"Bullshit!"
Li Chonglou stopped his movements and looked back at the frantic Li Duo'er. He cursed in the Sichuan dialect he learned from Yucheng.
This little girl was a little devil.
Her behavior was far from normal. Even he, an old monster who had seen all the vicissitudes of life across two lifetimes, felt a bit unaccustomed.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up in such a predicament today.
"Muddle-headed, not knowing anything," Li Chonglou said, putting down his chopsticks after eating and shaking his head. "Do you at least know your second uncle's name?"
"Li Hanlong!" This time, Li Duo'er answered without hesitation.
Li Chonglou frowned slightly, searching his memory for this name.
But he found nothing.
In his previous life, he was a grandmaster and a renowned appraiser, having interacted with countless prominent figures.
Yet, he had no recollection of Li Hanlong at all.
It seemed that the society he interacted with in his past life had already diverged and was no longer in the same dimension as the present.
This, perhaps, was the fork in the road of destiny.
I toyed with fate, and fate would toy with me!
A voice echoed in Li Chonglou's mind, sending a shiver down his spine.
Yes!
Recalling the events since his rebirth, how many people's fates had changed because of him. If one or two people were not enough to influence the direction of the entire world, how could such a multitude of people and events not have any repercussions?
He should have been vigilant long ago.
Instead of being lost in the illusion of controlling everything in his reborn life.
Suddenly, Li Chonglou felt as if his entire body weighed a thousand pounds.
He showed a look of exhaustion: "I'm tired, I need to rest."
"Don't disturb me."
Li Duo'er pouted slightly at his words but obediently nodded.
She led him to a bedroom: "This will be your room from now on."
"I'm next door. Call me if you need anything."
*Bang!*
The only response was the sound of Li Chonglou closing the door.
Li Duo'er's sunny smile gradually faded. She pursed her lips, a frown creasing her brow as if burdened by countless worries.
She knew Li Chonglou was angry with her, and she didn't want to trouble him.
After all, this big brother was the most approachable person she had met in all these years.
And they both shared the surname Li, so perhaps they were related five hundred years ago.
But her second uncle had told her to watch over Li Chonglou, so what could she do?
Within the entire family, her second uncle was a god-like existence, supreme and unparalleled.
For her parents.
Especially for her sister, she had to obey her second uncle.
"Big brother, I'm sorry..." Li Duo'er turned with difficulty and walked into her own room.
Inside Li Chonglou's room.
The hard decoration was no less opulent than any five-star hotel.
But the furnishings were extremely simple.
So simple that without a strong inner self, one would feel empty and flustered living in such a room.
Aside from a 1.8-meter bed, there was nothing else.
There were no standard amenities like a TV, sofa, coffee table, or writing desk.
It was as if the room was specifically designed for solitary confinement.
Li Chonglou sat cross-legged on the bed, his eyes slightly closed, completely unfazed.
External conditions were already like a nullity to him. The stronger the inner self, the simpler the external setting needed.
He was going into seclusion!
He didn't need to become Li Hanlong's opponent.
During the meal, he had already secretly observed the objects around him.
All the glass was specially made bulletproof glass. The entrance and exit doors were steel-cast double-layered civil defense isolation doors. It was impossible to open them by brute force.
Unless one was a god.
The courtyard was densely covered with electric fences, making it even more impossible.
But heaven's net is vast and its mesh fine, so the entire building's walls couldn't possibly be cast iron, could they?
As long as it was still reinforced concrete, there would be a way out.
But the prerequisite was that he had to break through to the second level of the sheepskin scroll's cultivation method, the Shengu realm.
Li Chonglou considered himself a genius in appraising treasures, able to memorize historical origins and period characteristics with perfect accuracy at a glance.
But he knew that he was by no means a martial arts genius.
Originally, breaking through to the second level, the Shengu realm, would have taken at least several months to a year.
Even though Xu Lie had shared his cultivation insights with him, and his senior sister had diligently instructed him, he still couldn't achieve it.
But now, it was possible.
It was simply because he needed it!
Humans are creatures with boundless potential; whatever they want to learn, they can certainly learn.
For example, driving. Some young people find it very difficult to drive, but many elderly people in their fifties and sixties can learn and master it with ease.
Why?
Because of necessity!
Those who find driving difficult likely have little need for a car.
And elderly people, even though their cognitive responses may have declined, because they cannot do without a car, they self-induce the necessity to learn.
It's the same with anything.
As long as one is not congenitally intellectually disabled, whether one can learn an unfamiliar skill depends not on intelligence, but on need.
He now possessed an immense desire for a breakthrough in the sheepskin scroll's cultivation method.
For his mother, for Jiang Yuxin, for Wu Hao and the team.
He had to break through as quickly as possible; he had no other choice.
—
At the same time.
At the Qin州市 People's Hospital inpatient department.
Two lean men with arms reaching their knees and an understated aura pushed open Zheng Xiumei's ward.
"Who are you?" Zheng Xiumei, leaning against the bed peeling an orange, looked at the unfamiliar men with confusion.
"You are Li Chonglou's mother, right? Our boss wants to see you. Come with us..." One of the lean men, with a malicious smile.
Before he could finish, he was yanked by the hair by a large hand and thrown out of the ward.
*Thump.*
He slammed heavily against the corridor wall, his body twitching and struggling.
Xu Lie, who had emerged from behind the door at some unknown time, had a stern face and a sharp glint in his eyes.
The other man, seeing his companion struck, his expression drastically changed. He raised a hand, which transformed into a whip, lashing towards Xu Lie's face.
*Crack!*
The sound of breaking air exploded, actually producing a sonic boom.
But Xu Lie remained calm and unmoved.
His eyes showed a hint of solemnity. He could see that the man's palm had opened to an astonishing speed in an instant, like flicking a wet towel, but countless times more difficult.
Anyone who could achieve this was no ordinary expert, perhaps even far surpassing anyone he had encountered before.
But so what?
If it were the former Xu Lie, he might have had a hard time today.
But he had already undergone a complete transformation. With the sheepskin scroll's cultivation method gifted by Li Chonglou, his strength had improved by leaps and bounds since his discharge.
The fact that he could throw someone out of the room in an instant was a testament to this.
"Scram!" Xu Lie's voice boomed like thunder. He moved first and struck last.
Without dodging or evading, with lightning speed, he directly opened his palm and covered the man's face.
Before the whip could touch him, he exerted force instantly.
*Bang!*
The man was sent flying out of the room.
The entire process lasted only two seconds. In a flash of lightning, both men had vanished.
Zheng Xiumei stared, dumbfounded, holding the orange in a daze.
"Godmother, don't worry about those two little scumbags. I'm here," Xu Lie, showing a rare, stiff smile, greeted Zheng Xiumei.
Before she could speak, he closed the door and stepped outside.
He stepped on one of the men's faces.
He said coldly, "Go back and tell your master, whoever it may be, if they dare step into this hospital again."
"You will be killed without mercy!"