Defeat

At the Northern Yan border, Yuan Yue City.

Gloom hung over the city, while the ground outside lay scarred and pitted. In the wooded peaks a hundred miles away, enormous figures of all shapes lurked amid a throng of demonic shadows. A few slender figures with human appearances sat cross-legged atop the peaks.

Blood stained the ground here. Bones lay thick as a forest of kindling, and bloody skins hung like tattered rags, carelessly draped over branches and rocks.

At that moment, a beautiful young woman held an arm still covered in military armor, gnawing on its fingers. Crimson blood stained her lips and cheeks, but she paid it no mind.

Suddenly, a black speck raced across the sky. Only when it drew near did it reveal itself as a three-clawed black bird more than ten meters long.

Its body shrank, and by the time it landed, it had transformed into a graceful young man. Wearing a black headscarf, he walked briskly toward the seated group, then approached a white-robed young man with a long zither laid across his knees.

The young man's fingers lightly plucked the strings, sending out lingering notes, while his gaze rested quietly in the distance on that city, stubborn as a foul stone.

From here, they could faintly make out the dense black clouds gathered above the city and the indistinct figures standing thick along its walls.

"White God Lord."

The youth in the black headscarf cupped his hands respectfully and addressed the white-robed young man. "We just received word. That useless Flesh Stock we sent earlier failed, and even alerted the Divine General Residence. The entire residence is now on guard. Apparently, an expert is secretly protecting the child."

"He failed even at that? Useless trash!"

Beside him, an enormous, powerfully built man darkened his expression. His lips parted slightly, revealing sharp teeth that scarcely looked human.

"Didn't you say he'd already infiltrated the child's side?" The beautiful woman gnawing on the arm frowned, stopped chewing, and looked at the youth in the black headscarf.

"Half a month had passed, so his identity clearly hadn't been exposed. He couldn't find a chance to strike in all that time?"

Beside her, a youth with yellow eyebrows frowned. "In case the intelligence from the Divine General Residence was wrong, and Marquis Xingwu had deliberately concealed the child's true abilities, we specifically sent a Flesh Stock at the circulation realm. If he struck to kill with a single punch at close range, even someone at the tenth layer of the power through realm couldn't dodge it. Even an expert guarding him nearby shouldn't have had time to react, right?"

The youth in the black headscarf sighed. "We have no way of knowing exactly what happened. Who knew that thing would be so useless?"

"Hmph! Not only did he fail, he alerted the Divine General Residence. Once Li Tiangang hears about this, he'll definitely send more people to protect the boy. Damn that thing!" the burly man snarled again.

The youth in the black headscarf nodded slightly. "Another assassination attempt will probably be even harder now. Speaking of which, since that Flesh Stock failed, there's no need to keep his family alive. Let the little ones below enjoy them."

"I already had them eat the lot."

The beautiful woman bit off another finger and spoke as she chewed.

The youth in the black headscarf said no more. Instead, he looked toward the white-robed young man, who had stopped playing his zither, faint awe in his eyes. "White God Lord, what do we do next? Launch a frontal assault?"

The others also turned to him, awaiting his instructions.

The White God Lord seemed largely unperturbed. Gazing at Yuan Yue City in the distance, he said softly, "This Li Family really is a tough bone to gnaw. A frontal assault would cost us too much."

"Exactly. Those bastards refuse to put in any effort," the burly man grumbled.

"Should we still try an assassination, then?" asked the youth in the black headscarf.

The White God Lord turned to look at him. "What do you think?"

After the attack on Li Hao, security at the Divine General Residence grew even tighter.

He Jianlan stationed experts from the inner courtyard in the front courtyard and screened every servant who had entered the residence within the past three years.

The operation caused a considerable stir, but every courtyard cooperated willingly. After all, this assassination attempt had been terrifyingly dangerous. Everyone feared the same might happen to their own children.

An investigation through the Li Family's intelligence network revealed that the assassination was actually connected to the demons in Northern Yan.

Li Hao sought out First Madam, hoping she would conceal news of the assassination attempt and keep it from reaching Northern Yan or that couple's ears, lest it disrupt the war at the front.

Hearing Li Hao say this, He Jianlan froze. As she looked at his little face, she felt something tug at her heart.

This child had nearly been assassinated because of the war in Northern Yan, yet he was still worried about affecting things there. He was so thoughtful it hurt.

But the assassination attempt had caused too great a stir. Concealing the news was impossible.

Word soon reached the Northern Yan border.

Marquis Xingwu, who had been considering his plans in the military camp, flew into a rage. Ji Qingqing was equally furious. They immediately saw through the demons' scheme: they wanted to use Li Hao's death to shake the army's morale and draw the couple away from the Northern Yan campaign.

The moment they left, a thunderous assault would inevitably descend upon the front.

Marquis Xingwu could not abandon this battlefield. Amid his fury, he dispatched a trusted confidant that very day to return to the residence and protect Li Hao personally.

Word from the residence said that someone secretly guarding Li Hao had thwarted the assassination.

But Marquis Xingwu knew he had never assigned anyone to guard Li Hao in secret.

The Mountains and Rivers Courtyard had guards and stood within the Divine General Residence. It had never occurred to him that someone would try to assassinate a child.

Had Li Hao displayed astonishing talent in the martial dao, he would have been concerned and assigned secret protection to prevent a future prodigy of the Li Family from dying in the cradle.

But someone without talent in the martial dao posed no threat at all. Even so, Li Hao had nearly been killed.

And all of this was because of the damned stalemate before him.

Several days later, on the Yanbei Battlefield, the Li Family Army struck like thunder, wiping out a den of demons overnight. As the news spread, every demon felt the Li Family's fury.

Life eventually settled down again, little by little.

Half a year passed. Li Hao was seven.

The assassination attempt was now six months in the past, and no one in the residence mentioned it anymore.

The expert Marquis Xingwu had sent back from the army had stayed constantly at Li Hao's side throughout those six months. He was a tall, upright middle-aged man, solemn and meticulous in everything he did. His name was Li Fu.

It was said that Li Fu had been an abandoned infant many years ago and had been adopted by the Li Family. Someone had remarked that although the child's fate was tragic, ending up at the gates of the Divine General Residence meant he had some fortune after all. Thus, he was given the surname Li and the single-character name Fu, meaning fortune.

In his early years, Li Fu had grown up alongside Marquis Xingwu in the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard.

He was seven or eight years older than Marquis Xingwu and usually cared for him like an elder brother. In the army, however, they were superior and subordinate.

Li Fu was also Marquis Xingwu's right-hand man and one of the people he trusted most.

"Uncle Fu, you lost again!"

In the pavilion, a game of chess had just ended, and Li Hao spoke with a grin.

A hint of helplessness crossed Li Fu's stern face. "Your father and I belong to the same generation. You should address me as a younger uncle."

"But calling you Fu-shu sounds a bit like saying 'admit defeat,'" Li Hao said, pursing his lips. "I only want to win at chess. I don't like admitting defeat."

Li Fu was left speechless. That silly pun had promoted him an entire generation.

"You could also call me Uncle Li."

"But this is the Li Family. There are too many people named Li. If I call you Uncle Li, I'm afraid you won't know who I mean," Li Hao said.

Once again, Li Fu could only feel helpless.

"If you ask me, Uncle Fu, you shouldn't have been named Fu. Since everyone said you had fortune... you should have been called Li You."

Li Hao spoke with perfect seriousness. "See how nice Li You sounds? 'You have, you have'-you have everything. That means you lack nothing!"

Li Fu felt an urge to rap him on his little head. Unlike Marquis Xingwu's rigid, scrupulous temperament, his son was a thoroughly glib little fellow.

"Stop talking nonsense. If your father were here, he'd give you a beating for being so disrespectful," Li Fu scolded, his face stern.

"The thing is, he isn't here," Li Hao said casually.

Li Fu had been about to discipline him before he grew even more unruly, but those offhand words made something tremble in his heart.

He had accompanied Marquis Xingwu when he marched off to war, so naturally he knew that Li Hao was seven this year, and the marquis had also spent seven years in Northern Yan.

The situation in Northern Yan had kept even Ji Qingqing from returning. She had originally accompanied her husband in hopes of ending the war swiftly, but she could not leave him amid danger.

The child before him had spent seven years without his parents at his side. He must have felt terribly sad, mustn't he?

Li Fu's heart ached for him, and he softened. With a sigh, he said, "Your father has his difficulties too. Don't blame him."

"I've never blamed him," Li Hao said earnestly.

Looking into his eyes, Li Fu felt warmth in his heart and a measure of relief. "You're very thoughtful."

Thoughtful? Li Hao grinned.

Just then, a half-grown figure returned to the Mountains and Rivers Courtyard.

Li Hao turned and saw that Bian Ruxue had returned from training at the Martial Arts Arena.

The little girl had grown into a young girl now, and even her childish features could not conceal her beauty.

"Why are you back so early today? Are you hungry?" Li Hao asked with a smile, waving her over.

Bian Ruxue saw Li Hao and approached with her sword in her arms. Looking rather downcast, she only said, "I'm not hungry."

"What is it? Did someone upset you?" Li Hao teased.

Bian Ruxue gritted her teeth slightly and turned her little face away without speaking.

Li Hao had only asked casually, but at her reaction, he raised an eyebrow. "Tell me. What happened?"

"Nothing." Bian Ruxue rose and ran off with her sword, heading to her usual practice spot.

After a moment's thought, Li Hao summoned the maid who accompanied her during sword practice. "What's wrong with Xue'er?"

"Young master, Miss Xue'er lost a swordsmanship match against someone at the Martial Arts Arena." With Li Fu beside them, the maid remained respectful despite knowing that this young master was a hopeless case in the martial dao.

"That's all?"

Relieved, Li Hao said, "She only lost once. For warriors, victory and defeat are as common as they are for soldiers. She can just win next time. What, is she a sore loser?"

The maid hesitated, then lowered her head. "No, young master. The person who defeated her was rather nasty. He spoke disparagingly of you right in front of her, so... that's why she's so angry."

"Huh?" Li Hao had not expected himself to be involved. So the little girl had been standing up for him?

Li Hao glanced into the distance. The young girl was already practicing her sword there, but she still looked furious.

His eyes flickered slightly, and he told the maid, "I understand. You may go."

(End of chapter)