Li Kuangren walked toward his son and future wife. As he grew older, he seemed to truly understand the words of his Eldest Great-uncle.
"Kuangren," Feng Mi asked, her eyes brimming with tears, "where... where are you going next?"
In fact, ever since she was old enough to understand, she had grown up listening to stories about the Li family. When she learned Li Kuangren's identity and heard about his aspiration to become like the Sword King, Li Yaozu, she couldn't help but look at him with admiration.
When she eventually gave birth to Li Changsheng, her father scolded her, and she wasn't sure if what she had done was right.
Her father had said that the Li family might have a formidable reputation, but the people of their current generations could never be proper fathers, husbands, wives, or mothers.
Their children and most of their family members were living in exile, constantly evading unknown dangers.
The descendants of the Li family were like lone wolves scattered across a desolate wasteland. Each of them would walk alone or in small groups through the dangerous wilderness, constantly vigilant against wild beasts, always prepared to pay the price of wounds and scars to obtain the food that would sustain them.
A family of wild beasts.
And now, the man who had haunted her dreams had transformed from a child into the true Li family man she had always imagined.
Her father wasn't wrong. Kuangren was also like that. Even though they had reunited, he only spent less than a week with her. He treated her well, treated their child well. It was as if he wanted to explain everything about his life, to pour all his love and affection into that one week.
She could sense that Kuangren was about to leave, and she didn't know when they would meet again.
"I'm sorry, Mi'er."
Li Kuangren embraced his wife and child. There was reluctance in his eyes, but more than that, there was determination. He whispered in Feng Mi's ear, "Mi'er, I was too young back then. Grandfather said I didn't understand anything, didn't know what love was. He was right."
"Kuangren..."
Li Kuangren gently rubbed his cheek against Feng Mi's ear, interrupting her. "I met Eldest Great-uncle," he said, "and he told me I was lucky to have a woman like you who cares for me, to have a child. I should cherish everything."
A wind suddenly picked up in the Jun Prince's Mansion, making his eyes itch.
"Back then, he gave me a choice, to continue being a child of the Li family or to become an ordinary person. But I... chose the former."
"When I was young, I felt that being a descendant of the Li family was a heavy burden. Gradually, I understood everything that had happened to our family. I went to Azure Phoenix Mountain, the Thunderfire Cave, and the Jun Prince's Mansion. I even returned to the family estate once. I met many, many elders."
"It turns out that our family was never as powerful as the outside world perceived. Our ancestors have been protecting the family for generations, but those enemies never allowed our Li family to live in peace."
"When I was at the Thunderfire Cave, I met Second Great-grandaunt. She was a very playful elder. She threw us into a terrifying pool, or at least we thought so at the time. Later, we learned that Second Great-grandaunt had sacrificed her lifespan for us."
"Great-grandfather was very strict with us. Every day during our training, we would see him forging. He would get annoyed whenever he saw us and urged us to keep running. He felt even more guilty than we did."
Li Kuangren let out a long sigh.
Li Kuanghua and Li Kuangtu were listening behind him. In truth, they had known all along. The elders always treated them like children, but they could understand, they could comprehend. It was just... they didn't know why they still wished the elders would see them as children.
They were afraid that if the elders knew they weren't actually stupid, they would be so ashamed that they would bang their heads against the ground.
"In the Thunderfire Cave, we left our mark on that dark red earth, running until the ground sank a meter deep. We gradually grew up there, not just physically, but also in our hearts."
"There, we understood that the people of our family are always fighting, always striving to grow stronger."
"We thought we were working hard, pushing our limits every day. But the elders, scattered throughout Azure Cloud region, who among them wasn't doing the same?"
"They all have a dream, a dream that our whole family can gather at the ancestral hall to worship our ancestors, to feast together beneath the divine tree, filled with laughter and joy, listening to Eldest Great-uncle's profound pronouncements, Second Great-grandaunt's playful laughter, and Great-grandfather's roars..."
"Mi'er."
Feng Mi's face was now streaked with tears. He wiped away the teardrops on her face, his smile radiant. "I'm sorry," he said, "I chose my family, chose those elders I once didn't understand. In the end, I've become just like them."
The two looked at each other, silent for a long time, as if wanting to etch this moment into their memories forever.
Little Li Changsheng didn't understand, but he could sense the sadness. The elders in his family were very, very poor, so poor that they had to leave their home.
After a long while...
Feng Mi watched Li Kuangren and his younger siblings, who smiled faintly at her, depart. After a long silence, she finally shouted, "Kuangren, come back soon! Bring me and Changsheng home!"
Hearing these words, Li Kuangren, who was walking forward, stopped in his tracks. His body trembled, and then he walked even faster, afraid that he might turn back.
At that moment, a dignified, stout man in a python robe stood atop the wall of the Jun Prince's Mansion.
If this were before, as soon as Li Kuangren left, he would surely have thrown a feast and celebrated for three days and nights.
But now, he simply watched Li Kuangren's retreating figure in silence.
It was as if he saw three grown wolves walking out of the Jun Prince's Mansion. They were the wolves of the Li family.
One day, these wolves would gather again. On that day, no one would be able to stop this pack of ferocious beasts. Their unwavering conviction could destroy everything!
Feng Qingyang gritted his teeth and went to the treasury to find three suitable Spirit Weapons and pills for them.
Just as he emerged, the manor's steward said, "My Lord, that Li family brat has left. I've prepared a feast for you and informed your friends in the city to come for drinks."
The steward gave a fawning smile. In the past, whenever he joined Lord Feng in berating Li Kuangren, Lord Feng would always let out a hearty laugh in satisfaction and reward him with many good things.
However, this time, Lord Feng's reward didn't come.
He simply handed him a storage ring silently and said calmly, "Take this storage ring to my son-in-law."
"Son... son-in-law???"
The steward was stunned.
But Lord Feng had already turned away. After his daughter's pregnancy out of wedlock, he had always seen with a heavy heart, as if carrying a great burden. Now, Lord Feng's steps were light and quick, as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders.
Then, Lord Feng said something that nearly made him kneel on the ground and slap himself in disbelief.
"My son-in-law is Li Kuangren."
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