Li Cunxu took out a red envelope from his pocket and said, "I'd like to see my grandfather. Could you please inform him?"
This red letter was left to Li Cunxu by Father Li. He told Li Cunxu that by bringing this red letter to the Li family ancestral home, he could seek his grandfather's help.
Father Li, for the sake of love, chose to be with his mother, which led to a falling out with his grandfather. They severed their father-son relationship and never interacted again.
Indeed, there was no further contact. At Father Li's funeral, his grandfather was nowhere to be seen.
Growing up, Li Cunxu had never met his grandfather even once.
The guard, upon seeing the red letter, became serious and said solemnly, "I'll inform him right away. Please come in and wait for a moment."
Seeing the guard's reaction, Li Cunxu thought to himself, "This grandfather of mine seems to have quite the status."
Li Cunxu couldn't help but feel puzzled. If his grandfather was a high-ranking member of the Li family, why did Father Li say that their branch was a sub-branch of the Sacred Lotus Li Family, with an extremely low probability of awakening the Sacred Lotus Eye?
The guard made a phone call, and after a short while, the phone rang again.
The guard said, "Please follow me."
The guard led them quite a distance before they reached their destination.
"The person you're looking for is inside."
Li Cunxu, holding his sister's hand, walked in and saw a man sitting with his back to them on a meditation cushion, elegantly sipping tea.
"Where is your father, Li Mingshi? Why didn't he come to see me himself? Is he too ashamed to face me?"
"My father passed away ten years ago."
The man was stunned for a moment, then suddenly turned around and said sharply,
"What did you say?"
Li Cunxu was startled by the man's sudden movement. To describe his turn, one could use the idiom 'eagle's gaze and wolf's glance.'
"My father passed away ten years ago. Are you my grandfather?"
"Li Mingshi is indeed my son."
When Li Cunxu saw the man's face clearly, he was shocked. How could this man be his grandfather? How could he possibly be his grandfather?
Before him was a handsome, elegant man who looked to be in his thirties or forties, with a scholarly demeanor but a faint trace of ferocity in his brow. Li Cunxu recognized who he was.
The version 5.0 and 10.0 boss—Li Shiji.
Being his grandson was no good fortune, as he had countless enemies.
Most crucially, five years later, all of Li Shiji's descendants would be slaughtered.
If he was his grandfather, then it was truly the worst luck imaginable.
No blessings to enjoy, only misfortune to endure.
If Li Cunxu had known that Li Shiji was his grandfather, he would never have allowed Li Anle to return to the Li family.
But then again, Li Cunxu thought it might be a good thing. If he hadn't known that Li Shiji was his grandfather, five years later, he wouldn't even know how he died.
Li Shiji was the most potential-filled character in the entire game, second only to the Old President. But he would only fully realize his potential after his entire family was wiped out and he turned to darkness.
The dark version of Li Shiji was virtually unkillable. Even the strongest Old President couldn't handle him, and the Outer Four Gods found him a headache.
Li Cunxu remembered a scene where the Old President commented on the dark version of Li Shiji: "Li Shiji is flawless, the best candidate for the next Alliance President. What a pity."
"What brings you here?"
Li Shiji calmly released the teacup he had crushed into powder, turned around, and spoke in a gentle tone.
Li Cunxu hesitated, unsure whether to let Li Anle return to the Li family.
Returning to the Li family would allow Li Anle to openly use the Crimson Lotus Eye, but it would also mean being dragged down by the misfortune of Li Shiji.
If he didn't return, he couldn't openly use the Crimson Lotus Eye. Moreover, their visit today had likely caught the attention of certain individuals.
Li Cunxu remembered that Li Shiji had a cunning enemy who was always lurking in the shadows, watching Li Shiji's every move.
It was this person who had caused the massacre of Li Shiji's entire family and led to Li Shiji's descent into darkness.
It wasn't until version 10.0 that Li Shiji finally managed to expose this hidden enemy.
Huh? Where did my sister go?
Looking down, he noticed that his sister had somehow hidden herself behind him, trembling with fear, her small hand clutching the hem of his clothes.
Li Anle's fear piqued Li Shiji's interest in the little girl.
Upon hearing the news of his second son, Li Mingshi's death, Li Shiji was both shocked and furious, and in his distress, he inadvertently released a trace of his aura.
Normally, ordinary people wouldn't be able to detect this aura, as the gap was too vast—like an ant trying to sense a tsunami on the other side of the planet. Li Cunxu, for instance, had no idea what was happening.
But Li Anle had sensed it, which naturally drew Li Shiji's attention.
Li Cunxu took her small hand and pulled his sister forward, saying, "My sister, Li Anle, has awakened the Sacred Lotus Eye, and it's a mutated Crimson Lotus Eye."
Li Shiji's eyes burned with intensity as he looked at Li Anle, his tone exceedingly gentle.
"Good child, show it to your grandfather."
Li Shiji was ecstatic, beyond thrilled.
Finally, someone in his family had awakened the Sacred Lotus Eye, and it was a mutated one at that.
None of Li Shiji's four children had awakened the Sacred Lotus Eye, and neither had any of their descendants.
In fact, Li Shiji's bloodline was quite distant, and the Sacred Lotus Eye's lineage had become very diluted. Many in the Li family considered it a miracle that Li Shiji himself had awakened it.
Li Shiji's dream was to establish a family as powerful as the Sacred Lotus Li Family, and to do so, the awakening of bloodline talents was essential.
Thus, he placed immense importance and hope on the awakening of the Sacred Lotus Eye in his descendants.
Li Cunxu said, "Anle, the Crimson Lotus Eye."
Li Anle's eyes blossomed with crimson lotuses.
Li Shiji exclaimed excitedly, "Good... good child."
"Is your Pupil Technique the Crimson Lotus Karma Fire and the Crimson Lotus Seed?"
Li Anle stared at Li Shiji in surprise, wondering how he knew. Did he have mind-reading abilities?
She took a cautious step back.
Li Cunxu asked, "How did you know?"
He remembered that Li Shiji didn't have mind-reading abilities. Was the information wrong?
Li Shiji replied, "The Crimson Lotus Eye once appeared in our family."
"Appeared? Then why did it disappear?"
Li Shiji sighed, "They brought it upon themselves. They relied on the Crimson Lotus Karma Fire to stir up trouble everywhere."
"Didn't you say your father, Li Mingshi, died ten years ago? Is your sister ten years old?"
Li Shiji noticed that Li Anle seemed too young, only three or four years old, while Li Cunxu had mentioned that Li Mingshi had died ten years ago.
There was a contradiction here.
If his father had died ten years ago, how could he have a three or four-year-old sister? Could it be that his sister was even more extraordinary than Nezha, gestating for six or seven years before being born?
Li Cunxu said, "Anle is thirteen years old this year."
On the tea table, the tea pet, the Gold-Panning Toad, secretly opened its eyes. This little girl was thirteen?
Li Cunxu added, "Her awakened talent is Rejuvenation."
Li Anle tilted her head to look at Li Cunxu. This wasn't the story they had agreed upon earlier. Wasn't it supposed to be that she had accidentally eaten some wild berries and that's why she had shrunk?
Li Cunxu blinked at Li Anle and then slightly shook his head.
He meant that she shouldn't reveal
her innate ability of Resurrection Immortality.
No one else knew that Li Anle possessed Resurrection Immortality, and it could save her life at a critical moment, especially since staying by Li Shiji's side was too dangerous.