Chapter 15: Defeat
Chapter 15: Defeat
Northern Yan Border, Yuan Moon City.
The city was shrouded in gloom, and the ground outside was scarred and pockmarked. In the mountains a hundred miles away, various massive figures lurked in the dense shadows of demons, along with some slender human-like figures seated atop the peaks.
The ground here was stained with blood, and the corpses lay scattered like a forest of dead trees, their blood-soaked skin hanging loosely from branches and rocks.
At that moment, a beautiful young woman, holding another arm covered in military armor, was gnawing on her fingers, her lips and cheeks stained with fresh blood, but she paid no attention to it.
Suddenly, a small black dot appeared in the sky, rapidly approaching. As it drew near, it turned out to be a massive black bird with three claws, over ten meters long.
It shrank its form and, upon landing, transformed into a graceful young man, wearing a black headband. He walked briskly toward a group of people sitting in a circle and approached a young man in white, who had a long zither resting across his knees.
The young man in white lightly plucked the zither strings, producing a gentle, lingering melody. His gaze, however, remained fixed on the distant city, which looked like a pile of foul stones.
In the sky above the city, dark, ominous clouds still gathered, and vague figures could be seen standing on the city walls.
"White Divine Lord."
The young man in the black headband bowed slightly, his face showing respect as he addressed the young man in white. "I just received news that the useless Meat Seed we sent earlier has failed and even alerted the Divine General Manor. The entire manor is now on high alert, and it seems there are experts secretly protecting the child."
"How could he fail? Worthless thing!"
A tall, muscular man with a massive build scowled, his mouth slightly open to reveal sharp, inhuman teeth.
"Didn't you say he had already infiltrated the child's side?" The beautiful woman who was gnawing on the arm frowned, stopping her chewing to look at the young man in the black headband.
"Half a month has passed, and his identity hasn't been exposed. How could he not have found an opportunity to act?"
Beside her, a young man with yellow eyebrows frowned. "To prevent any misinformation from the Divine General Manor, Marquis Xingwu deliberately concealed the child's true situation. We specially sent this Zhou Tian Realm Meat Seed. If he could have delivered a close-range devastating blow, even a Force Mastery tenth-level expert wouldn't have been able to dodge it. Even with experts watching over, they wouldn't have reacted in time."
The young man in the black headband sighed. "We don't know the exact details, but who would have thought the thing was so useless."
"Hmph, not only did he fail, but he also alerted the Divine General Manor. If Li Tiangang hears this news, he'll definitely send more people to protect the child. Damn thing!" The muscular man growled again.
The young man in the black headband nodded slightly. "If we plan another assassination, it will be even harder. Speaking of which, since the Meat Seed has failed, his family doesn't need to be kept around. They can be given to the little ones below to enjoy."
"They've already been eaten."
The beautiful woman bit off another finger, chewing as she spoke.
The young man in the black headband didn't say anything more but turned to look at the young man in white, who had stopped playing the zither. His eyes revealed a hint of reverence. "White Divine Lord, what should we do next? Should we launch a direct assault?"
The others also looked at him, waiting for his instructions.
The White Divine Lord's emotions seemed unchanged as he gazed at the distant Yuan Moon City, speaking softly. "The Li family is a tough nut to crack. If we launch a direct assault, our losses will be too great."
"Indeed, those guys are unwilling to help. They're a bunch of bastards", the muscular man grumbled.
"Should we still try an assassination?" the young man in the black headband asked.
The White Divine Lord turned to look at him. "What do you think?"
...
...
After Li Hao was attacked, the Divine General Manor increased its security even further.
He Jianlan dispatched strong warriors from the inner courtyard to guard the front courtyard and conducted a thorough screening of all the new servants who had entered the manor in the past three years.
The commotion was significant, but all the courtyards cooperated fully, as the assassination attempt was extremely dangerous, and everyone feared it might happen to their own children.
Through the Li family's intelligence network, it was discovered that the assassination was related to the demons in Yanbei.
Li Hao sought out Mother and asked her to keep the assassination attempt a secret, not to let the news reach Yanbei or the ears of the couple, to avoid disrupting the frontline battle.
Hearing this, He Jianlan was momentarily stunned, her gaze fixed on Li Hao's small face, her heart aching as if something had gripped it.
This child, who had nearly been assassinated due to the war in Yanbei, was still concerned about the impact on the front lines. It was touching and heart-wrenching.
However, the news of the assassination was too significant to be kept secret.
The Northern Yan Border received the news soon after.
Marquis Xingwu, who was in the military camp, was enraged, and Ji Qingqing was also furious. They immediately understood the demons' plan to use Li Hao's death to undermine the morale of the troops and force them to leave the Yanbei front.
If they left, the enemy would surely launch a devastating attack.
Marquis Xingwu could not abandon the battlefield, and in his anger, he sent his trusted subordinates back to the manor to protect Li Hao.
News from the manor said that the assassination had been thwarted by the experts secretly guarding Li Hao.
But Marquis Xingwu knew that he had not sent anyone to secretly guard Li Hao.
Mountain and River Courtyard has guards, and it is situated within Divine General Manor. He never imagined that someone would attempt to assassinate a child.
If Li Hao had shown astonishing talent in the Martial Dao, he might have been more cautious, secretly sending people to protect him and prevent the family's future prodigy from being cut down in the cradle.
But a person without Martial Dao talent posed no threat. Even so, he had nearly been killed.
And all of this was because of the damned stalemate before him.
A few days later, on the Northern Yan Battlefield, Li Hao's family's army launched a lightning strike, clearing out a nest of Demons overnight. The news spread, making all the Demons feel the Li family's wrath.
...
...
Days eventually settled back into a slow, peaceful rhythm.
Half a year passed, and Li Hao turned seven.
The news of the assassination attempt was already half a year old, and no one in the manor mentioned it anymore.
Meanwhile, the strong warrior Marquis Xingwu sent back from the army had been with Li Hao for the past six months. He was a tall, middle-aged man with a serious demeanor and meticulous attention to detail. His name was Li Fu.
It was said that Li Fu had been an abandoned infant many years ago, taken in by the Li family. Some said that although the child's fate was tragic, being left at the doorstep of Divine General Manor meant he had a fortunate destiny. Thus, he was given the Li surname and the single name "Fu."
In the early days at Mountain and River Courtyard, Li Fu grew up alongside Marquis Xingwu.
He was about seven or eight years older than Marquis Xingwu and treated him like a younger brother. However, in the army, they had a superior-subordinate relationship.
Li Fu was also one of Marquis Xingwu's closest and most trusted lieutenants.
"Uncle Fu, you lost again."
In the pavilion, the chess game had ended, and Li Hao chuckled.
A hint of helplessness appeared on Li Fu's serious face. "I'm of the same generation as your father. You should call me Uncle."
"But calling you Uncle Fu sounds like admitting defeat", Li Hao pouted. "I only want to win when I play chess, not admit defeat."
Li Fu was speechless, feeling that this silly pun had made him a generation older.
"You can call me Uncle Li."
"But this is the Li family, and there are too many people with the Li surname. If I call you Uncle Li, I might get confused", Li Hao said.
Li Fu was again at a loss.
"Why don't you just not name yourself Fu? Since everyone says you have good fortune, you should be called Li You."
Li Hao said earnestly, "See, the name Li You sounds great. You have, you have, everything is yours, corresponding to 'nothing is lacking'!"
Li Fu felt like tapping his little head. Unlike Marquis Xingwu, who was strict and serious, his son was very cheeky.
"Don't talk nonsense. If your father were here, he'd definitely give you a beating for being disrespectful", Li Fu scolded sternly.
"He's not here, though", Li Hao said casually.
Li Fu was about to discipline him to prevent him from becoming more unruly, but hearing these offhand words, his heart trembled.
When Marquis Xingwu left for the campaign, Li Fu had been by his side. He knew that this year, Li Hao was seven, and the Marquis had been in Yanbei for seven years.
The situation in Yanbei had made it impossible for Ji Qingqing, who had accompanied him, to return quickly, as she could not leave her husband in danger.
The child before him, who had not seen his parents for seven years, must be very sad.
Li Fu felt a pang of sympathy and softened, sighing, "Your father has his own difficulties. Don't blame him."
"I never blamed him", Li Hao said earnestly.
Li Fu looked into his eyes, feeling a warm glow in his heart and a sense of relief. "You are very understanding."
Understanding? Li Hao grinned.
At that moment, a young figure returned to Mountain and River Courtyard.
Li Hao turned to see Bian Ruxue, who had been training at the Training Grounds, returning.
The little girl had grown into a young lady, her delicate face still retaining a charming beauty.
"Back so early today? Are you hungry?" Li Hao called out with a smile.
Bian Ruxue saw Li Hao, walked over with her sword, and looked somewhat unhappy. "I'm not hungry."
"Someone upset you?" Li Hao teased.
Bian Ruxue gritted her teeth, turned her head away, and didn't say a word.
Li Hao, who had asked casually, raised an eyebrow. "Tell me what happened."
"Nothing", Bian Ruxue got up, hugged her sword, and ran off to her usual practice spot.
Li Hao thought for a moment, then called over the female attendant who accompanied her in training. "What's wrong with Xue'er?"
"Sir, Miss Xue'er lost a sword duel at the Training Grounds", the attendant said, still respectful despite knowing that the young master was a Martial Dao failure, with Li Fu present.
"Is that all?"
Li Hao relaxed. "So she lost once. In martial arts, winning and losing are common. She can win next time. Why is she so upset?"
The attendant hesitated, then lowered her head. "Not exactly, sir. The person who defeated her was quite nasty and insulted you in front of her, so... Miss Xue'er got angry."
"Ah?" Li Hao hadn't expected this. So the little girl was standing up for him?
Li Hao glanced at the distance, where the young lady was already practicing her sword, looking quite angry.
His eyes flickered slightly, and he said to the female attendant, "I understand. You may go now."
(End of Chapter)
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