Valley Pursuit, the Old Steward's Choice

At daybreak, White Tiger Duke's Manor erupted into chaos.

"Where is he?!"

Zhu Ruyi stood in Huo Yuhao's room, staring at the dummy that had been blasted to pieces, her expression so grim it seemed water could drip from it.

"Madam, we found traces in the underground passage." A guard knelt as he reported. "That brat should have escaped through the secret passage at the northwest corner."

"Send the elite guard squad after him immediately!" Zhu Ruyi ordered coldly. "Expand the search radius to ten li. I want to see him alive, or his corpse if he's dead!"

"Yes!"

Huo Yuhao was currently crouching behind a large tree, using his Spirit Eye Martial Soul to observe the distant activity.

[Thought Palace, analyze the pursuers' search pattern.]

The pure white palace unfolded instantly, and the pursuers' routes were marked as red points of light.

[Standard military encirclement tactics detected:]

[Groups of three advancing in a fan-shaped formation.]

[Three hundred meters between each group, ensuring complete coverage with no blind spots.]

[The first round of searches is expected to be completed within six hours.]

"Damn, this is an even bigger operation than I imagined." Huo Yuhao clicked his tongue inwardly. "Looks like Zhu Ruyi is really panicking."

Just as he was about to move somewhere else to hide, he noticed something that made his scalp tingle.

The leader of one of the pursuing squads was actually radiating the formidable aura of a three-ring Soul Elder!

"Something's not right!" Huo Yuhao sucked in a breath. "Is it really necessary to send a three-ring Soul Grandmaster just to catch an illegitimate son who ran away?"

[Thought Palace, reassess threat level.]

[Analysis result: Zhu Ruyi has noticed the possibility of an information leak.]

[Inference: The other party suspects Huo Yuhao possesses important evidence.]

[Recommendation: Relocate immediately and avoid direct confrontation.]

Huo Yuhao had just been about to slip away when he heard rustling footsteps behind him.

"Fuck!"

He hurriedly flattened himself against the ground, but it was already too late.

"He's there!"

Three guards closed in from different directions, led by that three-ring Soul Grandmaster.

"Huo Yuhao, come back with us obediently, and spare yourself some pain," the Soul Grandmaster said coldly.

Huo Yuhao slowly rose to his feet and raised both hands in surrender.

"Fine. I surrender."

"At least you know what's good for you." The Soul Grandmaster nodded in satisfaction. "Madam's orders are to bring you back alive."

The instant the guards relaxed their vigilance, Huo Yuhao quietly reached for the explosive sphere in his robes.

"But I have a question." He put on a curious expression. "Why is Zhu Ruyi in such a hurry to catch me?"

"You little bastard, how dare you address Madam by name?!" one of the guards snapped.

"Wait." The Soul Grandmaster narrowed his eyes. "Was the explosive trap in your room set by you?"

"Ahem, I guess so." Huo Yuhao scratched his head awkwardly.

"An eleven-year-old child can make explosive soul tools?" The Soul Grandmaster's tone turned dangerous. "Talk. Who's backing you?"

"No one. It's just me."

"Enough nonsense!" the Soul Grandmaster roared. "Take him down!"

At that moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly grinned.

"See you later!"

Boom!

The massive explosion echoed through the valley, and thick smoke instantly swallowed everyone.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Huo Yuhao activated his concealment cloak and vanished into the smoke.

"Cough, cough, cough! The brat got away!"

"Find him! He can't have gone far!"

Huo Yuhao quietly circled behind a massive boulder, his Spirit Eye Martial Soul fully activated. Its clairvoyant ability allowed him to clearly see the three guards' positions and movements.

[Thought Palace, formulate a counterattack plan.]

[Use the terrain advantage to defeat them one by one.]

He pulled out a second explosive sphere and aimed it at a loose boulder beneath the left-side guard's feet.

Boom!

A massive boulder rolled down. The guard could not dodge in time and was struck so hard that he was left dazed and disoriented.

"He's over there!"

The remaining two rushed over, but Huo Yuhao had already moved to another position.

"Come on, chase me!" He deliberately poked his head out, then quickly vanished again.

The three-ring Soul Elder ground his teeth in fury. "You sly little brat!"

Huo Yuhao circled behind them and stuffed the last explosive ball into a crack in the rocks.

Boom!

After the third explosion, the entire valley shook. When the smoke and dust cleared, two of the three guards had already lost their ability to fight.

Only the three-ring Soul Elder remained standing, but he too was filthy and in a miserable state.

"You brat, who exactly are you?" he asked between heavy breaths.

Just as Huo Yuhao was about to answer, he suddenly heard a familiar voice.

"Young Master, stop."

An elderly man with a grizzled beard emerged from the woods.

"Uncle Li?!" Huo Yuhao's eyes widened in shock.

This was the old steward of the Duke's estate, one of the few people who had treated him fairly well since childhood.

"Steward Li, why are you here?" The Soul Elder was equally surprised.

"Guard Wang, how about you pretend you never saw any of this?" Steward Li walked between them, his tone calm.

"Steward Li, have you lost your mind?" Guard Wang could hardly believe it. "This is Madam's order!"

"I know." Steward Li nodded. "But some things are more important than orders."

He turned to Huo Yuhao. "Young Master, I know all about what happened to your mother."

Huo Yuhao's heart trembled. "Uncle Li, you..."

"I thought something was wrong back then." Steward Li sighed. "How could a maid possibly give birth to a child as intelligent as you?"

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"What would it have changed if I had?" Steward Li gave a bitter smile. "In this estate, the truth is sometimes more dangerous than lies."

Guard Wang grew anxious. "Steward Li, what exactly are you talking about?"

"You do not need to know." Steward Li looked at Guard Wang. "Go back and tell Madam that you did not find him."

"This..." Guard Wang hesitated.

"Think about it. Even if you caught him, what could he do?" Steward Li continued persuading him. "How much trouble can an eleven-year-old child stir up?"

Guard Wang looked at the explosion marks scattered across the mountain, then at Huo Yuhao. In the end, he gritted his teeth. "Fine. We'll pretend we never ran into him."

He called to his two injured subordinates. "Come on. Let's search in another direction."

Only after they had gone far away did Steward Li speak to Huo Yuhao. "Young Master, you cannot stay here any longer."

"Why?"

"Madam found something in your room." Steward Li's expression was grave. "She is searching through everything your mother left behind."

Huo Yuhao's heart sank to the bottom. "What did she find?"

"I do not know the details, but I saw that her expression was awful." Steward Li shook his head. "This manhunt is only the beginning. She will send even more people after you."

"Then what should I do?"

"Leave the Star Luo Empire." Steward Li spoke firmly. "The farther away, the better."

Huo Yuhao fell silent for a moment, then solemnly bowed to the old steward. "Uncle Li, thank you."

"No need to thank me." Steward Li waved a hand. "Your mother showed me kindness while she was alive. I am merely repaying that debt."

He took a small bundle from his robes. "There are some dried rations and travel money inside. Take them."

"Uncle Li..."

"Go quickly, before the sky is fully light." Steward Li urged him. "Remember, head east all the way. Never look back."

Huo Yuhao accepted the bundle, gave the old steward one deep look, then turned and ran into the depths of the forest.