Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 338 Prioritizing the Overall Situation?

"You, cannot, leave!"

A slender figure blocked Liu Sheng's path, his face gaunt, his eyes sharp, staring intently at him.

Du Xingning!
The Du family members that Liu Sheng and Du Bingyan rescued first.

That night, all the major and minor forces in Gaolin Prefecture launched a joint attack, almost wiping out the entire gang.

If Liu Sheng and his group hadn't arrived in time, this man might have suffered the same fate as his son, instead of just losing an arm.

Compared to a few days ago, he had become extremely thin, almost unrecognizable, with disheveled hair, a dusty face, sunken eyes, yet his gaze was sharp and piercing.

That time he went into a trance, holding his only son's corpse and humming nursery rhymes all night, but he recovered the next day.

They helped with the rescue and organization, and handled things very well.

He behaved normally throughout the period, except for talking to himself while holding his son's corpse in his spare time; otherwise, he was no different from an ordinary person.

Now it seems——

"you……"

Du Xingning was panting heavily, his withered face twitching and contorting, giving him a more ferocious look:
"How can you desert your posts at this critical juncture? If the two of you leave, how many of us out of a thousand will survive?"

"I've already saved you once."

Liu Sheng smiled faintly, his gaze sweeping past him over Du Xingkui, Du Xinghe, and others, as well as the waiters, servants, and other men who were looking in this direction from a distance.

"It is your own internal spies who have led to this situation where you are ambushed in front and pursued from behind."

Instead of blaming the traitors and spies, you blame me, your savior?

He chuckled, his gaze returning to Du Xingning, and said quietly:
"Or is this all part of your scheme, to trade the lives of over a thousand people, including me and Bingyan, for something..."

"I don't!"

Du Xingning froze, his face twitching violently. He swung his one arm with all his might and said in a vicious voice:
"You're talking nonsense. You're deliberately framing me and trying to evade responsibility..."

"Bringing the dead back to life."

Liu Sheng glanced at him, lowered his gaze, and spoke in a vacant tone:
"You want your son... to come back to life."

"I--"

Du Xingning opened his mouth to refute, but the words stuck in his throat and he couldn't say them.

It looked like a rooster whose throat had been slit, leaving only its rooster scurrying about.

If it weren't for his son, why would he have such delusional thoughts?
Lin, the chief镖头 (bodyguard/escort), finally had an effect with his dying words.

He only had one son, and he raised him with great difficulty, enduring countless hardships and sufferings.

But as long as my son lives well and is happy, and gets married and has children in the future, it will all be worth it, no matter how hard or difficult it is.

But, he died.

His neck was broken, blood splattered all over his face, he was dead, there was no way to save him.

But if one had a treasure like "Yangzhi Ganlu," a magical treasure that could make one instantly become an immortal and live forever, one could bring one's son back to life!

Bring back to life!

Come alive!
For his son, a father would give up his life; what else wouldn't he do?
So a few nights ago, when a rat spirit found him following the marks he had deliberately left behind...

He revealed everything he knew without reservation.

The route, which direction, which fork in the road, how many mountain peaks it will circle, where to change boats after passing Deer Head Valley...

It was sold out completely.

The reason was that the other party promised to share a drop of the mango pomelo syrup with him after receiving it, so that he could use it to save his son.

Even if he knows there's a 99% chance the other person is lying to him, what if they are?
What if they actually keep their word?
It's better than Du Bingyan, who denied everything and completely dashed his hopes...!
"Yes, it's me!"

Du Xingning and Liu Sheng looked at each other for a moment, and seeing that they could not deny it, they admitted it.

"Seventh Brother, you—!" "Seventh Brother, you've gone mad!"

"You really colluded with outsiders to harm us? You're insane, you're really insane!"

In an instant, Du Xingkui, Du Xinghe, and other members of the "Xing" generation were filled with shock and anger, and they all began to vehemently denounce and curse.

The rest of the Du family members, including the servants, guards, and boatmen, also pointed and whispered among themselves.

They never imagined that the seemingly honest, hardworking Seventh Master would actually be a spy, colluding with outsiders to betray them!
"I'm not crazy! You're the ones who are crazy!"

Faced with his brother's accusations, Du Xingning became red-faced with anxiety and loudly retorted:
"You're all grateful to him? You think they... saved your lives?"

ridiculous!

Don't you ever think about it? Our Jihaitang business is doing so well, why are we being besieged and bloodied in various places...?

He glared back fiercely at them one by one, then suddenly pointed at Liu Sheng and Du Bingyan, gritting his teeth as he said:

"It's all because of...the two of them!"

"They have obtained the destiny of immortality, which allows them to become immortals on the spot and live forever, but it has implicated us!"
All my men are dead, my son is dead, and I've lost an arm.

Which of you... has not died, which of you has not lost a relative?

They almost lost their lives! And you're grateful to them? Thank them for saving your lives?
You're all crazy! Completely crazy!

These words immediately quieted the discussions in the group, and upon reflection, everyone felt that what he said made sense.

These more than a thousand people did not enjoy any benefits, yet suffered this great calamity.

I hadn't had time to think about it carefully before, but after Du Xingning said that, it did make some sense.

The reason for this is indeed that he took the blame for others.

Faced with Du Xingning's outrageous remarks, Du Xingkui and the others opened their mouths, but found themselves at a loss for words, not knowing how to refute him.

Or rather, deep down they felt that Du Xingning was right.

The atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

"You...you guys...Uncle Kui, Uncle He, do you think so too?"

Du Bingyan turned pale with anger, gripped the Cloud Water Sword tightly, and questioned Du Xingkui and the others.

Several members of the "Xing" generation exchanged glances, remained silent for a moment, and then stammered—

“Bingyan, please understand. Seventh Brother made a mistake, but the pain of losing a son, the grief of a parent outliving their child, is ultimately understandable…”

"Yes, yes, you haven't been parents, so you don't know that children are the apple of their parents' eyes. They would rather suffer themselves than let their children suffer."

“Indeed, Seventh Brother’s actions were unethical. When we return to the clan, the elders will punish him. However, the situation is urgent, and we must be understanding and work together to overcome these difficult times…”

……

These words, seemingly blaming, were actually an attempt to excuse her. Hearing them, Du Bingyan felt a chill run down her spine, and her heart sank to the bottom.

I used to think they were all very capable and could handle things on their own, but when it comes to their own people, they seem to lose their sense of right and wrong.

Instinctively, they carried the arrogance of powerful clans and hid the secrets between relatives.

Or rather, Du Xingning's instigation stirred up resentment in their hearts, and they all felt that they had suffered an undeserved disaster.

In contrast, her and Liu Sheng's hard work and efforts over the past few days to help her have become their duty, akin to atonement.
One of the "Xing" generation members, who had a good relationship with Du Xingning, whispered to Du Bingyan upon seeing this:

“Bingyan, why don’t you go and persuade Young Master Liu? After all, we are family. Why make things so distant?”
Besides, the seventh brother is an elder; please be more understanding if he does anything wrong...

After all, the bigger picture is more important!

What is the overall situation?

Du Bingyan burst out laughing.

(End of this chapter)