Chapter 64

Last time, we talked about how Li Lizhi found Li Kuan and asked to learn the internal martial arts. After confirming that she was serious, Li Kuan agreed.

"Alright! Since you're determined to stick with it, Big Brother will teach you. But let me make one thing clear: if you give up halfway, you won't be allowed to ask for anything else. Big Brother doesn't like kids who give up halfway!" Li Kuan agreed, his tone as if he was still talking to a child.

"Big Brother, I'm already grown up, and you still treat me like a child!" Li Lizhi was not happy. This little girl, though only seven years old, thought of herself as an adult.

"Hmm, Miss Wei is an adult!" Xiao Nianwei also joined in, tugging on Li Kuan's hand to get his attention. This made Li Kuan laugh.

"Right, Miss Wei is an adult, but Miss Wei wet the bed last night! Haha..." Li Kuan ruffled Xiao Nianwei's hair, teasing her.

"I didn't, it was my sister!" Xiao Nianwei knew that wetting the bed was not a good thing, so she refused to admit it and insisted it was Li Lizhi. No matter who said she wet the bed, she would get angry and ignore them.

This little girl turned her body away, leaving Li Kuan with the back of her head, and let go of his hand. Her little bottom stuck out, and her lips pouted in anger.

"It's Big Brother's fault!" Li Kuan quickly tried to soothe her, but the little girl was still upset and turned her head away, not letting Li Kuan see.

"Good, Big Brother will make you some shaved ice!" Li Kuan had to use his trump card. This greedy little girl couldn't resist the temptation of shaved ice. Every time Xiao Nianwei came to Li Kuan's place, she would eat a large bowl, and if Li Kuan didn't stop her, she might eat even more. After eating, she would always ask Li Kuan to touch her little tummy, pulling his hand: "Big Brother, my tummy isn't full, I want more!" She treated shaved ice like a meal, which was not something an ordinary person could do.

Sure enough, at the mention of shaved ice, the little girl immediately stopped being angry and turned around with a big smile: "Big Brother is so nice, shaved ice, I'm coming!" She ran off to the east wing of Li Kuan's courtyard, where he made the shaved ice. There were various food coloring agents, all bought from the Hu merchants in Chang'an, and molasses, since Li Kuan couldn't produce sugar, he had to use the molasses of this era. Although it looked sticky and not very appealing, Li Kuan's skill in cooking made it much sweeter.

Li Lizhi was also in a good mood. She had been worried that Big Brother wouldn't teach her martial arts, but she easily achieved her goal: it seemed that Big Brother still cared for her the most! With a smile on her face, she followed Xiao Nianwei to the wing.

Li Kuan shook his head and followed, these two crazy little girls, he didn't know who influenced whom, but both were so mischievous. The older one hid her violence behind a gentle exterior, while the younger one was cute but always made him laugh and cry at the same time. Every time they came, the small courtyard would be in chaos, but Li Kuan liked this atmosphere. Perhaps because of his loneliness, his consciousness from the future made him feel like an outsider in this era. From the depths of his heart, he felt isolated, as if he was the only one different in the world. No matter how finely the lies were woven, no matter how similar he appeared to others, deep down, he was alone. So he wanted to draw some warmth from these two innocent little girls.

In the entire mansion, only these two unrestrained little girls could give him this warm feeling. Even though Changsun treated him kindly, he still felt a sense of distance in her eyes. Li Kuan could guess a bit of the pain in her heart, so he respected and honored her but didn't dare to get close. Although he wouldn't compete with her son, in the complex royal family, no one would believe such words, because those who believed them were already dead.

Li Er, this cheap old man, hahaha... they met only a few times a year. Even if he expressed his kindness, what difference did it make? In Li Kuan's heart, he wasn't his son, so without the bond of family, how could they truly be father and son? Li Er might have noticed this, but with more important things to do, how could he stop for a son, or give up his beliefs to repair the already weak family ties? So Li Er couldn't give Li Kuan what he wanted. Even on Blackstone Mountain, the moment of fatherly love he felt was quickly washed away by time, returning to a state of indifference.

As for the others, there was no need to mention them. Li Chenggan was hostile towards him, Li Ke was just an acquaintance, Li Tai only wanted his poetry, and Li You was afraid of him. These were not what Li Kuan wanted. In this world, the only ones who could give him what he wanted were the two little girls squatting in front of the bucket, looking at him with eager eyes.

Li Kuan made the shaved ice for Xiao Nianwei, put it in a small porcelain bowl, and gave her a small spoon, letting her sit to one side and eat slowly. Then he said to Li Lizhi, who was still staring at him: "Lizhi, you can't eat the shaved ice yet. Big Brother will teach you a move first. Hold it for a quarter of an hour. If you can hold it, Big Brother will continue teaching you. If you can't, you'll have to go sit with Nianwei and eat the shaved ice!"

"Like this, spread your legs slightly wider than your shoulders, bend your knees, and squat halfway. Hold your hands loosely in front of your chest, like this!" Li Kuan demonstrated a horse stance for Li Lizhi, but this time his hands were loosely held in front of his chest instead of clenched at his waist.

"That's easy." Li Lizhi copied the stance.

"Point your toes down, imagine they are gripping the ground, and lean your body slightly forward. Yes, just like that!" Li Kuan checked her stance, circling around her. Suddenly, he kicked her calf.

"Thud!" Li Lizhi fell on her bottom, but fortunately, the floor was covered with a carpet, a special feature of this wing, as the nitrate stored here couldn't get wet. Under the carpet was a layer of lime.

"Big Brother, why did you do that?" Li Lizhi was very upset, as she had followed Big Brother's instructions, but he had kicked her.

"Look at what you did. You fell over at the slightest touch. How can you practice martial arts like this? Even boxing would be impossible." Li Kuan scolded her. As a young man, Li Kuan had never been a big fan of Western boxing, thinking it was just a game of trading punches on the ring. A true martial arts expert could attack their lower body, and those so-called champions would be no match.

"What should I do then?" Li Lizhi held back her tears, got up, and asked Li Kuan.

"Like this!" Li Kuan squatted in a horse stance again: "Lizhi, try to push me over!"

"Big Brother said it, so I won't be polite!" The little girl's face lit up with excitement, forgetting her earlier frustration, and stood in front of Li Kuan with a smile.

"Lizhi is coming! Is Big Brother ready?"

"Come!" Li Kuan secretly gathered his strength, increasing the downward force.

"Ya..." Li Lizhi shouted and charged at Li Kuan, her hands outstretched, colliding with him.

Li Kuan didn't expect the little girl to come at him like that. It was completely unconventional! Moreover, over the past two years, Li Kuan had given Li Lizhi some tonics, which had greatly improved her physical condition. She was no longer as weak as before, and at seven years old, she weighed about fifty pounds. This collision directly knocked Li Kuan over. It wasn't a push, it was an Iron Mountain Lean from the Eight Extremes Fist! Li Kuan was frustrated, feeling like he had been tricked by the little girl.

Xiao Nianwei, who was eating the shaved ice, saw her brother and sister playing and rushed over with her bowl: "I want to play too!" This turned into a pile-up, with Li Kuan at the bottom, Li Lizhi on top of him, and Xiao Nianwei on top of Li Lizhi. The small bowl in Xiao Nianwei's hand was pouring melted sugar water and ice, drenching Li Kuan.

This was the third time in a few days that Li Kuan had been outsmarted by Xiao Nianwei. This little girl was his nemesis. She was lying on Li Lizhi's back, but her small hand precisely reached Li Kuan, more accurately than any electronic guidance system. Li Kuan was at a loss, wanting to scold the little girl, but each time it was an unintentional mistake, yet he felt very frustrated.

Seeing the sugar water on Li Kuan's body, Li Lizhi immediately knew she had caused trouble and tried to get up, but she had to let Xiao Nianwei get up first.

"Vei, get up quickly, you're hurting your sister!" Li Lizhi coaxed the little girl to get up.

"No, I want my sister to carry me!" Xiao Nianwei, not noticing that her shaved ice was drenching her big brother, insisted in a childish voice.

"Get up first, and I'll carry you when I stand up!" Li Lizhi, seeing Li Kuan's increasingly angry face, was a bit scared. Although Big Brother was very good to them, Xiao Nianwei had caused him a lot of trouble in the past two days. Even the best temper could be worn down, and he might explode at any moment. If he stopped telling stories, it would be a disaster.

The more Li Lizhi thought about it, the more she felt Li Kuan was about to explode, so she quickly put one hand on Li Kuan's chest to try to get up, while the other hand reached behind to hold the wriggling little girl: "Good, Vei, don't move!"

At two years old, children are very active, curious about everything, and eager to try everything. From two to five years old, they are all curious. So Li Lizhi's words not only failed to stop the little girl but made her even more excited, wriggling and laughing. The bowl of shaved ice in her hand became a small waterfall, pouring over Li Kuan's head and face.