At the Northern Yan border, Yuan Yue City.
Inside the city, the skies were filled with distress and dullness, while outside the city, the ground was scarred and pitted. Within a mountain forest a hundred miles away, colossal figures with varying shapes lurked, casting a myriad of demonic shadows, along with some slender figures, who had the appearance of humans, sitting cross-legged on the peaks.
The ground here was stained with blood, and skeletons lay around like piles of firewood. The flayed skins hung loosely from branches and stones, like ragged cloths.
At this moment, a beautiful young woman, holding the arm of a corpse in military armor, was gnawing on one of the fingers. Her lips and cheeks were smeared with bright red blood, but she seemed utterly unconcerned.
Suddenly, a black speck appeared in the sky, racing towards them at high speed. As it drew closer, it was revealed to be a massive three-clawed black bird, over ten meters long.
As it contracted its body, when it landed, it had transformed into a graceful-looking young man with a black headband, walking briskly towards a group of seated figures, and then approaching a youth draped in white who had a long zither lying across his knees.
With a leisurely strum of his fingers across the strings of the zither, soothing sound waves emerged, though his gaze was set calmly on the distance, looking toward the city that seemed like an unsightly stone.
There one could faintly discern the ominous clouds amassed above the city and the vague silhouettes atop the walls.
"Monarch Bai."
The youth with the black headband greeted with a slight bow, showing respect as he addressed the white-clad youth, "I've just received news that the disposable flesh we sent earlier failed and even alerted the Divine General Mansion; now the entire mansion is on high alert. They say there's a master secretly protecting the child."
"To fail at such a task? Worthless trash!"
Standing by, a robust and giant man's expression darkened, his lips parting slightly to reveal sharp teeth unlike those of a human.
"Didn't you say he had already infiltrated close to that child?" the beautiful woman gnawing on the arm frowned, stopping her chewing to cast a glance at the young man with the headband.
"Half a month has passed, and his identity surely has not been revealed. How could he have not found an opportunity to strike in all this time?"
A young man with yellow eyebrows spoke up with a furrowed brow, "To prevent any misinformation from the Divine General Mansion, that Marquis Xingwu deliberately concealed the child's true circumstances. That's why we sent a flesh of the Zhou Tian Realm for this task. If a sudden punch was delivered from close range, not even someone at the tenth level of the Power Passage Realm could avoid it, let alone if there is a master guarding at his side, they would not have time to react, right?"
The young man with the black headband sighed, "We have no details on what happened, only that the creature turned out to be so useless."
"Hmph, not only did it fail, but it also alerted the Divine General Mansion. If this news reaches Li Tian Gang's ears, he'll surely send more people to protect the child. Damn worthless thing!" the burly man grunted angrily once again.
The young man with the headband nodded slightly, "The next assassination will only be more difficult. Since that flesh has failed, there's no need to keep its family alive – let the little ones below have their fill."
"They've already been devoured."
The beautiful woman bit off another finger and spoke while chewing.
The young man with the black headband said no more, instead turning his gaze toward the white-clad youth who had stopped playing the zither, his eyes revealing a hint of awe, "Monarch Bai, what should we do next? Shall we launch a direct assault?"
The others also looked over, waiting for his command.
Monarch Bai's emotions seemed undisturbed as he continued to stare at Yuan Yue City in the distance, speaking softly, "This Li Family is indeed a tough bone to chew. If we were to launch a direct attack, our losses would be too great."
"Indeed, those scoundrels are unwilling to put in the effort. Damn them," the sturdy man said discontentedly.
"So, do we still go through with the assassination?" the youth with the black headband inquired.
Monarch Bai turned to look at him and said, "What do you think?"
...
...
Since Li Hao's attack, the vigilance at the Divine General Mansion had significantly increased.
He Jianlan deployed powerful individuals from the inner court to guard the front court and had every house servant who had entered the mansion in the past three years carefully screened.
There was a lot of commotion surrounding this matter, but each court cooperated actively. After all, the assassination had been perilously close, and no one wanted the same to happen to their own child.
After an investigation by the Li Family's intelligence network, it was found that the assassination attempt was linked to the demons of Northern Yan.
Li Hao sought out his aunt to keep the news of the assassination attempt from spreading to Northern Yan, from reaching that couple's ears, so as to not affect the war on the front lines.
Hearing Li Hao say this left He Jianlan in a daze, and as she looked at Li Hao's young face, her heart felt as if it was being tugged at something.
The child had barely escaped assassination due to the conflicts in Northern Yan, yet still worried about its impact on the front, truly a thoughtfulness that was heartrending.
However, the commotion caused by the assassination was too significant, and keeping it a secret was impossible.
News quickly reached the Northern Yan border.
Marquis Xingwu, who was contemplating the military arrangements in the camp, was enraged, and Ji Qingqing was also uncontrollably furious. They immediately discerned the demons' intentions of using Li Hao's death to demoralize the army, compelling them to leave the Northern Yan battlefield.
Should they abandon the front, this side would undoubtedly be met with a thunderous assault.
Marquis Xingwu couldn't possibly ignore the battlefield here. In his rage, he immediately sent a trusted aide from his side back to the mansion to guard Li Hao closely.
The mansion reported that the assassination attempt was thwarted by someone covertly protecting Li Hao.
But Marquis Xingwu knew well that he had not assigned anyone to secretly guard Li Hao.
With the Mountain and River Courtyard guarded and located within the Divine General Mansion, it never crossed his mind that someone would attempt to assassinate a child.
If Li Hao had displayed extraordinary talent in Martial Arts, he would have concerned himself and sent someone to protect him secretly, to prevent the Li Family's potential prodigy from perishing in the cradle.
But for someone without Martial Arts talent, posing no threat, to nearly be harmed in such a manner.
And all this was due to the damned stalemate before him.
Several days later, at the Northern Yan battlefield, the Li Family's army struck like lightning, purging a nest of demons overnight. The news spread, and all demons felt the Li Family's wrath.
...
...
Days eventually settled down and became calm again.
Half a year passed, and Li Hao turned seven.
The news of the assassination attempt had happened half a year ago, and by now, no one in the household brought it up anymore.
In the meantime, the powerful protector sent back from the military by the Marquis of Xingwu had been following Li Hao closely for the past six months—a tall and upright middle-aged man who seldom spoke or smiled, acted cautiously and meticulously, and was named Li Fu.
It was said that Li Fu was an abandoned infant many years ago, taken in by the Li Family. People said that although the child's fate was tragic, ending up at the door of the Divine General Mansion was also seen as fortunate. That's why he took the Li surname and was given a single name, Fu.
In his early years within Mountain and River Courtyard, Li Fu grew up alongside the Marquis of Xingwu.
He was seven or eight years older than the Marquis of Xingwu. On ordinary days, he looked after the Marquis like an elder brother, but in the army, the two shared a senior-junior relationship.
At the same time, Li Fu was also one of the Marquis of Xingwu's right-hand men, a person he trusted immensely.
"Uncle Fu, you lost again,"
Inside the pavilion, as a game of chess concluded, Li Hao said with a grin.
Li Fu's stern face revealed a hint of helplessness, "I am of the same generation as your father, you should call me 'uncle'."
"But calling you Fu Uncle sounds like admitting defeat," Li Hao curled his lips, "When I play chess, I only want to win; I don't like admitting defeat."
Li Fu found himself speechless, his superiors in the family hierarchy propelled by this silly wordplay.
"You can also call me Uncle Li."
"But this is the Li Family, there are too many with the Li surname. If I call you Uncle Li, I'm afraid you'll get confused," Li Hao said.
Li Fu was once again at a loss for words.
"If you ask me, you shouldn't have been named Fu; since everyone says you are blessed... you should be called Li You."
Li Hao said earnestly, "Look, the name Li You sounds so nice. You have, you have, it's as if you have everything, corresponding to perfection!"
Li Fu felt an urge to knock on the boy's little head. Unlike the Marquis of Xingwu's by-the-book nature, this son of his was slick and smooth-talking.
"Stop talking nonsense. If your father were here, he would certainly spank you for being disrespectful," Li Fu scolded with a stern face.
"But he isn't here," Li Hao casually remarked.
Li Fu wanted to discipline him a bit to prevent him from becoming increasingly unruly, but this indifferent comment made his heart tremble.
When the Marquis of Xingwu went on a campaign back then, he had also been by his side and naturally knew that this year Li Hao was seven, and so the lord had been in Northern Yan for seven years.
The situation in Northern Yan made it difficult for Ji Qingqing, who initially accompanied him with the intention of swift victory, to leave. She couldn't neglect her husband's danger.
The child before him had been without his parents' company for seven years. It must have been hard, right?
Li Fu felt a pang of sympathy and his heart softened, he sighed, "Your father has his difficulties too. Don't blame him."
"I never blamed him," Li Hao said seriously.
Li Fu looked into his eyes, his heart warmed slightly, feeling somewhat gratified, "You're very sensible."
Sensible? Li Hao cracked a smile.
Just then, a half-grown figure returned to Mountain and River Courtyard.
Li Hao turned to look and saw Bian Ruxue coming back from practice at the martial arts training ground.
The little girl had now turned into a young lady, her tender face couldn't hide her beauty.
"Why are you back so early today, are you hungry?" Li Hao called out with a smile.
Upon seeing Li Hao, Bian Ruxue walked over with her sword in arms, her expression somewhat sullen, "I'm not hungry," she muttered.
"What, did someone upset you?" Li Hao teased.
Bian Ruxue clenched her teeth slightly, turned her little face away, and did not speak.
Li Hao had asked casually, but seeing her reaction, he raised his eyebrows slightly, "Tell me what happened?"
"It's nothing," Bian Ruxue got up, hugged her sword and ran off, heading to the place where she usually practiced her swordsmanship.
Li Hao thought for a moment, then summoned the female attendant who accompanied her in sword practice, and asked, "What happened to Xue'er?"
"To report to the young master, Miss Xue'er was defeated in a swordsmanship contest at the martial arts training ground," despite Li Fu being present, the attendant still maintained a respectful demeanor, even though she knew that this young master was unfit for martial arts.
"Just that little thing?"
Li Hao was relieved and said, "So what if she lost once? As a martial artist, winning and losing are common in the military profession. She'll just have to win next time. What, can't she accept losing?"
The attendant hesitated, then said, lowering her head, "No, young master, the one who defeated the young lady was rather despicable, running down the young master in front of her, which is why... the young lady is so upset."
"Ah?" Li Hao hadn't expected the issue involved himself; was the little one taking up his cause?
Li Hao glanced at the young girl in the distance, who was now practicing her swordsmanship, but looking visibly agitated.
His eyes flickered slightly, and he told the attendant, "I understand, you may go now."