Cultivation Begins from Infancy - Chapter 271

Volume 3 - Chapter 27: Too Late for Regret

Li Muxiu's body trembled slightly, but he remained standing there, silent.

Li Xiaoran struggled to free his arm, but he couldn’t break free. He glanced at his second brother, only to see extreme sorrow in those eyes. The sight shook him, clearing his mind slightly.

Looking down at Li Tiangang, whose aura was weakening as blood drenched his entire body, Li Xiaoran stared blankly, lost in thought. Finally, he clutched his head in despair and agony.

He knew that his eldest brother would never return.

All these years guarding the River of Death and repeatedly attempting to cross it—what was it all for?

Wasn’t it to bring his eldest brother back home?

But now, it was all in vain...

"Ahhh!!"

Li Xiaoran roared toward the heavens, blood-tears streaming down his face.

Li Muxiu said nothing, standing like a stone. The wind beyond the pass swept over the three of them, brushing past and drifting away.

Time passed...

Li Muxiu gazed at Li Tiangang, who still lay in the pit, his face covered in blood, and said, "Do you plan to lie there forever? If you’re not dead, stand up."

Li Tiangang's body trembled before he slowly sat up, wiping the blood and tears from his face.

He looked at the dejected and fallen Li Xiaoran beside him and then at Li Muxiu, whose expression was now devoid of emotion. Sorrow surged in his heart, but he suppressed it. He knew he was still the True Dragon of the Li Family.

And as the True Dragon, he had to carry on. Everyone else could fall, but the True Dragon could not. This was the responsibility he had to bear.

“I need to find Hao’er.”

Li Tiangang rose from the ground, swaying slightly as he struggled to steady himself. He quickly activated his true energy to heal his body.

Taking a deep breath, he gritted his teeth and said, “I will bring Hao’er back and pass the True Dragon’s legacy to him. Father’s dream of an era of prosperity—I, Li Tiangang, am incapable of fulfilling it. I can only entrust it to Hao’er.”

Li Xiaoran stared blankly into the distance, his expression unchanged, as if he hadn’t heard anything.

Li Muxiu, his face impassive, said, “Now that Fourth Brother has emerged, it’s the perfect time to counterattack the demons of the River of Death beyond the pass. Don’t you plan to take charge?”

Li Tiangang looked at him, but the unwavering gaze of his second uncle revealed nothing of his thoughts. He chuckled bitterly and said,

“It makes little difference whether I’m there or not. Fifth Brother is already overseeing it, along with two imperial princes, and you in the shadows... Father was right. If I could defy the rules for Qingqing back then, I can do the same for Hao’er now.”

“I am his father. So what if I break the rules for him?”

Li Muxiu's gaze shifted slightly, his eyes growing cold. “If you had thought this way earlier, would things have come to this?”

Li Tiangang felt a sharp pain in his heart and said in a low voice, “Second Uncle, I was reckless and headstrong before. I hurt Hao’er and let you down. Please, give me a chance to make amends, will you?”

Li Muxiu looked at him, his previously emotionless eyes now filled with sorrow and pain.

“Your father died here. Can you make amends for that?”

Those light words struck Li Tiangang like a hammer to the chest, leaving his entire body frozen as if his blood had solidified.

The heroic soul had perished, as though it had been utterly obliterated. How could that be remedied?

He understood the meaning behind Li Muxiu's words. Death was irreparable. And if a heart died, how could that be salvaged?

At that thought, his body began to tremble. In all his years of battling demons in Yanbei, he had never felt fear. Yet now, he was filled with a sense of dread and terror.

Could it be that the mistakes he made were truly beyond redemption?

“No, Hao’er is my son. Even though I hit him, Father hit me too. Did I ever resent Father? We’re father and son. He’ll forgive me...”

Li Tiangang muttered to himself.

“Big Brother hit you out of love, because you made mistakes, and he had high hopes for you. When he hit or punished you, he would always secretly ask the other brothers to look after you.”

Li Muxiu's voice carried an undeniable sadness. “But what about Hao’er? He was poisoned. Was that his fault? Did you ever truly care about him or try to understand him? Do you know his favorite dish or which street in the city he enjoys wandering down?”

“You only wanted him to shoulder the burden of the Li Family. But do you realize how heavy that burden is? When your father chose Xiao Jiu as the True Dragon, do you know how much regret and heartache he felt? He couldn’t sleep soundly for months!”

Li Tiangang froze. Father… was heartbroken for Ninth Brother to inherit the True Dragon title?

“If you had shown Hao’er genuine affection, would he have ever left? That child remembers even the smallest kindness.”

“He’s already seen through you. That child is far smarter than you think. While you saw him as just a child, he surpassed all others. I treated him as an old friend. How could you underestimate him and treat him so unfairly?”

Li Muxiu's words, filled with sadness and anger, caused Li Tiangang to tremble. A mix of indescribable emotions surged through his heart, gripping it with fear.

In the past, he might have dismissed this as favoritism toward the child. But after everything he had experienced—saving Liang Province, seeing the Haotian Banner flying everywhere, hearing of the boy’s fame even from the mouths of demons—it was undeniable.

At just fifteen, Hao’er had already achieved this level of accomplishment. Even his pride in his Ninth Brother, Li Jiu, was eclipsed by Hao’er’s unparalleled talent.

Even his long-deceased father favored that child so much that he entrusted him with power, determined to have Hao’er brought back. This revelation abruptly tore away the veil of prejudice that had clouded his eyes.

At this moment, he finally understood—he had been wrong.

He had focused so obsessively on cultivating the boy’s strength that he completely neglected his feelings.

“I… I need to bring him back…”

Li Tiangang clenched his fists tightly, his eyes slightly red. “He will forgive me. We are father and son; he won’t hold a grudge forever...”

“If he can hold a grudge, then there might still be hope. What’s truly terrifying is if that child doesn’t even hate you anymore.”

Li Muxiu’s voice was tinged with sorrow. “You’ve never taken his departure seriously, have you? Do you know that he waited in that courtyard for you, alone, for fourteen years? And what did he get in return? Since leaving the Li Family, what perils has he faced? Did he nearly die? We know nothing about these things.”

“But for him to achieve such cultivation in just one year—without the pressure of life-and-death struggles, could he have transformed so quickly?”

“Do you think surviving life-and-death situations is a game? Can you imagine the despair and anger he must have felt in those moments? When will you finally realize that you’ve already lost him completely?”

Li Tiangang stood there, his mind reeling as if struck by thunder. He had lost that child entirely?

His pupils contracted, his breath seemed to stop, and he suddenly shouted, “No! That’s impossible! He can’t truly leave. I can still bring him back!”

As he spoke, he strode outside.

But Li Muxiu stepped forward, blocking his path.

“How do you plan to bring him back? With brute force?”

Li Muxiu fixed his gaze on him. “When your elder brother’s heroic soul was still here, I said nothing because I didn’t want his final moments to be filled with despair. But I know that child’s temperament. You no longer have any chance!”

“Impossible!”

Li Tiangang roared, his eyes bloodshot and tears of blood trickling down his face. “We are father and son!”

“Father and son?”

Li Muxiu’s tone was bitter. “Your bond as father and son is as fragile as thin ice. That slap of yours shattered it long ago!”

“Do you know why Hao’er waited for you to return before confronting that venomous woman? It was because he thought, at the very least, you stood by his side. Because, when he was a child, you risked your life to save him from the battlefield, gave him your own blood, and helped him build his foundation. That kindness was etched in his heart!”

“Even though you rarely wrote letters, even though you were far apart, that small bit of warmth sustained Hao’er until now.”

“But you destroyed it with one slap!”

Li Muxiu’s sorrow deepened. “When I saw Hao’er deliver the Demon King’s precious blood to the Divine General Mansion, I knew you two had no bond left. Hao’er will never return...”

Li Tiangang stood frozen, as if drenched in ice-cold water, his entire body chilled to the bone.

So, between him and his son, beyond their shared bloodline, all that remained was that single act of saving him and giving him blood?

His body swayed as if he could no longer stand.

Looking at Li Muxiu, his eyes filled with sorrow and desperation, he asked, “Second Uncle, what should I do? You don’t want Hao’er to leave for good either. Tell me, how can I make him forgive me?”

Li Muxiu studied his panicked expression. In the past, it would have ignited his anger, tempting him to lash out. But now, he only felt a deep sense of loss and despair.

“The most painful thing in this world is not what you cannot do.”

“It’s what you can do but refuse to.”

“With your insight and intelligence, you could have handled all of this. But your prejudice and indifference toward Hao’er made you choose the most convenient way—treating your own child as if you were training a soldier.”

“That is what hurts the most.”

“Second Uncle, please stop. I know I was wrong. Just tell me how I can bring him back!” Li Tiangang pleaded in anguish.

Li Muxiu fell silent.

Everything he had said came from a faint glimmer of hope. Perhaps by scolding Li Tiangang, he could awaken him and create a slim chance to bring Hao’er back.

“Perhaps, as your father said, only by sincerely apologizing to him will there be the slightest possibility.”

Li Muxiu murmured softly.

He took a deep breath and looked at the heartbroken and remorseful Li Tiangang. “But whether you can do it is uncertain. And whether Hao’er will forgive you, I don’t know. After all, the pain you’ve caused runs far too deep...”

“I understand. I’ll find Hao’er, no matter what. Even if he raises his sword against me again, I will let him strike as he pleases—so long as he’s willing to come back!”

Li Tiangang declared resolutely.

Li Muxiu, seeing his determination, remained silent for a moment. Though he felt a faint glimmer of hope, it was overshadowed by regret.

If only things had been this way earlier, would today have turned out differently?

Their elder brother might have been able to return home to see his family one last time...

With a heavy heart, Li Muxiu lost all interest in speaking further.

Li Tiangang glanced at him and then at Li Xiaoran, who remained expressionless and unresponsive. Sadness filled his heart as he recalled his father’s dying words—he couldn’t allow his father to pass without peace.

“Father, I swear I will bring Hao’er back to visit the ancestral hall!”

Li Tiangang knelt on the ground, bowing three times toward the spot where Li Tianzong had vanished.

Then, wiping the tears from the corners of his eyes, he rose and said to Li Muxiu and Li Xiaoran, “Second Uncle, Fourth Uncle, I leave the matter of the River of Death beyond the pass to you. This time, I’m afraid I will fail in my duty. Let me risk everything for Hao’er!”

Seeing the two remain unresponsive, his heart sank with sorrow, knowing they were still mourning their father’s death and deeply disappointed in him.

Just as he was about to step out, the previously motionless Li Xiaoran suddenly spoke, “I’ll go with you.”

Li Tiangang’s body stiffened, his eyes growing moist again. He gritted his teeth, turned around, and bowed deeply. “Thank you, Fourth Uncle, but I’ll go alone. Hao’er is at the Ji Family. The Ji Family is an Ancient Holy Clan. Numbers won’t matter there. I am Qingqing’s husband—perhaps the Ji Family will show leniency for her sake.”

Li Xiaoran said nothing, merely standing.

Li Muxiu interjected, “Fourth Brother, let him go alone.”

Li Xiaoran paused and looked at him.

“He’s right. The Ji Family’s power is such that if they mean harm to Hao’er, no one will be able to help...”

Li Muxiu’s gaze seemed aged as he murmured, “Let’s hope, for Hao’er’s sake as their nephew, they won’t harm him...”

Hearing this, Li Xiaoran glanced at the blade in his hand, lowered his head, and remained silent.

Li Tiangang’s heart tightened as he recalled his wife telling him about the Ji Family’s strict rules, which forbade marriage with outsiders. His union with Qingqing was already a violation of their taboo. If that child went to the Ji Family now, his chances of survival were slim.

Without further delay, he declared, “Second Uncle, Fourth Uncle, wait for me to bring Hao’er back!”

With that, he turned and leapt into the air, transforming into a streak of golden light, heading toward the Great Wilderness beyond the pass.

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