A Good-for-Nothing

235. Chil…Child? (I)

Translator: Dragon Rider

For generations, the Li family had been dwelling in a residential district designated for servicemen’s dependents, and Li Tiangang was proud of the military origins of his family, so although afterwards the Li family’s business had thrived, Old Master Li had been living in that small two-story building all along and never moved house.

Li Zong drove into the residential district for servicemen’s dependents. On the two sides of the road were some retired generals, who were acquainted with Li Zong and greeted him.

When he walked inside, Old Master Li was lying in a bamboo deckchair, fanning himself with a big cattail leaf fan to cool down.

The whole two-story building was quiet. There was nobody else in.

On hearing the sound, Li Tiangang who was half asleep opened his eyes, and then, at the sight of Li Zong walking in, he gave a start and hurried out of the deckchair. “What brings you back here?”

Li Tiangang used the honorific form of “you”, and his tone of voice was not the kind a grandfather would normally have used when talking to his grandson.

“Nothing special. You may lie down, and you don’t have to use any honorific.”

Li Tiangang was wearing a loose white undershirt. He put down his cattail leaf fan and slightly lowered his head. “It’s hot, so I lay there for a while.”

“There’s no need for you to be so polite,” said Li Zong, inwardly heaving a sigh.

Reservedly standing on the side, Li Tiangang gave a smile. “Being polite to you when there’s no outsider present is what I should do. As your family servant, I ought to be deeply grateful to you for your kindness.”

Li Zong waved his hand in the knowledge that he wouldn’t be able to outdebate him.

Li Tiangang was acting in a way totally different from the one in which he’d act in front of Li Zong in outsiders’ presence. He gingerly tossed a glance at Li Zong and lowered his voice. “How come you have the time to come here today? Is it because something happened and you need me to intervene?”

Li Tiangang and Li Zong only met once or twice every year. All outsiders believed that Li Tiangang was Li Zong’s grandfather, but he himself was fully aware that he’d still been teething when his father met Li Zong, that if it weren’t for Li Zong’s protection, the Li family would have long since been exterminated during the war time. Just because Li Zong respected him didn’t mean that he could forget the debt of gratitude he owed Li Zong.

Li Tiangang had known since childhood that Li Zong was his master as well as the Li family’s guardian angel. Li Zong had witnessed the birth and death of several generations.

During all these years he’d spent with Li Zong, Li Tiangang had grown from a naive boy into a responsible young man, an ambitious middle-aged one and eventually a hoary-haired old one. His attitude towards Li Zong had also changed as he grew older. At first he’d admired Li Zong and fantasized about having the same powers, and now, from time to time, Li Tiangang had this feeling that Li Zong was really his grandson, one who needed his protection.

The only thing that had never changed was his loyalty to Li Zong.

“There’s indeed something I need to deal with.” Li Zong sketchily filled him in on the Demonic Seed.

Li Tiangang furrowed his brows in spite of himself and said worriedly, “Then He Zheng…”

“He Zheng is under my protection, and nobody would dare do anything to him.” With a thoughtful look on his face, Li Zong added, “It’s the Demonic Seed that concerns me.”

Though having never got involved in any of these matters, Li Tiangang had been paying attention to what the Supernaturalism Management Bureau (SMB) had been working on. He asked, “Are you capable of handling the power contained in the Demonic Seed?”

“I have a sixty-percent chance of overpowering it.”

The odds were in Li Zong’s favor, but Li Tiangang clearly became more worried. Li Zong was so powerful, but he actually had merely a sixty-percent chance of winning this fight.

Li Zong opened his hand and with that a flame popped out of thin air above his palm. The tongue of the flame was crimson, and the core platinum. What with the scorching heat it was giving off, the temperature of the air in the room abruptly rose considerably.

“My powers are declining,” said Li Zong, sounding as nonchalant as though he were commenting on today’s weather.

However, Li Tiangang’s countenance changed drastically at this remark of Li Zong’s. “How’s that possible? It’s not supposed to happen so soon, is it? There should be at least several decades left.”

“I gave the Phoenix Plume to He Zheng and also broke the intactness of the dragon blood in me, which speeded up the decline.”

Li Tiangang’s eyes widened so dramatically that it seemed as if their sockets would crack. “You…”

“On the top of Danxue Hill perches a bird, which looks like a chicken and has iridescent feathers. It’s called a phoenix.” (a quotation from The Classic of Mountains and Rivers, a Chinese mythological book.)

Li Zong flipped his hand and the Karma flame in his palm disappeared. Without the slightest change of his facial expression, he said, “There are very few ancient unique beasts left in this world. I was born out of the vital essence of a dragon and a phoenix. Like all other ancient unique beasts, I rely on spiritual energy to live. As the spiritual energy in this world thins, my powers have been declining perpetually. Currently, my powers are only one tenth of what I had when I was in my prime.”

“Then…what should we do?” asked Li Tiangang. Previously he’d been mostly in the dark about Li Zong’s origins and totally unaware of why Li Zong’s powers would decline. It was after hearing Li Zong’s explanation that he came to understand what was going on exactly.

“Actually an entity like me should long ago have perished during a calamity brought by the Divine Law. The reason why I’ve extended my lifespan through rebirth so many times is because I’ve been waiting for my destiny. It has never shown up during the past several millenniums.

But in this incarnation, it came to me.”

A smile lightly curled the corners of Li Zong’s mouth. Although He Zheng was not in this room, he was always in his mind.

Looking at him, Li Tiangang tentatively asked, “The one you’ve been waiting for all this time is He Zheng?”

“Yes,” replied Li Zong. Since there was no outsider present, Li Zong revealed his dual pupils, which were golden in color and made him seem incomparably charming. However, the expression in his eyes lent him an earthly air, making him look less unapproachable.

On hearing these words, Li Tiangang gave a gasp of relief, his face etched with a hint of delight. “Congratulations.”

And then he inquired, “This time around, you came here because…”

“Because of the Zhu family. Old Master Zhu is kin to He Zheng. I need you to do something for me.”

Li Tiangang’s face grew serious. “Tell me what it is and consider it done.”