Too Late for Regret

Li Muxiu's body trembled slightly, but he simply stood there without saying a word.

Li Xiaoran struggled to free his arm, but couldn't break free. He glanced at his second brother and saw the extreme sorrow in his eyes. He was shaken and regained some clarity.

Seeing Li Tiangang beneath him, his Aura waning and covered in blood, he stared blankly into space, finally collapsing in despair and burying his head in his hands.

He knew his Eldest Brother would never come back.

Why have they guarded the Mo River for so many years, failing repeatedly to cross it?

Isn't it all about bringing the older Eldest Brother home?

But now, those days are gone forever...

"Ahhh!!"

Li Xiaoran roared to the sky in fury, tears of blood streaming down his face.

Li Muxiu remained silent, standing there like a stone. The wind from Outside the Pass the pass swept over the three of them and then drifted away lightly.

For a long, long time...

Li Muxiu looked at Li Tiangang, who was still lying in the pit, his face covered in blood, and said, "Are you planning to lie here for the rest of your life? If you're not dead, get up."

Li Tiangang's body trembled slightly, but he slowly sat up and wiped the blood and tears from his face.

He looked at Li Xiaoran, who was slumped down beside him like a stone, and Li Muxiu, whose face was expressionless. He felt a surge of sorrow, but he held it back. He knew that he was still the Li Family True Dragon.

Since it is True Dragon, it must stand tall. Everyone else can fall, but the True Dragon cannot. This is the responsibility that the True Dragon must bear.

I'm going to find Hao'er.

Li Tiangang got up from the ground, but he swayed and almost lost his balance as soon as he stood up. However, he quickly circulated his True Power to repair his body.

He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, saying, "I will definitely bring Hao'er back and True Dragon Inheritance to him. The prosperous era that Father wanted to see is beyond my ability, Li Tiangang. I'm afraid I can't fulfill Father's long-cherished wish, so I can only entrust it to Hao'er."

Li Xiaoran stared blankly into the distance, his expression unchanged, as if he hadn't heard a thing.

Li Muxiu remained expressionless and said, "Now that the Fourth Brother has emerged, it's a good opportunity to launch a counterattack against the Demon of the Mo River Beyond the Border. Aren't you planning to go and oversee things?"

Li Tiangang looked at him, unable to discern his Second Uncle's thoughts from his unchanging eyes. He smiled mockingly and said:

"It doesn't matter if I'm one more. With Fifth Brother there to keep things in check, and Two Princes, plus you lurking in the shadows... Father is right. I broke the law for Qingqing back then, and I can do the same for Hao'er now!"

"I'm his father, what's wrong with breaking the law for him once?"

Li Muxiu's gaze slowly shifted, fixing on him, a coldness gradually rising in his eyes. "If you had thought this way back then, things wouldn't be like this today."

Li Tiangang felt a pang of pain in his heart and whispered, "Second Uncle, I was impulsive and reckless before, which hurt Hao'er's heart and yours as well. Please give me a chance to make amends, okay?"

Looking at his humble demeanor, Li Muxiu noticed that his previously emotionless eyes now revealed waves of sorrow and pain.

Your father died here, can you make up for it?

A single, simple sentence sent a jolt through Li Tiangang's heart, like a heavy hammer blow, as if the blood in his body Solidification.

The demise of Heroic Soul is like their souls scattering; how can we make amends?

He understood what Li Muxiu meant: a person's death cannot be made up for, but what about a broken heart? How can that be made up for?

At this thought, his body trembled. He had never been afraid during his more than ten years of fighting in Northern Yan, but at this moment he felt a sense of fear and terror.

Does this mean that the mistake he made is beyond redemption?

"No, Hao'er is my son. Although I hit him, Dad hit me too. I've never resented Dad. We're father and son. He'll definitely forgive me..."

Li Tiangang murmured.

"When your Eldest Brother hits you, it's because he loves you, because you've made a mistake, and because he has high hopes for you. Sometimes he hits you or punishes you, but it also lets the other brothers secretly check on you."

The sadness in Li Muxiu's eyes was hard to conceal. "But what about Hao'er? He was poisoned. Was it his fault? Did you really care about him? Did you understand him? What kind of food did he like to eat? Which street in the city did he like to go to? Do you even know?"

"You only want him to shoulder the burden of the Li Family. Don't you realize how heavy that burden is? When your father made the decision to make Xiao Jiu the True Dragon, did you know how helpless he felt, how heartbroken he was for Xiao Jiu? He didn't sleep well for months!"

Li Tiangang was stunned. His father... was he saddened that his Ninth Brother was inheriting the title of True Dragon?

"If you truly loved Hao'er, why would Hao'er have left? That child remembers even the smallest kindness!"

"He's seen right through you. That child is far smarter than you think. You treat him like a child, unaware that Hao'er is far more outstanding than other children. I treat him like an old friend. How can you be so dismissive of him and so biased towards him!"

Hearing Li Muxiu's grief and indignation, Li Tiangang trembled, and an indescribable emotion welled up in his heart, like a giant hand of fear gripping his heart.

If it were before, he might have thought that Li Muxiu was favoring that child, but now, after experiencing all this, saving Liang Prefecture, with the Haotian Battle Flag flying everywhere, and learning from those Demons that the boy's reputation was no less than that of these generals who had fought for many years, and even surpassed it!

At fifteen years old, he had already reached this level, even surpassing his most prized Ninth Brother in Heavenly Talent Li Hao.

Now, even his father, who had long since died in battle, favored that child so much that he was willing to pass on his power to him so that he could bring Li Hao back. This suddenly made him realize that the prejudice that had been covering his eyes had been torn away by that slap.

Only then did he finally realize that he was wrong.

He was too focused on improving the child's strength, and neglected the child's feelings.

"I... I need to go find him..."

Li Tiangang clenched his fists, his eyes slightly reddening. "He will forgive me. After all, we are father and son. He won't hold a grudge forever..."

"If they truly hold a grudge, perhaps it can be salvaged. But I fear that child may not even hold a grudge against you anymore."

Li Muxiu's eyes were filled with sorrow as he said, "You've never really taken his running away from home seriously, but do you know what he waited for you alone in that courtyard for fourteen years? What did he get in return? How many dangers did he encounter when he left the Li Family? Did he almost die? Neither you nor I know any of these things."

"But how could he have reached this level of cultivation in just one year? Without the fear and pressure of facing life and death, how could he have transformed so rapidly?"

Do you treat life and death like a game?

"Can't you imagine the despair and Anger you feel when facing life and death? When will you finally understand that you've already truly lost him?"

With a deafening roar, Li Tiangang felt as if he had been struck by lightning, and stood there dumbfounded. Had he truly lost that child?

His pupils contracted slightly, his breath seemed to stop, and he suddenly shouted, "No, it's impossible! He couldn't have really left! I can definitely bring him back!"

As he spoke, he strode outside.

But Li Muxiu stepped in front of him and blocked his way.

"How do you carry it? By brute force?"

Li Muxiu stared intently at him. "I didn't say these things before because my Eldest Brother's Heroic Soul was still alive. I didn't want him to be filled with despair in his final moments. But I know that child's temperament; you no longer have a chance!"

"No way!"

Li Tiangang roared at him, his eyes bloodshot, blood welling up in his eyes. "We are father and son!"

"Father and son? The bond between you two is shallow. You first met more than a decade ago, and it was shattered by that slap you gave me!"

"Do you know why Hao'er waited for you to return before attacking that Vicious Woman? It's because he felt that you were at least on his side. You risked your life to escape the army and slay Great Demon for him when he was a child, helping him to Foundation Establishment through Blood Fusion. He remembers this kindness in his heart!"

"Although you send very few letters home and live far apart, that little bit of warmth has sustained Hao'er until now."

"But you slapped it all away!"

Li Muxiu said sadly, "When I saw Hao'er return the Demon King's Precious Blood to the Divine General Residence, I knew that you two had no more feelings for each other, and Hao'er would never come back..."

Li Tiangang stood there blankly, feeling as if cold water had been poured over his head, his whole body turning ice-cold.

Was the only bond between father and son, besides Bloodline, that of gratitude for slaying demons and offering blood?

His body swayed, as if he couldn't stand steadily.

He looked at Li Muxiu, his eyes filled with sorrow and despair. "Second Uncle, what should I do? You don't want to see Hao'er really leave, do you? What can I do to get his forgiveness?"

Looking at the panic in his eyes, Li Muxiu felt a surge of anger in his heart, wanting to use this to deliver a sarcastic remark. But now, he felt a sense of desolation, as if his heart had turned to ashes.

The most hurtful thing in the world is not that it's impossible.

"It's not that they can do it, but they choose not to."

"With your insight and wisdom, you could have handled these things well, but your prejudice and your coldness towards Hao'er led you to arrogantly choose the most convenient method: using Military Training to discipline your child..."

"That's the most hurtful thing."

"Second Uncle, stop talking. I know I was wrong. Just tell me, how can I bring him back?" Li Tiangang said painfully.

Li Muxiu remained silent.

He said all this because he still harbored a tiny glimmer of hope that he could use this to wake Li Tiangang up and make him truly realize the truth. In that case, there might still be a slim chance of bringing Li Hao back.

"Perhaps, as your father said, there's only a sliver of a chance if you truly apologize to him."

Li Muxiu murmured softly.

He took a deep breath, looked at Li Tiangang's grief-stricken and remorseful face, and said, "But whether you can do it is hard to say. Whether Hao'er can forgive me, I don't know either, after all, you hurt him too deeply..."

"I understand. I will find Hao'er. No matter what happens, even if he draws his sword against me again, I will let him slash me, as long as he is willing to come back!"

Li Tiangang suddenly said.

Seeing his determination, Li Muxiu fell silent for a moment, feeling only a faint hope, but mostly regret.

If we had done this earlier, we wouldn't be where we are today.

My Eldest Brother will then be able to go home and take a look...

He felt a deep sadness and lost all interest in speaking.

Li Tiangang glanced at him, then at his Fourth Uncle Li Xiaoran, who stood beside him with a blank expression and no reaction. He felt a deep sorrow in his heart. Thinking of his father's dying words, he knew he could not let his father die with his eyes open in disgrace!

"Father, I will definitely bring Hao'er back and have him visit you at the Ancestral Shrine!"

Li Tiangang knelt on the ground and kowtowed three times to the spot where Li Tianzong had just disappeared.

He then wiped away the tears from the corners of his eyes, stood up, and said to Li Muxiu and Li Xiaoran, "Second Uncle, Fourth Uncle, I'm entrusting the matter of the Mo River Beyond the Border to you. This time, I'm afraid I'll fail in my duty. Let me go and fight for Hao'er!"

As he spoke, seeing that the two remained unmoved, he felt a deep sorrow, knowing that they were both still immersed in the memory of their father's death and utterly disappointed in themselves.

But just as he was about to step out, Li Xiaoran, who had been expressionless, suddenly spoke up, "I'll go with you."

Li Tiangang's body trembled, and his eyes welled up with tears again. He gritted his teeth, turned around, and bowed deeply, saying:

"Thank you, Fourth Uncle. Heavenly Gang can go alone. The child is going to the Ji Family, which is Ancient Sacred Clan. There's no point in having more people. I am Qingqing's husband. Perhaps the Ji Family will be more lenient out of consideration for me."

Li Xiaoran ignored him and simply stood up.

Li Muxiu, however, said, "Fourth Brother, let him go by himself."

Li Xiaoran paused slightly and looked at him.

"He's right. If the Ji Family wanted to harm Hao'er, no amount of intervention would help..."

Li Muxiu's eyes seemed to have aged considerably as he whispered, "Hopefully, they won't kill him out of consideration for Hao'er being their nephew..."

Upon hearing this, Li Xiaoran glanced at the knife in his hand, then lowered his head and remained silent.

Li Tiangang's heart trembled. He had heard his wife say that the Ji Family had extremely strict rules, forbidding intermarriage with other ethnic groups. His marriage to Qingqing was already a major taboo of the Ji Family, and now that the child was going to the Ji Family, he was afraid that the child would be in grave danger.

He didn't have time to say anything more and immediately said, "Second Uncle, Fourth Uncle, wait for me to bring Hao'er back!"

Having said that, he turned and flew away, transforming into a golden light and rushing towards the distant Great Wasteland Heaven Outside the Pass the pass.