https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-219-Don-t-Let-Me-Die-with-Regrets/13450306/
https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-221-The-Young-Man-Enters-the-Great-Wasteland/13450313/
Chapter 220: Regret Comes Too Late
Chapter 220: Regret Comes Too Late
Li Muxiu's body trembled slightly, but he stood firm, remaining silent.
Li Xiaoran struggled to free his arm but failed. He glanced at Second Brother and saw the profound sorrow in his eyes, which shook him to his core, bringing him back to his senses a little.
Looking down at Li Tiangang, who lay in a pool of his own blood, his breath weak, Li Xiaoran was struck dumb. Eventually, he fell into a deep, painful despair, clutching his head in his hands.
He knew that Elder Brother would never return.
All these years, defending Mourning River and attempting to pass through the trials, only to fail repeatedly—what was it all for?
Wasn't it to bring Elder Brother back home?
But now, it was too late...
"Ah!!"
Li Xiaoran screamed to the heavens, tears of blood streaming down his face.
Li Muxiu said nothing, standing like a stone statue as the wind from Beyond the Pass swept past the three of them, then drifted away.
For a long time...
Li Muxiu looked at Li Tiangang, still lying in the deep pit, his face covered in blood and water. "Do you plan to lie there forever? If you're not dead, stand up."
Li Tiangang's body trembled, but he slowly sat up, wiping the blood and tears from his face.
He looked at Li Xiaoran, who sat like a fallen stone, and at Li Muxiu, whose expression was now emotionless. A deep sorrow welled up inside him, but he held it back. He knew he was the True Dragon of the Li Family.
As the True Dragon, he had to be strong. Everyone else could fall, but the True Dragon could not. This was the responsibility he had to bear.
"I'm going to find Li Hao."
Li Tiangang climbed to his feet, nearly losing his balance, but quickly channeled True Energy to heal his body.
He took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. "I will bring Li Hao back and pass on the True Dragon legacy to him. The prosperity Father wanted to see, I, Li Tiangang, am incapable of achieving. I can only entrust it to Li Hao."
Li Xiaoran stared off into the distance, his gaze vacant, as if he hadn't heard a word.
Li Muxiu, expressionless, said, "Now that Fourth Brother has emerged, it's a good time to counterattack the Mourning River Demons. Don't you plan to oversee the operation?"
Li Tiangang looked at him, but Second Uncle's eyes remained unchanged, revealing nothing of his thoughts. He laughed bitterly. "One more or one less makes no difference. With Fifth Brother overseeing things and the two Princes, and you in the shadows... Father was right. I could make an exception for Qing Qing back then, and now I can do the same for Li Hao."
"I am his father. What's the harm in breaking the rules for him once more?"
Li Muxiu's eyes slowly shifted, fixing on him with a growing coldness. "If you had thought this way from the beginning, would it have come to this?"
Li Tiangang's heart ached, and he whispered, "Second Uncle, I was rash and impulsive, hurting Li Hao and you. Please give me a chance to make amends, will you?"
Li Muxiu looked at his humble demeanor, his previously emotionless eyes now filled with sorrow and pain. "Your father died here. Can you make up for that?"
A simple statement, but it struck Li Tiangang like a hammer, freezing his blood.
The loss of Heroic Souls was like the complete dissolution of the soul. How could he make up for it?
He knew what Li Muxiu meant. Death was irreparable, but what about a broken heart? How could that be mended?
The thought made his body tremble. He had never felt fear during his years of battle in Yanbei, but now he felt a deep sense of dread.
Could it be that the mistakes he made were beyond repair?
"No, Li Hao is my son. I did hit him, but Father hit me too. Did I ever resent Father? We are father and son. He will forgive me..."
Li Tiangang murmured.
"Father hit you because he loved you. When you made mistakes, he had high hopes for you. He would occasionally punish you, but he would also have the other brothers secretly check on you."
Li Muxiu's eyes were filled with sorrow. "But what about Li Hao? Was he the one who made a mistake? Did you ever truly care for him, understand him? Do you know what dishes he likes, or which street in the city he enjoys visiting?"
"You only want him to shoulder the Li Family, but don't you realize how heavy a burden that is? When your father chose to designate Xiao Jiu as the True Dragon, did you know how much helplessness and heartache he felt for Xiao Jiu? He didn't sleep well for months!"
Li Tiangang was stunned. Father... was heartbroken that Ninth Brother inherited the True Dragon?
"If you truly cared for Li Hao, why would he have left? That child remembers even the smallest kindness!"
"He has seen through you. That child is far smarter than you think. You treat him like a child, but Li Hao far surpasses other children in excellence. I treat him like an old friend, yet you underestimate him so much, treating him with such stubbornness!"
Hearing Li Muxiu's words filled with sorrow and anger, Li Tiangang's heart trembled, and a mix of indescribable emotions surged within him, as if a large hand of fear had gripped his heart.
If it were earlier, he might have thought Li Muxiu was favoring the child, but after everything that had happened—saving Liangzhou, the Heavenly Battle Flag flying everywhere, and learning from the Demons about that young man's reputation, which was no less than that of the seasoned generals, and even surpassing them—he finally realized the truth.
At fifteen, Li Hao had already reached such a level, even overshadowing his most proud Ninth Brother in talent.
Now, even his long-dead father favored the child so much that he was willing to pass on his power just to bring Li Hao back. This realization suddenly cleared the veil of prejudice that had clouded his mind.
At this moment, he finally understood that he was wrong.
He had been too focused on enhancing the child's strength, neglecting the child's feelings.
"I... I need to find him..."
Li Tiangang clenched his fists, his eyes slightly red: "He will forgive me. We are father and son, after all. He won't hold a grudge forever..."
"If he could hold a grudge, maybe there would be a chance to make things right, but the fear is that the child doesn't even hate you anymore."
Li Muxiu's eyes filled with sorrow: "You never took his leaving seriously. Do you know that he waited for you alone in that courtyard for fourteen years? What did he wait for? When he stepped out of the Li Family, how many dangers did he face, nearly risking his life? We don't know any of this."
"But he could reach such a cultivation level in just one year. Without the fear and pressure of life and death, how could he have transformed so rapidly?"
"Do you treat life and death as a game?"
"Can you imagine the despair and anger one feels when facing life and death? When will you finally understand that you have truly lost him!"
With a loud thud, Li Tiangang's mind felt as if it had been struck by five thunderbolts. He stood there, dazed. Had he truly lost that child?
His pupils constricted, and his breathing seemed to stop. He suddenly shouted: "No, that's impossible! He can't really leave. I will bring him back!"
As he spoke, he strode toward the door.
But Li Muxiu stepped in front of him.
"How will you bring him back, by force?"
Li Muxiu stared at him intently: "I didn't say these things earlier when Elder Brother's Heroic Souls were still present. I didn't want his last moments to be filled with despair, but I know that child's temperament. You have no chance now!"
"It's not true!"
Li Tiangang roared, his eyes red with blood: "We are father and son!"
"Father and son? The bond between you is shallow. After just one slap, it was shattered!"
"Do you know why Li Hao waited for you to return before confronting that venomous woman? It was because he believed you were on his side, because you risked your life to save him from the Great Demon and gave him the Blood Dissolution Foundation Building. He remembered that kindness!"
"Even though your family letters were few, and the distance between you was great, that bit of warmth kept Li Hao going until now."
"But you destroyed it with one slap!"
Li Muxiu said sorrowfully: "When I saw Li Hao return the Demon King's Precious Blood to the Divine General Manor, I knew there was no more affection between you. Li Hao will never come back..."
Li Tiangang stood there, as if doused with cold water, his entire body feeling icy.
Between them, father and son, there was nothing left but the memory of that one act of cutting the demon and giving him the blood.
His body swayed, feeling unsteady.
He looked at Li Muxiu, his eyes filled with sorrow and despair. "Second Uncle, what should I do? You don't want to see Li Hao truly leave, do you? How can I make him forgive me?"
Li Muxiu looked at his panicked expression. In the past, he might have felt a surge of wrath and wanted to mock him harshly, but now, he felt a desolate emptiness.
"The most hurtful thing in the world isn't the inability to do something."
"It's when you can do it but refuse to."
"With your insight and wisdom, you could have handled these matters well, but your prejudice and indifference toward Li Hao led you to choose the easiest way out, using military training to discipline your own child..."
"That is the most hurtful."
"Second Uncle, don't say any more. I know I was wrong. Just tell me, how can I bring him back?" Li Tiangang said, pained.
Li Muxiu remained silent.
He had said all this, hoping to stir a tiny glimmer of hope, to wake Li Tiangang up and make him truly realize his mistakes. If that happened, there might still be a slim chance to bring Li Hao back.
"Perhaps, as your father said, only if you genuinely apologize to him will there be any hope at all."
Li Muxiu murmured softly.
He took a deep breath and looked at the grief-stricken and remorseful Li Tiangang. "But whether you can do it is another matter. I don't know if Li Hao will forgive you, given how deeply you've hurt him..."
"I understand. I'll find Li Hao. No matter what happens, even if he draws his sword against me again, I'll let him strike. As long as he's willing to come back!"
Li Tiangang declared firmly.
Seeing his determination, Li Muxiu fell silent for a moment. He had a faint hope, but mostly felt regret.
If only it had been this way from the beginning, none of this would have happened.
Elder Brother could have come home to see him one last time...
Feeling a deep sorrow, Li Muxiu lost the will to speak.
Li Tiangang looked at him, then at the expressionless and unresponsive Fourth Uncle, Li Xiaoran. He felt a deep sadness, remembering his father's dying words. He couldn't let his father die with regrets!
"Father, I will bring Li Hao back, and I will have him visit the Ancestral Hall to pay his respects to you!"
Li Tiangang knelt on the ground and bowed deeply toward the place where Li Tianzong had last disappeared.
Wiping away his tears, he stood up and said to Li Muxiu and Li Xiaoran, "Second Uncle, Fourth Uncle, the matters of the Mourning River beyond the border are in your hands. This time, I fear I will be negligent, but I must try to bring Li Hao back!"
Seeing their lack of response, he felt a deep sadness, knowing they were still immersed in the loss of their father and had lost faith in him.
But just as he was about to leave, the previously expressionless Li Xiaoran suddenly spoke. "I'll go with you."
Li Tiangang's body trembled, and his eyes welled up with tears. He clenched his teeth and turned to bow deeply.
"Thank you, Fourth Uncle. I can go alone. That child has gone to the Ji Family, an Ancient Holy Clan. More people won't make a difference. As Qing Qing's husband, perhaps the Ji Family will show some leniency."
Li Xiaoran ignored him and stood up.
Li Muxiu, however, said, "Fourth Brother, let him go alone."
Li Xiaoran paused and looked at him.
"He's right. The Ji Family's power is such that if they want to harm Li Hao, no one can stop them..."
Li Muxiu's eyes seemed to have aged, and he said softly, "Let's hope they won't kill him, given that he is their nephew..."
Li Xiaoran looked at the knife in his hand and lowered his head, silent.
Li Tiangang's heart trembled. He had heard from his wife that the Ji Family's rules were extremely strict, prohibiting inter-clan marriages. His union with Qing Qing was already a grave offense against the Ji Family. Now, with Li Hao going there, the prospects were grim.
Without another word, he said, "Second Uncle, Fourth Uncle, wait for me to bring Li Hao back!"
With that, he turned and flew off, transforming into a golden light as he headed toward the Great Wasteland Sky beyond the border.
...
...
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
