Chapter 14: The Softest Place

What’s going on? The thin young man’s mind went blank for an instant, unable to tell who the assassin was.

But feeling the crushing pressure on his throat, he snapped back to reality, staring in terror at the little boy before him.

What kind of monster is this? He’s barely seven, yet possesses such terrifying strength—even a Foundation Establishment tenth-layer cultivator, plus the Marquis’s divine blood awakening, shouldn’t be this extreme. “Who sent you to kill me?” Li Hao fixed his gaze on the man, while memories flooded his mind: the chess game was merely a means to get close, proving the assassin’s sole purpose in entering the Divine General’s Mansion was to kill him.

The thin young man fell silent. The child’s displayed strength and intellect were nothing like those of an ordinary six-year-old.

He had thought he was here to eliminate a worthless brat, only to uncover something horrifying.

“You’re not a martial waste. Is hiding your strength your own choice, or your father’s order?” The young man narrowed his eyes.

Now that the assassination had failed and he felt the crushing force always poised to crush his throat, he knew he had no chance of survival—and yet, he grew calm.

Assassinating a direct bloodline of the Divine General’s Mansion was already a near-suicidal mission; it was a pity he couldn’t complete it.

“You know my father?” Li Hao’s eyes flickered.

“You’re joking.”

The thin young man spoke coldly: “Who in the world doesn’t know the Xing Wu Hou? He now guards the northern border; just months ago, he summoned martial artists from across the realm to aid in suppressing demons in Yanbei—and they came at his call, his reputation towering.”

Aid in suppressing demons? Li Hao frowned. Had the situation in Yanbei deteriorated so badly that they had to rely on rogue martial artists?

“Did my second mother send you?” Li Hao asked.

The thin young man paused, then understood, a flicker of mockery crossing his eyes. “You’ve been targeted before? I never expected the iron-blooded Divine General’s Mansion to be this rotten inside. No wonder you pretended to be a waste. But tell me—have you ever seen you cultivate? How many hours do you train each day?”

I’ve been training with you all along… Li Hao met his gaze calmly. “Answer my question first. Then I’ll answer yours. That’s called an exchange.”

The thin young man raised an eyebrow and laughed. This child was truly fascinating.

“I’m going to die anyway. You’ve ruined my mission and doomed my family. Why should I tell you?” He sneered lightly.

Li Hao said: “Because I see you don’t want to die. You’re afraid of death. And death comes in many forms—I can give you a swift one.”

The young man’s smile vanished. He fell silent, then spoke slowly: “The one who sent me is…”

Suddenly, his arm trembled—he punched straight for Li Hao’s head.

Li Hao tilted his head slightly, evading effortlessly, making no counterattack, only watching coldly.

The young man’s heart sank into despair, a chill spreading through him. Was the gap this vast? He, a Zhou Tian cultivator, felt like he’d swapped places with this child—before him, he was nothing but a child, completely exposed.

The other’s contempt made him slump, withdrawing his hand. “You’re truly a monster.”

“Speak,” Li Hao said coldly. “You should know our Li family is a military lineage—we’ve captured countless prisoners, interrogated countless criminals. Our methods of torture are beyond your imagination. You’ll beg for death. But if you wish, I can give you a quick end.”

The young man’s eyelid twitched. He knew the child wasn’t lying—and fear began to creep into his heart.

“If I tell you, will you spare me?” he asked, clinging to the hope that this child still possessed innocence.

“Yes,” Li Hao replied.

Pfft… The young man nearly spat blood. Are you that blunt? This is the most fake answer imaginable. Do you think I’m a child?

He gave a bitter laugh. “Fine, I might as well tell you. Since the assassination failed, my family is already dead. I came from Yanbei. The one who ordered me to kill you is… Bai Shenjun.”

“Bai Shenjun?”

“Yes. One of the three demon gods of Yanbei. His power is terrifying—and your father’s old rival.”

The young man’s gaze was complex. “Your father commands like a god, and the Li army fears neither death. Yanbei should have fallen long ago. Now the frontlines are locked in stalemate. Bai Shenjun sent me to kill you—to spread word of your death from the Divine General’s Mansion to Yanbei’s border, shattering your father’s morale. If he leaves the battlefield to return, Yanbei will fall.”

He fixed his eyes on Li Hao.

No one knew this child was a decisive weight in the survival of tens of thousands in Yanbei’s cities.

Li Hao froze. So it was because of Yanbei.

The war there had already reached the Divine General’s Mansion, thousands of miles away.

“Your father holds Yanbei. His troops are battle-hardened, flawless. You are their only weakness—the softest spot.”

The young man said: “Only by targeting you can you defeat your parents and break Yanbei’s border, letting the demon hordes pour through.”

Li Hao fell silent, absorbing the words. After a moment, he spoke slowly: “You’re human. Why serve the demons?”

The young man froze, then looked at Li Hao with a slow, haunting gaze—filled with envy and hatred. “Not everyone is as lucky as you. You wouldn’t understand.”

“Is that so?”

Li Hao regarded him calmly. “Born with parents gone, betrayed by those close to you, now hunted because of your parents—do you really think I’m lucky?”

The young man opened his mouth, stunned, speechless, unable to reply.

Li Hao said no more. “I promised you—I’ll give you a swift death.”

“Heh. You’re oddly kind,” the young man muttered, forcing a mocking laugh.

No matter what, death was inevitable. He felt fear in his eyes—he didn’t want to die, and that’s why he’d sunk so low as to serve demons. Li Hao, as if deaf to the mockery, said: “Actually, I don’t want to kill you.”

“Oh?” The young man’s eyes flashed with cold scorn—he clearly didn’t believe it. “Because your chess is good,” Li Hao said seriously.

The young man froze.

After a long while, he came back to himself, a bitter smile on his face: “Unfortunately, I’ve never beaten you.”

“Next life.”

Li Hao tightened his grip. “Next life, don’t train martial arts. Just play chess. At least you’ll live longer—and easier.”

The young man struggled, but seeing Li Hao’s cold, composed gaze, only despair remained. “You’re a strange child.”

In the end, Li Hao crushed him to death.

As he choked, the young man fought desperately—but to no effect.

Only after eliminating the assassin did Li Hao realize he didn’t even know the man’s real name.

And the servant name the assassin used was one granted by the Li family.

But…

It didn’t matter.

…

…

With the assassin dead, Li Hao summoned a retainer, who nearly fainted from terror.

That night, the entire Divine General’s Mansion shook.

Lights blazed in every courtyard. Ladies who had already retired rushed out in their robes, and upon seeing the assassin’s corpse slumped over the chess table, they were utterly stunned.

How could an assassin infiltrate the Divine General’s Mansion? He Jianlan’s usual composed demeanor vanished; she clutched Li Hao tightly, scanning him frantically: “Are you alright?”

“Big Mama, I’m fine,” Li Hao reassured her.

Only after confirming Li Hao had no injuries did He Jianlan relax, then questioned him closely. Li Hao delivered the story he’d prepared.

The assassin attacked suddenly—but an old man appeared and killed him.

Then the old man vanished.

Li Hao thought: If an assassin could sneak into the Divine General’s Mansion, inventing an old man shouldn’t be a problem, right?

After all, you didn’t even know about the assassin—so not knowing another master is perfectly normal, isn’t it?

Upon hearing Li Hao’s tale, He Jianlan was startled. Could it be… a secret martial expert sent by the Xing Wu Hou?

Or… that clan elder? She suppressed her suspicions and never doubted Li Hao’s words.

After all, no matter how precocious, he was still a child under seven.

And he hadn’t even entered martial cultivation. Without a hidden master protecting him, he would have been dead.

He Jianlan then ordered Xuejian to take Li Hao and the little girl Bian Ruxue to Changchun Courtyard to rest and calm their nerves.

She herself sat in the main hall of Shanhe Courtyard, summoning the retainer who had played chess with Li Hao, and the first retainer who had responded to his cry, to interrogate them thoroughly within the courtyard.

At the same time, she summoned the mansion’s top experts to examine the assassin’s corpse.

Soon, the retainer recounted the entire sequence of events.

When the assassin entered the mansion, how he revealed his chess talent, how he performed before the Shanhe Courtyard retainers, how he ingratiated himself—everything left traces.

Clearly, he had researched Li Hao’s habits, using chess as bait—every step was deliberate.

By late night, the corpse’s examination results arrived: the assassin was a Zhou Tian cultivator, roughly third or fourth level.

Outside, such a level was respectable—a skilled wandering hero, capable of earning minor fame. But within the Divine General’s Mansion, teeming with masters, he was utterly ordinary.

Yet, killing a six-year-old? His strength was more than enough—like using a butcher’s knife to kill a mosquito, absurdly excessive.

Moreover, he had ingested a special elixir that sealed his Qi sense, explaining why no one detected him.

Hearing this, the ladies of every courtyard shuddered in fear—if today’s target hadn’t been Li Hao, but their own children, they would have been dead without a doubt!

A Zhou Tian assassin suddenly striking a child? It was terrifying.

Liu Yuerong, upon hearing the autopsy results, slowly let go of her idle suspicions.

Even if Li Hao’s divine blood hadn’t been sealed, he couldn’t have killed this assassin himself.

It seemed that, though stationed on the frontier, his parents had prepared thoroughly for their child.

Thinking of this, she felt a chill—her poisoning must have gone unnoticed. After all, she had acted in Shuifhua Courtyard, where she had her own strong guards.

(End of Chapter)