Douluo: Law of Heaven and Earth

Chapter 964 Lu Qibin's Past - Extra Chapter 25: Li Zhao
"Hmm~"

When the girl in Edward's arms woke up and saw that her parents were nowhere to be seen, and that the sun had already set, she rubbed her eyes and asked, "Uncle Edward, where are my mom and dad? Did they go up the mountain to look at the stars again?"

"no···"

Edward didn't know how to tell a five-year-old girl about this. After thinking it over, he decided to coax her first and said, "Li Zhao, your parents went to the city to buy rice. They'll be back tomorrow. Go to sleep now."

"Oh." Li Zhao yawned again, sat on the bed, covered himself with the quilt that had been patched and mended several times, and fell asleep in no time.

Young children are naturally prone to sleepiness, especially since the harvest was poor that year and the Li family had little surplus grain. Although the two had some savings, most of it was spent on things like writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones. Moreover, the two could not openly go to nearby cities to purchase supplies... Therefore, Li Zhao could only drink two bowls of rice porridge a day, and for the rest of the time, he could only relieve his hunger by sleeping.

Early the next morning.

Before the sun had even risen in the east, Li Zhao got up early and went to the village entrance to wait for his parents.

Edward left the villagers he trusted to watch over Li Zhao for the time being, while he himself ran towards the mountain peak to try and find any trace of Li Jiang and his wife.

only!

When he arrived, he saw two corpses and bloodstains on the ground, with an old man standing nearby with lifeless eyes.

Hearing the noise, Engineer Li's lifeless eyes turned towards him, and he asked, "Who are you?"

"I...I'm just an ordinary person, please don't kill me!" Edward dared not run away, and knelt down in the pool of blood, kowtowing repeatedly.

[That old man is ruthless! He even killed his own son and daughter-in-law! I can't die! So, I absolutely can't run! I can't run!]

"Ordinary people?"

Snapped!
Just as Li Gong opened his mouth, a small bag fell from Edward's chest. It was the storage soul tool that Li Gong and his wife had given him.

Li Gong, with his sharp eyes, immediately went over, picked it up, and a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes. He asked, "Do you recognize my son?"

"I know him! I know him!"

Edward dared not hide it.

"How did we meet?"

"I'm a refugee here. I'm strong, and Mr. and Mrs. Li took me in... I only helped carry tools. I can't even read a single word, and I have no idea what they're researching. Please spare me! I still have... I still have a daughter!"

Edward initially wanted to say that it was the daughter of Li Jiang and his wife, but then he thought that since Li Jiang could kill his son and daughter-in-law, he might kill his granddaughter as well. Therefore, if he said that Li Jiang and his wife had a daughter, they might also kill her, and his chances of survival would be even smaller.

Therefore, he claimed that Li Zhao was his daughter!
Ultimately, however, it was all for his own life!

Li Zhao was also his bargaining chip at this moment, hoping that the person in front of him could have a change of heart.

He's gambling!

"Are you Elder Xu Ming's servant from the Star Crown Sect?" Li Gong examined the storage soul tool and found stargazing data and fifty gold soul coins inside. He asked abruptly.

"..."

Edward didn't know how to answer, so he decided to take another gamble and said, "Yes! I am Elder Xu's servant!"

"It really is you! I didn't expect that old man to be so restless even after death, sending you to find my son and daughter-in-law," Li Gong said quietly.

"Logically, killing you would be the safest option. But—"

"That's all."

Looking at the two corpses on the ground, Engineer Li sighed, as if he had aged ten years. "Bury them here, and if you swear never to leave this area for the rest of your life, I will spare your life."

The Stargazing and Earthly Stars theory is only forbidden within the Star Crown Sect; whether this servant lives or dies is irrelevant.

Besides that, Li Gong's son and daughter-in-law committed suicide in front of him for the sake of the Earth and Stars—this shock was far more devastating than Li Yang's suicide by poison or Xu Ming's self-inflicted heart attack! After all, Li Gong was his own son, who was connected to him by blood! Even though he was a Soul Emperor, he was still shaken by such a blow, and even became at a loss... He needed to calm down.

"Yes! Yes! I will definitely give them a proper burial! After all, they are my benefactors!" Edward hurriedly agreed.

He would bury such a person even if they didn't give the order.

“There’s one thing you need to be careful about: you can’t let anyone else know that my son is buried here. I don’t want anyone to disturb their bodies.” Li Gong turned around, about to leave, but then remembered that Li Yang’s grave had been dug up by Xu Ming, so he stopped and added, “You will be the grave keeper for my son and daughter-in-law in Lanke Village. Every March, I will have my disciple come here to give you money. You won’t be able to visit for free.”

"Yes!"

Edward immediately agreed.

When he looked up again, Li Gong had vanished, leaving only fifty gold soul coins stained with the blood of Li Gong and his wife on the ground...

···
"teacher!"

Upon seeing Li Gong return to Lanke Village, Lu Qibin hurriedly ran after him.

Where is Li Ming?

I brought Li Ming out this time with the intention of introducing her to my parents and persuading them, but I never expected that they would turn their backs on me.

Is the so-called theory of Earth and stars really that important?

He didn't know.

But he knew he absolutely couldn't upset his granddaughter right now.

She was at the village entrance.

"Let's go back."

Lu Qibin realized that Li Jiang and his wife must have had a conflict with his teacher, but since it was his teacher's family matter, he couldn't get involved.

At the village entrance, Li Ming was pinching Li Zhao's cheek. He felt a sense of familiarity with the little girl and couldn't resist teasing her: "Little sister, where are you from?"

"People from Rotten Axe Village." Li Zhao slapped Li Ming's hand away and rolled her eyes, clearly disdainful of the pretty older sister beside her.

“Haha, that’s really funny.”

Li Ming wanted to tease the petite girl a little longer, but then he heard his grandfather's voice behind him: "Li Ming, let's go back."

"Where are my parents?" Li Ming didn't see his parents and saw his grandfather's ugly face, so he had the same guess as Lu Qibin.

"They're gone, and they'll never come back." Engineer Li didn't want to be too blunt.

"Really? What irresponsible parents." Li Ming didn't know what to say about her parents' situation, but she felt a sense of relief, as she herself didn't know how to face her parents whom she hadn't seen for many years...
···
As dawn broke in the east, Edward returned to the village entrance and met Li Zhao, who was already waiting there.

"Uncle Edward, where are my mom and dad?" Li Zhao ran over and asked.

"Your father and mother... went to a very far place and will never come back."

Edward dared not let such a young girl face the truth, but considering Li Jiang's instructions, he gritted his teeth and took out the fifty gold soul coins, wrapped them in a handkerchief that Li Zhao's mother often used, and handed them over, saying, "This is the only wealth they left you."

Holding the fifty gold soul coins, young Li Zhao seemed to understand something, and burst into tears.

At this moment, the sun was rising in the east, shining on Li Zhao—

But Li Zhao found the sunlight particularly dazzling!
"Don't cry, don't cry, you'll get hungry even faster." Edward wanted to hug her, but not wanting to affect her too much, she could only extend her hand and say, "Hold my hand, let's go home. Uncle Edward will live with you from now on..."

(End of this chapter)