to Hao on your behalf later.”

“Yes, Shuang Er, it is the thought that counts from Hao,” Liu Yue Rong hurried to console.

Li Wushuang glanced at Li Hao, said nothing more, but casually took the gift box and placed it on the gift rack behind her.

At that moment, footsteps approached from outside, followed by the voice of Li Yuanzhao calling, “Hao.”

Li Hao turned his head and saw Fourth Mother and Yuan Zhao had also arrived.

Hearing Li Yuanzhao’s voice, Xiao Yu Jing, who had just calmed down, flared up again. You brat, whom do you greet first after entering? To those unaware, it seemed as if you were here to celebrate with Li Hao!

As much as she seethed with anger, with many people in the main hall, she couldn’t publicly scold her son, so she hurriedly approached with a smile, “My sisters and younger siblings, I’m late. Is this Shuang Er? My, it’s been years, and you’ve grown so tall and beautiful in the blink of an eye. Qingqing, you really have a lovely daughter!”

A few words quickly livened up the atmosphere and drew people’s attention away, covering up Li Yuanzhao’s impoliteness.

Li Hao sat at the table with a smile on his face. These ladies, none of them were easy to deal with.

Li Yuanzhao greeted Li Hao, and with a knowing glance between the brothers, they understood that the earlier incident had not caused any misunderstandings, and Li Yuanzhao also relaxed, smiling as he handed his gift to Li Wushuang.

“What is this?” Liu Yue Rong asked with interest.

“Cousin, you’ll know if you open it,” Li Yuanzhao said, not knowing what his mother had put inside, but he was clever enough to respond with a smile.

Li Wushuang frowned slightly, feeling somewhat helpless but still opened the gift to look. It turned out to be a sharp, short dagger.

“It’s actually the renowned dagger ‘Han Xiang’!”

Gao Qingqing immediately recognized it and looked at Xiao Yu Jing in surprise, “Sister-in-law, this is a famous Divine Weapon. It’s said that it can even pierce the body of an Immortal Demon King.”

Xiao Yu Jing smiled, “It’s Yuan Zhao’s heartfelt gift; as long as Shuang Er likes it, that’s what matters.”

Regaining her composure, Gao Qingqing said to her daughter, “Aren’t you going to thank your cousin?”

Li Wushuang’s eyes also showed a hint of brightness, as she rather liked the dagger. Although she used a sword, she still had another hand.

Carrying it with her for close combat, when a sword could not be wielded, the dagger would be as handy as a short sword.

“Thank you, cousin.”

She said with a gentle expression, softly expressing her thanks.

Li Yuanzhao waved his hand and laughed, then sat down next to Li Hao.

Before long, the Third and Eighth Ladies also arrived one after another, and soon everyone was present.

He Jianlan, knowing that Li Wushuang had just returned to the mansion and did not like crowds, had not asked the concubines from the various courtyards to come over, so all those present were from the main family branches. Although there weren’t many people, it was more in line with Li Wushuang’s preference.

In addition to the ladies, Li Wushuang’s father, Li Xuanli, also returned from Zen Meditation Mountain deep within the mansion.

He appeared to be in his forties, with an air of scholarly elegance about him. He had been seriously injured on the battlefield years ago, but fortunately, compared to his brothers, he had managed to come back in one piece.

Surviving a grave injury at the hands of Demons was no easy feat. After all, the men of the Li Family were prime targets for the Great Demons on the battlefield, and once injured, they would be voraciously attacked by Demons.

After all, the Li Family had defended the borders for years, slaying countless Demons and accumulating just as many grudges.

To the Demon race, other than the Wang Family, the four families of the Divine General Mansion were all mortal enemies, despised by the Demons who wished nothing more than to consume their flesh, drink their blood, and sleep on their skins!