Chapter 37: Giving You a Chance

Zhu Chengze left the Council Hall huffing with rage, his heart full of resentment.

The five brothers of the Zhu Family seemed harmonious on the surface, but in reality, their statuses within the Zhu Family were quite different.

He, Zhu Chengze, was the one with the lowest status among the five brothers of the Zhu Family.

Zhu Chengan was the eldest; he had helped Zhu Chaofeng manage the Zhu Family since he was young. As the eldest brother who acted like a father, his status was naturally high.

The second brother, Zhu Chengguo, was indifferent to fame and fortune, had a steady personality, and possessed good martial talent. He was the pillar of the Zhu Family, second only to Zhu Chengzhong.

The fourth brother, Zhu Chengzu, was handsome, eloquent, and socially adept, making him Zhu Chaofeng’s favorite.

The fifth brother, Zhu Chengzhong, went without saying—a Martial Arts Genius who had joined the Huangji Sect, he was the future hope of the Zhu Family.

And what about him, Zhu Chengze?

He had average looks, average martial talent, and a dull, taciturn personality.

When the Zhu Family rose to power, he didn’t gain much benefit, yet now that the fourth brother had provoked a powerful enemy, he was expected to risk his life alongside them. Why?

Complaining all the way, Zhu Chengze returned to his room.

But the moment he pushed open the door, Zhu Chengze’s eyes widened instantly, filled with horror.

Chen Yuan, dressed in black and wearing a bamboo hat, sat in Zhu Chengze’s room, resting his hands on his long saber, waiting for him leisurely.

Just as Zhu Chengze was about to cry out, Chen Yuan raised a finger to his lips: “Don’t make a sound. If you do, I’ll kill you right now.”

The words at the tip of his tongue were forced back by Zhu Chengze.

He had seen Chen Yuan’s saber and knew how fast it was.

If the opponent wanted to kill him, he could definitely do so before his eldest brother and father could arrive.

“How bold of you! You actually dare to sneak into my Zhu Family at a time like this!”

Zhu Chengze lowered his voice, his eyes filled with fear.

“I even dare to exterminate your Zhu Family, so why wouldn’t I dare to sneak in?”

Chen Yuan sneered and said indifferently, “I’m only here to give you a chance—a chance to live. It just depends on whether you want it.”

“You can spare the Zhu Family?”

“No, but I can promise not to kill you.”

Chen Yuan looked at Zhu Chengze with a half-smile. “I can sense that you are very afraid of death and really don’t want to die, so I’m giving you this chance.

As long as you can kill all the Zhu Family members at the critical moment and openly defect, I will not kill you.

Of course, you don’t need to agree right now. Whether you live or not depends on what you do.”

After speaking, Chen Yuan moved, leaping out of the window and disappearing into the night.

Zhu Chengze clenched his fists, his eyes flickering with the struggle of indecision.

Chen Yuan was right about one thing.

He was afraid of death, very afraid… In the darkness of the night, more than a dozen Zhu Family retainers didn’t even dare to light torches as they quietly left the Zhu Family, preparing to head down the mountain.

Fearing they would make noise, these retainers didn’t even dare to ride horses. They deliberately dispersed, muffling their movements as they took different streets down the mountain.

However, even though they muffled their movements, they were still incredibly clear to Chen Yuan, whose five senses were sharp.

Accompanied by the dazzling flash of saber light in the dark night, the Zhu Family retainers were decapitated and fell to the ground before they could even let out a scream.

Of the dozen or so retainers, even the one who made it the furthest only reached a street away before being slain by Chen Yuan.

The next morning.

Just as dawn was breaking, some of the bolder people in Gushan City were the first to cautiously head out and check the situation.

They had all sensed the commotion of the Zhu Family’s large-scale search for their enemy last night.

However, what followed was not the sound of a fierce battle, but the sound of the Zhu Family retainers fleeing in panic.

When they reached the scene, they saw severed limbs and a pile of minced meat; the scene was simply too gruesome to behold.

According to some of the retainers who had fled, that pile of minced meat was the Zhu Family’s second son, Zhu Chengguo!

The area around the Zhu Family Manor was also a miserable sight.

More than a dozen Zhu Family retainers had been beheaded, their headless corpses scattered everywhere.

Some were near the manor, while others were closer to the mountain path leading down.

Now, everyone understood.

The Zhu Family was afraid!

They were so terrified of being killed by a single person that they wanted to go out and seek help.

Realizing this, the expressions of the people in Gushan City became subtle.

How overbearing had the Zhu Family been before?

They had acted tyrannically in Gushan City, and no one dared to provoke them.

Furthermore, their own son had joined a major sect in the Central Plains. Even powers slightly stronger than the Zhu Family had to give the Zhu Family Face.

And now? They were like lambs to the slaughter, panicked and helpless.

The Zhu Family was nothing more than this!

Inside the Zhu Family at this moment, neither Zhu Chengan nor Zhu Chaofeng had closed their eyes all night.

It wasn’t that they didn’t dare to sleep, but that they couldn’t.

After daybreak, some retainers went out of the manor to check the situation, only to see headless corpses all over the ground.

“All the retainers we sent out are dead. After yesterday’s battle, that man didn’t leave; instead, he’s been watching our Zhu Family from the shadows!”

A look of terror appeared in Zhu Chengan’s eyes.

This time, he was truly afraid and out of options.

The opponent was watching the Zhu Family like a maggot on a bone, impossible to shake off.

“What a vicious method!” Zhu Chaofeng’s expression was grim.

To put it nicely, the terrain of Gushan City made it easy to defend but hard to attack.

But similarly, if someone blockaded them from the inside, it would be very difficult for them to escape.

There was only one path down the mountain. Could they possibly jump off the cliff?

“Gather all the remaining retainers. After dark, everyone will rush out of the Zhu Family together.

With over a hundred people fleeing and scattering, how could he possibly kill everyone by himself?

Even if it were a hundred pigs, they wouldn’t be that easy to catch.”

Zhu Chaofeng thought for a moment and decided on a plan.

Zhu Chengan nodded; this was the only way now.

However, before Zhu Chengan could go and give the order, Zhu Chengze ran in panic.

“Father! Eldest Brother! This is bad! All the retainers have fled!”

Zhu Chaofeng stood up abruptly. “What!? Everyone fled? Not a single one left?”

Zhu Chengze gave a smile that looked worse than crying. “Not a single one. We couldn’t even stop them! Some even stole our money and jewelry before running away.”

“Damn them! They deserve to die!”

Zhu Chaofeng slammed his palm onto the table beside him, shattering the fine rosewood table into pieces.

But at this moment, Zhu Chaofeng was merely venting his powerless rage.

Everyone had run away; who else could he kill?

“Third Brother, go and shut the main gates tightly. Lock all the doors in the manor!”

After Zhu Chengze left, Zhu Chaofeng slumped back into his chair, his Face instantly aging several years.

“One wrong move leads to another.”

Zhu Chaofeng was once just the son of a butcher. He had spent decades dominating Gushan City and developing the Zhu Family to this extent, making him something of a formidable figure.

Unfortunately, as he grew older, he gradually lost the caution and prudence of his youth.

The core reason for the series of blows the Zhu Family suffered was his own arrogance and negligence!

Back then, since he chose to exterminate the Chu Family, he should have done so thoroughly, leaving no survivors.

After learning that someone wanted to destroy his Zhu Family, he shouldn’t have slowly tested the waters. Instead, he should have used his full strength, like a lion hunting a rabbit. With hundreds of retainers and four Foundation Establishment Realm experts attacking together, how could the opponent have possibly held out?

As it turned out, he made a mistake at every step, leading to the Zhu Family being pushed to this point by a single person.

“Father, we can’t just be trapped here to die in the Zhu Family!”

Zhu Chengan suddenly said, “The retainers have all run away, and the Zhu Family is now in a state of panic. Neither you nor I can even sleep peacefully.

There’s a saying: one can be a thief for a thousand days, but one cannot guard against a thief for a thousand days. Right now, the opponent is wearing down our energy.

Once he has exhausted us to the point of collapse, he will strike the Zhu Family directly and kill us with ease!

Instead of passively waiting for him to come to us, why don’t the two of us be the first to rush down the mountain?

Once we’re off the mountain, the world is wide, and every path is a way to survive!”

Zhu Chaofeng frowned slightly. “Then what about your brothers? What about our family members? Do we take them with us?”

“We can’t take them!”

Zhu Chengan said in a heavy voice, “If we take a group of burdens, everyone will die!

Let the Third Brother lead the other family members and stay in the Zhu Family while we, father and son, head down the mountain.

The opponent is only one person and lacks a Clone, so he cannot be in two places at once.

If he comes to hunt us, the Third Brother and the others will be safe, and we will have the strength to resist.

If he comes to the Zhu Family to kill the Third Brother, we will have more time to escape down the mountain.

Father, when things reach this point, choices must be made!”

At the moment of life and death, Zhu Chengan was quite decisive, one might even say cold-blooded.

Those left in the Zhu Family were not just the family members of others, but also his own wives, concubines, and sons.

But if his wives and concubines were gone, he could marry again; if his sons were gone, he could father more. If he himself died, then he would truly be gone.

Zhu Chaofeng closed his eyes in thought, eventually let out a sigh, and nodded gently.

Although Zhu Chengan’s words sounded reasonable, in reality, doing this was essentially abandoning the burdens of the Zhu Family so the two of them could escape with their lives.

“Go and call the Third Brother over. Explain it to him clearly and tell him to prioritize the big picture.”