Chapter 24: Wooden Box
“It turns out that there is a creature like this living in Peach Blossom Mountain…”
Fang Mu and Xiao Fan’s faces became even more serious when they realized there was a tiger-shaped Demonic Beast lying under the oldest peach tree. The tiger emitted a Foundation Realm aura. In other words, it was a Demonic Lord Beast.
“Do you think Li Hao can deal with it?” Xiao Fan had already circulated his qi, preparing to interfere.
“We’ll see. If he’s in trouble, we’ll help him.” Fang Mu looked calm, but his hand was already on the hilt of his sword.
The sleeping tiger opened its eyes when it noticed the sound of Li Hao’s footsteps. The tiger then lifted its head and bared its sharp teeth.
Li Hao swallowed his saliva but showed no fear. He drew his wooden sword again.
“Grrr…” The tiger glared at Li Hao, as if telling him to get out of its territory.
“Sorry, but I need something under this tree.” Li Hao smiled warmly.
Li Hao and the tiger’s gaze met. The two of them were silent for a long time until the tiger finally jumped at him. Fortunately, Li Hao was alert ever since he first saw the creature, and he managed to dodge even though their difference in speed was quite big.
Xiao Fan wanted to move to help, but Fang Mu held him back. He asked Xiao Fan to wait a little longer.
The tiger didn’t stop there. It attacked Li Hao again, but like before, Li Hao already read its attack trajectory. He fiddled with his sword and managed to slash the tiger while dodging its attack.
“Grroaar!” The tiger became furious that Li Hao managed to land an attack on him even though there were no visible wounds.
The tiger roared loudly before shooting a powerful sound wave from its mouth, a sound wave strong enough to throw Li Hao back a few steps.
Li Hao’s whole body ached. He didn’t know that an ordinary cultivator at Forging Qi level 5 could fracture his bones and vomit blood if faced with the tiger’s sound waves in the same way Li Hao did.
Realizing that the wooden sword couldn’t hurt the tiger, Li Hao used his qi to envelop the sword, giving it a golden glow.
Seeing that its roar didn’t hurt Li Hao, the tiger jumped again to pounce on Li Hao.
Li Hao jumped to dodge before swinging his sword at the tiger, but it already knew the attack.
The tiger moved its body so that Li Hao’s sword didn’t hit it, but it didn’t expect the golden light that enveloped the wooden sword to turn into an energy blade that shot from the sword and ripped its skin.
“Grrooar!” The tiger jumped backwards in pain. It saw the part of its body that was cut by Li Hao; although the wound wasn’t big, there was quite a lot of blood coming out.
“Yang Divine Sword? Hao’er has mastered it?” Xiao Fan glared, recognizing the technique Li Hao was using.
“He can use it quite a bit…” Fang Mu understood Xiao Fan’s surprise because the Yang Divine Sword should only be used when one is at least at the Foundation Realm.
Instead of being frightened, the tiger became even more ferocious after Li Hao injured it. It was then that Fang Mu and Xiao Fan intended to move to help Li Hao, but before the two could act, a voice rang out.
“Oak!”
The tiger that had previously bared its teeth suddenly froze then turned towards the source of the sound, only to find a dirty black donkey staring at it furiously.
“Little Dragon, don’t come here! This is dangerous!” Li Hao was surprised to see Little Dragon’s presence. He purposely left the donkey at home for fear that Little Dragon would get hurt if he went with him.
Li Hao didn’t notice the change in the tiger’s expression when he heard the Little Dragon’s voice.
“Ok! Oaks!”
Little Dragon stared at the tiger fiercely as it stomped its two front paws alternately. Seeing that, the tiger turned around before walking away, no longer looking back.
The attitude shown by the tiger managed to make Li Hao, Fang Mu, and Xiao Fan surprised. The three of them then looked at Little Dragon, who was now smiling arrogantly.
***
An old wooden box was found under the peach tree, and in it was a letter and a palm-sized mirror.
The letter was written by Uncle Liu. Its contents managed to make Fang Mu and Xiao Fan frown.
In the letter, it was explained that Li Hao could leave Peach Blossom Mountain and return whenever he wanted because the protective wall would not hinder him.
Meanwhile, a mirror that had dragon and phoenix engravings could be used to bring a creature out or into the Peach Blossom Mountain dimension.
“This mirror is also related to Hao’er’s true origin.” Fang Mu read the letter carefully while Xiao Fan studied the mysterious mirror.
“From the engraving, it’s definitely not an ordinary mirror… It’s a special spirit tool, but no matter how much qi I release, it doesn’t react.” Xiao Fan studied the mirror curiously.
Fang Mu began to study the mirror after he finished reading the letter. He agreed with Xiao Fan’s analysis that it was not an ordinary mirror.
“Dragon and phoenix carvings like this only belong to the imperial family… Could it be?” Xiao Fan glanced at Fang Mu.
“The imperial family of the Heaven Star Empire is indeed surnamed Li, but do you believe their family could create a place like this?” Fang Mu raised his eyebrows.
The Three Empires that existed in the Eastern Star Continent did have close ties to the cultivator world. Most of the members of the imperial family were also cultivators, but compared to the existing major sects, their strength was not comparable.
Fang Mu had lived for five years in Peach Blossom Mountain. He firmly believed this place couldn’t possibly be related to the Li family of Heaven Star Empire.
“After all, this mirror is not only the key to exit this place but also the key to Hao’er’s background.” Xiao Fan glanced at Li Hao, who had been staring at the two in silence for a while. “Hao’er, don’t you want to get to know your father and mother?”
Li Hao scratched his head. “I’m not sure, Teacher. For as long as I can remember, they were never present in my life. I don’t think there’s any point in finding out anything about them. My family is Teacher Fang and Teacher Xiao.”
“Ok! Oaks!”
“Of course, you are also my family, Little Dragon.” Li Hao stroked the donkey that had been lying nearby.
Fang Mu and Xiao Fan looked at each other with warm smiles. Both of them had long considered Li Hao to be not only a student but their family.
