“Do you know how much we’ve suffered these days? Your mother has been washing her face with tears, filled with regret day and night, and we are also in deep pain!”
Li Tian Gang’s eyes were red around the rims, and beneath his thick eyebrows, his sorrow-filled gaze brimmed with anger.
“…”
Li Hao quietly glanced at him, once again realizing that this man was the same as ever, never changing, even in regret, even in sorrow, he had never really listened to him.
But fortunately, he now felt no disturbance over this.
If his words were not heeded, there was no need to continue to speak; he picked up the teacup and took a sip, bowing his head.
When He Jianlan saw the atmosphere tense up again, she became somewhat agitated, rising and saying, “Tiangang, what are you doing here saying all this, can your pain compare to Hao’er’s? He’s come close to death many times!”
Li Tian Gang’s complexion changed, and his eyes filled with sorrow, “But what can we do?”
He Jianlan clenched her teeth and said through gritted teeth, “Isn’t what Hao’er said clear enough? He’s done with you. He’s here to claim the honor that belongs to him, the merits he earned in Liangzhou. Have you brought them?!”
Hearing his sister-in-law’s sharp words, Li Tian Gang’s heart trembled, and the sorrow in his eyes deepened.
He looked up at He Jianlan, and then at Li Hao, who continued to sip his tea in silence, and through gritted teeth said:
“Since you’ve severed the blood ties and put the past behind you, why come back here?”
Li Hao set down the teacup, his expression calm like still water, and said:
“Because I have put it behind, that’s why I’ve come.”
With those words spoken, He Jianlan and the others felt a pang in their hearts, knowing that this young man had indeed let go.
But this also made them feel even more distant from this young man.
Li Tian Gang’s expression turned ugly, and he said: “Do you want me to beg you? I’ll beg you right here, publicly. Will you come back?”
He Jianlan’s expression changed, and she angrily said: “Is this how you ask for someone’s help?”
Li Hao slightly shook his head, signaling He Jianlan not to get angry, and he turned his head to look earnestly at Li Tian Gang and said:
“Don’t persist any further. Aren’t you someone who abides by the rules? I have nothing to do with the Li Family anymore. What do you mean by keeping my official seal and imperial edict to yourself?”
Li Tian Gang’s face soured, his emotions intensely complicated. He could analyze military affairs clearly, but these domestic issues were like a tangled mess to him.
At the bottom of his heart, he knew that handing over that item to Li Hao would mean a complete break.
“Child…”
Ji Qingqing stepped forward, her face streaming with tears, also wanting to plead.
But when Li Hao saw her tear-streaked face, his brows furrowed, and he stood up, saying: “Enough, if you won’t give it, then I don’t want it.”
Having said that, he turned to look at He Jianlan and the others, scanning the circle, then bowed in a gesture of respect:
“I, Haotian, take my leave of the elders here. Thank you for your care in the past. Should fate allow, may we meet again.”
After speaking, he bowed deeply to He Jianlan, and then headed straight past Li Tian Gang and his wife toward the outside.
“You stop right there!”
Li Tian Gang hastily said.
“Hao’er!”
Ji Qingqing followed in grief, but a force blocked her, it was Li Hao’s Dao Domain.
Li Hao didn’t stop walking until he saw a hunched figure at the door; it was then that his pace halted.
The last trace of coldness on his face softened immediately, and in a low voice, he said:
“Steward Zhao, why didn’t you come last night? I was waiting to offer you a toast.”
Hearing this, Steward Zhao at the door dabbed at his tears and forced a smile, saying: “Young Master, this old servant was occupied and missed the feast, I hope for your forgiveness.”
Li Hao guessed the reason and did not take offense, merely smiling and saying:
“I am no longer the young master of Mountain and River Courtyard. From now on, you can simply call me lad.”
Steward Zhao slowly shook his head, saying: “You will always be my young master.”
Li Hao’s lips moved slightly, and seeing the genuine emotion in his eyes, he did not correct him further. Raising his hand, he summoned from the Heaven and Earth Space a demon king’s heart:
“`
“This Demon Heart serves as medicine, extending one’s lifespan and refining the body, you should take it,”
“Master, I really shouldn’t, an old servant like me doesn’t need such a treasure…” Steward Zhao hastily declined.
Yet Li Hao directly handed it to him, saying, “It’s nothing precious, frying vegetables I still find it too fishy. I have plenty here, if it runs out, I’ll just go and slay a few more.”
Your adventure continues at empire
Steward Zhao immediately choked up, this child hadn’t changed, always treating the objects of everyone’s pursuit as if they were mere duckweed, while giving great weight to ordinary trifles, as if they were laden with deep affection.
“Child…”
Li Hao patted Zhao’s shoulder, and upon thinking of Li Fu’s death in Liangzhou, he sighed in his heart and said no more.
As he stepped outside, he saw Li Xiaoran on the opposite eaves. He nodded at him, smiling faintly.
He bid farewell to the old master who had fought alongside him at Mo River.
Li Xiaoran just nodded slightly, his thoughts restrained, his face betraying no insight into his mind.
As Li Hao approached the steps, Li Yuanzhao, Li Jianming, and others from within the courtyard were hurrying to meet him, but before they could speak, suddenly, streams of golden light whistled in from afar.
The golden lights turned out to be the numerous ancestral spirits of the Li Family, rushing over from the direction of the ancestral shrine.
The lead golden light was tall and imposing, even his Divine Soul was several times larger than the other Heroic Spirits, he was the Li Family ancestor, Li Tianyuan.
Seeing so many ancestors arriving, the people in the courtyard were all stunned, immediately falling to their knees in worship.
The various household servants and maidservants, hearing the calls of the young masters and misses, were also astonished and hurriedly knelt down.
“Ancestors?”
He Jianlan and others in the hall, upon hearing the news, rushed out, and seeing Li Tianyuan actually appear, were all shocked and hurriedly knelt in homage.
Ji Qingqing and Li Tiangang inside the house also saw this, their expressions changed dramatically, and they quickly fell to their knees.
In a moment, the entire scene was left with a single figure standing, it was Li Hao.
Faced with these dozens of Heroic Spirits of the Li Family ancestors, Li Hao was somewhat surprised.
“Child.”
Li Tianyuan looked at Li Hao, his eyes gentle, and said softly,
“I’ve heard all about your situation, it’s your parents who have let you down. Although we have reprimanded them, we ultimately cannot replace them in making amends. But could you, for the sake of the other members of the Li Family, consider staying with the Li Family?”
Li Hao’s expression was calm, his face as tranquil as a gentle breeze, and he said, “The elders of the Li Family who treated me with kindness, I have not forgotten. Across tens of thousands of miles of mountains and rivers, we can meet and gather wherever we are, and need not be bound by whether it is within the Li Family. I hope everyone can understand that.”
Upon hearing these words, faces among Li Tianyuan and the other ancestral Heroic Spirits changed, some looking grief-stricken, others inwardly sighed, knowing that it would not be easy to persuade the child to return after he had severed his blood ties.
They had come here merely to make one final effort.
“Your father has erred. Despite his martial achievements abroad, he has acted arrogantly and autocratically, committing major missteps. From this day forth, I strip him of his position as the True Dragon.”
Li Tianyuan spoke softly.
The courtyard fell silent at these words, everyone was shocked, not expecting the position of the True Dragon of Li Tiangang to be stripped away by an ancestor in person.
In the past, only those who had committed severe misdeeds and sins would compel the ancestors to angrily intervene, removing the True Dragon from their position. And yet Li Tiangang, who had successively campaigned in Northern Yan and defended Liangzhou, was now stripped of the True Dragon position.
But it was clear to everyone that, as the ancestor had said, no matter the achievements, forcing Li Hao out of the Divine General Mansion was a blemish on his life that could not be erased.
Inside the hall, Ji Qingqing looked at her husband in surprise.
However, Li Tiangang’s expression was one of sadness, with no sign of shock, as if he had known it all along.
At the entrance of the hall, Li Hao’s expression was still calm, unchanged.
Just as he had said, he had let go, which was why he had come.
Therefore, whatever decisions the Li Family would make were of no consequence to him.
“Even though you do not possess the blood of the Li Family, if you wish, I can make an exception and declare you the True Dragon of our Li Family. We will provide you with all our resources to aid your cultivation and make further progress, to strive for that Tao Comprehension Realm,”
Li Tianyuan said, looking at Li Hao with a serious expression.
The other Li Family ancestors knew of the elder’s decision and looked expectantly at the young man who stood alone.
Inside the hall, He Jianlan, Gao Qingqing, Li Xuanli, and others were all shocked. While they were somewhat surprised by the ancestor’s decision to strip Li Tiangang of the True Dragon position, they could still understand. But to make an exception for Li Hao, who no longer had the Li Family blood, to become the True Dragon was indeed breaking with thousands of years of tradition!
For a moment, they all turned to look at Li Hao, their eyes filled with hope and expectation.
“`