Pri Minister Xun stared dead-eyed at Lu Yuan, who had pierced him with a sword. His gaze carried an endless killing intent and a trace of shock he couldn’t conceal.
Even he hadn’t expected that Lu Yuan would give such a fatal attack.
He struck a palm toward ng Qianqian.
Lu Yuan pulled ng Qianqian behind him and took the palm strike head-on with his chest.
The two retreated simultaneously.
Lu Yuan withdrew his longsword from Pri Minister Xun’s chest, and instantly, blood gushed out like a fountain.
Pri Minister Xun quickly sealed the major acupoints around his wound to prevent himself from dying from excessive blood loss.
With one hand gripping his sword and the other arm holding ng Qianqian, Lu Yuan slid back across the snowy ground for nearly a full yard before finally stabilizing his form.
It was evident just how profound Pri Minister Xun’s inner strength in that palm strike truly was.
ng Qianqian hurriedly turned to Lu Yuan, furrowing her brow as she said, "Despite the Gu poison dissipating most of his inner strength, he’s still able to deliver such a powerful palm strike... Are you hurt?"
Lu Yuan glanced down and tugged at his shattered outer robe, revealing the golden glow of the soft armor inside. Casually wiping away the blood from the corner of his mouth, he said indifferently, "With the Heavenly Silkworm Armor, I won’t die."
ng Qianqian blinked a few tis: "Heavenly Silkworm Armor?"
Lu Yuan explained, "It belonged to my mother. My maternal grandmother gave it to her for protection. You know, my mother may seem fierce, but she always slacked off when practicing martial arts. She also enjoyed causing trouble, so my grandmother gave her the armor to prevent her from being beaten to death soday."
ng Qianqian was speechless.
She checked Lu Yuan’s pulse—he was indeed fine. Not even his ribs were broken.
Only then did she feel relieved.
If not for the Heavenly Silkworm Armor, that palm strike would have been fatal.
Her grandmother was not only wealthy but well-equipped with luxury gear.
Mainly, the grandmother herself was a force to be reckoned with.
"I really wish I could et her soon."
It didn’t matter whether she received a gift or not; all she wanted was to pay her respects to the elder.
Lu Yuan said nonchalantly, "Grandmother loves children. She’ll urge you to have so."
As if he guessed what ng Qianqian wanted to say, Lu Yuan imdiately added, "One, Bao Shu, isn’t enough. She often regrets only giving birth to my mother. She wishes she’d had more children before kicking Grandpa out."
ng Qianqian: "..."
ng Qianqian faintly felt sothing off about his words, but since they were preoccupied with dealing with Pri Minister Xun, she didn’t dwell on it.
She reached out to touch his Heavenly Silkworm Armor.
Lu Yuan grabbed her hand: "Don’t touch it; it’s poisonous. It’s imbued with Witch Mountain’s deadly toxins, and there’s no cure."
ng Qianqian’s eyes lit up—poison? She liked it even more!
"Don’t worry. I have the Golden Silkworm."
Lu Yuan released her hand: "I forgot you had it."
The Golden Silkworm Gu is the Gu King. Its poison is far deadlier than that of the Heavenly Silkworm Armor.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that with the Golden Silkworm as protection, one can remain immune to all poisons.
ng Qianqian touched his chest: "Feels great."
Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.
ng Qianqian, unfazed, said, "I ant the Heavenly Silkworm Armor."
Pri Minister Xun, watching the two bantering in the snowy field, was so infuriated his eyes seed about to burst. He attempted several tis to take action, but each attempt to gather internal energy was thwarted, his strength dissipating without apparent reason.
ng Qianqian turned around to face Pri Minister Xun, who was gasping heavily, and sneered, "After being hit with Gu poison and the Witch Mountain toxins from the Heavenly Silkworm Armor, even if you’re the reincarnation of a Daluo Golden Immortal, you won’t survive!"
Pri Minister Xun spat a mouthful of black blood. It was unclear whether the poison was killing him or ng Qianqian’s words were driving him to rage.
Lu Yuan slowly approached him.
ng Qianqian didn’t stop Lu Yuan from approaching Pri Minister Xun but instead gripped her Red Tassel Spear tightly, prepared for any possible resistance.
If Pri Minister Xun dared to struggle in his final monts, she’d skewer him like candied hawthorn!
Pri Minister Xun, overtaken by poison, collapsed into the blood-stained snow.
He resembled a defeated lion, reduced to a pitiful state of lingering breath.
Lu Yuan approached him nearly without any defense, looking down at him with cold disdain.
Once an adoptive son who had been forced to survive under his heel, Lu Yuan had finally grown into the wolf king who pulled him from his throne.
"Foster father, how does it feel to possess unparalleled martial arts but be unable to wield them? How does it feel to command an army of ten thousand soldiers but be unable to lead them? To rise high, hold sway over the courts, toy with people’s lives, live grandly and die grandly—only to et such an inconspicuous downfall. Isn’t it infuriating? Isn’t it humiliating?"
"Are you looking at like this because you want to ask if this is the ending I crafted for you? No, I only wanted you dead. As for how you die, I don’t care."
"What I an is—you don’t deserve better."
The most devastating blow cos not from death but from words.
Pri Minister Xun glared coldly at Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan said calmly, "Even you must look up at soday, foster father."
Under the vast heavens, white snow blanketed everything.
The wind whipped at Lu Yuan’s Silver Fox Cloak.
He stood amidst the desolate world, resembling a divine figure reborn from the ashes.
Those who had tornted him, tortured him, feasted on his flesh—finally, all lay beneath his feet.
No one knew how many years he’d spent planning for this day.
His seemingly smooth act of vengeance was backed by countless setbacks, broken bones, and repeated falls.
The ease of today’s assassination was proportional to the harshness of past trials.
Was there truly an easy path in the world? The more one walked, the more obstacles would be flattened.
He now donned fine garnts and brand-new shoes, but no one noticed the blood-soaked wounds beneath caused by thorns.
Pri Minister Xun’s inner strength quickly dissipated; his breathing turned faint, and the sealed acupoints burst open. Blood gushed from his wounds once again.
"Should I finish him off with one thrust?"
ng Qianqian asked Lu Yuan.
Lu Yuan replied, "Give him an easy death? No."
ng Qianqian nodded: "Sound reasoning."
With both Gu poison and Witch Mountain toxins wreaking havoc, it felt like countless bugs gnawed at his ridians, his bones seemingly lting inch by inch. He lost all strength.
First, he felt a bone-deep chill, as though afflicted by cold syndro.
Then ca the unbearable pain in his palms, as if they were forcibly broken.
He endured excruciating agony, his consciousness becoming hazy.
Lying in the snow dyed red by his toxic blood, he suddenly chuckled coolly: "Do you know... why I nad you Lu..."
Among the six adopted sons, Lu Yuan was the only one who didn’t bear the Xun surna.
Back then, Pri Minister Xun had proposed calling him Xun San, but Lu Yuan had refused.
"My na is Ayuan."
Ayuan could not be changed.
Otherwise, how would his family ever find him?
At sixteen, Lu Yuan was taken in by Pri Minister Xun to be a spy in the Crown Prince Mansion.
Not adopting the na Xun San was no issue for Pri Minister Xun, who casually said, "Xun Yuan sounds unpleasant and might expose our father-son connection. Let’s just na you Lu Yuan."
Pri Minister Xun saw his adopted sons rely as tools; even the nas he bestowed were perfunctory. Lu Yuan had never cared.
But now, from the Pri Minister’s recent words, it seed the surna held hidden significance.
Pri Minister Xun looked toward Lu Yuan.
The poison had spread to his internal organs, and his visions were gone; he could see nothing.
Still, it seed as though he was gazing earnestly at soone through Lu Yuan.
"Lu Yuan... you are his child... Say you aren’t Lu... You are..."
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