Chapter 1130: Thirty Years on the East Bank, Thirty Years on the West Bank
To bet that Mo Chengfeng wouldn’t take Mo Hengqiu’s life, he no longer cared about Mo Youzhen’s fate. In his eyes, personal interest outweighed everything, even life beyond interest.
Mo Hengqiu drew a short knife from his waist and walked straight towards Mo Youzhen. With a sinister expression, he said, "Rest assured, once you’re dead, I’ll take good care of your family!"
"No..."
Mo Youzhen shrank back abruptly, suddenly remembering that Mo Hengqiu’s cultivation technique had been abolished by Liu Zixuan. In other words, he was now just an ordinary person. Soon, Mo Youzhen dodged to the side, jumped up, reached out, and seized the short knife from Mo Hengqiu.
Angrily shouted, "Even you can’t take care of yourself, do you think I would entrust my family’s lives to a scoundrel like you?"
Thud!
With a thrust, the knife pierced directly into Mo Hengqiu’s belly.
Mo Youzhen bitterly exclaimed, "Back then, you instructed me to do all the bad things. I betrayed and forsook all to serve you diligently, and now you want to kill me. I know today I won’t escape death, but I want to make sure you die before me!"
"Did I let you kill him?"
Mo Chengfeng watched as Mo Youzhen pulled out the knife, poised to end Mo Hengqiu’s life, and suddenly shouted to stop him.
Mo Youzhen paused: "Young Master, in this environment, where the weak are prey to the strong, whoever has the strongest fist can have the power of life and death. When your father passed away, you and your sister were unsupported and unskilled, giving Mo Hengqiu the opportunity. Now, you have Liu Zixuan and others, making your fist strong. So the ones awaiting death, awaiting judgment now are people like us."
"It’s just like the old saying, thirty years on the East bank, thirty years on the West. Back then, Mo Hengqiu forcefully monopolized the Patriarch’s position. Now, you’re making a strong return. But also know that perhaps someone will overturn you and take your place in the future."
Mo Youzhen suddenly raised his head: "In this life, I have failed you father and son. As one is dying, words are kind. Consider these words as some interest in repayment."
Thud!
After speaking, instead of killing Mo Hengqiu, Mo Youzhen pulled the knife and sliced his own throat, immediately falling lifelessly to the ground.
The entire scene turned silent, deathly silent, as if one could only hear everyone’s breathing.
Watching Mo Youzhen die like that, everyone felt a wave of sighs in their hearts.
Ah, people, a misstep leads to further wrong steps. A step right brings prosperity, a step wrong leads to a bottomless abyss.
Mo Hengqiu, clutching his belly, slowly turned around: "Chengfeng, he’s dead! Can you spare me?"
Mo Chengfeng took a deep breath, "Mo Youzhen paid the price for his mistakes. Do you think the mistakes you made can be compensated with just a few words?"
"Hahaha!"
Mo Hengqiu suddenly laughed twice, causing everyone to look at him curiously.
At such a time, how could he still laugh?
When the laughter faded, Mo Hengqiu pointed at Mo Chengfeng: "Though your father managed family affairs more, everyone in the family is beholden to me. If you don’t kill me, with their trust in me, I can help you become Patriarch. If you do kill me, how will you manage such a big family well? How will you make nearly a hundred people top to bottom believe in you?"
Mo Chengfeng furrowed his brows: "At this time, you’re still stubbornly deluded? Still threatening me?"
"Chengfeng, what I say is fact." Mo Hengqiu said solemnly, "I’ve been arranging within the family for years, greatly influencing each person. If I die, the Mo family will inevitably scatter in this turbulent world. Now with great enemies approaching, do you think Liu Zixuan can spare the time to help you manage these family affairs?"
Indeed, there was some truth to Mo Hengqiu’s words.
But he overlooked Mo Chengfeng’s determination to reclaim the family, and Liu Zixuan’s bond with his brothers.
"Netherworld Hall and Dragon Spirit are indeed formidable foes, and the world is indeed chaotic now. But if Liu Zixuan can’t even handle matters among brothers, how can he deal with great matters of the Star Sea?"
Liu Zixuan immediately stood up, expression solemn. His eyes were full of chilling coldness. He glanced at the Mo Family members and declared word by word, "From today onwards, Mo Chengfeng is the Patriarch of the Mo family. If one disagrees, I kill one; if two disagree, I kill a pair."
"If all are killed, will there still be a Mo family?" Mo Hengqiu taunted.
Liu Zixuan snorted coldly, "If all were as shameless and despicable as you, then why not kill them all? The Mo family still has Mo Third Master, Cheng Feng, and Lulu. Though it’s declining now, it doesn’t mean it can’t return to the peak in the future. Besides, do you really think there’s no one else in the world?"
"Throughout history, what dynasty isn’t built upon mountains of corpses and oceans of blood? Since I decided to reclaim the family, I’ve already thought everything through."
With Liu Zixuan’s assistance, Mo Chengfeng’s heart gained much more courage. His eyes swept over the crowd: "Those who follow me will prosper for generations; those who oppose me will face life or death!"
These words directly intimidated the entire scene, making everyone in the Mo family tremble internally, not daring to utter a word.
They indeed were Mo Hengqiu’s confidants, but ultimately they were still members of the Mo family. They didn’t care much about who was the Patriarch, as long as they could live within the family, that was more important than anything.
Perhaps they might resist a little if Mo Chengfeng became the Patriarch, but it would be temporary. Time would smooth out all previous obstacles.
After Liu Zixuan and Mo Chengfeng finished speaking, Mo Hengqiu immediately fell silent.
He lost, lost on the battlefield, lost in the family, lost in people’s hearts, lost to his excessive selfishness!
With a face ashen, he grimly smiled, "Indeed, thirty years on the East bank, thirty years on the West."
Clang! Mo Chengfeng threw a weapon on the ground: "End it yourself!"
"After I die, I don’t dare to ask to be buried in the ancestral grave but hope to be buried not far outside of it, to atone for all the wrongs I’ve done!" Mo Hengqiu didn’t continue to struggle. He picked up the blade and ended his life.
With two major family figures consecutively deceased, others became even more frightened and restless.
"Chengfeng..." Mo Third Master wanted to say something but stopped.
Mo Chengfeng immediately waved his hand, interrupting him and said, "Third Uncle, I have my own judgment; I’m not as cold-hearted and ruthless as Mo Hengqiu."
After speaking, he looked towards the family members and said, "Mo Hengqiu’s lineage, move out from Patriarch’s Hall, back to the original courtyard, with all family benefits halved. If their descendants can render service to the family, they still have the chance to compete for the future Patriarch position. As for everyone else, just continue doing what you’ve been doing. Disperse now!"
After saying this, he looked at Mo Third Master and said, "Third Uncle, clean up here; I need some time to calm down!"
"Alright!"
Mo Third Master quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Mo Chengfeng maintained rationality today and didn’t go on a killing spree; otherwise, the Mo family would have fallen into a slump for a period. And indeed, he silently admired that the present Mo Chengfeng had truly matured!