"Xue Tian?" Xue Hen deliberately put on a surprised expression. Then he rose from his chair, a faint killing intent radiating from him.
"You're actually here!" Xue Hen said coldly.
"Ugh, ughhh~" Xue Tian, whose tongue had been cut out, was terrified when he saw Xue Hen. He struggled desperately, trying to escape, but unfortunately, the Crown Prince's Mansion guards had him firmly in their grasp, and he couldn't break free.
"Whoosh!" Xue Hen vanished from where he stood in a flash, his figure as ghostly as Gui Mei's as he darted toward the doorway.
Qian Renxue's pupils contracted, and she hurriedly sidestepped.
Then she realized someone had appeared beside her—a man with his arm outstretched, gripping Xue Tian by the throat.
"Such incredible speed. He's this fast even without activating his Martial Soul?!" Qian Renxue was astonished. Then a smile crossed her face, and she said to Xue Hen, "What a coincidence. On my way here to see you, younger brother, I happened to run into our younger brother Xue Tian. Someone had tied him up and cut out his tongue. Since he's your blood brother, I thought I might as well bring him along and leave him in your hands to... deal with."
When she said "deal with," Qian Renxue lowered her head slightly and stole a glance at Xue Hen's expression from the corner of her eye. His previously impassive face had turned utterly cold...
As if he hadn't heard a word Qian Renxue had said, Xue Hen gripped Xue Tian by the throat. Watching Xue Tian's face turn red as he struggled to breathe, he said coldly, "Never thought this would happen, did you? That poor wretch you and your mother drove from the palace all those years ago would come back and throttle you like an ant."
"Someone cut out your tongue? Was it because that filthy mouth of yours said something else people couldn't stand? Heh, someone beat me to doing what I wanted to do. What a pity!"
"What about your mother? Did the two of you flee separately?"
When Xue Hen mentioned his mother, Xue Tian, unable to breathe, felt even more pain in his heart.
Mother, Mother...
"Your Highness, Uncle Wang's consort was with our younger brother Xue Tian just now, but..." Qian Renxue raised her head and recounted what had happened in the alley earlier.
After listening, Xue Hen furrowed his brows and murmured, "She was killed by someone who was probably Yuan Qi? Not even a body left..."
After a moment's silence, Xue Hen looked at Xue Tian, who was on the verge of being choked to death, and snorted before letting go.
Then, before Xue Tian could catch his breath, Xue Hen struck again, slamming his palm directly into Xue Tian's chest.
"Pfft!" In an instant, Xue Tian's internal organs were shattered. He spat out a large mouthful of blood, then toppled forward, eyes wide open.
He hit the ground with a thud.
"Since your mother just died and you've already known the pain of losing her, I'll give you a quick death," Xue Hen said blandly.
Then he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened them again, he turned and walked back into the room.
Qian Renxue had watched the entire scene. Looking at Xue Tian's corpse on the ground, she waved to her subordinates and ordered, "Take him away, then have someone come clean up. Wipe away the blood."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Once her subordinates had begun carrying out her orders, Qian Renxue looked back into the room and smiled at Xue Hen. "Younger brother, may I come in?"
"The man I just killed was Your Highness's younger brother. I'm not surnamed Xue. My name is Jian Hen," Xue Hen said coldly.
Qian Renxue shook her head. "You're mistaken, younger brother. Your name is Xue Hen. Everyone on the continent knows you as Xue Hen."
As she spoke, Qian Renxue took a food box from one of the guards still there and carried it straight into the room. Before entering, she deliberately closed the door so no one outside could hear what they were about to discuss.
Then she placed the food box on the table in front of Xue Hen and opened it. "I heard you loved sweets most when you were a child, younger brother. I had the cooks in the mansion make some desserts from the Balak Kingdom for you. Would you like to try them?"
Hearing Qian Renxue's words and seeing the pastries in the box before him, Xue Hen shifted his gaze to her, standing nearby, and scoffed. "Only I get to decide who I am. What other people think has nothing to do with me. Did Your Highness come here to do what the emperor did and persuade me to stay and serve you as your enforcer?"
"You jest, younger brother. We're bound by blood..."
"If we're talking about that, the fellow I just killed was even more closely bound to me by blood."
Qian Renxue: "..."
"Does the Crown Prince still think the words 'bound by blood' mean anything to me?" Xue Hen said flatly to Qian Renxue.
Qian Renxue furrowed her brows, though inwardly she laughed.
This Xue Hen was even harder to win over than she'd expected. That old fool, Emperor Xue Ye, had boasted that success was all but certain. What nonsense.
Still, this was good. The more he rejected the Heaven Dou Imperial Family, the less likely he was to serve them, and the better it was for Spirit Hall.
But her public identity was still the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, so she would have to make another "attempt" to win him over.
Thinking this, Qian Renxue drew a deep breath, stepped back twice, then bowed to Xue Hen.
"What are you doing?" Xue Hen asked.
"I'm apologizing to you on behalf of Uncle Wang Kundera, my father, and the entire Heaven Dou Imperial Family!"
Qian Renxue said sincerely, "I know you're angry. Back then, Uncle Wang favored his concubine over his wife and passed over the legitimate heir in favor of the illegitimate one, yet not a single person in the entire Heaven Dou Imperial Family stood up for you and your mother. My father claimed he'd been deceived by Uncle Wang, but I know you couldn't possibly believe that excuse."
"That's right. My father wasn't deceived about Uncle Wang favoring his concubine over his wife. He knew everything, but he still approved of Uncle Wang's actions. He did it to win over the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect. Spirit Hall was powerful, and the Star Luo Empire was stronger than our Heaven Dou Empire. At the time, I hadn't yet become Sect Master Ning's disciple, while Uncle Wang had met his cousin by chance and taken her as his consort."
"Uncle Wang's affection for Consort Ning could bring the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect closer. In fact, Consort Ning even played a part in introducing me to Sect Master Ning, which was why I became his disciple later on."
"I know you understand all of this."
Xue Hen: "..."
"My father learned through the Sky Screen that you were still alive, younger brother. He also learned how powerful you've become, so he wanted to persuade you to return to your family and the imperial household and strengthen the imperial family."
"You must despise that. In truth, I'm repulsed by it too, but the imperial family is under a great deal of pressure right now, so... younger brother, could you set aside what happened in the past for a while, for the sake of our ancestors, who struggled to establish this kingdom? Stay and help my father, help our family?"
"If you're unwilling, I can understand. From now on... I won't dare to press you again."
As she spoke, Qian Renxue put on an exhausted expression. Inwardly, she laughed, After hearing that, will you still serve Xue Ye? Heh.
Before you continue