When Li Mu entered the study, Li Hongjun was sitting at the tea table, boiling tea.

"Mumu, come, let's have some tea." Li Hongjun greeted Li Mu as he entered the room.

“I haven’t been home much these past few years, and we haven’t had much of a chat. You’ve really made something of yourself, you don’t even remember your second uncle.”

"Second Uncle, I want to ask..."

"Don't ask yet. I know what you want to ask. I'll tell you slowly in a moment."

This nephew seems carefree on the surface, but he's actually quite sensitive. He's been spoiled since childhood, and now that his parents have died and his family has suffered such a huge upheaval in such a short time, I wonder if he can handle it.

Li Hongjun tried his best to appear nonchalant, for when the nest is overturned, no egg remains unbroken.

When his elder brother Li Jianjun was alive, no one bothered him. Now that his brother and sister-in-law are gone, the Li family of Yanjing has started to boss him around. They criticize him, and he can't even give them a legitimate reason to retaliate.

After all, to outsiders, he was just an adopted son of the Li family in Jiangcheng. Only he knew that he and Li Jianjun were blood relatives. But what could he do?

That's just how the world is. When interests are at stake, they'll talk about blood ties, but when it comes to punishing entire families, they'll never let anyone off the hook.

She lost her father and remarried when she was only seven or eight years old. Her grandfather raised her as his own son, and her older brother, who was half a year older than her, treated her like a brother.

If his own father were still alive, he would likely have achieved a similar status to his grandfather, and with such a powerful alliance, who would dare to object? Now, his father, a decorated and heroic martyr, lies in the cemetery; how could he possibly know the bitterness in his heart?

As Li Hongjun sipped his tea, he kept glancing at Li Mu, who, like him, had lost his parents, and couldn't help but feel a sense of shared fate.

Only those who have lost loved ones know how much pain and suffering they feel. They must always consider the consequences before acting. Besides their parents, who else can give them chance after chance?

Li Hongjun repeatedly observed Li Mu sitting at the tea table. The young man's face remained calm and composed. Li Hongjun thought to himself, "This kid is so unhurried. His mental fortitude has improved quite a bit. Is he just putting on an act in front of me?"

But then I thought about it and realized something was off. He almost strangled himself to death before, and he even lifted his nearly 200-pound body with one hand. Could that have been faked?

.

"Mumu, your parents, they're dead... um, gone. Don't be too sad, you have to think positively." Li Hongjun poured Li Mu a cup of hot tea, carefully considering how to continue.

Regardless, he needs to know what he should know, and he should be reminded to keep a low profile from now on and never mess with people he can't afford to offend again.

"I'm fine, I'll be alright in a few days." Li Mu was used to life and death in his previous life, but he still only had a vague understanding of this world. He had never met his adoptive parents, so he wasn't sad. Right now, he just wanted to know who was targeting him.

"Second Uncle, do you know who hit me last time?"

"It's the Chen family, the fourth son of the Chen family in Yanjing, Chen Jiaxiong." Li Hongjun had heard his elder brother say that he had found out that the one who beat someone was the fourth young master of the Chen family. He wanted to avenge his son, but he died before he could get revenge.

Now that Li Mu has asked again, I have no choice but to point it out: it's the Chen family from Yanjing.

"Chen Jiaxiong? If you encounter him, just kill him."

When Li Mu heard Li Hongjun specifically emphasize the Chen family of Yanjing, he knew exactly what Li Hongjun was thinking. He was just afraid that Li Hongjun would overestimate his abilities and seek revenge.

He thought to himself, "The Chen family is powerful and impressive, but so what? If they want my life, I'll still kill them."

"What? Mumu, you can't do anything reckless. Even your parents..." Li Hongjun was anxious, his face showing worry, and his words became stern.

He continued, "Li Mu, don't be impulsive. You must understand, that's the Chen family of Yanjing. You're still young, there are some things you may not understand, and some people you don't know at all. I have my own plans for revenge. You'd better stay out of the way..."

"Second Uncle!!" Li Mu interrupted Li Hongjun loudly, unable to bear it any longer. His goodwill towards this second uncle, who seemed to fear the Chen family at the mere mention of his name, had diminished by half.

This isn't about whether I seek revenge or not; it's about someone who won't let me go. They've already come knocking on my door, and you're telling me to endure it, to hide? If it were my former self, that weakling, hiding like a coward would be perfectly normal. But the current me is no longer the Li Mu I once was.

"Second Uncle, tell me the truth, were my parents also killed by the Chen family?" Li Mu interrupted Li Hongjun loudly and then asked. "Don't worry, I'm not stupid, and I won't just go and die. I have my own methods."

After saying that, Li Mu picked up the metal ashtray on the tea table, casually rolled it into a solid small iron ball, and then casually pinched the ball into a disc with his fingers before tossing it onto the tea table.

"You, you..." Li Hongjun stared in disbelief, looking at the clear fingerprints on the discus. He knew this was not magic.

.

Li Mu deliberately showed off his skills in front of Li Hongjun, not to show off, but simply because he didn't want his second uncle to still treat him like a child.

"Second Uncle, actually, I've been cultivating with an old Taoist priest for several years. Even if dozens or hundreds of ordinary people came at me, they couldn't hurt me. Last time, I was beaten up and ended up in the hospital because I was drunk. If I encountered that person now, I could kill him with one punch. Also, I'm not the same Li Mu I used to be."

"Why!!!"

Li Hongjun's mind had already begun to change, and he acknowledged that Li Mu had some skill. However, this kid was really good at putting on airs, and it just didn't feel real to him. Even Ip Man could only fight ten people at a time, how dare you fight a hundred? And you can even kill someone with one punch.

"Mumu, you've grown up, and you are indeed different from before. However, there are always people more capable than you, and there's always something beyond your understanding. Even if you can beat them, they still have guns. Besides, it's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark."

Listening to Li Hongjun's words, Li Mu felt a sense of powerlessness. No matter how much he said, his second uncle still had no confidence in him. Perhaps this was the tragedy of weakness.

From their conversation, Li Mu already knew the gist of it. Actually, whether he knew or not his parents had been murdered by the Chen family was no longer important; in his heart, the Chen family deserved to die, especially that Chen Jiaxiong.

An elephant trampled an ant, and the ant brothers longed for revenge, but were powerless to do so. In Li Hongjun's mind, the Chen family was undoubtedly the elephant, and he himself was the ant. And in Li Mu's mind, wasn't a mundane family just another, slightly larger ant?

It's no wonder Li Hongjun acted this way; the two men have vastly different perspectives. Since they're looking at things from different angles, further discussion would be a waste of breath.

Before, performing a fancy trick or telling a little lie made me seem a bit funny. From now on, what matters isn't what I say, just do it.

.

The tea room remained silent for a few minutes after Li Mu stopped speaking.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade Li Mu, Li Hongjun changed the subject and started chatting about everyday things.

Li Hongjun did most of the talking, and Li Mu, based on Li Hongjun's narration, activated the merged memories and could chime in with a few words. As the activated memories accumulated, something called kinship gradually grew rapidly in his heart.

Having been reborn into this world for less than a month, and before he even woke up, his adoptive parents died. He thought he would be all alone.

Now, this even cheaper second uncle has completely immersed Li Mu in the role of the real-life Li Mu. Memories of this second uncle keep surfacing, and Li Mu has already accepted Li Hongjun as his only family member.

This is someone who treats me even better than my father. From small things like toys, clothes, and pocket money, to big things like cars, luxury watches, and real estate, this second uncle gives me everything I want that my parents won't give me.

The most memorable sentence in my memory was when Li Hongjun pointed at Li Jianjun's nose and said, "There's only one son between the two families. If you, Li Jianjun, don't treat the child well, don't stop yourself from treating the child well, or we'll fall out."

This second uncle was truly willing to turn against his own people for his own sake. Once, when the old father was about to beat his unfilial son Li Mu, Li Hongjun stepped in and even shoved Li Jianjun.