The World's Number One Medical Hall

Chapter 633 Showdown

Seeing Mo Bai looking at him, the old man's face showed no sign of relief, but instead became even more ashen, and even the sword in his hand began to tremble slightly.

He didn't utter a sound, but gripped the sword tightly, letting cold sweat soak his entire body.

Mo Bai remained silent for a moment, then suddenly, his figure flashed, and before anyone could see clearly, Mo Bai was already standing in the spot where the old man had been standing.

The sword that the old man held was now in Mo Bai's hands.

The old man stood beside him, staring blankly at his swordless hand.

"Your Highness!"

Almost simultaneously, Hu Qingyan, Prince De, Zhang Bangli, and Qu Guochang all stared in shock at the sword in Mo Bai's hand that was held against Lao Jiu's neck, and exclaimed in alarm.

Prince De's legs went weak and he knelt on the ground.

"Your Highness, you mustn't!" Even the Empress Dowager was shocked and stood up. She wasn't trying to save the Ninth Prince.

Rather, she absolutely could not allow Mo Bai to bear the stigma of regicide. Even if it meant letting Lao Jiu die at the hands of that grandmaster, how could she allow Mo Bai to do it himself?

Everyone was so shocked that even the Ninth Brother turned deathly pale. He couldn't see Mo Bai's figure, nor did he dare to turn his head to look, but the reactions of the crowd made him unable to remain fearless. Finally, he could no longer suppress his pride and blurted out, "Sixth Brother, I was wrong, please forgive me..."

His words immediately drew everyone's attention to his face.

No one spoke; they simply watched silently as the new emperor begged for mercy from Mo Bai…

The Prince of De raised his head, staring blankly at the new emperor, then at the Prince of Ming, before finally his eyes dimmed and he lowered his head.

Mo Bai glanced at Lao Jiu, then at the assembled officials, and then suddenly struck the old man beside him in the chest with a palm strike. The old man immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and flew out, crashing down in front of Hu Qingyan.

The old man lay on the ground, offering no resistance, his face filled with bitterness, his eyes utterly lifeless.

He had long anticipated his fate. Whether or not he killed the new emperor, from the moment he took action, it was destined that he would become a sacrifice.

Everyone looked at the Grandmaster on the ground and were overjoyed, but when they looked up at Mo Bai, they saw that Mo Bai still had the sword in his hand, which was still on Lao Jiu's shoulder.

Hu Qingyan was about to order someone to take down the master at his feet, but upon seeing this, he became more cautious and dared not make any rash moves.

Fortunately, Mo Bai finally moved the sword away and casually threw it on the ground.

He turned and walked toward His Highness. In that instant, the Ninth Prince, who had been in shock, suddenly relaxed and slumped into a chair.

The ninth prince approached the prince and stood before the table again. He looked directly at the prince and said, "Your Majesty, in my eagerness to save you, I acted too harshly and failed to leave any survivors. I beg Your Majesty's forgiveness."

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was stunned.

Everyone instinctively turned their gaze to the Grandmaster Assassin lying on the ground, his eyes wide open, clearly still breathing.

Looking up at Mo Bai and the sword he held at His Majesty's neck, even the Empress Dowager could no longer utter a sound.

The hall grew even quieter, deathly quiet.

No one dared to utter a single opinion about whether the assassin was dead or not; everyone bowed their heads deeply, concealing their expressions where no one could see.

Only Hu Qingyan, while looking down, was staring intently at the master assassin, his eyes flickering uncertainly.

He could understand why the wise king ultimately did not choose to kill the emperor.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone out of the palace to invite the Ming King in, because he knew that as long as the Ming King still had reason, he would never kill his own king.

Killing a tyrant will not allow him to ascend the throne; on the contrary, it will only lead the whole world to condemn him for the crime of tyranny.

Several new emperors will act this way, as will warlords, and even the barbarian tribes will punish the Ming king, this regicide minister.

What Hu Qingyan didn't understand was why the Ming King would spare the life of this grandmaster.

This master has completed his mission.

Having helped the Ming King escape a life-or-death crisis and intimidated the new emperor and the court, this grandmaster, who was hidden among the Ming King's inner guards, had already maximized his value.

At this point, he was completely useless.

As far as the Ming Prince's Mansion was concerned, he should die, and die cleanly and decisively, leaving no trace of his remains, which would be the best ending.

However, the Ming King actually spared his life and even called a deer a horse. What was he trying to do?

Is this his way of showing the imperial court that after this falling out, he wants to become a powerful minister who, though not on the throne, can still have influence?

Upon hearing this, the Ninth Prince, who was slumped on the dragon throne, subconsciously glanced at the Grandmaster who was not dead at all, and then his gaze suddenly shot towards Mo Bai.

However, all that could be seen was Mo Bai's deep, unfathomable gaze.

Everything he had experienced today flashed through his mind again in an instant.

The Imperial Guards, who were directly responsible for the safety of the palace, suddenly rebelled and opened the city gates to let King Ming escape.

The bodyguards directly responsible for his safety actually attempted to assassinate him while he was away.

Hu Qingyan, who was directly relied upon as the chief minister, did not support him immediately after he issued the order. Instead, he invited the Empress Dowager to come out and rule from behind the curtain.

The more Lao Jiu thought about it, the more alarmed he became. He felt that he had suddenly become all alone, and as a monarch, he had no one he could use or trust.

It turns out that my life and death have always been solely in the hands of the Wing King...

Looking down at the hall, after the Ming emperor murdered his ruler, these ministers, including Qu Guochang, actually allowed him to stand openly in the hall, pointing at a deer and calling it a horse, without a single person standing up to speak for the emperor.

Old Nine's pupils dilated as he stared into Mo Bai's jet-black eyes. A chill ran down his spine, and he slowly lowered his head, saying, "So be it..."

The ninth brother's voice echoed in everyone's ears. The Prince of De, who was kneeling on the ground, completely lost his spirit, and Qu Guochang, who had his head down, did not dare to raise it in the end.

Hu Qingyan remained silent.

Zhang Bangli remained silent.

Calling a deer a horse!

A prince with no power base in the court actually managed to call a deer a horse at the highest power center of the country.

"Drag him out!" Mo Bai turned to look at the Grandmaster who was still in shock on the ground and said softly.

Hu Qingyan looked up at the new emperor, and seeing that the new emperor did not speak, he could only sigh inwardly. Just as he was about to call the guards to come in and carry the person away, Zhang Bangli, who was standing to the side, suddenly moved. He silently helped the grandmaster up and dragged him out of the hall.

Everyone in the hall was surprised, and Mo Bai also frowned slightly, wondering what Zhang Bangli meant.

However, he didn't think much of it, only suspecting that Zhang Bangli couldn't stand the scene, so he took this opportunity to leave.

However, only a moment later, Zhang Bangli walked in again, carrying a head in his hand. He knelt down before the new emperor and said, "Your Majesty, the assassin has been executed."

Everyone in the hall gasped as they looked at the blood-stained head.

The ninth brother felt the same way. He looked at the first title, his eyes first filled with pleasure, then suddenly filled with horror as he looked at Mo Bai.

Mo Bai stared at the first register, then slowly raised his eyes to look at Zhang Bangli kneeling on the ground, remaining silent for a long time.

Finally, he looked up and stared at Lao Jiu.

The ninth prince's body trembled suddenly, and he exclaimed, "This is not my intention!"

"Your Majesty, I have an important matter I wish to report to you privately!" Mo Bai said in a deep voice without saying anything in the end.

Having been so frightened today, Lao Jiu was unwilling to face Mo Bai alone.

Mo Bai was understanding and sent someone to invite the Master over.

With Mo Bai's words, Yu Qing and Tai Qing naturally wouldn't stop the True Man anymore. Previously, the True Man was hesitant to act because His Majesty was being threatened with a sword, and he had no choice but to be stopped by them. Now it's different. Since Mo Bai has no intention of killing the emperor, then if they continue to obstruct the True Man in this palace, they will be courting death.

In the end, the officials all left, but the Empress Dowager did not. Mo Bai did not want her to be there, but he could not get rid of her.

He knew that the Empress Dowager was afraid that he might act impulsively and actually kill the emperor, so she kept an eye on him.

Inside the hall.

The emperor sat cross-legged on one leg, while the empress dowager sat behind a curtain.

The new emperor sat on the dragon throne, while Mo Bai stood alone in the hall.

No one spoke for a long time.

After an unknown amount of time, Mo Bai suddenly turned around, put his hands behind his back, and walked directly to the window, his voice calm and devoid of any warmth: "Ninth Brother, you didn't have to treat me like an enemy. You might not believe me now, but since things have come to this, we brothers have to settle things."

Sitting on the dragon throne, Lao Jiu stared intently at Mo Bai's back. Upon hearing Mo Bai's words, he couldn't help but turn to look at the real person. The real person raised his eyes, nodded at him, indicating that he would definitely ensure his safety.

At this point, Lao Jiu no longer treated Zhenren the same way he had before. At least on the surface, he no longer harbored any hatred towards Zhenren.

Perhaps today's experience made him realize how important real people are to him.

With a real person vouching for him, he felt somewhat at ease, his gaze gradually calming. After a brief silence, he asked Mo Bai, "Sixth Brother, why would I wish for brothers to kill each other? But tell me, if you were sitting in this chair today, facing someone like me, how would you react?"

Mo Bai didn't turn around, but said, "You're right. If it were me, I might have made the same choice as you. But in fact, you and I are not comparable at all. If I were sitting in that chair, and you had my strength today, you would definitely feel resentful, and I would naturally suppress you. But do you know that Sixth Brother is different from you? From beginning to end, he has never had the slightest desire for that chair."

The Ninth Prince's lips curled into a sarcastic sneer. He remained silent, as if silently questioning, "If you have no expectations, how do you explain today's rebellion of the Imperial Guards, the assassination attempt by the Inner Guards, and the Empress Dowager's interference in politics?"

If you have no extravagant hopes, do you think it's all just for fun to win over the Imperial Guards, ambush the Imperial Guards, and get the Empress Dowager to bestow favors on important officials?

The Empress Dowager sat to one side, watching the cold smile on the Ninth Prince's lips, and then looking at Mo Bai's straight back. To be honest, after today, even she would find it hard to believe that Mo Bai had no interest in the throne.

In fact, she had long felt that Mo Bai treated Hu Qingyan differently. Until today, when Hu Qingyan was in chaos, she did not hesitate to ask her to come out from behind the curtain and take charge of the situation. She vaguely felt that Mo Bai's various favors to Hu Qingyan were for this day.

Furthermore, given today's rebellion of the Imperial Guards and the assassination attempt by the Inner Guards, even if Mo Bai says he has no desire for the throne, his mother, the Empress Dowager, still finds it all too fake.

"I know you probably don't believe me, but the real person is here now. There are many things you may not know, but you can ask the real person one question: When the late emperor was alive, did I ever try to please him in the slightest? I've been in the capital for quite some time now, so how could I have ever done anything to curry favor with the court? You might think that it's not that Sixth Brother doesn't want to make connections, but that he's been away from the capital for many years and has no foundation in the court, so he has no choice."

"But is that really the case? I had no foundation in the court before, but after I subdued the Daoist sect, couldn't I leverage their influence in the court? As the mother of the nation, even if the Empress Dowager has not been involved in affairs for many years, I can still win over some people by virtue of her majesty."

"If I really wanted to, I could easily have gotten involved in the court and tried my best to please the late emperor. I dare not say that the late emperor would definitely choose me, but you think you can ascend to the throne so easily? I'm afraid it's not that simple."

Upon hearing this, Lao Jiu fell silent.

Even the real person and the empress remained silent, unable to refute Mo Bai's words.

All three of them turned their gazes to Mo Bai, eager to know why, if he claimed to have no ambition for the throne, he had infiltrated the palace so deeply.

This contradictory situation made all three of them feel that Mo Bai was like a mystery.

"Is it still meaningful for Sixth Brother to say these things now?" Ninth Brother asked.

Mo Bai turned to look at him, her tone calm: "That depends on how you think about it. If you can understand it and stop being so stubborn, then our future might be a little easier."

The Ninth Prince glanced at the man, then pointed to his own neck: "My life is always in the hands of the Sixth Brother, so what future do I have?"

Mo Bai shook his head: "That's why I said it depends on what you think. If you trust me, I have no desire for the throne, so why would I kill you? Whether it's my eldest brother, my third brother, or you sitting on the throne, it makes no difference to me. From beginning to end, I only have one request: that you support me in resisting the barbarians."

"Resist the barbarians?" Old Ninth asked noncommittally.

"Yes, the reason I haven't relinquished power is simply to ensure I have sufficient capability to guarantee that the resistance against the barbarians will proceed smoothly. Otherwise, if you were to abandon northern Jiangsu today and take action against Fang Youqun, and I were to forcefully oppose your decision, would you listen to me? The numerous arrow wounds covering my body have already proven the answer."

The ninth brother said, "Sixth brother, don't you find it ironic? As the ruler of a country, I can only watch you rebel and even threaten my life at any time. To put it bluntly, you are just making me a puppet."