Chapter 121: One Man's Relief

At the end of Dragon Gate Road lay Cangya City.

Heavenly Gate Pass stood just beyond the city walls.

Cangya City had once been built against a sheer cliff, sprawling wide and grand, its fortress walls towering high into the clouds. Within, majestic city towers, watchtowers, and bustling districts teemed with life—vibrant, prosperous, and a vital trade hub between Emperor Yu’s frontier and the Beilin Kingdom. Carriages and horses passed through ceaselessly.

But that was eight centuries ago.

Now, only a small mound of earth remained.

On its peak, carved into the soil, were the words “Cang Cliff.” That was all that was left of the city.

A military encampment of tents sprawled around the mound, tightly encircling it like a protective ring. At the edges of the camp, several war banners fluttered in the biting wind. On them, ancient characters read: Heavenly Origin.

The Li Clan’s banner.

The Five Great God General Mansions each bore their own titles—such as the Heavenly Zhao Divine General’s Residence for the Royal Family—but the Li Clan held the title of Heavenly Origin God General Mansion.

Now, the wind howled, whipping up clouds of dust.

Behind the tent line, at the cliff’s edge, stood a cluster of burial mounds of varying sizes, each marked by rough wooden plaques carved haphazardly—plain wooden slats serving as tombstones, also standing as markers of the fallen’s past lives.

Huff… huff…

Nearby, several soldiers in battered armor labored with iron shovels, digging graves. Soon after, more men carried stretchers. On them lay a severed hand, a severed leg, torn battle armor, and a dented helmet. Once the trench was ready, they placed the remains inside and covered them with sand.

Then, they fetched a tree, split a first-level branch, carved a few characters with their fingers, and planted the wooden plaque atop the mound.

Some stretchers carried only a few fingers or a single boot.

Even so, they were buried. The plaque read simply: Li Family Warriors.

The wind swept silently through the camp, passing between the tents, squeezing out a mournful, wailing cry—like the lament of the dead.

Li Hongzhuang stood before the graves, clad in crimson armor, her face expressionless.

Most of the wooden markers bore no names.

The battles against the Demon Beasts had been too brutal. To have a complete body was a rare miracle.

Once the new mounds were all sealed, she extended her hand. Her lieutenant silently handed her a flask of burning wine.

She flicked her finger—popping the stopper—and poured the fiery liquid over the graves.

The last sip she drank in one gulp.

A toast to the fallen heroes.

Then, without another glance, she turned and left.

She had done this for twenty years.

She had witnessed this scene for twenty years.

From lieutenant to commander—she had risen through the ranks.

Because her third and sixth brothers, who once helped her pass the wine, had both fallen in battle.

Though a woman, she had stepped forward.

To stand tall and hold the sky above Great Liang Prefecture.

Li Hongzhuang was the youngest daughter of Li Tianzong.

She had nine legendary elder brothers, each a force of nature, revered by all. The most prodigious among them was Li Junye.

But he had died over a decade ago.

At the time, she was stationed at the frontier, unable to leave.

She couldn’t even attend her ninth brother’s funeral in the courtyard where they had once played as children.

Tears had fallen only upon this battlefield.

She still remembered her father’s words from childhood—her name had been given so she might one day find a good family, marry, raise children, and leave the sword behind.

To live a quiet life, far from the bloodshed of demon-slaying.

But from a young age, she had seen the soldiers returning to the courtyard, their bodies scarred, their armor torn.

She had seen the empty ancestral tablets in the Ancestral Hall.

And she knew then—she could not abandon the sword.

So she trained relentlessly.

She sought great masters.

She mastered forbidden arts.

Then she descended from the mountains, wielding her three-foot green sword, cutting down millions of Demon Beasts beyond the frontier.

For twenty years, she had fought here—

Twenty years of wind and frost, of endless warfare.

Her once-soft skin had hardened like coarse sandpaper.

Her youthful, flowing black hair was now coiled tightly beneath her helmet, stained with grease and demon blood—dirty, tangled, reeking of death.

This was a woman’s greatest shame.

Yet she had grown accustomed to it.

Only her face remained untouched by time—still breathtakingly beautiful, radiant with timeless grace.

But her eyes—once warm and clear—had turned cold, sharp, like distant stars.

“Commander,” a second lieutenant stepped forward, reporting. “We’ve just finished tallying: 28 demons slain, seven fallen, twelve injured.”

Li Hongzhuang remained expressionless. She had already seen the battle in the depths of her eyes. She knew the losses.

She simply said, “The family has sent word—reinforcements are coming soon. Once they arrive, we’ll begin our rotation retreat.”

“Have any scouts confirmed their whereabouts?”

The lieutenant shook his head, about to speak—

Suddenly, a horn blast echoed from outside the camp.

Both officers stiffened. They leapt into the air, soaring upward.

From above, they saw figures approaching along Dragon Gate Road.

As they drew closer, they recognized them: a pair of young adults, and a white fox.

“Who in the world is coming through Dragon Gate Road?”

The two exchanged stunned glances.

They had been stationed at Heavenly Gate Pass for years.

Reinforcements had come, but few and far between—evidence that the fortress might be abandoned.

Dragon Gate Road had long since fallen.

It was now under demon control.

Even the reinforcements who arrived came from around the road’s outer edge.

Many had died before they even reached the pass—lost in the bloody path.

“Military camp?”

Li Hao and Ren Qianqian approached, both bewildered.

They had expected to find Cangya City at the road’s end.

Instead, they saw nothing but a war-ravaged encampment—cracked and uneven ground, scattered demon corpses, torn military flags, and signs of endless battle.

Then, Li Hao heard the horn signal.

He saw two figures descend from the sky.

“Who are you?” Li Hongzhuang asked the young man, her eyes narrowing.

His face seemed familiar—yet she couldn’t place him.

Li Hao opened his mouth—then paused.

He had said he would no longer bear the Li name.

So how should he introduce himself?

His eyes flickered with uncertainty—then clarity.

“I’m not Li,” he said. “I’m Ji Hao. I’ve come to relieve you.”

“Ji Hao?”

Li Hongzhuang and her lieutenant exchanged glances.

They had never heard the name.

But when Li Hao added, “I’m here to replace you,” their expressions lit up—then dimmed instantly.

They turned to look behind him.

Nothing.

Just empty air.

“I am the relief,” Li Hao said.

They stared.

The excitement vanished.

“Just… you?” the lieutenant whispered.

“No,” Li Hao said. “Me and my sword attendant. That’s my companion.”

He gestured to Ren Qianqian.

As for Old Feng—already hidden in the shadows, the true reason Li Hao dared come here—there was no way to introduce him.

Old Feng’s identity was scorned by the world.

He was only known to the Second Elder and Li Hao in secret.

If revealed, it would cause a scandal.

“….”

Li Hongzhuang and the lieutenant were speechless.

After years of numb endurance, their faces betrayed genuine shock.

They scanned the area.

No other auras.

Just this boy.

Reinforcements?

Li Hongzhuang’s voice flared with fury.

“You’re joking, right?”

After waiting so long—after enduring so much—this was all they got?

A child?

Li Hao shook his head.

“No joke. I’m here to take your place. I’ll garrison this post for the next three years—until I die.”

“You?” Li Hongzhuang laughed bitterly. “You expect to hold this post for three years? Even I wouldn’t say that! How can one man hold an isolated fortress?”

“Seven Brother must be mad,” she muttered to her lieutenant.

“Send a message back. Ask Li Tiangang—what’s the meaning behind this? Is he truly abandoning us? Or is there another plan?”

The lieutenant saluted and turned to leave.

Suddenly, a figure shot through the air—landing before them.

An old man in battle armor, his hair gray, his eyes calm and deep.

He glanced at Li Hao, then bowed to Li Hongzhuang.

“Miss.”

Li Hongzhuang sensed the same Three Immortalities aura from him.

She studied him closely—but couldn’t recognize him.

The lieutenant, however, gasped.

“You’re… General Li He?”

“Li He?”

Li Hongzhuang frowned, then remembered.

In her youth, during training, Li He had already been a legend—renowned across the clan.

He was from the illegitimate branch—yet one of the most outstanding among them.

“Miss Hongzhuang,” Li He said, “may I speak with you privately?”

She hesitated, then followed him into the wind.

Li Hao remained with the lieutenant.

He wasn’t surprised by the old man’s arrival.

Though this was the first time they met face to face, Li Hao had known he was following—from Qingzhou all the way here.

Five days of silent pursuit.

As Old Feng had said, this man was likely sent by Li Tiangang—secretly protecting him.

Li Hao felt nothing.

The demons along the way had mostly been dealt with by Old Feng and himself.

Once his wounds healed, even demons below the Immortal Realm would no longer require Old Feng’s aid.

As the two spoke in quiet, private tones, Li Hao turned to the lieutenant and asked:

“At the end of Dragon Gate Road… wasn’t this Cangya City? How much farther?”

The lieutenant’s voice was grim.

“You’re standing on it.”

“What?”

Li Hao froze, staring around.

No city.

No walls.

No sign of a settlement.

“Centuries of war. Constant, brutal attacks from the demons. Cangya City endured too much. It’s been shattered beyond repair—walls broken, protective runes erased. The entire city was reduced to rubble.”

He pointed to the small mound in the distance.

“Now, that’s all that remains. Our garrison. Our home.”

Li Hao stared.

The mound was only a few meters tall—easily flattened with a single punch.

This… was Cangya City?

He knew the frontier was harsh.

But not like this.

A whole city—reduced to a pile of dirt.

“So you’re defending here with nothing to shield you?” Li Hao asked.

“No cover. When demons come, you just stand and fight?”

“The only wall,” the lieutenant said flatly, “is our bodies.”

Li Hao fell silent.

Moments later, Li Hongzhuang and Li He returned.

Her expression was complex—pain, disbelief, sorrow.

“You’re… Hao’er,” she said, staring at Li Hao.

He glanced at Li He.

No doubt the old man had told her everything.

“I am,” Li Hao said. “Now you believe. You can retreat.”

Her voice trembled.

“Why… why would your seventh brother be so cruel? Just a misunderstanding. Why let it go so far? Fifth Uncle… Second Uncle… Elder Sister-in-Law… didn’t they care?”

Li Hao shook his head.

He didn’t want to speak of it.

“You’re being reckless,” Li Hongzhuang said, her voice breaking. “Go back. You’ll die here.”

She hadn’t wanted to see her nephew throw his life away.

“It’s fine,” Li Hao smiled faintly.

“Dying here means I’ll be a hero. Dying elsewhere? I’d be nothing.”

“You’re just a child,” she said, tears welling. “Your father wouldn’t really kill you.”

Li Hao shook his head.

“Little auntie… it’s getting late. You should retreat. I know these soldiers have been here for years. They deserve to see their families again.”

The lieutenant’s body trembled.

His cracked, dry face twitched—something like moisture glistened at the corner of his eye.

But Li Hongzhuang fell silent.

Then she shook her head.

“Others may leave. I will not.”

She looked back at the small mound—the remains of her city.

Though it was no longer a city,

It was still the place where her third and sixth brothers had died defending it.

She would fight here—until her last breath.

“The heroic souls here still need companions,” she said, her eyes sharp and resolute.

“I had planned to wait for reinforcements. Stay and fight with them.

But now that only you’ve come… then I’ll stay with you.

We’ll kill as many spirits as we can.”

“This land is the Great Yu Dynasty’s.

It’s where our Li Clan has guarded for generations.”

“Unless an Imperial Edict comes…

We will not yield a single inch.”

Her eyes blazed with fierce light—

A woman’s form, yet standing as tall and unyielding as the Great Wall.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end