Mu Family Secret

"Uh... why are you crying? Even if you know I'm from the Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon Clan, there's no need to cry like this." Hu Haoran was baffled when he saw Mu Tengfei and Mu Yucheng clutching each other and weeping.

Suddenly, the two Mu brothers knelt before Hu Haoran. Mu Tengfei said, "My name is Mu Tengfei, and this is my younger brother, Mu Yucheng. We were both once members of the Mu Family's branch line. Please, Third Young Master Hu, take us in! We have nowhere left to go. If we return, we'll surely continue to be hunted down."

"Hmm... what exactly are you being hunted for? Tell me, and I'll see whether this is trouble I can afford to get involved in." Hu Haoran did not immediately agree. Instead, he began probing for the secrets of the Mu Family's main branch.

The Mu brothers exchanged a glance and nodded. Mu Tengfei began, "This is a shocking conspiracy. The Mu Family's main branch has been cooperating with Ling Gaofeng of the Ling Family in the Imperial Capital on a plan..."

"What plan?" Hu Haoran could not help asking when Mu Tengfei paused.

"To assassinate the Emperor and help the Second Prince usurp the throne!" Mu Tengfei continued.

"...Assassinate the Emperor?!" Hu Haoran's heart jolted. Damn it, I finally transmigrated here and ran into this kind of crap. I don't go looking for trouble, but trouble comes looking for me.

"Since it was planned by the Ling Family, the Minister of Finance's family, they will certainly target our Hu Family of the Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon Clan. After all, my father is the God of War and absolutely loyal to the current Emperor. Once they revolt, they will surely try to seize my father's military authority." Hu Haoran slowly voiced his analysis.

"Third Young Master Hu is right! The Second Prince's original plan was to win over the Hu Family, but the Ling Family refused no matter what. In the end, they decided to destroy your Hu Family and have the Mu Family's main branch replace it. My father learned this secret by accident at a gathering organized by the main branch. He did everything he could to pass the news on, and there may be even more secrets, but now..." As Mu Tengfei spoke, tears began streaming down his face.

"Young Master Mu, please restrain your grief. I would like to know how strong the Mu Family's main branch is," Hu Haoran continued asking.

"I'll answer that. The Mu Family is considered a medium-sized family. The strongest member of the main branch is the clan leader, Mu Changkong. He is currently an eighty-sixth-level Soul Douluo. As for whether the main branch has any hidden trump cards, neither of us knows. Before our branch line was destroyed, our strongest member was our father, an eighty-third-level Soul Douluo," Mu Yucheng replied.

Hearing that the Mu Family was so weak, Hu Haoran could not help feeling puzzled. "I guess your main branch has a Title Douluo above level ninety. Their level may not be very high, but there must be one. Otherwise, with strength like this, trying to replace our Blue Electric Tyrant Dragon Clan would be nothing but wishful thinking. Did your father tell you how the Mu Family's main branch intended to carry out the assassination plot?"

Mu Yucheng nodded and continued, "He did. They planned to use poison!"

"Poison?! I could have guessed that. After all, assassinating an Emperor is no easy matter. Even if the Ling Family and our Hu Family acted together, we might not be able to assassinate the current Emperor. Shen Yefeng may not be very strong himself, but too many powerful experts protect him." Hu Haoran chuckled. "Do you know how they plan to poison him?"

"My father did mention it. They'll use a poison unique to our Mu Family, one that only we can make. Of course, very few people have known this secret since ancient times. Ling Gaofeng is one of them, which is why he came looking for us." Mu Tengfei knew more about this matter. "The Mu Family's inherited spirit is the Crimson Desire Brilliant Snake. Once a wielder of this spirit reaches level eighty and becomes a Soul Douluo, their scales produce a toxin. This toxin can make people hallucinate and can also enhance the body's functions, but it severely shortens one's lifespan. When combined with certain medicinal ingredients, it can be made into a chronic poison that drains a person's lifespan. Once triggered, it can cause someone to die suddenly within three days. Moreover, the death is silent and leaves everything looking perfectly normal."

"Damn?! Such a powerful toxin—why hasn't it been mentioned in other books? There should have been records of it long ago." Hu Haoran was stunned by the poison's potency.

Mu Tengfei lowered his head and pondered for a long while before saying, "This poison has been recorded, but no one knows that our family makes it. Its name is the famous Death's Embrace! It only works on people below level eighty Soul Douluo. Those above level eighty have strong resistance to it. Otherwise, our Mu Family would have unified the continent long ago."

Hu Haoran nodded in agreement, then asked, "Does Death's Embrace have an antidote?"

"There is a way to cure it. Where there is one side, there is the other. When the Mu Family's ancestors created Death's Embrace, they had already found an antidote. Crimson Jade Heart Tea, made with Hell Flower Pearl Shavaman as its main ingredient, can neutralize Death's Embrace's poison," Mu Yucheng interjected. "My brother and I each possess one formula: one for Death's Embrace, and one for Crimson Jade Heart Tea."

"You two brothers really do keep each other in check," Hu Haoran said.

"If Third Young Master Hu is willing to take us in, we are willing to offer up both formulas." Mu Tengfei said urgently, "My brother and I have nowhere else to turn. We still have a great vengeance to avenge. We don't want to die yet!"

"The formulas are easy enough, but how can I trust you? Your information is indeed shocking, and I will report it to my father so he can prepare. But how can your loyalty be guaranteed? After all, I'm taking a risk as well." Hu Haoran still did not immediately agree to their request.

"My brother and I are willing to swear a Spirit Oath to serve Third Young Master Hu forever," Mu Tengfei and Mu Yucheng said resolutely.

Without another word, Mu Tengfei and Mu Yucheng immediately used their spirits to swear eternal loyalty to Hu Haoran. A Spirit Oath was the most serious oath on the Douluo Continent, one that no one could violate. Once an oath was broken, the spirit would self-destruct, condemning the oathbreaker to eternal damnation.

"Good! Since you are willing to swear with your spirits to serve me, I'll take you in. Though you are weak right now, I will use the family's resources to train you until you can avenge your family!" Hu Haoran swore in turn.

"Thank you, Third Young Master Hu, for granting us this chance!" Mu Tengfei and Mu Yucheng knelt and thanked him.

Seeing them kneel, Hu Haoran immediately helped them up. "You don't need to kneel when you see me in the future. A bow will be enough. And don't call me Third Young Master Hu—it sounds awful. Just call me Young Master Hu. One last thing: I don't know whether you agree, but I hope you will change your surname to Hu. After all, if people named Mu appear in our Hu Family, it could easily alert the enemy."

"Young Master Hu is right! From now on, we'll both take the surname Hu. Since the Mu Family wants us dead, we'll abandon the Mu surname as well. One day, we will destroy the Mu Family!" Hu Tengfei said bitterly after changing his surname.

"Then it's settled! Teng Fei, Yu Chen, let's return to Qinghua Town first. Once your injuries have healed, we'll immediately head back to the Imperial Capital!" Hu Haoran ordered. He could hardly wait to tell his father about the Ling Family's plan.