Chapter 2 The Child Can Finally Speak
The children's naming ceremony had just ended, but the couple was worried about their third son. The third son, Li Xuanba, had been frail and small since childhood, but his strength was unfathomable! As a child, he could be considered weak, but as an adult, he was terrifyingly abnormal! Every day, he would be in a daze, and at the age of four, he only knew how to say two words - "headache!" Normally, every other hour or so, he would have an episode, and during calm periods, he would stare blankly, his eyes filled with dullness. His slender body was like a lotus leaf in the wind, as if a gentle breeze could knock him to the ground; when he had an episode, he was like a madman, and it seemed that his headache was severe, rolling on the ground, and his strength was unimaginable! Since birth, half a year ago, during his first episode, the wet nurse was carrying the two children in the courtyard to sunbathe. The third son suddenly broke free from the wet nurse's arms and fell to the ground! He then hugged his head tightly and rolled around on the ground, and the wet nurse tried her best but couldn't pick up the half-year-old infant. She had to call for a sturdy servant, but when that seemingly strong servant approached, the third son's small hands, which were disproportionate to an adult's, suddenly broke the servant's arms, and with one punch, he sent the man flying over three feet high! The servant fell to the ground, dead as could be. His entire back was broken, and his internal organs were crushed into pulp! After that, no one dared to approach him again, and for a whole hour, he wreaked havoc in the courtyard, causing destruction like a meteorite had fallen from the sky! From then on, every other hour or so, he became a nightmare-like existence throughout the entire mansion! It wasn't until several people lost their lives that they realized that during the first moment of his episode, his strength was equal to an adult's, and afterwards, it would increase to unimaginable proportions!
The couple had just decided on a name and were about to go out to check on Sanzi's situation when a loud "boom" sound came from the backyard! The Li family's backyard was very large, with small bridges, flowing water, artificial hills, and pavilions surrounded by trees, flowers, and grass. Since Sanzi fell ill, the entire backyard had become a no-man's land! The whole Li family had moved to the front yard. The backyard had become Sanzi's "domain" and his personal residence!
The husband and wife arrived at the entrance of the backyard, where almost everyone in the mansion had gathered! Seeing their master arrive, the maids and young and old people in the mansion carefully dispersed, leaving only a few dozen robust servants.
"Mother, the third son's outburst was sudden this time. There was supposed to be a moment of buffering, but it came earlier than expected! The servants hadn't even put the third son in his place when he killed them all!"
Yuan heard this and quickly walked several steps forward, looking inside from the entrance. He couldn't help but take in several cold breaths: the artificial hill in the distance had been destroyed to the point where it was almost impossible to tell what was left of the big pit or the artificial hill. Six tattered bodies with no signs of life were scattered tens of feet away! The third son was rolling around, heading straight for the pond on the side!
"What...what is going on?" Duan's eyes watched as her third son was about to roll into the pond, her heart in a panic, her lips trembling uncontrollably.
"Ah! Headache!" The third son, Li Xuanba, let out a loud roar and fell into the pond! Everyone rushed to the pond in a hurry, just a few steps away. "Boom" It was as if dozens of hand grenades had been thrown into the pond, and the water splashed tens of meters high. Another deafening sound shook the air, and the small artificial hill at the center of the pond also collapsed. The scattered rocks shot out in all directions like flowers scattered by a goddess, propelled by the rapidly shooting water! Li Yu rushed forward, just as a one-meter-large boulder was hurtling towards him!
"Be careful, sir!" The crowd behind him warned urgently. Li Yu stopped in his tracks, drew out the precious sword hanging from his waist, and with a swift motion of his right hand, swung the sword upwards, "Open!" With a loud whooshing sound, the stone flying towards him split into two halves and flew past him! At this moment, the crowd also dared not move forward, standing still to watch.
The murky pond occasionally bursts out with huge waves, three-year-old Li Xiu Ning in her nanny's arms, at the entrance clapping her small hands and shouting happily: "Ah, what a beautiful wave!" Li Yuan turned his head to look at his daughter, then exchanged a glance with Dou Shi, silently understanding each other.
Li Xuan's turmoil finally subsided after a short while, and his small body slowly floated up from the water! Li Yuan jumped to the edge of the pond, then flipped over and scooped up Sanzi with one hand, slapping the water surface with his right sword hand, borrowing force to fly back!
"Alas! Is there really no one in this world who can cure my son's illness?!" Li Yuan looked at his wife with a bitter gaze, muttering to himself. "Alas, what kind of karma is this?! My poor third son!" Dou Shi had already been tormented by her child's illness and was on the verge of collapse, unable to do anything but cry. Fortunately, the wound caused by the third son's illness was getting lighter and lighter, which seemed to be the legendary "tempering" according to Li Yuan's experience.
Time will pass anyway! Every year, Li Yuan would send people to inquire about famous doctors in various places, hoping to find a doctor who could cure his third son's illness. He offered generous rewards but was always disappointed! As a result, the third son Li Xuan's illness became more and more severe. When Li Xuan was seven years old, the frequency of his seizures increased, and Li Yuan had no choice but to order an ironworker to forge iron chains and an iron cage to restrict his son's demonic behavior! At first, when Li Xuan had a seizure, he would struggle violently, causing harm to his body. However, after a few days, his body became stronger and more robust! The sharp edges of the broken iron chains and cages could no longer cause any harm to his body! Duan Shi looked at the increasingly thick iron chains and cages with heart-wrenching pain, fortunately, her third son's body no longer had those bloody wounds! Otherwise, she really couldn't bear it...
Every time Li Xuanba is calm, Li Yuan asks someone or personally checks Li Xuanba's body. The strength and physique during the frenzy are simply monstrous! However, when Li Xuanba is calm, he becomes fragile, as if a slight touch would make him collapse, and a dull knife can easily cut through his skin. Inside his body, the meridians are also fragile, without any true power existing, which is unimaginable for martial artists like them!
In the ninth year of Yang Guang's reign, 613 AD, he had been in power for nine years. During this period, Yang Guang built the Grand Canal (opening the Yongji Canal, Tongji Canal, and renovating the Hangou and Jiangnan Canals), constructed the eastern capital city of Luoyang, established the imperial examination system, personally led a campaign against Tuyuhun, and twice personally led campaigns against Goguryeo, greatly exhausting the country's financial and material resources. There were rebellions in various regions. At this time, Li Yuan was serving as the Commander of the Imperial Guards and Vice Minister of War, garrisoned in Honghua Prefecture (present-day Qingyang County, Gansu), widely befriending heroes from all over the world.
Fifteen-year-old Li Xuanba woke up this year!
In the backyard of Li's mansion in Qingyang County, it was cold and quiet with no signs of life. The surrounding area had only one wall, and in the center of a flat land stood an iron cage about three meters in size. The iron cage was made up of hundreds of thick iron bars that were curved into sharp angles. A thin figure lay motionless inside the cage, with each limb locked in an iron ring as large as a washbasin. Each ring had four thick iron chains attached to it, connecting to the giant stone pillars standing around the cage. The sky was brightening, signaling the start of dawn, and the sound of shouting from the front yard brought a hint of life.
A tattered single garment barely clung to his body, a messy and disheveled head of hair covering the fierce glint in his eyes that was slowly fading away. After being tormented for half a year, Li Xuan's fierce glint faded from his eyes, replaced by laziness and contentment! "Ow! That hurts!" he exclaimed, signaling the end of the stupid and numb Li Xuan that people knew!
Zhang Xiaofan, male, 26 years old! Unmarried otaku, living a carefree life with the property left by his parents, passing the deep night quietly with Japanese AV and his physical strength. The reason is that he looks so sorry to the audience, even prostitutes are unwilling to serve him... Because of this appearance, he has been inferior since childhood, after losing his parents' control, he can only stay at home waiting for the day of decay!
He spent three days and nights playing the game, feeling satisfied as the number one player. He slept for a day and night on his soft bed, which felt like he was lying on clouds. He thought about how great it felt to be Li Yuanba, the greatest hero in the game's Tang Dynasty era. With no equipment, just wielding a pair of drumsticks and a golden hammer, he could kill anyone with ease! His high stats made him unbeatable. This was truly powerful! The game's top martial art, "Bao Ti Jin Shen Jue", was really effective. It was worth spending tens of thousands to get it, and now he had transformed into Li Yuanba. At the beginning of the game, he didn't change his novice equipment, a pair of small hammers, but instead used them to become the greatest hero in the Tang Dynasty era. Haha, this was fate!
Open your bleary eyes, stretch and go with the wind! Who would have thought that the intense pain in all four limbs was not a big deal! The pain woke him up, blinking away his sleepiness, but a pair of normal human eyes were blurry: "Ah! I'm blind?!" Zhang Xiaofan shook his head, and his dirty hair covered his face, clearing up instantly! A thick layer of mud covered his face, barely able to distinguish his features, a pair of single-lidded eyes seemed to absorb all the light.
Enduring the oppressive and painful sensations in his limbs, he looked around: "Huh? A lid on top, iron bars all around... and an iron chain lock? Are they raising dogs?! I'm going to...! Who the hell did this?! Zhang Xiaofan was so angry, sleeping soundly and waking up to being treated like a dog! And with such thick iron chains and a cage, he's not even as good as a dog! His anger rising, he didn't even feel the pain of his hands and feet being ground raw.
At this time, a group of people, men and women, as well as children, walked in from the arched gate at the back of the courtyard! The leader was a beautiful woman in her thirties, followed by three teenagers dressed in luxurious clothes. Behind them were two servants. This was Duan Shi and her three children coming to visit Li Xuanwei, among whom Duan Shi came every day, only that the person in the cage didn't know, because he wasn't sober...
The Duan family and their entourage were approaching the backyard when they heard a loud, unpleasant noise coming from inside. The Duan lady's expression changed to one of delight, while Li Jiancheng and the others furrowed their brows in concern. The two servants' heads almost touched their knees as they trembled with fear.
"Damn your whole family! Tying me up like this! Is there anyone who ties people up like this? Are you afraid I'll run away? Sun... Do you still want money or not? Damn it! You're asking for money, but you're also taking my life! Treating me like a god by tying me up like this! Get out of here! Let me go quickly..."
Zhang Xiaofan's curses became more and more vicious, feeling an unprecedented sense of relief. At that moment, he had forgotten his situation and only felt that he was finally able to vent the humiliation he had accumulated since birth.
Dong Shi heard his third son's scolding and was delighted! The reason is that this child has been able to say only two words "headache" for over a decade, and for 14 years, Dong Shi had always felt guilty towards this son. Today, as soon as he came, he heard his son scolding fluently, without repetition, and even using words he couldn't understand, pouring out one after another. His son can speak!
