Chapter 90: Chapter 84 Teaching Li Wushuang a Lesson (Thanks to Alliance Hierarch ‘Xuan Ran, Xiao Yu’ for the reward)
Li Hao saw Fifth Lady steering the conversation towards him and smiled, not minding much:
“Xue’er should be back in over half a year.”
The other ladies also did not let Li Yun continue to be embarrassed and smoothly transitioned the conversation to a new topic.
“Xue’er is also a ninth-grade combat body, isn’t she?”
“She’s so smart. That year…”
In a back and forth of words, the earlier dispute was smoothly swept under the rug.
Li Hao was at ease, chatting and laughing with the ladies, reminiscing about the past. Meanwhile, Li Yun’s cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. From time to time, he sneakily glanced at his father and saw that the latter had put away his angry expression, revealing a contented smile amidst his conversation with Li Hao. Although Li Yun felt relieved, he also inexplicably experienced a sense of loss.
Just then, he felt the constrained palm under the table being touched. Looking down, he saw it was his younger sister beside him.
Li Zhining gave Li Yun a smile, then promptly served him some food. This gesture warmed his heart…
Gao Qingqing glanced at the composed and collected Li Hao, then at her own son, and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.
In all aspects other than cultivation, her son really did fall short compared to Li Hao, whose precocity and sensibleness were well known within the household. The only regret was that he had fallen behind in his cultivation in his earlier years.
“Shuang Er has made it onto the Qian List. Now that she’s back home, does she have any plans for the future?”
Mid-conversation, Liu Yue Rong asked casually.
Li Wushuang glanced at the youth across from her who was two years her junior, yet still conversing with ease. She reached out with her chopsticks, subconsciously heading for the dragon liver dish. But due to her years of control over her sword-wielding wrist, she gracefully altered her trajectory and picked up a dish next to it instead.
Putting the food in her mouth, she said while eating, “I don’t really have any plans; I just want to spar with cousin Qianfeng.”
Her words caught the attention of many ladies, but it seemed as if they had not heard anything noteworthy, and they carried on eating, drinking, and chatting.
Liu Yue Rong’s expression did not change as she continued smiling, “Qianfeng has just descended from Mount Wuliang and will return to the household in the coming days. We can arrange a match for you two then. Back in the day, Xuan Li and Tiangang used to chase each other around the courtyard all the time…”
Li Xuanli forced a smile: “Second sister-in-law, those are embarrassing tales of our youth, please let’s not bring them up.”
The banquet gradually came to an end as the night deepened.
The seven or eight dishes that Li Yuan Zhao had bought, along with the other subsequent dishes prepared by the eldest lady, were all brought to the table in sequence and finished off.
Li Wushuang also ate quite a bit, unaware of which dishes were purchased by Li Hao, simply finding them delicious.
Li Hao naturally had no interest in revealing the truth, since it was a one-time affair anyway. From the moment the dragon liver was brought onto the table, he would not offer her any more gifts of food or drink.
At best, he would give a token gift out of politeness when she got married in the future.
After having their fill, everyone gradually left Eternal Spring Court, and there were no further conflicts.
Li Hao bid farewell to the ladies and returned to Mountain and River Courtyard with Zhao and Qing Zhi.
On the other hand, Li Xuanli led his wife, daughter, and son back to Piaoxue Courtyard.
Once the three children had entered the house, Gao Qingqing pulled her self-absorbed husband aside on the small path at the back, reproaching him:
“How could you speak about Yun’er like that at the table just now? He’s your child, and so is Shuang Er. She’s only just returned, and you speak of her that way, hurting the children’s feelings!”
Li Xuanli was taken aback, thought for a moment, and sighed, “It was their fault to begin with. As for Yun’er, let’s not talk about him now; he’s too timid. If this continues, he’ll hardly achieve anything great in the future. And Shuang Er, too. Although she has been following the Thousand-Mechanism Taoist in her studies and has made good progress in her cultivation level, why is she still so rash?”
“She’s devoted to protecting her brother. Isn’t it good for siblings to be close?” Gao Qingqing retorted irritably.
Upon reflection, Li Xuanli smiled and agreed, “That is true.”
“You…” Gao Qingqing was at a loss for words, the men of the Li Family were indeed all brutes.
Li Xuanli sensed his wife’s discontent and said helplessly:
“I can’t very well criticize Hao Er, can I? Fourteen years ago when the seventh brother had just finished his military campaign, I happened to be injured those few years. Otherwise, the affairs of Northern Yan would have fallen to me, but the seventh brother took over instead. Now, after many years of campaigning in Northern Yan, both he and Qingqing have endured hardships you and I understand. How can I possibly reprimand his son here?”
Gao Qingqing was at a loss for words, naturally aware of the reasoning.
Li Xuanli continued, “Besides, Hao Er did nothing wrong. You saw at the table too; how clever he is, conversing with the elders so eloquently, without showing any timidity or disrespect, and not being offensive. To have such a temperament at such a young age is truly rare. It’s a pity he cannot cultivate; otherwise, our Shuang Er might not really hold a candle to him.”
Just as Gao Qingqing’s anger had subsided, hearing his praise and comparison flared it up again.
With a flick of her sleeve, she said angrily, “Then go and be with your precious Hao Er!”
With that, she went inside the house.
Li Xuanli stood there perplexed, with a puzzled expression, thinking, ‘Did I say something wrong again? Why is she angry now?’
Elsewhere, at Shuihua Courtyard.
Liu Yue Rong returned to the courtyard and, barely settling on the soft couch, huffed angrily and slapped her palm on the tea table:
“That girl, who will be married off one day, actually intends to spar with Qianfeng and vie for the True Dragon seat. She doesn’t realize her own limitations!”
Although the girl at the table had mentioned sparring, Liu Yue Rong could discern her true intentions. Moreover, the girl’s timely return coincided with her ambitions, didn’t it?
Although the True Dragon seat of the Li Family had largely been occupied by direct male descendants for hundreds of years, it wasn’t entirely exclusive to them. There was precedence for women to hold that position, but that was centuries ago.
The lady who did so never married, managed the family’s major affairs all her life, and eventually became a renowned female commander in Dayu.
Could it be that this young miss harbored the intention of emulating her ancestor?
“Hmph, a mere Divine Travel Realm, she’s overestimating herself…” Liu Yue Rong thought of something and a smile crept across her lips.
Meanwhile, an old housekeeper who had been following closely kept her head bowed, not daring to make a sound, although her eyes revealed a sense of melancholy and sorrow.
Once upon a time, when the ladies of each courtyard were new, everyone got along harmoniously, loving and supportive without any gaps among the nine courtyards.
But now, that atmosphere had subtly changed.
When did this situation start?
The old servant had served the Li Family for many years and could vaguely remember some things.
It seemed that ever since the eldest and the third sons of the Li Family died in battle, those joyous times had disappeared.
The next day.
Li Hao was on horseback, waiting on the small path beside the mansion. It wasn’t long before the sound of horse hooves approached from behind.
“Hao, bro.” Li Yuan Zhao called out with a smile as he rode up next to Li Hao, and the two of them headed side by side to Tan Palace.
“Did you eat your fill yesterday?”
“Almost stuffed myself.”
“Haha.”
“Hao, bro, my mother has a sharp tongue, don’t take it to heart…” Li Yuan Zhao thought for a moment before speaking.
Li Hao waved his hand: “Let’s not talk about that between brothers; I won’t blame your mother.”
Li Yuan Zhao was delighted and relieved: “I knew Hao, bro, you’re magnanimous.”
Li Hao just smiled.
Thinking back to the events of last night’s banquet, Li Yuan Zhao exclaimed, “Auntie and the others were all praising Cousin Wushuang, but little do they know, Hao, bro, your cultivation level has long surpassed hers. Hey, why didn’t you say anything last night?”
Li Hao casually tugged at the reins, letting the horse proceed cheerfully and lightly: “What’s the point of saying that? Trying to steal the limelight from a kid? It’s too childish.”
Li Yuan Zhao was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter. Indeed, this was his Hao, bro—it was just like him.
“If Cousin found out you called her a kid, she’d probably be furious.”
“You’re a kid too.”
“Hao, bro, you this…”
“Haha.”
Li Hao laughed.
Feeling somewhat helpless, Li Yuan Zhao said, having been accustomed to Li Hao’s company since childhood: “However, the news of your cultivation will certainly reach Auntie and the others soon enough.”
Li Hao nodded, unconcerned.
Once Fu returns from Cangyu City in a couple of days, the news will probably spread.
The peaceful days won’t last much longer.
Luckily Cangyu City is in Qi State, the territory of the Xia Family. With hundreds of cities within the state and the demon calamity not having caused too much harm, the news hadn’t made much of a splash.
Furthermore, in recent years, the Li Family had focused most of their attention on Northern Yan, and the remaining efforts were dispersed among other territories guarded by the Li Family, which made them less sensitive to news from other areas.
“Hm?”
Suddenly, Li Hao lifted the reins, and the Red Blood Horse, being sentient, came to a halt.
Just under the tree shade further down the path stood a figure clad in snow-white, unmistakably Li Wushuang by her silhouette.
Li Yuan Zhao narrowed his eyes, recognizing her face, and his expression changed: “Hao, bro, it’s Cousin. She… she didn’t hear what we just said, did she?”
“Whether she heard or not doesn’t matter now.”
Li Hao raised his eyebrows slightly, feeling a momentary annoyance. These youngsters could be quite a headache, but he rode over anyway.
When someone is purposely waiting for you, avoiding them is probably futile.
As they drew closer, Li Wushuang turned her head, having been alert to Li Hao and the others’ approach, her expression frosty:
“At last night’s banquet, with all the aunts present, I couldn’t be bothered to argue with you. But the way you bullied my brother won’t be overlooked.”
“Wushuang, that was so many years ago, and moreover, it was Li Yun who provoked Hao, bro, first,” Li Yuan Zhao hurriedly said.
Li Wushuang gave him a cold glance: “Shut your mouth.”
Then she turned to Li Hao: “You’re just a few months older than my brother. The way you bullied him before, today, I’ll get back at you on his behalf. You’d better not fight back, or my strikes might not be measured.”
Li Hao couldn’t help but laugh, “I spanked that kid’s butt. Do you intend to spank mine too?”
Li Wushuang was taken aback, her face turning frosty: “I’m not going to hit your butt; I want to slap your mouth!”
After saying that, she suddenly charged forward, covering a distance of over ten meters instantly, aiming to slap Li Hao who was seated on the horse.
As her palm neared his face, Li Hao leaned slightly back and then reached up to grab her hand. Like using Taiji to deflect force, he pulled her off balance and, with the power of controlling objects, pressed her onto the horse’s back.
“You!”
Li Wushuang’s pupils shrank in shock, a hint of astonishment in her eyes.
“Slap my mouth? If it weren’t for the fact you’re from the Li Family, you’d be in for a rough time,” Li Hao hummed coldly, then raised his hand and firmly spanked her bottom a few times.
“Avenge your brother, huh? The truth is, back then I was too lenient!”
Chapter 91: Chapter 85: Father and Son Reunion
“The Fifteen Li Realm?!”
Li Wushuang’s pupils contracted, horrified to the extreme, her mind buzzing, somewhat dazed.
She couldn’t move her entire body, tightly bound by an invisible force, unable to even turn over.
It was complete suppression of her cultivation realm.
She shouted in anger, “Bastard, let me go!”
“Your brother was saying the same thing back then.”
Li Wushuang, holding back her fury yesterday, didn’t realize that Li Hao wasn’t one to take things lying down either, seeing her still so insolent, he struck her with another dozen hard slaps.
If it weren’t for an object-controlling force holding her up on the other side, the power of those dozen slaps would have been enough to crack the ground.
Of course, Li Wushuang, being in the Divine Travel Realm, could bear it, but it was painful enough to make her bite her lip and her eyes reddened.
“You, let me go!”
She struggled with all her might, her Divine Soul flew out, trying to shake off Li Hao, but was pressed back into her body by Li Hao’s Divine Soul, completely restrained.
“Still not convinced?”
“You bastard!”
Li Hao unleashed another succession of slaps.
Suddenly, he heard muffled sobs from beneath his hand.
Li Hao paused a moment, looked down, and saw the daughter of heaven who had returned home yesterday, now her eyes were red-rimmed, her face wet with tear drops like pearls, she had been beaten to tears.
The elegant and cold pride she had just the day before was gone, like a fairy who had stepped dignified from the mist, suddenly slipped and fell to the mundane world.
Li Hao stopped his hand upon seeing this, and said in a mild tone, “Convinced now?”
Li Wushuang lay across the back of the horse, biting her lip, stubbornly silent, only letting a few more tears fall.
Li Hao didn’t fall for it, sneered, and said, “Cousin, if you’re still not convinced, believe it or not, I’ll strip you naked, block your power, and hang you on this tree branch.”
Li Wushuang suddenly looked up, shocked as she stared at Li Hao.
Could these words even be spoken by a person?
I’m your cousin!!
On the side, Li Yuanzhao was taken aback, but soon, his eyes lit up slightly.
Li Hao naturally wouldn’t harbor any indecent thoughts toward Li Wushuang, he was purely threatening her. “I’ll count to three!” he scoffed.
“You, you wouldn’t dare!” Li Wushuang paled, angry and anxious, with a touch of fear.
“Two!”
“You…”
“One!”
“I, I submit!” Li Wushuang hurriedly said, she wasn’t familiar with this cousin and really couldn’t grasp his nature, growing somewhat fearful in her heart.
Li Hao had expected this, smiled coldly, a trick like this was particularly convenient and effective on a sixteen-year-old girl.
With a casual toss, Li Hao threw her out.
No longer binding her with the object-controlling force.
Realizing she could move again, Li Wushuang immediately turned and gracefully landed on the ground, wiping away the tears on her face as she fell, and as soon as she landed, she turned and looked resentfully at Li Hao.
“Cousin, you’d better not try to complain,”
Li Hao sat high on the Red Blood Horse, looking down at her calmly and casually, “And don’t provoke me again. If you come to make trouble without reason, next time I’ll do exactly as I said.”
Li Wushuang gritted her teeth; she had never faced such humiliation, even as a disciple of the Qianji Sect, or suffered such a loss.
What’s harder for her to accept was that the cousin who was two years younger than her had reached the Fifteen Li Realm?
Her cultivation level was higher than hers by one realm; how could this be possible?!
Didn’t her brother say that he used to be a Martial Arts invalid and only started cultivating smoothly at the age of eight or nine?
From eight or nine years old to now, it’s only been a few years, right?
Li Wushuang’s mind was in complete disarray; today’s events were as unbelievable to her as seeing a ghost.
“Cousin, Hao is right. It was Li Yun who provoked Hao in the first place. You’re totally in the wrong, and you can’t beat Hao either,”
Li Yuanzhao said on the side, advising her. Seeing Li Wushuang’s slightly hunched body, seemingly unable to straighten her back, he felt a bit of pity.
After all, he had been full of expectations for this cousin before yesterday, having heard since he was little how she had been a disciple under a famous master, and he had looked up to her with admiration.
Li Wushuang clenched her teeth and glared at the little fatty, saying, “Don’t give me your cold comfort!”
Li Yuanzhao was at a loss for words; he was sincerely trying to persuade her, so how had it turned into cold comfort?
But she was clearly furious, and even a tree branch by the road would have gotten slapped if it touched her, so he stopped poking the bear.
“Were you always hiding your strength, taught by Granduncle yourself?”
Li Wushuang glared at Li Hao, full of shame and anger. With their blood relationship, she naturally wouldn’t have any other sort of thoughts, but was simply humiliated by the beating.
“What’s it to you?”
Li Hao snorted, “If it were someone else today, you’d already be dead with how brainless you are!”
Li Wushuang was so furious she gritted her teeth. She had come back with the intention of fighting for the position of the True Dragon.
At yesterday’s family feast, she had already touched base with her second mother. After all, among the third generation, the ones with the most hope of competing were nothing but her and Li Qianfeng.
And she had made up her mind to emulate an ancestor, to remain unmarried for life and take charge of the Li Family.
Yet, who could have expected to be thoroughly chastised by Li Hao today.
“Don’t keep bothering me, I don’t have time for you.”
Li Hao glanced at her, lightly flicked the reins, and the Red Blood Horse trotted past her with ease.
“You!”
Li Wushuang trembled with rage, wanting to strike out but holding back. She had many Cultivation Techniques, secret moves of the Qianji Sect, but… the gap between the Divine Travel Realm and the Fifteen Li Realm was too vast.
Just the power of object manipulation alone rendered her immobile, making any special technique useless.
Unless she also stepped into the Fifteen Li Realm, she would not be qualified to fairly fight Li Hao and regain her pride.
Chapter 92: Chapter 85: Father and Son Reunion_2
Gazing at the silhouettes of the two youths riding away, Li Wushuang felt a surging rage consuming her, but suddenly, she thought of something.
The other was only fourteen years old, yet he had reached the Fifteen Li Realm.
This… it seemed to have broken Uncle Ji’s record!
Her pupils constricted slightly, and it was as if a bolt from the blue had shattered through her mind.
That invincible figure whom she had looked up to from a young age in her heart had… been surpassed by someone else?
Her shock was soon replaced by a fiery stinging pain on her buttocks, snapping her back to reality, she couldn’t help but cover it gently with her hand, only to see a faint trace of fresh blood seeping through her dress.
She bit her lower lip, feeling an inexplicable sense of grievance welling up inside her, and her eyes reddened once more.
“Hao, didn’t you go a little too harsh just now?”
Li Yuanzhao expressed his concern to Li Hao as they rode further away.
His eyes were small, but when they rode past, he had caught a glimpse of the faint redness.
“Just a minor flesh wound, it will heal in a couple of days with some medicine,” Li Hao replied indifferently, “If I was hard on her, it was for her own good. Didn’t you see her temperament at last night’s family banquet? Early fame isn’t necessarily a blessing, surrounded by flattery, even a pig would start to fly, utterly blind to its own faults.”
“Though she has learned skills from the Qianji Sect, she has been praised for too long. It’s better to correct such behavior while she’s still young; otherwise, if she continues to be like this, she will suffer greatly out in the world sooner or later!”
Li Yuanzhao was stunned; he hadn’t thought as far ahead as Li Hao had.
However, upon reflection, he felt that Li Hao was indeed right.
He couldn’t help but admire Li Hao even more.
“Hao, I’ve noticed that when you speak and act, you seem to always stand on the same side as my parents’ generation,” Li Yuanzhao said.
Li Hao glanced at him; his soul had belonged to a person of two lives, and his inner age really did match that of his Uncle Wu’s generation, hence his stern approach was somewhat in the manner of an elder educating the younger.
From the beginning to the end, he had never treated these three generations as his peers.
It wasn’t arrogance, but simply a matter of mindset.
While Li Hao and Li Yuanzhao were off to Tan Palace Academy for school, the Divine General Mansion was suddenly a hive of activity.
Li Wushuang had just quietly returned to the mansion, secretly changed into a new set of clothes, and then rummaged through her room to find the medicinal powder used to treat muscles and bones from when she was six or seven years old, applying it to herself and wrapping it with a soft cloth.
During the whole process, her indignation towards Li Hao intensified, but thinking of his cultivation level, she felt complicated emotions stirring inside her.
She also realized to some extent that she might have been wrong.
After she had changed the dressing and put on new clothes, she heard the commotion outside and was puzzled; she immediately thought of Li Hao—had his cultivation level been revealed to her mother and the others?
Yet she hadn’t had the chance to tell anyone about it.
When she stepped out of the side courtyard and asked a house servant, she learned that it wasn’t about Li Hao, but that the lord who had been guarding Northern Yan was returning.
The news of the lord’s return had electrified the whole of Qingzhou City!
In this land of Qingzhou, the Li Family was the undisputed king, with timeless merits known to everyone in the city, and statues of the family were found everywhere with four martial temples also constructed.
The ordinary citizens within the city might not feel as strongly, but in Qingzhou, the sentiment ran deep; everyone knew how difficult and how great the Li Family was.
The loss of six sons out of nine was not just a simple matter.
This time, after fourteen years of conquest in Northern Yan, slaying countless demons, just the merit list for demon-slaying alone filled three thick volumes!
When the triumphant troops reached thirty li outside Qingzhou City, people had already sent the news back into the city, back to the Li Family.
The news excited all the common folk in the city; many of them went to greet the party spontaneously.
Some vendors selling at the morning market also packed up their stalls, or left their business to capable family members, taking food and drink from home to go welcome the renowned demon-slaying commander.
Thirty li along the official road, people came in a steady stream, and as time went by, the crowd grew larger.
Some heard the wrong message and ran to the wrong city gate.
Outside the East Gate, there was a dense sea of heads, standing still on both sides of the road, craning their necks in anticipation.
Soon, with that striking battle flag billowing in the wind at the far end of the road lined with cypress trees,
countless waiting commoners burst into excited cheers, loudly calling out the name known throughout the land:
“Lord of Martial Valor, triumphant return!!”
“Long live the Divine General Mansion!!”
“Lord of Martial Valor, triumphant return!!”
“Long live the Divine General Mansion!!!”
The rising and falling shouts, wave-like, attested to the Li Family’s prestige, making passing martial artists and merchants from other towns stare in amazement.
After some inquiry, they learned the reason, realizing that during fourteen years of peace, in the lands of Northern Yan, many had fought bloody battles, slaying countless demons.
The returning procession was not long; it was the Fazi Camp’s trusted aide squadron that Lord Martial Valor had originally led into battle.
However, the formidable five hundred who had departed fourteen years ago,
now numbered less than a hundred.
Some had lost arms, others had heads wrapped in bandages; they were a band of wounded soldiers.
But the battle flag alone remained wildly and dominantly unfurling!
Some commoners, seeing those wounded soldiers, instantly teared up, coming forward to offer the eggs from their baskets and the cured meats in their hands to these returning warriors.
The Li Family was as loving to the people as to their own children, enjoying immense prestige in Qingzhou City, so these commoners were not afraid.
This scene left onlookers from outside the city stunned.
Although they too had seen victorious armies return, they would only dare to watch from afar, deterred by the solemn air that made them fearful to approach.
Yet the Li Family and the commoners were as close as fish and water, interacting in extreme harmony.
Meanwhile, Li Hao, who had just arrived at the Tan Palace not long ago, received the news. Shen Yunqing, gasping for breath, ran to find Li Hao:
“What are you doing here? Your father, Lord Martial Valor, has returned in triumph!”
Excitement was inevitably mixed in Shen Yunqing’s voice; in Qingzhou City, it was hard not to be influenced by the Li Family.
Li Hao was momentarily stunned.
His parents… had returned?
Fragmented memories instantly surfaced in his mind, but so much time had passed—fourteen years—that they had turned him from a child into a youth.
So much time that many things were almost forgotten.
After a brief pause, he quickly came to his senses and thanked Shen Yunqing. Then he took to the sky, flying out swiftly.
Watching Li Hao fly away with such speed, Shen Yunqing’s eyes widened slightly before he stroked his beard and sighed:
“The Li Family’s True Dragon of this generation is even more extraordinary than the last…”
Li Hao rushed out of the Tan Palace Academy and down the mountain.
Kicking open the stable, Li Hao leaped onto the Red Blood Horse he had ridden that morning and sped away with a flick of the whip.
On the streets within the city, the crisp sound of hooves rang out as the young man galloped swiftly, with passersby swiftly making way.
Once they saw the Red Blood Horse, some startled passersby revealed a look of relief.
Finally.
When Li Hao arrived at the official road outside the city at top speed on the Red Blood Horse, he saw the banners waving at the end of the road and a majestic figure seated on a dragon-lion slowly approaching at the front.
He quickly reined in his horse, the steed let out a long neigh, and its hooves lightly touched the ground as they landed.
A dragon and a horse, a father and a son.
In that moment, their gazes met.
Chapter 93: Chapter 86 Anger and Exposure
Red Blood Horse!
Li Tian Gang sat with a solemn composure on the back of the dragon-lion, catching sight of the youth in the middle of the official road at the end of his line of vision.
He immediately recognized the war horse the other was riding on, and upon looking at the boy’s features, found him surprisingly handsome and bright, especially around his eyes and eyebrows, which resembled those of the lover etched in his heart.
Li Tian Gang’s heart jolted.
Li Hao was also staring at the robust and composed man.
The blurry images in his memory suddenly seemed to clear, he was the man who, fourteen years ago, had tousled his head with a rough, large hand.
It had been fourteen years, yet, in that brief collision of gazes, they had both recognized each other’s identity in the blink of an eye.
Whoosh!
Li Tian Gang suddenly leaped into the air from atop the dragon-lion, landing in front of the youth’s Red Blood Horse.
The youth, too, swiftly dismounted—it was common sense not to converse with one’s father while still on horseback.
“Hao Er?”
Li Tian Gang’s voice trembled slightly.
Li Hao sensed the concern and deep emotions in his voice, and the foreignness he initially felt dissipated in an instant.
Perhaps this was the feeling of blood ties?
“Father.”
Li Hao spoke as well, his voice a bit stiff and embarrassed, but he knew that the man before him was his father in this life.
Li Tian Gang excitedly took Li Hao into his arms.
Fourteen years had not seen each other, and now his child had grown so big!
His emotions surged.
In that broad embrace and strong arms, Li Hao immediately felt a real sense of security.
At this moment, his heart seemed to settle.
His hands also gently wrapped around his father’s waist, but suddenly thinking of something, his gaze swept around, asking, “Where’s Mother?”
As he spoke, he felt the man embracing him tremble slightly.
Li Hao’s face changed abruptly, and it felt as though his blood might freeze in his veins any moment.
Li Tian Gang slowly let go of Li Hao, his dark, deep eyes suddenly showing traces of bloodshot and sorrow, “Your mother… she’s gone.”
Gone?
Li Hao’s thoughts seemed to jam for a moment.
The woman with the bright and concerned eyes in his memory… was gone?
It felt as if a delicate painting had shattered in the darkness.
Li Hao abruptly turned to look back at the triumphant procession, the countless envious and concerned glances and voices cast from both sides of the road were all ignored and blocked by him, except for the wounded.
However, among them, there was not the beautiful figure that had held him fourteen years ago.
Li Hao’s complexion turned ugly, and he said, “How could it be, wasn’t Mother always with you? Didn’t you both share life and death together?”
Li Tian Gang’s lips quivered slightly but did not utter a word.
Li Hao fiercely turned to face him: “When did Mother pass away, and why haven’t I ever heard Grandmother mention it?”
“A few months ago.”
Li Tian Gang fell into a short silence: “I sealed the news and didn’t let it spread.”
As he spoke this, he saw Li Hao seemed about to say something else, and with a generous palm, he patted his son’s shoulder, “Let’s go, we’ll talk more when we get back.”
Li Hao’s heart, once full of joy, now felt somewhat dispirited.
The common folk by the road continued to cheer, singing the praises of the Marquis of Xing Wu’s triumphant return and extolling the Li family’s glorious military achievements.
Only Li Hao, pulled up onto the back of the dragon-lion, sharing the mount with his father, knew.
On this day, he had lost his mother.
Back at the Divine General Mansion.
He Jianlan, Liu Yue Rong, and numerous ladies were all gathered, having arrived at the Mountain and River Courtyard early, waiting.
Li Xuanli had even run to the mansion gate, anxiously pacing back and forth until Li Tian Gang appeared; only then did the brothers smile at each other.
After a deep embrace.
Li Xuanli smacked Li Tian Gang’s armored chest with force, then soon after tousled Li Hao’s head, laughing as he looked around,
“Where’s my sister-in-law?”
Li Tian Gang’s expression changed slightly, shaking his head, “We’ll talk back at the mansion.”
Li Xuanli paused, his face turning grave, only then noticing that the small figure he had ruffled didn’t react at all.
The smile on Li Xuanli’s face also disappeared, and he nodded slightly, accompanying them back home.
Inside the Mountain and River Courtyard.
With Li Tian Gang’s return, the place was bustling with excitement, but soon, they learned that the seventh lady, Ji Qingqing, had not come back.
Li Tian Gang only spoke two simple words: She’s gone.
The atmosphere in the courtyard immediately turned chilly.
Everyone exchanged glances, showing a hint of sad regret in their eyes—they had been through many such events already.
People one after another stepped forward to comfort both Li Tian Gang and Li Hao.
Only He Jianlan watched from a distance, sighed, and said nothing.
Li Wushuang, who had been soundly beaten by Li Hao that morning and still felt a residual pain in her buttocks, watched the boy who stood beside his father in silence; her heart did not revel in his misfortune. Instead, she felt startled and sympathetic, with her previous grievances suddenly dissipating.
Although she had wanted to teach Li Hao a lesson and was angry at being humiliated by him, after all, they were relatives by blood, both members of the Li family, and she had never truly harbored any thoughts of harming him.
The celebration that had been prepared ended almost perfunctorily, but ultimately, they still had to eat dinner. During the meal, everyone spoke in hushed tones, asking Li Tian Gang about the situation in Northern Yan over the years.
Although the remarkable events were reported to the family through military despatches, the details were never fully revealed, but now, years of pent-up stories could be shared in bits and pieces.
As the sun set in the west and the ladies of each court left, Li Xuanli wanted to stay and keep company with Tian Gang, but his wife pulled him away.
Gao Qingqing saw her husband’s intentions, feeling slightly miffed, pulled him aside, and whispered,
“What can you comfort with just a few words in such a situation? They’re father and son who haven’t seen each other for years, why are you in the way here?”
