Chapter 1377 — The Wu Family's Reaction

"Jiaoqi, I was the one who said it—don't blame him." Wu Gonggao asked weakly from his sickbed, "Tell me, then. What exactly has happened?"

"Father, your heart..." Wu Jiaoqi feared it might be news bad for the Wu family, and moved at once to stop him.

"It's nothing—I'm not about to die yet. Chentian, that boy, is too impulsive; as his grandfather, I have to shoulder this for him." He waved a hand and went on.

Wu Jiaoqi sighed. His father, for all these years, had clung to the seat of family head in that overbearing way of his without ever passing it to him, and he had nursed his share of resentment over it. But ever since his son Wu Chengtian had shown a talent for martial cultivation, Wu Gonggao had grown ever more attentive to the boy—doting on him, even—and at family meetings had more than once proposed that Wu Chengtian be made the next head of the Wu family!

Only then had Wu Jiaoqi's mind come into balance. In his own generation he was not the only child: there was an elder sister and a younger brother. The sister was one thing—already married, she could compete with him for nothing. But the real crux of it was his younger brother and his young nephew. Those two were the true threat to him, Wu Jiaoqi.

But now all was well. Wu Chengtian had been designated the next heir, so Wu Jiaoqi need not worry himself sick over the pair. He had even come round to seeing it another way: even if he never took the seat himself, so long as his father's health held, it was entirely possible the old man would live to hand the position straight to Wu Chengtian. What was there left to fight for?

When the day came and Wu Chengtian sat in the chair, he, the outgoing head, would wield just as much power.

At that moment, however, Wu Jiaoqi's younger brother Wu Jiaolong spoke up. His face was fierce, his voice harsh, his eyes brimming: "Father, you must spare your body! You are the pillar of the Wu family. If your health gives way, then our family is finished. There is no need to take the blame for a junior's mistake!"

"That's right, Grandfather. Brother Chentian may have caused trouble, but the Wu family still has me!" The speaker was Wu Chendi, Wu Chengtian's younger brother. He had always been a dutiful, well-behaved boy with a deep and calculating mind, and he could not fathom why Grandfather had never thought well of him, but favored that fool of an elder brother instead!

Every good thing went to Wu Chengtian, while he, Wu Chendi, could only remain in obscurity. What sort of justice was that? When it came to cultivation, he was no worse—one year younger, he had broken through to the early Yellow Rank a step behind, and the two of them were now evenly matched in strength. Why did Grandfather still refuse to look at him in a better light?

Wu Gonggao glanced coolly at Wu Jiaolong and Wu Chendi and said evenly, "Then, by your reckoning, the plan is to abandon Wu Chengtian and put every scrap of the family's resources into training you, Wu Chendi?"

"Grandfather, that is not what your grandson meant..." Wu Chendi felt stifled with grievance. Of course it is exactly what I meant—but why did you have to say it outright? Even if it were, I could hardly admit so much in front of all these people!

"If that is not what you meant, then say no more about it." Wu Gonggao cut him short and turned to the disciple of the family's intelligence group. "Speak. What exactly has happened?"

"Reporting to the family head: Jin Wudi is dead." Finding the Wu family tearing itself apart, the disciple grew cautious.

"Dead? What did you say? Jin Wudi dead? How did he die?" Wu Gonggao's gaze hardened. He sat bolt upright in bed, the old sharpness flooding back into his eyes as he fixed the disciple with a piercing stare.

"Beaten to death by Er Goudan—that is, the leader Young Master Tian has just taken in. One punch, killed outright." the disciple said.

"Killed by Chentian's leader? And in a single punch?" Wu Gonggao sprang from the sickbed, the IV line torn clean from his arm without his even noticing. "Is every word of this true? Jin Wudi, killed by that Er Goudan?"

"It is true, family head. This subordinate dared not conceal a thing—the moment it happened, I came at once to report to you!" the disciple said.

"Hahahaha!" Wu Gonggao burst into thunderous laughter that shook the very rafters. "This is splendid! Heaven blesses our Wu family—ahahahaha! That boy Chentian has a good eye, to take such a formidable fellow as his leader. It seems the Wu family has hope yet!"

At that moment the happiest person besides Wu Gonggao was surely Wu Jiaoqi. Until now he had been living in terror over his son's affairs, dreading that his brother and nephew would join forces to scheme for the headship. But now it looked as though the rainbow had appeared after the storm.

"That is all thanks to your fine guidance, Father. As for Chentian—fool's luck, that's what he has. Without an ounce of scheming in him, he is all the easier for others to accept!" Whether openly or between the lines, Wu Jiaoqi was needling Wu Jiaolong and Wu Chendi: what good did all your plotting and cleverness do you? In the end, neither of you is worth a fraction of the leader Chentian took on a whim!

Wu Jiaolong and Wu Chendi wore ghastly expressions. The two of them had already worked it all out beforehand—to use this incident to persuade Wu Gonggao into having Wu Chengtian dragged back to reflect on his faults, with Wu Chendi taking his place. Now it had all gone up in smoke.

"Hmm... Grandfather, this affair may yet prove a blessing in disguise. The hidden clans keep Heaven Rank experts on hand—who can say whether the Pi family will come seeking revenge? We must hope it does not drag our Wu family down with it!" Wu Chendi ventured by way of reminder.

"Don't think I can't read your thoughts!" Wu Gonggao kicked Wu Chendi into a somersault. "Get out! I don't want to lay eyes on you!"

Wu Chendi went flying across the room, grief welling up in him. He differed from Wu Chengtian by a single year, and his cultivation speed was much the same—on what grounds, on what grounds at all, did Grandfather favor that one so?

A flicker of hatred passed through Wu Jiaolong's eyes as well. For reasons he could not fathom, neither he nor his son ever won the old man's favor—so it had been since they were children, and so it remained. That his own aptitude was poor, he could accept; but Wu Chendi's aptitude was excellent!

Taking Wu Chendi with him, Wu Jiaolong hurried out of the sickroom, not daring to cross the old man at a time like this.

Only after Wu Jiaolong had gone did Wu Gonggao's expression soften. He said to Wu Jiaoqi, "Call Wu Chengtian at once and find out how things stand!"

"Yes..." Though Wu Jiaoqi could not understand in his heart why his father had never thought much of his younger brother or his nephew, he did not care to press the matter. After all, it worked in his own favor; whether he asked or not made no difference.

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