The Name of Eternity.

Chapter 266: Love is arbitrary
In the distance, a figure came rushing towards them. It was Li Tiangang.

Li Hao's roar shook the whole city, so he naturally heard it. When he paid attention, he saw a series of battles afterwards.

The sacrificial formation he was setting up naturally stopped. After all, all the demons had been killed, so there was no need to ask the ancestors for help.

When his soul was in the air, he saw Li Hao protecting Li Muxiu in front of the two demon leaders, and heard the calls of He Jianlan and the others. He felt his heart trembling. Was that boy really his child who fell into the abyss?

At this moment, he was very excited and was galloping at full speed under the flames.

In front of Li Hao, Ji Qingqing felt that every word was like a needle, as if it would pierce her heart. She couldn't help but said:
"It was my fault, but you're back now, what do you want me to do in order to forgive me?"

Li Hao's eyes were originally calm, but suddenly two cold lights flashed out, and he said:
"I am back, but your child has died forever in that abyss. I came back with my own ability, not by you or anyone else!"

Ji Qingqing was stunned, looking at the boy who was calm just now but now had a cold expression. She realized that she had said the wrong thing, and tears slowly flowed down her face:

"But I gave birth to you. Can't you give me another chance to make amends?"

Hearing these choked words, Li Hao glanced at her and said:
"To make up for the opportunity? Did I go to the Ji family to seek death? Did I go to Prisoner Sky Island to explore the abyss?"

The two rhetorical questions struck Ji Qingqing's heart like a heavy hammer. She felt as if all the temperature in her body had been drained away, and she felt so cold that she was shivering. Yes, that child had gone through so much hardship and traveled alone into the wilderness, wasn't it just to see her?
She suddenly realized that she was not worthy of saying such things. Could she make up for it? She let go more than a decade ago and let go more than a decade later. She put her child in danger twice. Could she make up for it?

Her tears burst out like a dam, and she felt so heartbroken that she couldn't breathe.

"Qingqing!"

Li Tiangang came flying and landed outside. When Li Wushuang and others saw the head of the family, they couldn't help but step aside.

Li Tiangang walked forward quickly, glanced at Li Hao's cold eyes, and looked at his wife who was crying so hard that she couldn't speak. He felt heartbroken.

"You can't talk to your mother like that!"

Li Tiangang's eyes were slightly red, and he said to Li Hao: "It was my fault before. I was too harsh on you. I was stubborn and didn't investigate carefully, so I let you suffer injustice. You can do whatever you want to me, but you can't do this to your mother. She worked very hard to give birth to you."

Li Hao frowned, his originally peaceful heart now felt an indescribable annoyance and boredom.

He said indifferently, "Stop calling me mother, and you don't have to admit your mistakes to me. I will forgive the past. I have nothing to do with you since I left the God General's Mansion. I have paid back all the food, clothing and expenses you spent on me over the years. I also doubled the monster blood you sent back to Yanbei. I have nothing to do with you now. Can't you feel that I no longer have your blood in me?"

While speaking, Li Hao did not deliberately hide his aura, and the all-encompassing attribute had already been temporarily removed.

Hearing Li Hao's words, Li Tiangang was stunned and looked at him in shock. Ji Qingqing was also stunned. She didn't care about crying and hurriedly checked Li Hao's breath.

He Jianlan and others nearby were all stunned. Li Hao's aura was too strong and they didn't notice it much. But at this moment, Li Hao's words made them hurriedly release their aura and explore Li Hao's body.

"Hao'er!"

Next to him, Li Muxiu, who was healing on the back of Candle God, suddenly sat up and coughed up blood. One of his arms had healed, but at this moment, his wrinkled old face looked at Li Hao in panic.

He knew that Li Hao would not lie easily, so he did not care about offending anyone at the moment. He quickly checked, but found that he really did not detect any trace of Li family blood in Li Hao's body.

His body was like a candle in the wind, swaying precariously and becoming somewhat dazed.

Li Xiaoran and Li Qingzheng's expressions suddenly changed. They hurried to investigate, but then they were stunned and just stared at the young man blankly.

The many heroic spirits of Li family ancestors around frowned, as if they realized what was happening. They were the heroic spirits of the deceased and had a natural sensitivity to the Li family bloodline. They had long seen that there was not a trace of Li family aura in Li Hao's body.

But listening to what these people said, it seemed that this stunning and peerless genius in front of them was from their Li family and was the bloodline of their Li family!
But...what is going on?

"Child, were you once a member of my Li family?" an ancestor's heroic spirit couldn't help but ask, with a puzzled look in his gentle eyes.

Li Hao glanced at the other party with a calm and indifferent expression, and said:

"I am me. Your Li family once had a child who looked like me, but that child is dead."

Hearing Li Hao's words, Li Tiangang's aura fluctuated violently and he roared, "Impossible, I don't believe it! You are definitely not him, who are you?!"

"Tiangang!"

Li Muxiu, whose face was as pale as paper, roared angrily. The power of the Dao realm vibrated, making Li Tiangang's head seem to explode, and he was stunned.

"How wrong do you want to be?!"

Li Muxiu's eyes seemed to be bloodshot as he stared at him.

Li Tiangang was stunned in place, then slowly raised his head and looked at Li Hao, his eyes were full of sadness:
"You cut off the bloodline with the Li family. How could you be so heartless?"

Li Hao raised his eyebrows and glanced at him, but facing that sad face, he felt speechless and wanted to laugh.

He was too lazy to say more, and said, "It's ruthless if you want to. No matter what, we will have nothing to do with each other from now on. Don't offend me again. I can forgive the past, but I may not do so in the future!"

After saying that, he turned to look at Li Muxiu, and seeing that he was looking at him with a sad look, his eyes seemed to be broken. He couldn't help feeling a little apologetic, and said:
"Old man, although I am no longer a member of the Li family, if you need fishing friends in the future, just call me at any time. I will accompany you at any time."

Li Muxiu looked at Li Hao and knew that this kid had completely cut off his past. He couldn't help but feel pain and regret in his heart. His bloodline had been cut off, but he still rushed over. Was it just because of their past affection?
The sword that can kill millions of demons cannot cut off the love of this child.

But he cut off all feelings towards his parents!
What kind of disappointment would that be?
Such an outstanding and impeccable child was completely lost by the Li family.

Li Muxiu was filled with sadness, but in the end, it turned into a low, sharp laugh, which seemed painful and ridiculous. But after laughing for a while, his eyes slowly became focused and gentle.

"That's what you said. I want to see if your fishing skills have become rusty."

At this moment, in the midst of pain and sadness, Li Muxiu realized that leaving the Li family would not have any impact on the child.

They are the only ones who are hurt and in pain.

But at least the kid won't get hurt again.

If that’s the case, then why isn’t it a good thing?
The Li family lost this glory, but it had no impact on the entire Dayu Divine Dynasty.

Even though he was not a member of the Li family, this child still came. Even though he did not have Li family blood flowing in his body, he still saved Liangzhou and now saved Qingzhou City.

He is still himself, and he has never felt that he has to bear any responsibility because of his birth in a general's mansion.

He just has a sincere heart, and as a human being, he does his best to care about this world.

Thinking of this, Li Muxiu's tears flowed even more. He was relieved for Li Hao, but also felt pain and irony for Li Tiangang's previous doubts about Li Hao's character.

"Ah."

Seeing Li Muxiu's eyes, Li Hao felt a little relieved. He then glanced at He Jianlan, the armored lady:
"If there is a chance in the future, let Madam taste my cooking skills."

When He Jianlan heard Li Hao's address, the sadness that she had suppressed in her heart burst into tears. She felt that the child came to Qingzhou to say goodbye, to say goodbye to his past identity in front of them.

I am no longer his aunt...

"Child, can we really never go back?" He Jianlan asked, suppressing her sadness.

Li Hao shook his head slightly: "I can't go back to my original identity, but if you don't mind, my feelings for you remain the same."

He Jianlan felt even sadder, but she held back her tears and did not try to persuade him to stay. She knew that Li Hao had always been very determined and it was difficult to change his mind once he had made up his mind.

What's more, the Li family may be a burden to him now. Maybe Li Hao can live a good life on his own, and that is enough.

Li Hao's eyes swept towards Li Xiaoran, Li Qingzheng and others again, his eyes gentle:
"Thank you for your care in the past, old men. If you don't mind, I am in need of chess friends in the future."

"child……"

Li Qingzheng's lips trembled slightly, but he said nothing more. He knew that the matter was a foregone conclusion.

Just like a chess piece once it leaves your hand, you never regret making it.

Li Xiaoran clenched his fists. What he was thinking about at this moment was his elder brother. It was his elder brother's instructions before he died, but they failed to do it.

A wave of sadness surged in his heart and he clenched the knife tightly in his hand. Veins bulged on the back of his hand. When his eyes swept over Li Tiangang and Ji Qingqing, murderous intent flashed in his eyes, but in the end, he restrained himself and was left with only sadness.

Li Hao took a look around and said, "Since it's a rare trip to Qingzhou, I will host a banquet at Yunxia Tower in the city tonight, and we will meet slowly then."

After saying that, he glanced at Li Yuanzhao's dazed look, smiled and patted his shoulder:

"Don't be in a daze. Go back to Yunxialou and ask the proprietress to prepare all the specialties in advance."

Li Yuanzhao's body was shaken by the slap, as if his soul was beaten back into his body, and his eyes became moist.

Li Hao smiled, and then looked at Song Yufeng and other disciples of Tan Palace in the distance, as well as the transformed azure figure.

"You can't go!"

Li Tiangang seemed to come to his senses, and suddenly stood in front of Li Hao, with anger on his face: "Even if I..."

"Even what?"

Li Hao paused for a moment, and quietly looked at Li Tiangang who was standing in front of him. Just a glance from his calm eyes suddenly made all the blood and arrogance in Li Tiangang's body seem to be extinguished, like a cold water poured over his head.

He stood there in a daze, and suddenly realized that it was not two years ago now.

Even if he had crippled Li Hao at the beginning, he could have tied him back, but he couldn't do that now.

He was slightly distracted, but soon came to his senses and said through gritted teeth: "As the Duke, I now demand that you not leave. You must stay in Qingzhou City!"

Li Hao glanced at him calmly and said, "Speaking of this, it reminds me. If I remember correctly, I quelled the rebellion in Liangzhou, and His Majesty seemed to have conferred the title of Duke on me. You are a duke, and so am I. You are second-class, and I am third-class. Although I am one class lower than you, we are both dukes, and you have no right to order me around."

“Also, please return the imperial edict of your majesty to me. I will report to your majesty later. From now on, I have nothing to do with the Li family. If there are any more imperial edicts and imperial rewards, they can be sent directly to my territory.”

When he was fourteen years old and guarding Cangyu City, he was crowned Earl and was granted a territory. He just never went to see it, but it didn’t matter, because the fiefdom was always there.

Hearing Li Hao's words, Li Tiangang's body trembled even more violently. He was a duke under the age of sixteen, the only one in the entire Dayu Divine Dynasty. He was a little confused. What did he do wrong? Why did it come to this?
As Li Hao spoke, he walked straight past Li Tiangang and came to Song Yufeng and the others to chat and exchange pleasantries.

Song Yufeng heard all this nearby, but he secretly sighed with regret in his heart, and avoided talking about it when reminiscing about the past with Li Hao.

After a brief chat, we agreed to meet again in the evening.

Li Hao looked at Song Qiumo. The woman stood in the air like autumn water, clear and high, with an unapproachable chill. But her eyes were like the softest water, staring at Li Hao.

The two looked at each other, as if many words were contained in this glance.

They smiled at each other.

……

……

Returning to Qingzhou City, when the Li family ordered the soldiers to clean up the corpses of demons on the city wall, Li Hao and Song Qiumo walked together in the city.

Behind them, the young man in the form of the candlelight god followed silently.

Xiyan has returned to Li Hao's wrist. After Mr. Li Muxiu's injuries have stabilized, he can rely on the Li family's magic medicine to heal himself, and there is no need for her to continue treatment.

"I see……"

Song Qiumo and Li Hao talked as they walked, and when they accompanied Li Hao to revisit this old place, Song Qiumo naturally asked about things related to Li Hao's death.

Only then did Li Hao realize that the Li family had already held a funeral for him and everyone thought he was dead.

He smiled slightly, thinking that this was a good thing. The child was indeed dead and buried forever in the abyss, so the funeral was not in vain.

Song Qiumo learned that Li Hao had narrowly escaped from the mouth of the Demon Saint. Although Li Hao did not explain in detail, she understood that Li Hao had encountered danger beyond imagination. No wonder the Li family believed that Li Hao was dead.

She sighed inwardly, unable to imagine what Li Hao had been going through during this period of time.

"You are much stronger than me now."

Song Qiumo said with a smile.

Li Hao also smiled: "Practice is only useful when killing demons. Instead of praising my practice, I would rather you praise my paintings."

Song Qiumo blinked slightly and couldn't help laughing.

This young man is still as different and eccentric as he was before. "Uncle Liu!"

Li Hao suddenly called out and waved towards a small shop on the street.

The shop opened a small door and peeked out, as if it was still unsure whether the demon had been completely eliminated.

Hearing Li Hao's call, the middle-aged couple inside the door were stunned and looked at Li Hao in confusion.

"Please make me two servings of crispy cotton balls." Li Hao said with a smile.

The middle-aged couple was stunned and looked at Li Hao uncertainly, but thinking of the news from the Li family, they did not dare to ask. Except for the young master, the young boys and girls who came to eat their food nearby also called him that.

"I won't be setting up the stall today."

The middle-aged man said.

Li Hao was a little disappointed when he heard this: "Okay then."

Song Qiumo's eyes flickered slightly, but he said nothing.

But the middle-aged couple seemed to hear something suddenly, their bodies tensed up, their eyes became a little flustered, and they glanced at Li Hao, becoming a little timid.

"Well, it's not impossible. Please wait a moment."

The middle-aged man Uncle Liu said hurriedly, and then quickly retreated back home.

His wife smiled at Li Hao and said, "Yes, it will be done soon. It will be done soon."

Seeing this, Li Hao smiled and nodded: "Thank you very much."

The couple immediately retreated into the house to get busy. They had not thought about setting up a stall today, nor did they knead the dough in advance. Everything had to be made from scratch.

Li Hao looked at Song Qiumo beside him and sighed, "Uncle Liu is a very good person, don't scare them."

Song Qiumo looked innocent: "What?"

Seeing her like this, Li Hao could only smile helplessly. Although the other party's voice transmission was obscure, it could not be hidden from him now.

Immediately, the two of them stood at the door of the shop, waiting quietly.

Soon, several servings of crispy cotton balls were ready.

Li Hao took it and handed one to Song Qiumo, one to Zhuhuoshen, and one to Xiyan:
"Try it too, it's a delicacy in the world."

Xiyan was curious, so he rolled up his red beard and got into the crispy oil paper to eat.

"Hmm, so crispy and fragrant, is this what you humans eat?"

Xiyan suddenly made a happy and comfortable sound, and also made the sound of "Gacha Gacha" of eating.

"If you like it, eat more."

Li Hao smiled and said to Uncle Liu, "Can I have a few more?"

The middle-aged couple nodded quickly and continued doing it.

After picking up a bag with four or five servings in it, Li Hao followed Song Qiumo and continued to stroll slowly along the old street, eating as they walked.

"This tastes really good."

"That's right. It was because I couldn't buy Qingzhi that Uncle Liu's stall moved to the foot of the mountain of Tan Gong Academy, so I went there and went to school at the same time."

“…You’re really good.”

Song Qiumo was also speechless. Who could have thought that Tan Palace Academy could receive such a peerless disciple just because of the charm of an ordinary small vendor.

When they arrived at Yunxia Building, Li Hao was familiar with the place and booked a private room on the top floor with the proprietress.

Afterwards, he asked Yunxialou to send invitations in his name to various places.

As night fell, the corpses of demons piled up like a mountain outside the city, but the soldiers were cleaning them up. Notices were posted inside the city, and soldiers from the Li family were reporting along the way on horseback that the demons outside the city had been eliminated and Qingzhou City was safe!

This notification lasted from the afternoon to the evening, and at night, thousands of lights were lit in the city again.

There were also many brave people strolling around the streets, attracting more people to come out of their homes, and the streets gradually became bustling again.

Various restaurants, teahouses and other places soon reopened for business, and those who had a little money went to these lively places to gather, chat and explore the situation.

Those who had no money would gather in the alleys and courtyards to enjoy the cool air, chatting in groups of three or five about what they had heard that day, and occasionally flapping their palm-leaf fans to drive away the mosquitoes that bit them.

All that people were talking about was the cry that shook the whole city, the size of this demonic force, and the names that were heard when the demon kings were slain.

"Have you heard that the demon called out to Haotian? Do you know who Haotian is? That's right, he's the one from Liangzhou, the star general who single-handedly quelled the demonic scourge in the entire Liangzhou!"

"God bless me, Dayu. A star general has come down to earth and appeared out of nowhere. It's a pity that I have never seen his true appearance."

"He should be sixteen years old now, and he has been made a duke and appointed a general. Wow, this reputation will probably never be surpassed in the past thousands of years!"

"Is that General Haotian the one from the Li family?"

"General Haotian is General Haotian. Isn't the one from the Li family dead?"

"That's right. The Li family held a funeral not long ago. Although it was a low-key event, I saw with my own eyes that the Li family had an IOU hanging when I passed by."

"Really? It seems I remembered it wrongly. It's a pity that the genius of the Li family is also a rare talent."

"Aren't they the same person, but the Li family made a mistake?"

"You're kidding. Could the God General's Mansion make a mistake?"

"But I've never heard of General Haotian's background..."

People were talking about it in the streets and taverns everywhere. Some old men could still remember some things, but most of the younger generation had only sporadic knowledge of these celebrities. They had their own hard work to do on weekdays, so they didn't have the energy to pay attention to them every day. As a result, a lot of information was mixed up, and gradually, when they talked about General Haotian, they also talked about Liangzhou.

Gradually, the Li family was mentioned less and less.

In Yunxia Tower, Li Hao sat there quietly waiting for his old friend who had received the invitation to arrive. He had amazing hearing and naturally heard a lot of discussions around him, but now, many people seemed to have really forgotten his former surname.

The river of time seems to bury everything and make everything smooth.

Li Hao drank by himself and looked at the lights of thousands of houses outside the window. The night was beautiful.

At the same time, invitations were delivered to the various academies of Tan Palace Academy and Shenjiang Mansion. When He Jianlan and others received them, they calmed down a lot except for a slight sigh in their hearts. They took the invitations and rushed to the dinner.

As the people in each courtyard gradually emptied out, finally only the Shanhe Courtyard was brightly lit.

At the dinner table, Li Tiangang and Ji Qingqing looked at the table full of dishes, but seemed to have lost their appetite.

Both of them were in a trance.

When they heard the noise outside the courtyard, their perception spread out and they found that a number of carriages were galloping out of the General's Mansion.

The aura in those carriages was exactly that of He Jianlan and other ladies from various courtyards.

Li Tiangang and Ji Qingqing both looked unhappy. They looked towards the gate from time to time, but no one came in and no one reported anything.

Except for Wang Xiangru from Feiyun Academy, all other academies have received invitations, and now, they are the only ones who have not received them yet.

The kid obviously had no intention of inviting her.

At the door, Butler Zhao was hunched over, watching the eyes of people in the hall frequently looking outside, his eyes were dim and he sighed deeply in his heart.

If I had known this would happen, I wouldn’t have done it in the first place… He lowered his head and just looked at his toes, feeling that his shoes were a little worn out.

The cold moonlight shifted, and the night became quieter.

The noise of carriages and horses outside the courtyard also disappeared. Obviously, everyone who should be invited had been invited, and the dinner party might have already started.

Li Tiangang's face turned ugly. He picked up the chopsticks on the table and tried to pick up the food in front of him. He said:

"Eat now. Don't wait. Everyone else is not here. After you finish eating, go check on the situation of dealing with the demons outside the city. I'm going to visit our ancestors. In addition, we have to deal with the situations in other cities. We can't fall down!"

Ji Qingqing stared at the food blankly, as if in a trance, without moving at all.

Li Tiangang took two bites and couldn't eat any more. He put the bowl and chopsticks heavily on the table and said through gritted teeth:

"He cut off his bloodline, but he didn't know that without the changes caused by the collision of our bloodlines, his talent would be greatly reduced. Although he is very strong now, because of this decision, he will never be able to hear the Tao again in his life. Even if he hears the Tao by chance, it will be the limit!"

"He originally had the potential to become a saint, which is a path to becoming a saint, and will last forever. He ruined his own great talent, how unselfish!"

Ji Qingqing's eyes trembled slightly, but she was sad: "Even so, he is good enough, and it is because of us that he..."

Li Tiangang's face twitched when he heard this. How could he not know this?

I'm just filled with grief and anger, with no place to vent.

"What he did was too ruthless. He will regret it sooner or later!"

He clenched his fists and said, then stood up and left the hall.

The night creeps up on the treetops.

The moon is full.

In the Yunxia Tower, Li Hao drank with everyone, and there was constant laughter during the meal.

He Jianlan, Li Muxiu and others who came here had given up the idea of ​​persuading Li Hao, and just ate and drank together.

When the conversation was getting very enjoyable, he couldn't help but say a few words of advice, but just as he started, he was interrupted by Li Hao with a smile.

Obviously, it will take some time for everyone to adapt to the fact that Li Hao has completely severed ties with the Divine General's Palace.

During the banquet, the disciples of Tan Palace Academy also came to Li Hao and took turns to toast and thank him. Li Hao saw that the two princes were not there. After asking, he found out that they had completed their further studies and were taken back to the imperial capital.

Obviously, the two princes came to the Tan Palace Academy just to make connections and accumulate capital, just as everyone speculated.

Li Hao still remembered the prince who loved poetry and who saw him off at the end. He felt a little regretful that he didn't see him this time.

We drank and chatted until late at night.

Li Hao also found an inn and took a rest.

The next day.

After a rare good and comfortable sleep, Li Hao became more energetic. He heard Li Muxiu say at the dinner table last night that the Li family had sent people with his battle flag and the heads of those demon kings, carried by elite light cavalry, to reinforce the cities in Qingzhou.

The rest of the army followed closely.

Without the pressure from the demons outside Qingzhou City, the large number of troops that retreated to Qingzhou City can now go all out and head to the battlefield.

And those descendants of the Li family who were brought back through the blood of the Li family ancestors also rushed to various battlefields and followed the Li family army to recover the lost land of Qingzhou.

Li Hao shook his head. He drank too much last night and did not use his body to purify the alcohol, so he felt a little dizzy.

But he soon regained consciousness.

As he became stronger, he seemed less likely to get drunk.

Unless it is some special fermented rice wine.

(End of this chapter)