Inside the carriage, Yue'er trembled uncontrollably. She couldn't understand—Second Madam had arranged everything perfectly, yet now such unexpected changes had occurred. Chu Xiu's former uselessness was notorious within the Chu family. His martial talent wasn't particularly strong, yet now he could easily severely wound that ferocious-looking bandit leader. And those people who came later—why would they help Chu Xiu? No matter how Yue'er thought about it, she couldn't figure it out. At this moment, the carriage curtain was suddenly lifted. Seeing Chu Xiu board the carriage, Yue'er immediately put on a pitiful expression.
Yue'er: "Young Master, have all those bandits been repelled?"
Chu Xiu placed his hand on Yue'er's face, stroking that smooth, delicate cheek:
Chu Xiu: "Of course they've all been repelled."
Just as Yue'er relaxed with a sigh of relief, Chu Xiu's hand slid down from Yue'er's face, gripping her neck and slowly exerting force.
Chu Xiu brought his face close to Yue'er's, saying indifferently:
Chu Xiu: "The bandits have been repelled, and I didn't die. You're very disappointed, aren't you?"
Looking at that familiar yet completely unfamiliar face so close to her own, Yue'er barely squeezed out a smile:
Yue'er: "Young Master jests. The bandits being repelled is a good thing—how could this servant be disappointed?"
Chu Xiu sneered coldly, his hand gripping Yue'er's neck tightening increasingly, until her face turned completely red and she struggled, unable to utter a single word. Only then did Chu Xiu release her, saying coldly:
Chu Xiu: "Did you really think I was an idiot? Speak—how much silver did my good Second Mother spend to hire these bandits?"
A look of terror appeared on Yue'er's face. She stammered:
Yue'er: "Y-Young Master, you knew?"
Feeling Chu Xiu's hand beginning to tighten again, Yue'er hurriedly said:
Yue'er: "I'll speak! Young Master, I'll speak everything! Second Madam spent ten thousand taels of silver to hire these bandits!"
Chu Xiu sneered coldly:
Chu Xiu: "Ten thousand taels of silver—what a generous sum! Does my Second Mother hate me that much, willing to spend ten thousand taels to ambush and kill me just to prevent me from returning to the Chu family?"
Yue'er said carefully:
Yue'er: "Second Madam said that Young Master, you've always stubbornly stood on First Young Master's side, bound to cause trouble sooner or later. Plus, she recently won over Fourth Young Master, so it was perfect to eliminate Young Master to remove future trouble."
Hearing this, Chu Xiu was somewhat speechless. This body of his, the former Chu Xiu, had indeed done many foolish things.Chu family head Chu Zongguang had four sons. Even if Chu Xiu was previously an illegitimate son with small chances of inheriting the family head position, there was still opportunity. Why stand in a faction so early?
Precisely because he stood in a faction too early, the Chu family's eldest Chu Kai and his principal mother didn't take him seriously at all. When he was framed by the Chu family's third son Chu Sheng, they found it troublesome and didn't intervene.If he had never stood in a faction, what awaited him would have been recruitment efforts, just like the Chu family's fourth son Chu Shang now. Though young, he had already been won over by Second Madam at great cost. How could it be like his situation, where someone spent great cost to eliminate him?
The former Chu Xiu had long given up competing for the family head position—perhaps despair, perhaps truly lacking ambition. But the current Chu Xiu was somewhat interested in this position. Actually, Chu Xiu didn't care too much about the position of head of a small family. After all, according to the original storyline, he would later become the Demon Cult Leader who would throw the world into chaos.
But the problem was that was the original storyline. The current Chu Xiu was the reborn, transmigrated Chu Xiu. Who knew how things would actually develop? So meals must be eaten bite by bite, roads must be walked step by step—first obtain the position of Chu family heir before speaking of other matters. Since ancient times, it has been said: poor scholars, rich martial artists. From forging bones and tendons to condensing blood and qi—which didn't require vast resources and time? Becoming the family heir, the Chu family's resources wouldn't all be his, but at least half would be, allowing Chu Xiu to advance faster on the martial path.
Chu Xiu turned his gaze toward Yue'er, saying indifferently:
Chu Xiu: "My Second Mother actually chose to hire bandits to kill me. Isn't she afraid of being discovered by Chu family members? Do you have any evidence of her colluding with bandits?"
Since Chu Xiu chose to compete for the family heir position, his three brothers were all obstacles. If he could obtain evidence now, he could completely eliminate one of them first.
Yue'er thought for a moment:
Yue'er: "There's no evidence. Second Madam directly had one of her trusted servants contact the bandits. Those bandits only knew that someone from the Chu family came to find them, not even knowing specifically who. No paper evidence was left behind."
After saying this, Yue'er showed a pitiful expression, looking at Chu Xiu:
Yue'er: "Young Master, I've said everything I should say. Can you spare my life?"
Chu Xiu smiled:
Chu Xiu: "Don't worry, I don't kill women."
Hearing this, a relieved smile immediately appeared on Yue'er's face. But Chu Xiu suddenly exerted force, directly crushing her neck!
Looking at Yue'er, now without breath, her eyes still carrying an expression of incomprehension, Chu Xiu said indifferently:
Chu Xiu: "Fooled you. You actually believed that? So naive and still learning to be a spy?"
Chu Xiu dragged Yue'er's corpse and threw it out of the carriage, instructing Gao Bei:
Chu Xiu: "Bury her."
Gao Bei and the other servants all shuddered, but no one said anything unnecessary.
Yue'er was a servant girl purchased by the Chu family with money. Her life belonged to the Chu family—naturally, they could play with her or kill her as they wished.
Moreover, these past two days, the Second Young Master was clearly somewhat off, his ruthlessness as if he had become a different person. They didn't dare speak nonsense.
Seven days later, Chu Xiu finally emerged from Shangmang Mountain. At the end of the official road, a bustling prefecture appeared before Chu Xiu's eyes—this was Tongzhou Prefecture where the Chu family resided, one of the few great prefectures in Wei Commandery.
Speaking of which, the entire Wei Commandery had quite an interesting history. Wei Commandery was originally the small state of Wei, situated between the Northern Yan and Eastern Qi of the three great powers of the current era. It had once helped Qi attack Yan, but was ultimately destroyed by Yan.
Because Yan remembered Wei's attack on them, they implemented high-pressure policies in Wei Commandery, causing Wei Commandery's common people and martial artists to rebel repeatedly. Even the Yan general stationed in Wei Commandery, 'Dominant Sword of Horizontal Mountain' Fang Longquan, was mysteriously heavily wounded by unknown persons, losing one arm. For a time, Wei Commandery was in great chaos, forcing Yan, who dared not massacre the city, to temporarily withdraw their troops. Eventually, Yan still reached an agreement with Wei Commandery—they would not station troops in Wei Commandery, but would send civil officials to manage it.
So nominally, Wei Commandery obeyed Yan's governance and paid taxes to Yan. But in reality, it was self-governing. Of course, these major court affairs had nothing to do with a small family like the Chu family. Without court officials governing, the martial atmosphere in Wei Commandery was quite free, and some martial forces lived extremely comfortably. As one of the three great families of Tongzhou Prefecture, the Chu family owned an entire street in the southern part of the city.
The carriage stopped before the Chu family gates. As soon as Chu Xiu descended, he saw the great doors open. A middle-aged noblewoman in her forties, dressed luxuriously and elegantly, emerged with a group of servant girls and attendants. Seeing Chu Xiu actually standing before the carriage, her expression immediately showed slight changes. Seeing this person before him, Chu Xiu wore a faint smile on his face, cupped his hands and said:
Chu Xiu: "Greetings, Second Mother. One year without seeing you, Second Mother has become even younger."
This noblewoman before him was precisely the mother of the Chu family's third son Chu Sheng, the Chu family's Second Madam—truly ruthless and venomous.
Though Chu Sheng was the one who previously caused him to be banished to the mines, the one who suggested the idea behind the scenes was most likely this Second Madam. Moreover, this Second Madam came from no small background. She was the only daughter of 'Hand That Splits Gold' Ding Kaishan, the head of the Kaishan Martial Hall in Tongzhou Prefecture.
Ding Kaishan was a local power in Tongzhou Prefecture. Though his strength hadn't reached the Innate Realm, he was at the peak of Blood Coagulation Realm, very well-connected in all aspects of Tongzhou Prefecture. Over twenty years ago, when the Chu family had just moved to Tongzhou Prefecture, it was precisely because Chu Xiu's father Chu Zongguang married Ding Kaishan's daughter that they could so quickly establish roots in Tongzhou Prefecture.
Second Madam looked at the smiling Chu Xiu before her, unable to help frowning. Everything had been arranged clearly—how could this Chu Xiu still return alive? Could it be that foolish girl Yue'er had botched the matter, and Chu Xiu didn't take the small path through Yuanbao Town?
Second Madam looked around but didn't see Yue'er's figure. She couldn't help asking:
Second Madam: "Where is your servant girl Yue'er?"
Chu Xiu shook his head with a look of regret:
Chu Xiu: "Yue'er's constitution was too weak—accidentally played to death by me. I heard Second Mother still has some servant girls with decent looks. Why not bestow another upon me?"
Saying this, Chu Xiu's gaze unscrupulously swept over the servant girls behind Second Madam, immediately causing those servant girls to pale in terror.
Second Madam's expression immediately changed. Yue'er was dead? Then did he know or not know about her arrangement with the bandits to ambush and kill him?
Moreover, not having seen him for over a year, she felt the Chu Xiu before her seemed like a completely different person. A year ago, he wouldn't have dared speak to her like this!
Snorting coldly, Second Madam said indifferently:
Second Madam: "Since you've returned, then enter. The master and others are waiting for you."
Chu Xiu raised his eyebrows, had Gao Bei first take the men down to rest, then followed Second Madam into the Chu family's council hall.