Hou Ye's palm heart is a black lotus

"It seems you're not hopelessly stupid after all, which is quite rare."

Xun Cheng readily admitted,
"Unfortunately, it's a bit late."

Shui Xingqiu was struck by lightning.

He never imagined that the letter accusing him and Xiao Chenglin of conspiring to usurp the throne and putting him to death was actually written by his elder brother who should have died long ago!
"Are you crazy!?"

Shui Xingqiu's forehead veins bulged, and his voice was hoarse and strained.

"What good will you get from doing this?! If I die, the Shui family will be finished too! Do you know that Tuoba Shan has already—"

“Of course I know,” Xun Cheng interrupted him. “Isn’t this the right thing to do? As the head of the family, you have colluded with the enemy and betrayed the country. How can they, as your family members and subordinates, be completely absolved of responsibility?”

Tuoba Shan had long been wary of the Shui family, so how could he bear to give up this golden opportunity?
Shui Xingqiu's eyes slowly widened, as if something was tightly gripping his neck.

"You...those are your family and relatives too! Are you trying to completely destroy the Shui family!?"

Xun Cheng's expression was indifferent and aloof.

“My only family is my mother, and she has been dead for many years.”

As for the rest... he wouldn't even glance at them!

Shui Xingqiu seemed to have heard some absurd joke, "You're doing this for revenge? Just because your mother died young?! But that was her own choice!"

The Shui people are skilled in Gu poison techniques, but becoming the most powerful one requires a great deal of effort.

The previous head of the Shui family, who was also the father of Xun Cheng and Shui Xingqiu, once used his own body as a test subject, planting dozens of kinds of Gu poisons in succession, and his life was hanging by a thread, almost dying.

He wanted to continue, but his wife couldn't bear it and offered to test the poison on him.

As a result, he lost his life.

Xun Cheng still vividly remembers the tragic state of his mother before her death.

"The art of Gu poison is inherently evil and should have disappeared long ago. But the Shui family is stubborn and power-hungry, willing to make each generation pay a huge price to pass on this art of Gu poison... But I am unwilling." Therefore, when Xun Cheng realized that his half-brother was ambitious for the position of family head, he had already begun to consider stepping down.

He originally wanted to have a good talk with him and ask him to take his place, but he didn't expect Shui Xingqiu to poison him first.

Xun Cheng took the opportunity to leave the Shui family.

Actually, he didn't fake his death to deceive Shui Xingqiu. At that time, he was suffering from several kinds of Gu poison and was indeed on the verge of death.

Fortunately, he met Ye Chutang at that time and was spared from death.

Shui Xingqiu was completely stunned, and then burst into laughter.

He laughed until tears streamed down his face.

"You don't want to... what a fine 'you don't want to'!"

What he went to great lengths to steal turned out to be something the other person didn't even want!
Haha!

How ridiculous!
Xun Cheng looked at him with a hint of pity.

"Do you think it's great to be second only to the emperor? Do you think that if you stand in that position, everyone will bow down to you and be at your beck and call? You're too naive. The Shui family would even abandon the lives of their own relatives and friends for profit, let alone someone like you?"

Just like this time, as soon as Shui Xingqiu fell from power, the Shui family immediately scattered like monkeys falling from a tree.

Shui Xingqiu could no longer laugh.

"Don't tell me that! I don't want to hear it!" His tone turned harsh. "Since I'm already in your hands, why bother pretending anymore!"

After saying that, he closed his eyes, appearing as if he was waiting to die.

Xun Cheng only glanced at him one last time before turning and leaving.

"Kill you? I don't want to dirty my sword." (End of Chapter)