Chapter 218: Niu Youdao, You're Ruthless!

Madam Ruan still hesitated, unable to answer.

Shao Fubo urged her, “Mother, we cannot hesitate any longer. Delay breeds change! That dog has too many methods. Once he realizes what is happening, who knows what new trick he'll produce? If we let this opportunity slip past, there truly will never be another this good!”

Madam Ruan remained deeply conflicted. “Can this really succeed?”

Shao Wubo said, “This time there is absolutely no room for failure. We failed before because he still had room to maneuver. But against Dachan Mountain, things are different. If he enrages Dachan Mountain enough to make them act, even Father will not be able to protect him. He will die without question.”

Despite the brothers' repeated assurances, Madam Ruan remained frightened. “You are forcing him onto a road of death... but you are also leaving yourselves no retreat.”

Shao Fubo said heavily, “Mother, don't worry. We have left ourselves a road back. Second Brother and I have already discussed it. There is no need for both of us to step forward and expose this. I alone will do it. You and Second Brother will pretend you knew nothing. If something unexpected happens, I will shoulder it alone.”

Shao Wubo lowered his head and remained silent.

Madam Ruan looked from her second son to her third, heart twisting. “Couldn't someone else expose it? Why must you personally step forward?”

She was genuinely terrified of Shao Pingbo. After all these years, he had truly frightened her. And whenever Shao Pingbo acted to stabilize his rear, his methods had always been ruthless enough to intimidate petty schemers into silence.

Shao Wubo said gloomily, “This is a life-and-death battle. We cannot leave him any room to retreat. We also have to guard against Dachan Mountain and Father shielding their own. Only if we brothers step forward personally and exert pressure can we force him completely onto the road to death.”

Madam Ruan said, “If you force your own elder brother to death, that is fratricide. How is your father supposed to bear it? What will he think of you? Will he forgive you?”

Shao Fubo replied, “When Eldest Brother was forcing us, did Father ever say anything? And even if Father doesn't forgive us, what can he do? We are the only sons he has. After the eldest dies, can he kill us as well? Who would bury him when he dies? If he fathers another son now, he probably won't live long enough to see the child grow into a capable man. How could some infant defend Beizhou against outside enemies and keep its internal affairs under control? Besides, if something happens, I alone will take responsibility. Second Brother won't be implicated. So long as Second Brother can rise afterward, everyone else will have to look to his expression and won't dare do much to me. If I suffer a little temporary grievance, so be it.”

Shao Wubo said, “Mother, don't worry. So long as we can bring him down, Third Brother will be fine. At most he'll receive some punishment. If we let an opportunity like this pass instead, sooner or later he will force us all to death. Mother, when a decision must be made, make it. This is no time for a woman's softheartedness.”

“Enough. Do as you wish.” Madam Ruan shook her head helplessly.

“Good.” Shao Wubo nodded and cupped his hands. “Then Mother, please go to Father's side immediately and keep watch there. Wait for the proper moment and cooperate with us.”

Things had already reached this point. Pressed by her two sons until she had no other choice, Madam Ruan did as they asked and left.

The brothers stood beneath the eaves. Shao Wubo raised his head and looked at the sky. “Success or failure is decided today. Third Brother, be careful.”

Shao Fubo grinned. “Second Brother, after this is done, I want to sleep with his woman.”

“Who?” Shao Wubo stared in surprise. As far as he knew, their elder brother had no woman of his own, only a few maids who attended his bed. Surely those did not count?

Shao Fubo chuckled lewdly. “Tang Yi! That woman really is beautiful. She has the face, the figure, and the bearing. Once this is done, I absolutely have to sleep with the woman he likes. Otherwise, I won't be able to vent all the resentment I've accumulated over these years.”

“This...” Shao Wubo fell into thought. “The Shangqing Sect has attached itself to Beizhou, so that part would be easy enough. But Tang Yi's man is Niu Youdao. You know Eldest Brother's methods. Anyone capable of wrestling back and forth with him cannot be simple. There is no need to create another enemy for nothing...” Seeing disappointment appear on his younger brother's face, Shao Wubo immediately changed his attitude. He raised a hand and patted Shao Fubo on the shoulder. “Fine! I'll think of something. I'll definitely find a way to make her submit beneath you. Even if Father throws you into prison, I'll find a way to make her go into your cell, remove her own clothes, and keep you company to your heart's content.”

“Haha! Good. Wait for my good news!” Shao Fubo's face lit with excitement. He thumped his chest and strode away...

At Lingbo Residence, Shao Pingbo was in his study, brush flying across the page as he wrote line after furious line rebuking officials in one locality for their incompetence.

Just then, steward Shao Sansheng rushed into the study. He no longer cared about proper rules. His face was full of panic. “Eldest Young Master, something terrible has happened!”

Shao Pingbo looked up once, then lowered his head and continued writing. “Why panic?” His voice was cold. “Speak slowly. The sky won't fall.”

Shao Sansheng had no intention of speaking slowly. Seeing Shao Pingbo still behaving as though nothing could disturb him only made the old steward more frantic. “Eldest Young Master, something really has happened! Madam Ruan's side already knows that Eldest Young Master tried to use the Ice and Snow Pavilion to eliminate Niu Youdao. Second Young Master, Third Young Master, and Madam Ruan have conspired to expose the matter. They have already gone to Zhong Yangxu's side. It is too late to stop them!”

Zhong Yangxu was an elder of Dachan Mountain permanently stationed in Beizhou. He was both the person responsible for Dachan Mountain's affairs on this side and Shao Dengyun's foremost retainer cultivator.

Shao Pingbo had just dipped his brush heavily in ink and raised it. His expression changed violently. His fingers loosened. Plop. The brush struck the white paper, splashing a glaring blot of black ink across it.

At last he understood the severity of what had happened. His face turned pale almost instantly. Slowly, Shao Pingbo rose, walked around the desk, and approached Shao Sansheng. Fire seemed ready to burst from his eyes. His voice came low and heavy. “How could they know about this?”

He had almost completely hollowed out the people around Madam Ruan and her sons. There were no cultivators moving in and out around them. Even their most trusted servants were, for the most part, secretly under his control. More importantly, this operation had been handled with extraordinary secrecy. Even Dachan Mountain had known nothing of it.

To put it plainly, almost every movement made by Madam Ruan and her sons had been under his eyes. What they said about him in private, how they cursed him behind closed doors—he knew most of that as well.

He had kept silent and refrained from acting against the mother and her two sons because he still feared his father, Shao Dengyun. Driving matters too far would also damage his reputation, which would be unfavorable when the day came for him to inherit Beizhou. Whatever grievances existed could wait until he had smoothly taken control of Beizhou. For now, he still needed his father's prestige to keep the proud generals and fierce commanders under control.

So long as the situation remained within his grasp, there were things he did not need to settle immediately.

Shao Sansheng shook his head. He too could not understand how the other side had learned the secret. His voice turned grief-stricken. “Eldest Young Master, leave! What we feared most was our own people stabbing us in the back. Madam Ruan's side is sacrificing kin for righteousness. What choice does that leave Dachan Mountain? Huang Lie personally gave the Ice and Snow Pavilion his guarantee. Once this matter comes out, Dachan Mountain will absolutely not spare Eldest Young Master! Before that side can react, you must get away. Only by surviving today will there be a chance to plan for tomorrow. So long as the green mountains remain, there will never be a lack of firewood! Eldest Young Master, leave now. If you wait any longer, it will be too late!”

The words “Huang Lie personally gave the Ice and Snow Pavilion his guarantee” flashed through Shao Pingbo's mind. So did the memory of Niu Youdao summoning Huang Lie to the Ice and Snow Pavilion.

Cause and effect, before and after, suddenly connected. If Shao Pingbo still could not react after comparing the two, then he would not be Shao Pingbo. His lips actually trembled. “Madam Ruan and her sons are under my control. If they were truly planning something like this, it would be impossible for me not to notice even the slightest sign beforehand. The rumors at the Ice and Snow Pavilion had barely appeared when this side immediately followed with action, leaving me no time to breathe or reverse the situation. This is no coincidence. Someone has been plotting behind the scenes to destroy me!”

Shao Sansheng started. “Who?”

“Niu Youdao!” Shao Pingbo's voice shook. “I walked into that treacherous bastard's trap...” The instant he said it, Shao Pingbo suddenly clutched his chest. His face flushed crimson.

Shao Sansheng saw at once that something was wrong. “Eldest Young Master!”

“Pfft!” Shao Pingbo's tightly clenched jaw suddenly loosened. Blood rushed up from his heart and sprayed from his mouth. His eyes rolled upward, and his body toppled straight backward.

Fortunately, Shao Sansheng had already realized something was wrong. He caught Shao Pingbo before he could smash into the desk behind him and quickly helped him into a chair. Again and again, Shao Sansheng rubbed his chest, trying to smooth his breathing. “Eldest Young Master, what's wrong?”

After spitting out that mouthful of blood, Shao Pingbo's crimson face turned ghastly pale. Not a trace of color remained. The whiteness was frightening.

Only after great difficulty did he finally recover enough to breathe steadily. Then Shao Pingbo laughed. Leaning against the back of the chair, he wore a miserable smile. “He made such an enormous commotion just to deal with me. What a convincing performance. After all this time, you were the one hiding in the dark and digging the pit. And you dug such a huge one just waiting for me to jump inside. What patience... Niu Youdao, you're ruthless. This time, I admit defeat from the bottom of my heart!”

Shao Sansheng said urgently, “Whether it was Niu Youdao or not no longer matters. Eldest Young Master, things have already reached this point. Leaving is the best plan. If you still don't go, it will be too late!”

Still breathing hard, Shao Pingbo swept his hand aside and shook his head. “Leave? Go where? I have poured my blood and heart into building Beizhou into what it is today. You want me to hand it to someone else with both hands? If I leave today, I confirm every accusation against me. I will never have another chance to turn things around. Dachan Mountain will hunt me to the ends of the earth. They will never let me go. Who would dare take in a man who offended the Ice and Snow Pavilion? I cannot leave. And I will not leave. I haven't lost yet!”

Shao Sansheng grew frantic. “Eldest Young Master, don't let emotion dictate your actions! For its own sake, Dachan Mountain will not care whether you live or die. Even the Provincial Inspector cannot protect you. Get away first. The rumor has already been spread. Once the Ice and Snow Pavilion verifies whether Xiao Tianzhen consumed a Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit, perhaps there will still be a turn in the situation.”

“It is obviously a trap.” Shao Pingbo planted both hands on the chair arms and forced himself upright. He steadied his swaying body with effort. His expression twisted savagely. “How could Niu Youdao possibly let Xiao Tianzhen consume the Scarlet Yang Vermilion Fruit?” He pointed at Shao Sansheng. “Have our people inside the Provincial Inspector's Residence act. Immediately eliminate those two fellows plotting against me!”

Shao Sansheng started. Naturally he knew which two people Shao Pingbo meant. Was Eldest Young Master really going to kill his own blood brothers? He hurriedly warned, “Eldest Young Master, think carefully! If word spreads that you murdered your own brothers, it will be extremely damaging to your reputation.”

Shao Pingbo moved slowly forward and braced one hand against the corner of the desk. A cold smile appeared. “If they don't die, Beizhou will fall into their hands. What do you think they're planning by sacrificing kin for righteousness? Isn't that precisely their calculation? If Beizhou truly falls into their hands, they do not possess the ability to control it. Sooner or later it will change masters. My Shao family will die without a burial place. Neither the State of Han nor the State of Yan will spare us. Even Dachan Mountain will find a way to replace the Shao family. Go! Immediately! This is the last fragment of a chance I have left. If we are late, there will be no time. Go!”

Hearing this, Shao Sansheng finally turned and hurried away to carry out the order.

But just as he reached the study door, Shao Pingbo's cold voice came from behind him. “Since we're doing it, we might as well do it cleanly. Leave no future trouble. That saves us from having to invent another reason later... And that bitch. Deal with her too. Quickly!” The final word came out as a roar.

He wanted not only to kill his own brothers, but his stepmother as well. Shao Sansheng's heart trembled. Still, he acknowledged the order and hurried away.

Shao Pingbo seemed to have exhausted the last of his strength. He staggered backward and collapsed into the chair. “Cough, cough...” He covered his mouth and coughed violently. When he lowered his hand, glaring crimson blood stained his palm. Again that miserable smile appeared. “Niu Youdao... you're ruthless!”

[End of Chapter 218]