246: Chapter 246 Old Li with Faint Eyes

"This… a class reunion?" Li Fengxu felt it hard to accept for a moment after reading the message Chen Mo sent to her grandfather.

It wasn't that a martial arts Grandmaster couldn't attend a class reunion, but such gatherings were generally scheduled in advance and unlikely to be spontaneous. In other words, this Grandmaster Chen Mo knew about the class reunion today, yet specifically chose noon today to deliver the medicine. And then, he didn't even keep to the agreed-upon time, choosing to go to that class reunion instead?

Li Fengxu still held a considerable amount of respect for Chen Mo, but upon learning that he had personally promised to arrive at the Sanatorium within half an hour, only to turn around and attend his class reunion, she found it hard to accept. For a dignified martial arts Grandmaster to commit such a shameless breach of promise left Li Fengxu feeling quite uncomfortable.

Li Tianming was visibly stunned after seeing the message Chen Mo sent on Li Dequan's phone screen, and only then did he say with a chuckle, "This Grandmaster Chen is certainly quite busy." Although Li Tianming still wore his signature, very amiable smile as he said this, one could already hear the deep dissatisfaction in his tone.

"Well, since that's the case," Li Tianming paused, the smile on his face fading significantly. After thinking for a moment, he brought up the main point, "I have some matters to attend to, so I won't be able to stay here with you, Father, and Xiao Xu to wait for Grandmaster Chen. I am very regretful that I won't be able to meet Grandmaster Chen, but I will definitely visit him in person when I have time."

As he spoke, Li Tianming made a motion to rise, his hands pressing against his knees and his bottom lifting slightly off the stool. He was clearly about to say his goodbyes and leave, but Li Dequan stopped him just in time, "What's the rush? Sit back down."

Hearing Li Dequan say this, Li Tianming's face piled back into a smile, and he asked with a chuckle, "Do you have any other instructions, Father?" Although he said this, Li Tianming still maintained his posture, knees slightly lifted and bottom off the stool, clearly having no intention of staying behind to wait for that so-called martial arts Grandmaster.

Seeing that Li Tianming clearly lacked the patience to stay and wait for Chen Mo's arrival, Li Dequan had no choice but to sigh heavily and tell him the truth, "Tianming, the reason I asked you to come today isn't just so you could meet Grandmaster Chen and leave a good impression; it's not that simple."

"Oh? Then why did you ask me to come, Father?" Li Tianming sat back down with a feigned expression of curiosity and confusion, looking at his old man with an extremely serious face, though in his heart, he didn't take it seriously at all.

"Actually, it's like this. About a week ago, I gave my dilapidated Fist Technique to Grandmaster Chen and asked him to help me improve it. I didn't hold very high expectations, but just yesterday, Grandmaster Chen sent me the improved Fist Technique manual. After reading it, I realized that this wasn't just an improvement; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say it was a rebirth, a complete recreation of a Cultivation Technique!" Li Dequan said this, and even though it happened yesterday and his excitement had been somewhat diluted by the passage of the night, he still couldn't help but be very agitated when mentioning it now. It was clear how extraordinary this Tai Chi manual, improved and perfected by Chen Mo, was to him.

Li Tianming hadn't cared much initially, but upon hearing Li Dequan's words, he was shocked, "Father, you gave your Fist Technique to someone else?!"

In reality, he didn't care about Fist Techniques or martial arts. Otherwise, given his current status in the Jianghu, it wouldn't be difficult to collect a few genuine martial arts Secret Manuals to practice. It was just that traditional martial arts required ten or twenty years of hard work to see any results, and even those results might not be useful in modern society. Compared to money and power, it was simply a useless burden.

Of course, as the eldest son of the Li family, Li Tianming knew perfectly well that the reputation their family enjoyed in Jiangnan was inseparable from his old man's Fist Technique manual. So, upon hearing how easily Li Dequan had handed over the manual to someone else, Li Tianming even forgot to keep his habitual smile on his face. He asked, incredibly shocked and subconsciously, "Why didn't you stop your grandfather?" Seeing Li Dequan slowly nod in confirmation, Li Tianming was stunned for a second or two before turning to stare at Li Fengxu, lowering his voice, "Why didn't you stop your grandfather?" In his view, even if Li Dequan was senile and had been completely swindled by Chen Mo into willingly handing over the manual, Li Fengxu was still young and not stupid; why didn't she know to stop the old man?

Before Li Fengxu could speak, Li Dequan spoke first, "Tianming, calm down. You haven't had any contact with Grandmaster Chen, so you question my decision to give the manual to him. But in reality, the value of this manual is only for ordinary people like us who lack a complete Legacy. To a true Grandmaster, this kind of incomplete manual has no great significance beyond a little reference value. So, even if I wanted to use this manual to trade for a favor from Grandmaster Chen, I had to consider whether he would be willing to accept it. Fortunately, Grandmaster Chen is magnanimous; not only did he accept this manual, he even spared no effort to perfect and improve it. It is truly moving."

As Li Dequan spoke and Li Tianming listened, he found the whole thing more and more absurd, 'You gave such a precious Cultivation Technique to someone else, yet you have to thank them for not minding accepting it, praise them for being magnanimous, and find it moving? Isn't this just being completely brainwashed?'

By the end, Li Tianming didn't want to say anything more, because looking at the situation, Li Dequan had already been completely brainwashed by that kid named Chen Mo. At this point, nothing could shake him. Li Tianming simply stopped hoping to make his old man see the true face of that swindler and instead just went along with Li Dequan's words, "Then this Grandmaster Chen is truly kind-hearted and has high moral integrity, and his martial arts attainments are also quite remarkable. To be able to create a brand new Cultivation Technique based on an incomplete manual—remarkable, truly remarkable. I must visit him when I have the chance."

Hearing Li Tianming's sarcastic tone, Li Dequan understood perfectly well that his eldest son hadn't taken a word of what he just said seriously. Li Dequan shook his head, sighed softly, calmed his emotions, and said to Li Tianming, "Tianming, listen to me. Your father isn't senile yet. After Grandmaster Chen improved this incomplete Tai Chi manual of mine, not only did he complete the Moves and practice methods, but it also won't cause any hidden injuries to the body. More importantly, the improved Tai Chi is simple, easy to understand, and easy to pick up. Furthermore, practicing it is entirely beneficial to the body and has no drawbacks. That's why I thought of calling you over. While Grandmaster Chen is coming to deliver medicine today, you can show your face, say a few good words to him, and beg for the qualifications to practice this Cultivation Technique. Even if you don't become a martial arts master, it will at least serve to strengthen your body. This is a good thing for you that money cannot buy."

Li Dequan explained his considerations exactly as they were.

Since moving into this Sanatorium, his contact with his son had decreased significantly. However, with his keen eye, it wasn't hard to see that his eldest son, Li Tianming, was physically weak and suffering from severe depletion of Qi and blood. It was clear at a glance that he had been leading a dissolute life outside, injuring his body's Foundation with alcohol, lust, wealth, and anger. No matter how much money he spent on supplements, it would only treat the symptoms and not the root cause; he couldn't fully restore his depleted body's Foundation. At this rate, while it might not lead to him having to bury his own child, given Li Tianming's current physical state compared to an ideal healthy state, it wasn't impossible that he would lose ten years of his life. Therefore, after obtaining the improved Tai Chi manual, Li Dequan thought of his eldest son. Even if, with Li Tianming's lazy nature—fishing for three days and drying nets for two—he certainly wouldn't learn any real skills, practicing it long-term to recuperate his body and living ten years longer was entirely possible. Thus, Li Dequan didn't consider having Li Tianming inherit the family business or promote traditional martial arts; just for the sake of strengthening his body, he couldn't let him leave like this.

After hearing these words from Li Dequan, Li Tianming couldn't help but be moved. Because regardless of whether this improved Fist Technique was reliable or not, the fact that the old man could care about him like this in his heart stirred a bit of emotion within him.

However, at this moment, Li Tianming also had some doubts in his heart. According to the information about Chen Mo he had obtained from Li Dequan, that guy was completely just a teenage Jianghu swindler who hadn't even finished college. And he wasn't just an ordinary Jianghu swindler, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to keep Li Dequan, Li Fengxu, and even Xiao Wu in the palm of his hand.

But the point that made Li Tianming doubt was that things like identity and background could be faked. As for martial arts, even someone who didn't know martial arts could display abilities beyond ordinary people through some special props and techniques. But the Cultivation Technique itself didn't seem like it could be faked, right? Even if Chen Mo's swindling skills were superb, he couldn't just create a Cultivation Technique out of thin air.

Moreover, his old man spoke so logically and clearly, which meant he had obviously read this improved Cultivation Technique carefully at least once. Even if the old man was old and senile, his uninterrupted practice over these years had long since ingrained the Moves from his incomplete Fist Technique into his bones, becoming something akin to a body's instinctive reaction. From this, it was conceivable that even if Li Dequan's martial arts attainments hadn't reached the peak, he wasn't someone who could be easily fooled by just anyone. That being said, could it be that there was actually something to that improved Fist Technique manual his old man had obtained?

At this moment, Li Tianming was a little shaken. However, no matter how mystical Li Dequan made it sound, if he didn't see it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe it no matter what. "Father, you say the manual perfected by Grandmaster Chen is so powerful, can you let me take a look at it?" Li Tianming said, looking at Li Dequan with a chuckle.

Looking at the signature amiable smile on Li Tianming's face, Li Dequan couldn't help but sigh. He was wholeheartedly looking out for his son, yet his son was full of suspicion, acting as if he would walk away immediately if he didn't get to see the manual. Truly, the hearts of parents are pitiful.

Li Dequan shook his head, but still operated his Huaniu phone, carefully copying a small segment of the electronic version of the Fist Technique manual that Chen Mo had sent him, pasting it into a newly created notepad, and held the phone up to show this text to Li Tianming.

The reason Li Dequan went through so much trouble was that no one knows a son better than his father. Although he was wholeheartedly looking out for his eldest son, he also knew that his eldest son hadn't received a proper education since childhood, and his character couldn't be completely trusted. If he showed him the complete content of the electronic Fist Technique manual, there was no guarantee that after seeing it, he wouldn't quietly memorize all the content and then secretly practice it himself. Although the possibility of this happening was small, it wasn't zero. Therefore, to prevent such an occurrence that would ruin his Li family's reputation, Li Dequan simply nipped the possibility in the bud from the beginning.

Li Tianming leaned in towards the phone screen. At first, his face wore an expression of seriousness, but after reading two lines, his brows furrowed. Because it was written entirely in vernacular Chinese, the choice of words had no level of sophistication at all; where was there any resemblance to a martial arts Secret Manual? After scanning the entire passage of text, Li Tianming's brows furrowed even deeper. Because in his view, this so-called Cultivation Technique text was completely like a primary school student's stream-of-consciousness essay. If one could learn martial arts by relying on this thing, then perhaps the whole street would be full of Martial Forest masters!

Li Tianming moved his gaze away from that primary school essay-like text with great disdain, sized up Li Dequan, and sighed inwardly, 'Sigh, the old man is truly old; he could actually be so completely hoodwinked by such a thing.'

Thinking of this, Li Tianming said with a bitter smile, "Alright, whether this Fist Technique manual is real or fake, I can't tell, but it doesn't matter anyway. Even if it's powerful, I don't have time to practice it. Besides, with modern medicine so advanced, if there really is any problem with the body, going to the hospital is more reliable than anything else; there's no need to mess with these things. I have some matters here, so I won't stay any longer. I'll come to visit you another day. Oh, right, and that Grandmaster Chen Mo, I will also pay a visit when I have time another day. Alright, Father, that's it, I have things to do, so I'm leaving first." Li Tianming said, standing up, said goodbye to Li Dequan, waved to Li Fengxu, and then turned and walked downstairs.

Listening to the sound of Li Tianming's footsteps going down the stairs, Li Dequan put down his phone and sighed heavily, but Li Fengxu couldn't help but laugh out loud...

Li Tianming went downstairs and walked to the road outside the courtyard, where his driver and car were waiting. Li Tianming opened the car door, sat in, and casually instructed the driver, "Go to Huanghe Road."