The Name of Eternals

Chapter 15: Defeat

Yannorth Border, Yuan Yue City.

Inside the city, there was a gloomy atmosphere, and outside, the ground was ravaged and pockmarked. In a mountainous forest a hundred miles away, there were large, distinct figures lurking, shadows of demons everywhere. Among them were some slender figures with human appearances, sitting cross-legged at the mountain peaks.

The ground here was stained with blood, bones lay like a forest, and bloodied skins were like rags, hanging casually on branches and rocks.

At this moment, a beautiful woman held an armored hand, nibbling on its fingers, her lips stained with bright red blood, yet she seemed indifferent.

Suddenly, a black dot rapidly approached from the sky. As it drew near, it turned out to be a three-clawed black bird over ten meters long.

It shrank its form, and upon landing, transformed into a graceful young man with a black scarf on his head, walking lightly toward a group of seated figures, then stopping in front of a white-clothed youth with a long qin resting on his knees.

The youth gently plucked the qin strings, emitting waves of sound while his gaze quietly looked into the distance at the city that seemed like a foul stone.

There, one could vaguely see a mass of dark clouds gathering over the city, as well as faintly standing figures on the city wall.

"White Lord."

The young man with the black scarf slightly cupped his hands, showing respect to the youth in white, saying, "Just received news, the useless pawn we sent earlier failed and alerted Shenjiang Manor. Now the entire manor is on guard. It's said that there is a hidden expert protecting the child."

"Even that failed? Useless trash!"

A burly man with a huge physique furrowed his brow, grinning slightly to reveal sharp, inhuman teeth.

"Didn't they say they had already infiltrated close to the child?" The beautiful woman chewing on the hand frowned, stopped her chewing, and glanced at the black-scarfed youth.

"It's been half a month; his identity surely wasn't exposed. How come he couldn't find an opportunity to act?"

Next to her, a youth with yellow eyebrows frowned, saying, "To prevent any misinformation from Shenjiang Manor, in case Marquis Xingwu deliberately concealed the child's real condition, we specifically sent a Zhoutian Realm pawn over. If he could kill him with one punch at close range, even a Tongli Realm perfectionist couldn't dodge it. Even if there was an expert guarding nearby, they wouldn't have reacted in time, right?"

The black-scarfed youth sighed and said, "The exact details are unknown. Who knew that thing would be so useless?"

"Hmph, not only did he fail, but he also alerted Shenjiang Manor. If this news reaches Li Tiangang's ears, he will surely send more people to protect him. Damn useless thing!" The burly man snorted angrily again.

The black-scarfed youth nodded slightly, "If we continue with the assassination, it will be even more difficult. Anyway, since the pawn failed, there's no need to keep his family around. Let the little ones enjoy them below."

"They've already been eaten up."

The beautiful woman bit off another finger, speaking while chewing.

The black-scarfed youth didn't speak further, instead looking at the white-clothed youth who had stopped playing the qin, his eyes showing a hint of reverence: "White Lord, what should we do next? Should we attack head-on?"

The others also looked at him, waiting for his instructions.

The White Lord's mood seemed unchanged, gazing into the distance at Yuan Yue City, softly speaking, "This Li family is truly a tough bone to chew. If we attack head-on, our losses would be too great."

"Yeah, those guys refuse to exert effort, real bastards." The burly man grumbled discontentedly.

"Should we still attempt an assassination?" The black-scarfed youth asked.

The White Lord turned his head to look at him, saying, "What do you think?"

...

...

Since Li Hao's attack, the guards at Shenjiang Manor had become even more stringent.

He Jianlan deployed inner courtyard experts to guard the front courtyard, thoroughly screening every servant who had entered the manor within three years.

This incident caused a great stir, but each courtyard actively cooperated. After all, this assassination attempt was too dangerous, and everyone feared it might happen to their own children.

Through the Li family's intelligence network, the assassination was found to be related to the demons in Yannorth.

Li Hao approached the lady, asking her to keep the assassination attempt secret, so it wouldn't reach Yannorth, to prevent disturbing the frontline situation.

Hearing Li Hao's request, He Jianlan was momentarily stunned, then looked at Li Hao's small face, feeling a tug at her heart.

This child, nearly assassinated due to the Yannorth conflict, was still worried about affecting the situation there, sensible to the point of making one's heart ache.

However, the assassination incident was too significant to conceal.

The Yannorth border soon received the news.

In the military camp, Marquis Xingwu was furious, and Ji Qingqing was also enraged. They immediately understood these demons' intentions—to use Li Hao's death to shake the army's morale, drawing them away from Yannorth's conflict.

Once they left, there would surely be a thunderous assault.

Marquis Xingwu couldn't abandon this battlefield, and in his anger, he dispatched his trusted aide to return home to protect Li Hao personally.

The message from the manor stated that the assassination was thwarted by someone secretly guarding Li Hao.

But Marquis Xingwu knew he hadn't sent anyone to guard Li Hao secretly.

The Shanhe courtyard had guards, and being within Shenjiang Manor, he never expected anyone would attempt to assassinate a child.

Had Li Hao shown astonishing martial talent, he might have been more cautious, sending someone to guard secretly to prevent the family's future prodigy from dying in the cradle.

But for someone with no martial talent, posing no threat, he was almost killed regardless.

And all of this was due to the damn stalemate.

Days later, at the Yannorth battlefield, the Li family army launched a thunderous strike, eliminating a nest of demons overnight. The news spread, making all demons feel the Li family's fury.

...

...

Life eventually returned to its slow, calm pace.

Half a year passed, and Li Hao turned seven.

The assassination incident was half a year old, and now no one in the manor mentioned it anymore.

And the expert sent back from the military by Marquis Xingwu had been following Li Hao closely for the past six months. This expert was a tall, upright middle-aged man named Li Fu, known for his stern demeanor and careful handling.

It's said that Li Fu was an abandoned infant adopted by the Li family many years ago. At the time, some said that though the child's fate was tragic, being found at Shenjiang Manor's gate was fortuitous, so he was given the surname Li and the name Fu.

In his early years in Shanhe courtyard, Li Fu grew up with Marquis Xingwu.

He was seven or eight years older than Marquis Xingwu and usually cared for him like an older brother, but in the army, they were superior and subordinate.

Simultaneously, Li Fu was one of Marquis Xingwu's right-hand men, one of the most trusted.

"Uncle Fu, you've lost again."

In the pavilion, after a game of chess, Li Hao cheerfully remarked.

Li Fu's stern face showed a trace of helplessness, "I'm of the same generation as your father; you should call me Uncle."

"But calling you Uncle Fu sounds like saying 'admit defeat.'" Li Hao pouted, "I only want to win at chess, I don't like admitting defeat."

Li Fu was left speechless. Due to this trivial homonym, he ended up with an added generation.

"You could call me Uncle Li."

"But there are too many people with the surname Li here at the Li family; if I call you Uncle Li, I'm afraid you won't be able to tell who I'm referring to." Li Hao explained.

Li Fu felt helpless once more.

"I'd say, Uncle Fu, you shouldn't have been named Fu. Since it's said you have good fortune... you should have been named Li You."

Li Hao earnestly said, "Look, the name Li You sounds so nice. You have it, you have it, everything is yours, corresponding to being flawless!"

Li Fu felt a bit like knocking on his little head. Unlike Marquis Xingwu's straightforward nature, his son was indeed very glib.

"Stop talking nonsense. If your father were here, he would certainly discipline you for being so cheeky." Li Fu scolded with a stern face.

"But the problem is, he isn't here." Li Hao replied casually.

Li Fu was just about to discipline him a bit to prevent him from becoming more unruly, but hearing this nonchalant remark made his heart tremble.

When Marquis Xingwu went on campaign, Li Fu accompanied him, knowing that this year Li Hao turned seven, while the Marquis had been in Yannorth for seven years.

The situation in Yannorth had initially prompted Ji Qingqing to accompany her husband for a swift victory, leaving her unable to return, as she couldn't leave her husband in danger.

This child before him, seven years without his parents by his side, must feel very sad, right?

Li Fu felt a pang of heartache, and his heart softened, sighing, "Your father has his difficulties; don't blame him."

"I've never blamed him." Li Hao replied earnestly.

Li Fu looked into his eyes, feeling warmth and a sense of relief, saying, "You are very sensible."

Sensible? Li Hao grinned.

At that moment, a young figure returned to Shanhe Courtyard.

Li Hao turned his head and saw Bian Ruxue, who had been practicing at the training grounds, coming back.

The little girl had now grown into a young lady, her youthful face barely concealing her charm.

"Why are you back so early today? Are you hungry?" Li Hao asked with a smile, waving her over.

Bian Ruxue, seeing Li Hao, walked over with her sword, her expression somewhat sullen. She simply said, "I'm not hungry."

"What's wrong? Did someone upset you?" Li Hao teased.

Bian Ruxue bit her lip slightly, turned her face away stubbornly, and didn't speak.

Li Hao had asked casually, but seeing her reaction, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Tell me, what happened?"

"It's nothing." Bian Ruxue got up, clutching her sword, and ran off to her usual spot for practicing.

Li Hao thought for a moment and called over the maid who accompanied her during sword practice. He asked, "What's wrong with Xue'er?"

"Master, Miss Xue'er had a sword fight at the training grounds and was defeated." With Li Fu nearby, the maid, despite knowing this young master was a martial arts failure, still spoke respectfully.

"That's all?"

Li Hao was relieved and said, "It's just one loss. For a martial artist, winning and losing are commonplace. She can just win next time. Why, can't she handle losing?"

The maid hesitated for a moment and then bowed her head, saying, "No, Young Master, the person who defeated Miss was rather unpleasant and mocked you in front of her, so… Miss is angry because of that."

"Huh?" Li Hao hadn't expected this to involve him. So, the little girl was standing up for him?

Li Hao glanced at the distance, where the young girl was practicing her sword but looked furious.

His eyes flickered slightly, and he said to the maid, "I understand, you can go now."