Why did you provoke that old man? He's a reincarnation of a deity!

Zhou looked at him again, opened her mouth several times, and finally managed to utter a sentence:

"Dad, when did you learn martial arts?"

"I always have, I just didn't want to move before." Xiao Nian walked out shakily, leaning on her cane.

Zhou recalled that when Meng Chenhai was drunk, he often said that he was a reincarnation of an immortal and a general. Could it all be true?

"Dad, where are you going?" Meng Delin asked when he saw his father return without stopping.

He walked to the courtyard gate, paused, and glanced at Meng Delin: "Go to the Li family."

Meng Delin was startled: "Go to the Li family? Go again?"

Xiao Nian pointed at Meng Xiaoshan, "Of course, it's about sending him to the military academy."

Xiao Nian had just witnessed Meng Xiaoshan's talent. This boy was a martial arts prodigy, and he should definitely go to the Martial Arts Academy!

The courtyard fell silent again.

Meng Xiaoshan's eyes widened, his body stiffened, Zhou's lips moved slightly, and Meng Delin, clutching his forehead, stood up from the threshold, his voice hoarse: "Father, but Xiaoshan can't pass your political review."

"Rules are for the weak."

Xiao Nian left those words behind and walked out, leaning on her cane.

Behind her, Zhou finally couldn't hold back anymore, tears streaming down her face as she hugged Meng Xiaoshan and wailed.

Meng Delin stood at the doorway, gazing at the hunched yet upright figure, and murmured:

"Father, have you woken up? Or have you gone even crazier?"

……

At the entrance of the Li residence.

The gatekeeper saw the hunched, white-haired old man approaching from afar and instinctively took a step back.

He had just heard about the old man's exploits. He slapped Liu Tietou away. Liu Tietou was a martial artist at the Body Tempering Realm, whose physical body and strength were far superior to ordinary people. Half of Liu Tietou's teeth were gone.

Xiao Nian walked to the steps, still looking frail: "Do I need to announce my arrival?"

"Wait a moment." The doorman scrambled inside, afraid that the old man would slap him to death if he was late.

This time, Li Chenggang didn't keep him waiting. In a moment, the vermilion gate opened, and Li Chenggang personally came out to greet him, his face still bearing that same smile.

"Mr. Meng, regarding what happened this morning, I was misled by my subordinates."

"What happened this morning can be resolved by paying five hundred taels to repair the house," Xiao Nian waved his hand.

"Five hundred taels! That's enough to build a small courtyard house." Li Chenggang's lips twitched slightly; this was an outrageous demand. But after all, he had wrecked the Meng family's property, and the old man's strength was unknown. It wasn't worth offending a martial arts master for five hundred taels.

"No problem, I'll send it over later." Li Chenggang maintained his smile.

"Prefect Li, there's one more thing I, an ordinary, powerless old man, would like to ask for your help with."

Xiao Nian looked up at him, and the calmness in his cloudy old eyes sent a chill down Li Chenggang's spine.

"The swearing at the dinner table was my doing. It's fine to pin it on me. But pinning it on my grandson is inappropriate, so regarding my grandson's school enrollment? You decide what to do."

Li Chenggang remained silent for a moment.

Liu Tietou's teeth and iron-clad short stick are real. An eighty-year-old man can break an iron-clad short stick with his bare hands. You call yourself an ordinary old man?

"Mr. Meng," Li Chenggang lowered his voice and took a step forward.

"The political vetting process isn't something I can decide alone. The military academy is directly under the imperial court; I, a mere prefect, have no authority to interfere..."

"Heh, so you think you can just cancel it? Your Li family has been operating in Mizhou City for thirty years, and you can't even handle this little thing? Tonight I'll make a hundred copies of the contents of the iron box and post them on the city wall so everyone can admire them."

Xiao Nian's voice was not loud, but every word was precious.

"You!? Aren't you afraid of a lose-lose situation?" Li Chenggang's face twitched.

The servants gathered around, ready to help if anything happened, even if the old man was incredibly fierce.

"That's not necessarily true," Xiao Nian said calmly.

If it weren't for the fact that Ye Jingtang was there, Xiao Nian wouldn't have taken the Li family seriously.

After a long pause, Li Cheng gritted his teeth and squeezed out, "Mr. Meng, I can indeed find a way to get a spot at the military academy. But someone has to remove the political vetting label from your grandson's record. The only way is..."

"What method?"

"Let Meng Xiaoshan enroll as a 'directly recommended relative of a martial arts instructor.' I know a few martial arts instructors; I can pull some strings to get them to give up a direct recommendation spot. However, it will be a bit of a hassle for Young Master Xiaoshan to be adopted temporarily..."

Xiao Nian raised an eyebrow. "Adopted by someone else? Are you kidding me? My Meng family is going to change our surname?"

"We're just exploiting a loophole in the rules. I control the household registration system in Mizhou Prefecture. All we need to do is find a martial arts master from Mizhou, adopt him temporarily, and then transfer him back to your Meng family later. That way, he can enroll directly."

"No need for that." Xiao Nian waved her hand.

"So your young master? He's not going to school?"

"Isn't she just a relative of a martial arts instructor? I can just become a martial arts instructor myself."

Li Cheng was stunned. He was going to become a martial arts instructor? The assessment method for instructors at the Martial Arts Academy wasn't just about having the ability; it was extremely rigorous.

"Martial arts instructors are completely different from literature and history instructors. Their assessment methods are extremely harsh, and you have quite a few grudges with the instructors and students in the academy from the past..."

"Don't be afraid." Xiao Nian patted Li Chenggang on the shoulder, making his short frame stumble. "I just like seeing old acquaintances."

"What are you waiting for? Didn't you want me to live in your Li family's house and take care of me in my old age? What, are you going back on your word? Hurry up and prepare a proper house for me, a large and spacious one."

Li Chenggang was almost in tears. He had originally planned to keep the old man at home to keep an eye on him, but everything had changed too quickly; the old man's abilities were beyond his imagination. He had a premonition that this time he had brought a grandfather home.

Xiao Nian then prepared to step into the Li family.

Meng Xiaoshan hurriedly followed, but after taking only two steps, he suddenly heard a series of light footsteps behind him.

A sixteen-year-old girl emerged from the side gate of the Li residence, dressed in a neat purple hunting outfit, a crossbow hanging from her waist, her long black hair tied in a ponytail, and an air of arrogance in her eyes. She carried a bow in her hand, appearing to be heading out.

Xiao Nian retrieved this face from Meng Chenhai's memory. It was Li Mingmei, Li Chenggang's youngest daughter. Meng Chenhai had taught her; she was difficult to manage and didn't like to use her brain.

She was a notoriously spoiled young lady in Mizhou City, the top archer in the military academy, and could hit the eye of a coin from a hundred paces away with her rapid-fire arrows.

"Father," Li Mingmei said, waving the bow in her hand at Li Chenggang, "I'm going hunting in the Western Hills. I've already told Brother Ye."

"My cousin from the Ye family?" Xiao Nian paused, turned around, and said, "Ye Jingtang's son?"

Only then did Li Mingmei notice the white-haired old man.

She sized Xiao Nian up and down, then wrinkled her nose: "You're Teacher Meng? What are you doing at my house? Didn't I tell you to get lost?"

"Your father rehired me," Xiao Nianchong said calmly.

To Li Mingmei, these words were nothing but flattery. She muttered, "Don't just rely on one family when you're begging."

"Girl, take me with you on the hunt."

"You? A decrepit old man, whose legs can barely walk, hunting? What are you hunting? Flies?" Li Mingmei sneered.

Xiao Nian wasn't angry: "The creatures I hunted were beyond your imagination."

"Tch, he's bragging again."

"Hunting isn't just about having a fast bow; it's about having good eyesight. With your rapid-fire arrows, does the third shot always go to the left?"

Li Mingmei's smile froze for a moment. It was indeed true. Her first two arrows were accurate, but the third always missed by an inch to the left, and her instructor couldn't figure out why.

"Who told you that?"

"Your elbow is habitually tucked inward when you hold the bow, so you didn't exert enough force with your arm when you shot the third arrow, causing it to veer to the left. Take me with you, and I'll teach you how to correct it."

"Old man! Get in the sedan chair, or you'll regret it later and won't be able to ride a horse!"

Li Chenggang's expression changed, and he winked at Li Mingmei: "Mingmei, remember to respect Mr. Meng!"

"Those with ability will naturally earn respect."

"Teacher Meng, please remember to take care of my daughter. If there is any..."

"Father, you talk too much nonsense."

Li Chenggang was terrified; the old man had slapped his only daughter away.