A Mother's Bottom Line

Duke's Mansion.

A small, thin figure passed through the servants' quarters, letting the strange, gloating looks from those around him fall upon him.

As he drew closer and closer to the woodshed at the back, Huo Yuhao's heart began pounding uncontrollably, and his steps quickened as well.

Soon, behind a low wall, he spotted a figure sitting on a small stool, washing clothes. She seemed to hear the commotion too and instinctively turned to look.

Though she looked somewhat haggard, it could not conceal her lovely features. Her eyes and brows carried a gentleness and softness that seemed rooted in her very bones, but the next instant, those eyes filled with terror.

"Yuhao!"

At the sight of Huo Yuhao covered in bloodstains, the woman cried out in shock. Forgetting the unwashed clothes in her hands, she staggered toward him.

Looking at that familiar face, Huo Yuhao's throat bobbed, and he let out a choked murmur.

"Mom."

"Mom's here. Don't be afraid, Yuhao. Mom's here."

Huo Yun'er raised a hand, wanting to check Huo Yuhao over, but the horrifying bloodstains made her stop herself. She was afraid that her rashness might hurt him.

"Don't be afraid, Yuhao. Where does it hurt? Let Mom take a look."

At a complete loss, Huo Yun'er could only keep comforting Huo Yuhao, tears nearly spilling from her anxious eyes.

"Mom, I'm fine. Look, if you don't believe me."

Huo Yuhao forced a smile and pulled up his sleeve, revealing an arm without the slightest injury. Then he lifted the hem of his shirt and turned around as though showing himself off.

Huo Yun'er froze for a moment, then abruptly stepped forward and inspected Huo Yuhao's body over and over. Only after a long while did she seem to finally let out a breath of relief, her shoulders sagging. Just as Huo Yuhao was about to say something, Huo Yun'er pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Thank goodness, thank goodness. Mom was scared to death just now."

Hearing her choked sobs beside his ear, Huo Yuhao could not help sniffling. His gaze softened as he gently comforted her.

"Mom, I told you I was fine..."

Only after quite some time did Huo Yun'er gradually calm down. She wiped away her tears, her voice still slightly hoarse, and looked at Huo Yuhao with a serious expression.

"Yuhao, tell Mom. What happened?"

"I don't really understand it either."

Huo Yuhao shook his head, then began recounting what had happened to him.

"When my Martial Soul awakened just now, they detected Innate Soul Power. I wanted to hurry back and tell you, Mom, but I ran into a strange man wearing a black robe on the way. The moment he saw me, he grabbed me and rushed through the side gate into the forest outside Duke's Mansion."

Hearing this, Huo Yun'er's expression tightened. "What happened next?"

Huo Yuhao took the White Tiger Dagger, still stained with a little blood, from his clothes and spoke quietly.

"I was terrified then. When he wasn't paying attention, I panicked and stabbed that strange man with this dagger. Then a lot of blood came from his neck, and the hand holding me lost its strength. I broke free. He seemed like he still wanted to catch me, but he quickly collapsed on the ground and stopped moving. I didn't dare stay any longer, so I ran back."

After hearing Huo Yuhao's account, Huo Yun'er calmed down somewhat. She could not help feeling fortunate that she had made him bring the White Tiger Dagger to his Martial Soul awakening today. Then, as though realizing something, she asked again.

"Yuhao, aside from wearing a black robe, did that strange man have anything distinctive about him?"

"Yes."

Huo Yuhao immediately nodded. He seemed to be recalling the scene as he spoke, while inwardly letting out a sigh of relief. He had been prepared to bring it up himself, so it was naturally better for his mother to ask first.

"When that strange man was running, it looked like he was wearing white armor underneath. Later, when I slashed around wildly, I cut his black robe and saw what seemed to be a tiger-head emblem on the shoulder of that white armor."

The moment she heard that the attacker had been wearing white armor, a sense of foreboding rose in Huo Yun'er's heart. When Huo Yuhao said there had been a tiger emblem on its shoulder, it was as though she had been struck by lightning. Even her heartbeat stopped for an instant.

"White Tiger Guard."

She had thought it was the Duchess's people who had acted, but she had never expected the one who acted to be White Tiger Duke's personal guard. Those were guards loyal only to White Tiger Duke!

With the facts laid before her, she had no choice but to believe it.

The last time the White Tiger Guard had appeared at Duke's Mansion was before Huo Yuhao was born. The armor Huo Yuhao described was exactly the same as the White Tiger Guard armor she had seen back then. Without seeing it with his own eyes, he could not possibly have described it so precisely.

"Mom, what is the White Tiger Guard?"

Huo Yun'er pressed her lips together and sadly stroked Huo Yuhao's head.

"Nothing. Mom misspoke."

How could she say it? How could she tell him that they were his father's guards? Tell a child that the ones who had abducted him just now, and had even wanted to kill him, were his father's subordinates?

She had always believed Dai Hao had been deceived by the Duchess, and that was why he had never known about this. Because of that, no matter how much suppression and suffering she endured, she had continued hoping for the day he would discover the truth.

She had not stayed because she could not bear to part with wealth and luxury. She had stayed because she wanted her son to have a better opportunity. After all, the world outside was not much better than Duke's Mansion. She had believed that as long as Dai Hao discovered he had another son, Yuhao could at least live a life free from worries over food and clothing, which would be far better than struggling alone in the outside world.

But now, the White Tiger Guard's attack on her son had completely shattered her last hope. Dai Hao might have known of Yuhao's existence from the very beginning, yet allowed the Duchess to suppress the mother and son. After Yuhao's Martial Soul awakened, he might even have discovered that Yuhao's talent was lacking and chosen to kill him.

As for whether the Duchess had sent someone disguised as a White Tiger Guard to make her give up hope, that was indeed possible. But she could not gamble with her son's life. Setting aside the fact that privately stealing or making White Tiger Guard armor was a grave crime, would the Duchess dare take the risk of incurring Dai Hao's fury by doing such a thing?

If this truly was Dai Hao's intention, then a devastating disaster awaited Yuhao.

She could endure hardship for her son's future, and even die for him if necessary. But now that they wanted to harm her son, they had crossed the bottom line of a mother.

Huo Yun'er took a deep breath, her gaze gradually turning firm. She looked at Huo Yuhao and forced a smile onto her face.

"Yuhao, shall we leave Duke's Mansion? We won't wait for your father to come back. We'll find a new place and start a new life."

"Wherever Mom goes, I'll go."

The boy's clear voice rang out. He raised a hand and gently took Huo Yun'er's thin palm. His youthful face seemed to mature several times over in that moment as he spoke earnestly.

"From now on, I'll protect Mom."