Huo Yuhao understood a thing or two about political struggle; otherwise, he wouldn't have let Dai Shiliu off the hook so easily.
He had let Dai Shiliu go so easily because he knew very well that Dai Shiliu's opportunistic bullying of Huo Yun'er was, at its core, merely a reflection of the will of the Duke's primary wife.
Since the primary wife disliked Huo Yun'er, the servants of the Duke's Mansion would actively or subconsciously cater to her wishes. In the words of the Divine Heir, "what superiors prefer, inferiors will follow to an extreme."
If he truly wanted to resolve this trouble, dealing with a malicious servant like Dai Shiliu was useless. The only real solution was to find a way to deal with the primary wife. But precisely because of this, Huo Yuhao knew he must not rush in the slightest.
This was not the tumultuous Warring States world (1467–1585, the Japanese Sengoku period); this was Douluo Continent. The place where he stood was the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, and the person he had to deal with was the primary wife of the White Tiger Duke. His enemies were among the most powerful people standing at the very pinnacle of authority in the Douluo world. To rashly attempt to deal with her would be no different from a mayfly trying to shake a giant tree—ridiculously arrogant and beyond one's depth.
One had to know that in the world of his dreams, Isshin Ashina, the peerless warrior known as the Sword Saint, could at his peak only unleash a few flying slashes, severing one of the Asura's arms with the secret technique "Dragon Flash." Even so, his terrifying strength had deterred the Shogunate army—the most formidable among the sixty-six provinces of Japan's Warring States period at the time—from daring to cross a single step or set foot in the lands of Ashina for over twenty years.
Yet in the Douluo world, flying slashes that could only be unleashed by warriors revered as Great Swordsmen could be easily performed by any Soul Master equipped with a specific Soul Skill.
Therefore, after a swift analysis of the current situation, Huo Yuhao quickly understood what he needed to do.
Build high walls, store grain everywhere, and be slow to claim kingship—no, that wasn't right.
Huo Yuhao shook his head. The Divine Heir had taught him too many classic texts every night, and he had gotten a bit mixed up.
According to the Divine Heir, the stages of "hidden dragon, do not act," "dragon appearing in the fields," "all day long keeping diligent and cautious," "or leaping into the abyss," and "flying dragon in the sky" had to be followed in sequential order, emphasizing a proper beginning, development, turn, and conclusion. One must never be impatient or impetuous, let alone lawless just because one had acquired a modicum of skill, and must always keep in mind the principle that there are always people beyond people and heavens beyond heavens.
After just a short while, a still-apprehensive Huo Yun'er had returned to the courtyard of the annex. She did not light various lamps for illumination like ordinary families—or rather, there weren't that many lamps to begin with inside the room. Making use of the setting sun's remaining glow, Huo Yun'er hurriedly sorted the ingredients from the oiled paper bag and put them into the kitchen on the right side of the courtyard, before finally returning to the house to light an oil lamp.
"Mom, you're back."
Huo Yuhao climbed out of bed somewhat lazily, as if he had just woken up. Huo Yun'er walked over and stroked Huo Yuhao's head.
"You're awake, Yuhao. Sleeping so much during the day means you won't be able to sleep tonight. Go help me wash the vegetables."
Huo Yun'er did not mention to Huo Yuhao what had happened to her. Or rather, regarding such matters, Huo Yun'er was always unwilling to tell Huo Yuhao, choosing instead to bear it all in silence.
"Mom, once my martial soul is awakened, let's leave the White Tiger Duke's Mansion. I'll take you out to live a good life."
Huo Yuhao walked to the doorway, suddenly paused, and softly left behind these words.Huo Yun'er was momentarily stunned. Through the dim candlelight, she gazed in a daze at the resolute expression on the profile of the small figure before her. That kind of steadfastness, confidence, and self-assured gaze was something Huo Yun'er had once seen on the face of that man.
"Very well."
The night passed without dreams. Early the next morning, Huo Yuhao finished washing up and followed the other children to a quiet room within the White Tiger Duke's Mansion.
Every year on this day, a martial soul awakening ceremony was held here for the servants' children. Several children of the appropriate age were brought by adults and lined up in order within the room, while Huo Yuhao stood alone at the very end of the queue.
Logically speaking, even as an illegitimate son, Huo Yuhao should not have been participating in the awakening ceremony alongside the children of servants. As a descendant of the White Tiger Duke's lineage, no matter what, Huo Yuhao should have had a dedicated official responsible for his awakening. In reality, however, aside from someone coming to the room where Huo Yuhao and Huo Yun'er lived to give a brief reminder three days before the martial soul awakening, Huo Yuhao had received no other treatment whatsoever.
This left Huo Yuhao feeling somewhat puzzled. What on earth was the mistress of the house thinking? Was she trying to humiliate him by arranging for him to awaken his martial soul among the servants? Yet if such a matter were to leak out, it would affect the reputation of the entire White Tiger Duke's Mansion.
Such a ludicrous way of asserting her control over the Dai residence left Huo Yuhao utterly bewildered. In the eyes of that mistress, he and his mother were mere ants—was there really any need to go to such lengths to target them? Moreover, no matter how one looked at it, such a blatant method of targeting, if it spread and saddled the mistress with a reputation for jealousy, would be immensely damaging to her. It was clearly not a worthwhile trade.
Huo Yuhao had heard of some classic cases of power struggles from the lips of the Divine Heir. Because of this, when such a straightforward and unsubtle form of targeting fell upon him, it immediately aroused his suspicion. Could the power struggles in this world really be so... "naive"?
One had to know that the status of the mistress of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion might not amount to much in front of the supreme powerhouses of the Douluo Continent, but she was still among those who wielded top-tier authority. Her noble status and the sheer volume of daily affairs she had to manage should have been terrifyingly immense. Yet the political wisdom the mistress had displayed thus far, coupled with her petty habit of tormenting him and his mother along with the other concubines and their illegitimate children, could hardly be said to be scarce—it was practically nonexistent.
Huo Yuhao knew that they were not the only family being tormented. There was a boy named Dai Luoli whose mother also seemed to be a concubine, and he was likewise being harassed by the mistress both overtly and covertly.
Shaking his head to clear away these thoughts, Huo Yuhao cast such chaotic notions to the back of his mind. Pondering these petty, spiteful struggles was of no benefit to him; what he needed to do right now was to leverage the resources of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion to awaken his martial soul, and then find a suitable opportunity to take his mother and leave.
Unlike the world in his dreams, where an individual's strength was ultimately limited no matter how formidable, in this world, individual power truly could become strong enough to defy every threat in the world. Therefore, rather than engaging in scheming and hypocrisy within an environment extremely detrimental to himself, it was far better to simply step out of this circle. Once he possessed the power to shatter all shackles with a single kick, he would return with unrivaled might and sweep away every shred of grievance in one clean stroke.