After his subordinate left, Li Dingtian looked at the pen holder on his desk. He listened to the thunder and rain outside, twisting the Storage Ring on his finger as he muttered to himself.
’That creature isn’t very brave. The battle from over a decade ago scared it witless. If it were acting on its own, it wouldn’t dare provoke me again.
The fact that it now dares to stir up trouble means someone must be egging it on. But who could it be?’
TAP, TAP, TAP...
A set of light footsteps sounded from the hallway. Despite the thunder, lightning, and pouring rain outside, Li Dingtian’s power was such that he could still distinguish the footsteps from the cacophony and even tell there were two people.
A moment later, two figures appeared at the study’s entrance.
Unlike the man with the saber from before, these two didn’t pause at the door to wait for permission. They walked right in, which showed that their status was anything but ordinary.
"Dad." Li Qian, who had spirited-looking, shoulder-length hair, carried a tray in her hands. She followed her mother into the study, called out to Li Dingtian who was sitting in his chair, and then placed the tray on the desk.
"My lord, I made some white fungus and lotus seed soup. You should have it while it’s hot!" said Zhao Xin, a buxom woman with a noble and elegant air, smiling at her husband.
Li Dingtian watched as his daughter picked up a bowl of the soup from the tray and placed it in front of him. He nodded, then picked up the spoon and took a sip of the soup his wife had made.
"How is it? Does it taste alright?" Zhao Xin asked with a smile.
"Your white fungus and lotus seed soup has always been delicious," Li Dingtian praised.
"Dad, on our way to the study, Mom and I ran into a hurried-looking Commander Liu. Did you give him an important mission?" Li Qian asked, a little curious.
Li Dingtian, who had been chatting with his wife, heard his daughter’s question and said with a smile, "So you noticed."
"Of course! With Commander Liu’s composed nature, for him to look so anxious, he must have received some important mission from you, Dad..." Li Qian reasoned.
Li Dingtian thought for a moment before saying to his daughter, "The huge storm from the day before yesterday and the one today... neither were natural occurrences..."
"Huh?" Li Qian was stunned. "Not natural? Then what happened? Who created these two storms?"
"A Mutant Beast."
"..." Li Qian didn’t interrupt, waiting for her father’s explanation.
Li Dingtian then explained to his daughter that he had sent people to investigate the cause of the torrential rains and that they had traced it back to a Mutant Beast.
If an ordinary person heard that a Mutant Beast had ill intentions toward Dongwu City, they would surely be terrified. Li Qian, however, showed no signs of unease.
Li Qian was the daughter of the city lord, after all. She was worldly, with a perspective far beyond that of an ordinary person. After hearing her father’s account, she felt no great worry, but rather a deep-seated interest. Her confidence stemmed from knowing her omnipotent father could undoubtedly foil whatever schemes the malevolent Mutant Beast was plotting.
"Dad, you sent Commander Liu to give that troublesome Mutant Beast a taste of its own medicine. What’s the specific plan?"
Li Dingtian smiled faintly, deciding to be mysterious. He didn’t directly explain how he would give the Mutant Beast a taste of its own medicine. "I’ll tell you after it’s all over."
"Daaad..." Li Qian, full of curiosity, drew out the word as she called to her father. "Just tell me now!"
Faced with his daughter’s wheedling, Li Dingtian’s smile didn’t waver, and he still refused to reveal his plan for retaliation.
Seeing that her father’s mind was made up, Li Qian stopped insisting on knowing the answer ahead of time.
After drinking about half the bowl of soup, Li Dingtian suddenly thought of something. He turned to his daughter and asked, "Is Li Mo home?"
"Him? He went out to have fun."
"Hmph." Hearing from his daughter that his son had gone out to have fun, Li Dingtian snorted coldly, put down his spoon, and spoke.
"He doesn’t take his cultivation seriously at all. All he does is hang around with those dandies all day. He’s already twenty-five years old and still only at the First Rank Initial Stage. He’s a disgrace to me."
Hearing her husband’s anger toward their son, Zhao Xin spoke up in his defense. "My lord, it’s not that Mo hasn’t thought about cultivating seriously. The problem is his talent is just too poor. No matter how hard he tries, his cultivation level doesn’t improve.
With his situation now, you shouldn’t force him to cultivate. Besides, he’s just eating and drinking with his friends. He isn’t out there bullying people. Just let him be!"
"..." Hearing his wife defend their son, Li Dingtian fell silent and said nothing more.
Every time he thought about his son being twenty-five and still only at the First Rank Initial Stage, Li Dingtian—who was famous in the Imperial Capital for his own exceptional talent—felt deeply frustrated.
’Thankfully, while his son hadn’t inherited his exceptional cultivation talent, his daughter had. Otherwise, the blow would have been much greater.’
Hearing her parents talk about her brother’s cultivation, Li Qian knew that the atmosphere would only get worse if they continued. So, she quickly changed the subject.
"Dad, I’ve been learning how to make mung bean cakes from Xinru these past few days. Once I get the hang of it, I’ll make some for you, okay?"