Chapter 14: The Softest Spot
Chapter 14: The Softest Spot
What's going on?
The gaunt young man was momentarily dazed, unable to tell who the assassin was.
But as he felt the immense pressure on his throat, he snapped back to reality and looked at the boy in front of him with fear.
What kind of monster is this? He's barely seven years old, yet he has such terrifying strength. Even if he were at the tenth level of Force Mastery with the Marquis's Divine Blood awakened, it shouldn't be this exaggerated, right?
"Who sent you to assassinate me?" Li Hao asked, his eyes fixed on the man. Various thoughts raced through his mind. The chess game was just a means to get close to him, indicating that the man's purpose for coming to the Divine General Manor was simple—assassinate him.
The gaunt young man remained silent. The child in front of him, whether in strength or intelligence, didn't seem like an ordinary six-year-old.
He had thought he was dealing with a useless brat, but he never imagined uncovering such a terrifying secret.
"Are you not a Martial Dao waste? Was hiding your strength your idea, or was it your father's arrangement?" The gaunt young man narrowed his eyes and asked.
Now that the assassination had failed, and he could feel the immense pressure on his throat, he knew he had no chance of survival. He calmed down, realizing that the mission to assassinate the Main Lineage's bloodline in the Divine General Manor was already a nine-dead, one-alive situation. Unfortunately, the mission could not be completed.
"You know my father?" Li Hao's eyes flickered.
"You're joking."
The gaunt young man said coldly, "Who in the world doesn't know Marquis Xingwu? He's currently stationed at the border, and a few months ago, he called upon martial artists from the jianghu to assist in suppressing demons, and they all responded. His reputation is very high."
Assisting in suppressing demons? Li Hao furrowed his brow. Could the situation in Yanbei be so dire that they need the help of martial artists from the jianghu?
"Did my Second Lady send you?" Li Hao asked.
The gaunt young man was momentarily stunned, then he suddenly understood, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. "You've been targeted before? I never thought that a place as ironclad as the Divine General Manor would have such corruption. No wonder you pretended to be a waste. But tell me, I never saw you practice. How many hours do you train each day?"
"I've been training with you all along", Li Hao replied calmly, looking straight into the man's eyes. "You answer mine first, then I'll answer yours. That's called an exchange."
The gaunt young man raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but laugh. This child was indeed interesting.
"Since I'm going to die anyway, and you've made me fail my mission, ruined my family, why should I tell you anything?" The gaunt young man sneered lightly.
Li Hao said, "Because I see that you don't want to die. You're afraid of death. And there are many ways to die. I can give you a quick and painless one."
The gaunt young man's smile vanished. He fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "The one who sent me is..."
Suddenly, his arm trembled, and he threw a punch at Li Hao's head.
Li Hao slightly tilted his head, easily dodging the attack without retaliating, just watching the man coldly.
The gaunt young man felt a chill run down his spine, the disparity between them was so great. He was a Zhou Tian Realm expert, yet he felt like a child in front of this boy, completely exposed.
The boy's contempt made him despondently withdraw his hand. "You're a monster."
"Go on", Li Hao said coldly. "You should know that our Li family is a military family. We've captured countless prisoners and interrogated countless criminals. The methods of torture are beyond your imagination. If you can't die, I can give you a quick death."
The gaunt young man's eyes twitched. He knew the child wasn't lying and felt a growing fear.
"If I tell you, will you let me go?" The gaunt young man asked hopefully, hoping the child still had some innocence.
"I will", Li Hao replied.
Pfft... The gaunt young man almost spat blood. Could you be any more straightforward? It's so fake, do you think I'm a child?
He gave a bitter laugh. "Actually, it doesn't matter if I tell you. The assassination has failed, and my family won't survive either. I came from Yanbei, and the one who sent me to kill you is the 'White Divine Lord.'"
"White Divine Lord?"
"Yes, one of the three gods of the Yanbei Demons, with terrifying strength. He's also your father's old nemesis."
The gaunt young man's eyes were complex. "Your father is a brilliant strategist, and the Li family's army is fearless. Yanbei should have fallen long ago, but now the front line is at a stalemate. The White Divine Lord sent me to assassinate you to spread the news of your death to the Divine General Manor and the Yanbei border, causing your father's army to lose morale. If he leaves the battlefield to return, Yanbei will be conquered."
As he spoke, he gazed intently at Li Hao.
No one knew that this child was the key to the survival of tens of cities in Yanbei.
Li Hao was stunned. So it was because of Yanbei.
The war there had already affected the Divine General Manor, thousands of miles away.
"Your father is stationed in Yanbei. They are battle-hardened and have no weaknesses. You are their only vulnerability, their softest spot."
The gaunt young man said, "Only by targeting you can we defeat your parents and break through the Yanbei border, allowing the demon army to advance."
Li Hao fell silent, processing the man's words. After a moment, he slowly said, "You're human. Why are you working for the demons?"
The thin, gaunt youth was momentarily stunned. He paused, then looked at Li Hao with a mix of envy and hatred. "Not everyone has a life as fortunate as yours. You wouldn't understand even if I told you."
"Is that so?"
Li Hao gazed at him calmly. "My parents left me from the moment I was born, and I was betrayed by my relatives. Now, I'm being targeted by assassins because of my parents. Do you still think I have a good life?"
The thin youth's mouth opened slightly, and he was taken aback, unable to find words to continue.
Li Hao didn't say anything more. He simply stated, "I promised you a quick death."
"Heh, you're quite a decent person", the thin youth recovered, his voice tinged with sarcasm and a forced smile.
No matter how many excuses he made, death was inevitable. Fear flickered in his eyes; he didn't want to die, and he was afraid of it. Otherwise, how would he have ended up working for the Demons?
Li Hao seemed to ignore the sarcasm. "Actually, I don't want to kill you."
"Oh?" The thin youth's eyes narrowed with a cold smile, clearly not believing him.
"Because you play chess well", Li Hao said earnestly.
The thin youth was taken aback.
After a moment, he regained his composure, a bitter smile on his face. "But unfortunately, I've never won against you."
"Maybe in the next life."
Li Hao's hand began to tighten. "In the next life, don't practice martial arts. Just focus on chess. At least you'll live longer and have an easier life."
The thin youth tried to struggle, but seeing the cold, composed look in Li Hao's eyes, he felt only despair. He said bitterly, "You are a strange child."
In the end, Li Hao still crushed him to death.
As he suffocated, the thin youth struggled violently, but it was futile.
After dealing with the assassin, Li Hao realized he didn't even know the man's real name.
The servant's name he used to infiltrate was given to him by the Li family.
But it didn't matter.
...
...
With the assassin dead, Li Hao summoned a servant, who was nearly frightened to death.
That night, the entire Divine General Manor was in an uproar.
Lamps were lit in every courtyard, and the ladies who had already retired to their rooms rushed out in their nightclothes. When they saw the assassin's body lying on the chess table, they were all utterly shocked.
How could an assassin have infiltrated the Divine General Manor?
He Jianlan's usual composed demeanor vanished as she anxiously embraced Li Hao, checking him over. "Are you all right?"
"Auntie, I'm fine", Li Hao reassured her.
He Jianlan only relaxed after confirming that Li Hao was unharmed. She then asked him a series of questions, and Li Hao recited the story he had prepared.
The assassin had attacked, and an old man had intervened, killing the assassin before disappearing.
Li Hao thought that since an assassin could infiltrate the Divine General Manor, it shouldn't be too implausible to fabricate an old man's intervention.
After all, if they didn't know about the assassin, it was normal for them not to know about other experts, right?
He Jianlan was shaken by Li Hao's account and immediately began to speculate. Could it be a military expert secretly sent by Marquis Xingwu?
Or perhaps ... one of the clan elders?
She suppressed her suspicions and didn't doubt Li Hao's words.
After all, no matter how mature Li Hao seemed, he was still just a child under seven years old.
And he hadn't yet entered the Martial Dao. Without the protection of a powerful expert, he would have been doomed.
He Jianlan then had Xue Jian take Li Hao and the little girl Bian Ruxue to Changchun Courtyard to calm down.
Meanwhile, she sat in the main hall of Mountain and River Courtyard and summoned the servant who had been with Li Hao during the chess game, as well as the first servant who had been alerted by Li Hao's call. She began a thorough interrogation.
She also called in the manor's experts to examine the assassin's body.
Soon, the servants recounted the entire sequence of events.
They described when the assassin had entered the manor, how he had displayed his chess talent, and how he had ingratiated himself with the servants in Mountain and River Courtyard. It was clear that the assassin had gathered intelligence on Li Hao and used chess to deliberately get close to him.
By the late night, the results of the body examination were in. The assassin was at the Zhou Tian Realm, roughly at the third to fourth level.
At this cultivation level, he would be considered a competent wandering knight, capable of making a name for himself in the martial world. However, in the Divine General Manor, where experts were abundant, he was an ordinary presence.
But to kill a six-year-old child, this cultivation was more than enough, almost an overkill.
Moreover, the assassin had taken a special pill that suppressed his aura, which was why no one had detected him.
Hearing this, the ladies from the various courtyards were filled with fear. If the assassination attempt had been on their children instead of Li Hao, the outcome would have been certain death.
A Zhou Tian Realm assassin suddenly attacking a child was terrifying.
Liu Yuerong, upon hearing the results, slowly let go of her suspicions.
Even if Li Hao's Divine Blood hadn't been nullified, he couldn't have killed the assassin on his own.
It seemed that although the couple was at the frontier, they had made thorough preparations for their child.
Thinking of this, she felt a lingering fear. The poisoning incident should have gone unnoticed, as it was carried out in the Water Blossom Courtyard, and she had her own experts in her courtyard.
(End of Chapter)
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