Chapter 658: Fourth Uncle Ancestor

A muffled thud echoed as the giant fist slammed into Han Li's back.

The giant man first grinned with delight, but immediately his face turned pale.

A flash of green light struck—the giant man was hurled backward as if struck by a colossal hammer.

The middle-aged Confucian scholar's face darkened, then twisted into stunned disbelief.

Because just as the giant's massive body shot toward him, it suddenly slowed, and he landed lightly on both feet, as if nothing had happened.

"Brother Li, are you alright? Did you suffer any internal injuries?" The scholar, though a frail man with no martial strength, had often interacted with the Li giant and knew that martial artists could inflict invisible harm. Hence his anxious question.

"I'm fine, no injury. The opponent's skill is unfathomable, but he doesn't seem hostile." The Li giant took a deep breath, sensing his body was unharmed, and muttered in disbelief.

Hearing this, the scholar's heart eased slightly. He nodded and turned to look at Han Li.

"Sir, I am Han Yun Tianxiao, head of the Han family. Have you come here specifically to wait for me?" The scholar spoke calmly, his expression utterly composed.

"Head of the Han family!"

Han Li finally turned slowly around.

"Ah, you..."

"Impossible!"

"Hmph! What do you mean by this?"

Before Han Li could speak, the scholar and the giant both gasped upon recognizing his face. But then the scholar remembered something, and his expression turned grim.

After his initial shock, the giant also realized the truth, his face darkening with hostility.

"Do you know me?" Han Li frowned, scanning the two men, searching for traces of familiar faces. But he silently sighed—none came to him.

"Are you pretending ignorance? If you've disguised yourself as our Fourth Uncle Ancestor based on the portrait, why won't you admit it outright?" The scholar stared at Han Li, speaking slowly and deliberately.

"Fourth Uncle Ancestor?" Han Li's expression turned wry. He had been the fourth son in his family—this "Fourth Uncle Ancestor" naturally referred to him.

Yet he didn't understand: since he came of age, he had never met any of his relatives face-to-face. How had these Han descendants learned his appearance?

"When did I ever say I was your Fourth Uncle Ancestor? Is it forbidden for me to naturally resemble him?" Han Li smiled faintly.

"There are many people who resemble each other, but only you have appeared in our Han ancestral hall with a face so strikingly identical to our forebear." The scholar's anger faded, replaced by coldness.

"Excellent response! No wonder you serve in the imperial court. The Han family's present prosperity is truly thanks to you and your generation!" Han Li's expression softened, and he offered a compliment.

"So you truly intend to impersonate our forebear?" The scholar's eyes flashed with dark malice, and he grew slightly angry.

"Impersonate? I am the real one—why would I impersonate? First tell me: how do you know my face? I left home as a child. My family should never have known my appearance. Did the Seven Mysteries Sect draw your portrait? Wait—you're surnamed Li. What's your relation to Li Li Feiyu of old?" Han Li's gaze shifted to the bearded giant, his eyes narrowing slightly. He finally sensed a faint resemblance in the man's features.

"You... how do you know our ancestor's name? So you even know our Li family's secrets so thoroughly!" The giant froze, then his face twisted in shock and fury.

Han Li merely smiled faintly, saying nothing in response.

"You keep claiming to be our Uncle Ancestor, so you must know he left home as a child and vanished afterward. But so many years have passed—so you must be over two hundred years old. Yet I see no sign of such age in you." The scholar, startled by Han Li's mention of "Seven Mysteries Sect" and "Li Li Feiyu," asked cautiously, his tone tinged with suspicion.

He himself had only recently learned of the old histories of the Han and Li families from a handwritten journal. How could this man know so precisely? Had he seen that journal?

Thinking of this, the scholar's gaze involuntarily drifted toward the altar table holding the ancestral tablets—there, within a hidden compartment, he had placed that very journal.

Seeing the scholar's odd gaze, Han Li's spiritual sense swept toward the altar. The journal inside the compartment came into view.

Han Li raised his hand without hesitation and gestured toward the table.

A scene left the giant and the scholar utterly stunned.

A flash of light from the altar table—soft, pale green light lifted a withered yellow manual, floating gently upward and drifting straight toward Han Li.

Han Li seized the manual, gave it a slight shake, and the light vanished. Then he calmly opened it to read.

Though the scholar had spent decades in court and prided himself on remaining unmoved even before collapsing mountains, he now involuntarily swallowed hard, glancing nervously at the giant.

The giant's expression was no better—his face had paled, yet held an odd mix of awe and fear.

As the scholar felt puzzled, the bearded giant clasped his fists and bowed deeply before Han Li, hesitantly speaking:

"May I ask—are you perhaps one of the legendary Immortals? If so, your divine status surely makes no interest in our mortal affairs. Might you have some token to prove your identity? This matter is too grave for us to believe on mere words alone. My brother Han and I cannot accept your claim lightly."

The scholar froze upon hearing this, then recalled rumors he'd once heard. He drew a sharp breath, gazing at Han Li with newfound reverence.

"Oh? You know of Immortals? That's impressive! Judging by this journal, you truly are Li Li Feiyu's descendant—unbelievable. Li Li Feiyu's children actually formed a lasting alliance with our Han family. I never imagined such a thing back then. You want proof? That's difficult. I left home in haste, devoted solely to the Dao. I carried no tokens. Even Li Li Feiyu himself—I left without farewell. The only things I left behind were a note and a few vials of pills."

"Pills? So those vials we've always enshrined in our ancestral hall... they were left by you?" The Li giant exclaimed in stunned realization.

"Your ancestor once took the Marrow-Draining Pill to achieve martial perfection. Even if I'd left pills to save him, he likely couldn't have died peacefully in old age." Han Li sighed, his voice heavy with sorrow.

"I didn't know these details, Elder. But my father still lives—he may know something of our ancestor's past. Some secrets are known only to successive heads of the family. If you permit, I shall send word immediately to confirm this truth." The bearded giant hesitated, speaking carefully.

He already believed half of it. The ancestor who had built the Li family's great legacy had indeed died young.

"No need. I returned this time intending to disturb no one. I only wished to see the last lingering ties to this mortal world, then sever them. Now that I see the Han family and my friend's descendants are safe, I am at peace." Han Li waved his hand, his tone weary.

Hearing this, the bearded giant grew anxious, frantically signaling to the scholar.

He knew full well what it meant for the Han and Li families to have an Immortal ancestor.

If the giant could see the advantages, the scholar understood them even more clearly. After a moment's thought, he bowed respectfully:

"If you truly are our Fourth Uncle Ancestor, I have another way to immediately verify your identity. Our ancestral hall preserves several relics once used by our forebears. If you can correctly identify each item, we will have no doubt. Only successive heads of the Han family are permitted to touch and clean these relics—no one else could possibly recognize them."

"Relics? Show them to me. I left home early—I'm not sure how many I'll recognize." Han Li said calmly.

If it wasn't too troublesome, he wouldn't refuse recognition from the Han descendants.

"Rest assured, Elder. Most of these items were humble keepsakes our ancestors carried during their poverty. You should know them well. I'll fetch them now." The scholar bowed to Han Li, then descended the stairs.

A faint rustling came from below.

Moments later, the scholar returned, carrying a red-cloth-covered tray, which he respectfully placed before Han Li.

Han Li pulled back the red cloth—several worn, small objects lay before him.

"Huh? These things? I never thought I'd see them again in this life." Han Li showed a flicker of surprise, then delight.

"You recognize all these items?" The scholar asked cautiously, his expression tense.

"Most are old relics—I know them all. A few others were added after I left home—I don't know whose they are. This slingshot and small bow belonged to my second brother, Han Zhu—he loved playing with them as a child. This wooden hairpin was my mother's favorite. This pipe..."

As Han Li spoke, the scholar's doubts vanished completely.

Without waiting for him to finish, the scholar grabbed the giant's arm and both bowed deeply in reverence.

"Unfilial descendant Han Yun Tianxiao bows before Fourth Uncle Ancestor. If I have shown disrespect, I beg your forgiveness." He dared not meet Han Li's gaze, his face flushed with shame and unease.

The giant, too, bowed with utmost reverence.

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