The Name of Eternals

Chapter 30: Two Saints and the Little Mouse

Once he had an idea, Li Hao immediately took action.

He asked Uncle Zhao to prepare paints, ink, brushes, and paper for him. After finishing the daily fishing trip with the old man, Li Hao requested permission from the old man to return to his own Shanhuyuan for some rest.

Li Muxiu didn't comment much on this. His approach to nurturing Li Hao was more of a laissez-faire one.

Although Li Hao showed exceptional talent in body cultivation, he didn't force Li Hao to train diligently every day. If Li Hao wanted to seek advice, he would earnestly provide guidance. If Li Hao didn't want to, he would simply take the young boy around to enjoy the mountains and rivers and do some wild fishing.

...

At Shanhuyuan, in the vast courtyard.

Li Hao had two small stools brought over, one taller than the other. He adopted the stance of an art student, beginning to paint on the paper set up before him.

Uncle Zhao earnestly tried to dissuade him, but Li Hao ignored him. Faced with this young master who seemed bent on idling his time away, Uncle Zhao felt completely helpless and could only leave the matter to Li Fu.

Li Hao had long since figured out how to deal with Li Fu. He showcased the second level of the Flood Dragon Body before him.

Li Fu was stunned and suspected he was seeing things. After asking Li Hao to perform it again and confirming what he saw the second time, the man was moved to tears with excitement.

He assumed it was due to the cultivation and guidance from the second uncle that Li Hao had managed to master the second level of this powerful body cultivation technique in less than a month. While he was grateful to the second uncle, he was also thrilled and excited about Li Hao's body cultivation talent.

Such talent far surpassed mastering the Bull Strength technique in three months and was undoubtedly a top-tier body cultivation genius.

Seeing how wildly excited Li Fu was, Li Hao was secretly relieved he hadn't performed the third level of the Hundred Flood Dragon Body in front of him. Not everyone could have the vision and composure of the old man.

As part of the deal, Li Hao promised Li Fu he would diligently train with the second uncle, provided he didn't interfere when he was doing other things.

This promise delighted Li Fu, but it also left him a bit worried. Li Hao's talent for body cultivation was so impressive that Li Fu wished Li Hao would spend every waking moment training, except for eating and sleeping. This was the only way to catch up with those geniuses with ninth-class battle bodies. But Li Hao's laid-back attitude left him feeling helpless.

After a long tug-of-war, Li Fu finally gave in to Li Hao's wishes.

So Li Hao started painting openly in the courtyard.

With every brush stroke, words appeared before his eyes.

[Art Path: 0 Segment (1/100)]

It worked as expected.

Li Hao smiled with satisfaction and began to paint freely.

With experience in the paths of chess and fishing, Li Hao guessed that the better he painted, the more experience he would gain.

Therefore, he didn't paint casually but rather approached it more seriously.

However, in his previous life, he was a businessman steeped in the ways of commerce for decades. He knew nothing about painting.

Though he did know a bit about girls who could paint…

For his first painting, Li Hao chose a portrait sketch and picked the most beautiful maid in the courtyard to stand before the easel.

Then, with confidence, he started drawing. For the human figure, he drew a circle, then a vertical line, then a stroke to the left, another to the right, followed by another stroke to the left and one to the right.

Hmm, it needed some hair.

Done!

[Art Path Experience +1]

Wow, painting is indeed difficult.

Li Hao smiled wryly.

Nearby, Uncle Zhao peeked at the canvas, asking in confusion, "Young master, what is this you're painting?"

"Can't you see? It's a person!" Li Hao replied, a bit embarrassed and angry.

"This doesn't look like…" Uncle Zhao was puzzled.

Li Hao retorted, "You say it doesn't look like one, right? That's because you didn't grasp the essence. See this circle? You think it's a head? No, it represents smoothness. And this vertical line? You think it's the body? No, it signifies that if a person wants to stand tall, they must be a bit smoother, Uncle Zhao. You still have a lot to learn, don't be so blunt!"

"Huh, isn't that hair on top of the circle?"

"Nope, well, yes and no. It's hair, but it's also ideals!"

"Ideals?"

Li Hao explained nonchalantly, "Ideals sitting on one's head makes sense, right? Lush hair is many people's ideal, which also makes sense, right?"

"??" Uncle Zhao was utterly baffled.

After some nonsense explanations, Li Hao continued painting.

Watching Li Hao draw dozens of pictures, all looking more or less the same, with the pretty maid standing in as background, Uncle Zhao and Li Fu exchanged puzzled glances… What was the point of having the maid stand there?

Clearly, the young master had no talent for painting. It couldn't compare to his skills in chess.

But since it was just a diversion from martial arts, they didn't bother too much.

Li Hao painted swiftly, and soon, the ground was littered with discarded papers. Before long, he accumulated a hundred points of experience.

All gained one by one, bit by bit. Li Hao felt quite exhausted.

[Art Path Advanced to 1 Segment]

[Skill Point +1]

As the prompt appeared, a rush of insights about art flooded his mind. Li Hao closed his eyes briefly to digest it all, suddenly aware of how much of a novice he had been.

He picked up the brush again, and this time his strokes seemed to carry a divine aura. Very quickly, a graceful and charming figure emerged on the paper.

Li Fu and Uncle Zhao, who had been idly glancing around, were suddenly stunned, their eyes wide with disbelief.

Before long, Li Hao lightly dotted the lips with a brush and added color with the paint, and instantly a lifelike beauty stood vividly on the canvas.

[Art Path Experience +13]

Li Hao couldn't help but feel delighted; indeed, the more detailed and exquisite the painting, the more experience he gained.

Finally, he could say he knew how to paint.

"Young master, you…" Uncle Zhao stared blankly at the painting. From drawing those crude stick figures to suddenly achieving this level?

Could it be the young master was a prodigy, mastering it in a matter of moments?

Or was he pretending before?

Or… maybe those stick figures were indeed "profound" as the young master said?

His previous knowledge felt severely challenged.

"Basic stuff, nothing to fuss about," Li Hao replied casually.

Uncle Zhao didn't understand, but it didn't stop him from being deeply shocked.

Li Hao continued to paint several more pictures. As he grew more familiar, he had Li Fu and Uncle Zhao stand as models and painted each a portrait. The portraits showed lively expressions, one with a weathered but kind look, the other stern with a hint of awkwardness, looking aside, vivid and lifelike.

Seeing their completed portraits, both had mixed emotions.

The young master's talents were rare indeed; if he were born into a family of civil officials, he would surely be treasured.

But alas, this was the Divine General's Residence, born to defend Dayu from enemies.

Once the ink dried, both men carefully rolled up their portraits, handling them with great care.

They would remember that when the young master was seven, he painted a picture of them.

It was the first time in their lives they received portraits of themselves.

...

...

Time passed quickly, and half a year later.

On the peaceful shores of the Blackwater Demon Lake, three figures sat fishing, spaced about a dozen meters apart, two old and one young.

The young one, of course, was Li Hao. Besides Li Muxiu, the other old man was Li Muxiu's fishing buddy, whom Li Hao heard the old man introduce as the Thief Saint, with the amusing name Feng Boping.

According to the Thief Saint, he chose this name not because he acted only when the wind and waves were calm, but because after he acted, everything was still calm.

While fishing, Li Muxiu enjoyed telling Li Hao stories about the Thief Saint's exploits, finding they indeed fit his name.

Many powers that were robbed by the Thief Saint only realized their treasures were missing months or even years later.

Often, they couldn't detect anything amiss at first, leaving them with no clues about who had stolen from them, when it happened, or even if it was an inside job…

With his skills hidden and name intact, seeking treasures among the people, this was the Thief Saint Feng Boping.

On the shore, Li Hao skillfully set up a large pot, cleaning the freshly caught demon fish and preparing it for cooking while occasionally glancing at his fishing float.

The other end of his fishing rod was secured to the shore with a rope threaded through a large stone. If anything happened, he would have time to respond.

At this moment, Li Hao used his sword to handle the demon fish's entrails, moving with practiced ease.

By now, both Li Muxiu and the Thief Saint were accustomed to this. Although it was merely dealing with fish meat, they could see that Li Hao had exceptional talent in swordsmanship. Li Muxiu had even mocked Jian Wudao for being blind to a real treasure when he first saw Li Hao wielding a sword.

Feng Boping, the Thief Saint, took a great liking to this little fellow who loved fishing and was unfazed by his sensitive identity. He even promised earnestly to search for miracle medicines to help Li Hao open his meridians.

Soon, the white fish meat was cooking.

Li Hao added some cilantro and chili to the pot, and the fragrant, spicy aroma quickly spread, drawing frequent glances from the two old men on the shore.

Their lines extended deep into the lake, barely visible, and even lacked a fishing float. They could sense the movements through the lines alone.

"Gentlemen, it will be ready to eat in three minutes," Li Hao said with a smile.

Having spent so much time together, Li Hao began calling Li Muxiu "Second Grandpa" and Feng Boping "Old Feng." In turn, they gave Li Hao a nickname they believed to be vivid and fitting:

Little Mouse.