Chapter 12

Lin Haixia left in the end.

But unlike his previous regret and loneliness, he was filled with such excitement that he almost ran out of the Divine General Mansion.

He wanted to report this heaven-sent good news to the commander at the frontier as quickly as possible.

If they knew that their child possessed a Sword Dao talent that was rare in a thousand years, they would surely be very surprised and gratified!

Lin Haixia understood that sword, but not completely.

He recognized that sword technique; it was the most famous sword technique in the Li family's collection, the Sea Without End · Tide Sword Art!

But compared to the Tide Sword Art he had seen, even at the Perfect level, it was not inferior at all, and even had a special feeling.

He racked his brains and could only think of two words in the end:

Round and full.

More flawless than perfect!

Lin Haixia knew that above the perfect level of technique, there was another deeper realm called Ultimate.

But even for some people who had been immersed in a technique for decades, it was very difficult to reach.

Besides hard practice, it also required supreme talent.

However, this world-shocking sword was presented in Li Hao's hands.

A six-year-old child.

Even for those stunning geniuses, being able to practice a technique to nimbleness at the age of six was already extremely difficult.

Moreover, Lin Haixia had never seen Li Hao practice swordplay.

But there was no doubt that he felt Li Hao had been practicing secretly.

However, regardless of poverty or wealth, every day has twelve hours.

Everyone is equal before time, and when he saw Li Hao, the vast majority of his time in a day was spent playing chess, playing, strolling, daydreaming, eating, and drinking.

He had never seen him practice swordplay, and hadn't even seen him touch it.

Even if he worked hard in secret, how much time could he squeeze out? He asked Li Hao, "Why do you practice swordplay secretly?"

"And why hide this world-shocking talent?"

But Li Hao just smiled and shook his head, not speaking.

Lin Haixia thought of many things; he had also heard a little about those royal grievances and wealthy family grievances in storybooks, and he had faint guesses in his heart.

Looking at Li Hao's quiet, smiling little face, Lin Haixia felt his nose ache; he understood that if the man at the frontier returned, this child would never be so without support.

He could clearly be radiant, but now he could only keep a low profile and lie dormant.

If this child hadn't seen his sincerity, he probably wouldn't have let him see his hidden true face... Lin Haixia thought of this, feeling quite moved and comforted in his heart.

This sword not only let Lin Haixia see Li Hao's Sword Dao talent, but combined with Li Hao's usual speech and conversation, it also made him truly understand how smart this child really was!...

Lin Haixia left in a hurry, and when passing the front courtyard, he didn't even greet Bian Ruxue.

With Lin Haixia's departure, the courtyard returned to its usual peace.

However, now that he was six years old, Li Hao needed to get up early every day to pay his morning respects to the First Lady in the Changchun Courtyard; this was etiquette.

The purpose of etiquette is to cultivate a character of respecting teachers and the Dao, and knowing how to repay kindness from a young age.

As Li Hao's child-bride, Bian Ruxue was already considered half a Li family member, so naturally, she had to follow him to pay morning respects.

When paying morning respects, it was inevitable to run into children from other courtyards, but there were only four or five.

They were all of similar age to Li Hao.

Such as the Fifth Lady's second son and little daughter.

The Sixth Lady's orphaned son.

The Eighth Lady's son and daughter.

As for the other children, they were either like Li Qianfeng or Li Wushuang, who had supreme talent and were taken away by famous masters.

Or they were already old, had joined the army, and had gone to fight for fame.

Like the First Lady's son and daughter, they were already in their twenties and served as major generals in the army; if there was no war, they would occasionally return.

But as Li family members, they had long since engraved military law into their marrow, with strict discipline, and would lead by example, so the First Lady could rarely see her children once a year.

After paying morning respects, Li Hao and Bian Ruxue were invited by the First Lady He Jianlan to stay and enjoy the nutritious breakfast she had cooked. Sitting at the table, Li Hao chatted with this dignified and elegant First Lady for a few words, and then the two small figures swayed their bodies one after another, returning to their own courtyard.

Li Hao daydreamed and thought about chess as usual.

Bian Ruxue practiced swordplay in the courtyard.

The Supreme Grade sword technique Lin Haixia taught her before leaving was enough for her to practice for several years.

He had thought that this harmonious and quiet time would continue to pass slowly like this.

Until several days later, a piece of news suddenly spread back to the Divine General Mansion.

Lin Haixia had returned.

A soldier clad in heavy armor, with a burly figure and a cold, sharp gaze, brought Lin Haixia back.

But he only brought back one hand.

When he heard the news from Uncle Zhao, Li Hao was stunned.

The chess piece in his hand fell to the ground, but he, who usually only had eyes for chess pieces, didn't even take a look at it at this moment.

He didn't even bother to put on his boots, running out with his bare little feet, and rushed into the Changchun Courtyard.

The maid at the door wanted to report it, but Li Hao had already rushed in directly.

Then, he saw that in the main hall of the Changchun Courtyard, where he usually paid his morning respects, a soldier was kneeling on one knee. Li Hao's heart trembled; he passed the soldier and saw a piece of red cloth on the ground in front of him, with a hand lying on the cloth.

The severed arm was like it had been torn, bloody and mangled, uneven.

Green sleeve binding; this was the clothes Lin Haixia was wearing when he left.

This hand had rubbed the little girl's head just a few days ago.

In his ears, the soldier was reporting to He Jianlan: "On the way to Yanbei, Captain Lin was ambushed by demons lurking there while passing the Qizhou National Highway."

"The Yanbei battlefield is deadlocked; recently, demons have infiltrated various cities in Yanbei, trying to disperse our army's strength, and demons have also appeared frequently in other states..."

"Stop for a moment."

He Jianlan interrupted the soldier.

She was slightly stunned, looking at Li Hao, who had rushed into the main hall with his bare little feet.

Immediately thinking of something, a sigh appeared in her eyes, and she instructed Xuejian beside her: "Take the arm away first."

"Yes."

Xuejian nodded lightly, then raised her apricot eyes to look at Li Hao who had rushed in; she was quite familiar with this little guy and also knew that the owner of this arm was the half-master who had laid the foundation for Li Hao.

It was just that in a military family, she had long since seen many partings and deaths, and besides a secret sigh, she had no other feelings.

When Xuejian walked over, Li Hao stepped forward and blocked her.

Ignoring the other party's surprised look, Li Hao turned around, his eyes fixed on the soldier:

"Which demon killed Lin Shu?"

The soldier looked up and saw a little boy of the same height as himself kneeling on one knee, staring at him with a face full of anger; that look was extremely cold and angry, as if it didn't belong to a child.

From the jade pendant hanging from the other party's waist, he recognized that this was the Li family's Qilin child, just not knowing which branch he was from.

He immediately said truthfully: "It was a thousand-year-old great demon of the Fourth Realm, who led several demons to surround and attack together, dismembering and eating Captain Lin. By the time the city guards from Qizhou arrived, only this arm was left."

Dismembered and eaten! Li Hao's brain roared like thunder; his eye sockets immediately turned red, and the blood in his whole body seemed to be surging backwards, his brain congested.

It was not hard for him to imagine what kind of situation that was, how cruel it was! Coming to this world, Li Hao was in the Divine General Mansion; although he had heard a lot of news about demons from the surrounding environment, he had never truly seen one. In the past, although he knew that the battlefield was cruel, for the first time, he felt this impact so directly.

"Does that demon have a title?"

Li Hao said in a low voice.

The soldier said: "Yes, that demon has lived outside Qizhou City for a long time and calls itself 'Tiger Robe Immortal'."

Li Hao silently engraved this title in his heart, and an indescribable killing intent surged in his heart, but he controlled his emotions and didn't ask any more questions, just turned around, rolled up the red cloth on the ground, and covered and wrapped the arm.

Afterwards, Li Hao looked up at the First Lady in the upper seat: "First Lady, I will take Lin Shu's hand back. I was rude today, First Lady, please don't blame me."

After speaking, he hugged the arm and turned to leave barefoot.

He Jianlan's eyes flickered slightly; from Li Hao, she faintly saw some things that were not common on weekdays. This child was more mature and smarter than she had imagined.

"Xuejian, take Chengzhi's boots to Hao'er." He Jianlan instructed.

Xuejian nodded and went to the side room to find the boots, but just as she chased out of the courtyard, she saw that the small figure had already walked far away and disappeared.

Returned to the Shanhe Courtyard.

Li Hao found a place to bury the arm, then found a wooden plaque, carved the three characters "Lin Haixia" on it, and inserted it into the soil.

He instructed Uncle Zhao to fence off the area and forbid anyone from stepping in.

When Uncle Zhao learned that what was buried inside was Lin Haixia's remaining arm, he quickly advised: "Young Master, this is the courtyard where the heads of the family live; you cannot bury bones here. We have a cemetery for burying martyrs; let's send this Captain Lin there."

"Let's set up a cenotaph for Lin Shu in the martyrs' cemetery."

Li Hao shook his head slightly and scanned the courtyard: "This large Shanhe Courtyard can accommodate one of Lin Shu's hands."

"Young Master..."

Uncle Zhao wanted to say more, but was stopped by Li Hao and had no choice but to give up.

"Remember to provide a pension for Lin Shu's family and treat them well." Li Hao said to Uncle Zhao.

Uncle Zhao replied: "Captain Lin is a military man; Yanbei should already know the news and will handle his family well."

"That side is that side, this side is this side." Li Hao looked at Uncle Zhao: "You should understand what I mean."

Uncle Zhao was startled; he nodded slightly: "I understand."

The news of Lin Haixia's death was like a small stone thrown into the bottom of a lake; it didn't cause any waves in the Divine General Mansion, just small ripples.

Other courtyards remained the same, but in the Shanhe Courtyard, Li Hao became even more obsessed with chess, even ignoring Bian Ruxue's sword practice.

He didn't tell the little girl about Lin Shu to avoid making her sad.

Time flew by.

One day, Li Hao woke up from a dream; he was playing chess with Lin Shu when a fierce tiger suddenly rushed in from outside the chessboard, knocked over the chessboard, and pressed Lin Haixia to the ground, biting his neck.

He sat on the bed, gasping for breath.

The little girl beside him was woken up, sleepy-eyed, rubbing her eye sockets and saying: "Brother Hao, what's wrong?"

Li Hao came back to his senses, shook his head and said: "Nothing."

After the little girl fell asleep again, Li Hao covered her with the quilt that had slipped to the side, then sat up and came to the windowsill.

Moonlight spilled down, and characters suddenly appeared before Li Hao's eyes:

【You have comprehended the Chess Heart.】 (End of Chapter)