Chapter 561: Reverse Strategy 20

The Chenshu patriarch simply couldn't believe what he heard.

Afflicted by internal fire and severe wounds, he spat out a mouthful of blood, braced his long spear on the ground, and stared at the utterly panicked matriarch with eyes nearly bursting.

"You! You poisonous woman!"

He really seems deeply devoted to his deceased wife.

Chenshu had had enough of his wretched, miserable appearance, then slowly turned and pointed his long sword at the matriarch; the sword blade was still dripping blood drop by drop, and the eyes behind the long sword were full of killing intent and icy hatred.

The matriarch's legs went completely weak from fear; with a thud she collapsed to the ground, clutching the pillar and trembling violently, bearing no trace of her former noble ladylike poise.

"No… I didn't! You have no evidence—how can you say I poisoned them?!"

She almost hysterically shouted, her pupils constricted, and the depths of her eyes were filled with bone‑deep terror.

Chenshu Ning wanted to rush over to protect his mother, but was bound by something unknown, leaving him unable to budge an inch.

"Chenshu! Stop messing around! Is it the Yao King who's bewitched your mind? We're a family!"

He kept struggling, trying to break free, but all the servants in the courtyard had already fled, and the other guards had all gone to deal with the Yao King in the rear courtyard—no one came to help.

Chenshu ignored the protagonist's hysterical yelling behind him, leaned down, and left a sentence in the ear of the trembling matriarch.

"Let me tell you a secret: Chenshu Yu was personally thrown into the mass grave by your eldest son while still alive, and the person in the coffin was just a nameless servant."

"Impossible… you're lying to me, you're definitely lying!"

The matriarch fell into a frenzy, refusing to accept this fact, feeling as if her blood had frozen throughout her body.

"Chenshu Ning!! Didn't you protect your younger brother properly? Why?!"

She screamed, and just thinking of the scene where her youngest son was dumped into the mass grave made her heart feel like it was being torn by a knife.

"You folks really love each other, don't you?"

He secretly sighed, watching the three of them bicker like dogs, each blaming the other's faults, never feeling that his own actions were wrong.

But Chenshu, while watching the show, wasn't idle—whenever anyone among the three mentioned his deceased mother or his childhood poisoning, he would thrust his sword forward without hesitation.

Within the time it takes to finish a cup of tea, aside from the matriarch—who lacked Spiritual Power and was already on the verge of death—the Chenshu patriarch and Chenshu Ning could barely hold on.

They were like a blood‑filled sack with holes, constantly bleeding out.

The stench of blood filled the entire courtyard; only Chenshu remained spotless, not even a trace of their blood on his soles.

"Oh no…"

A guard, barely clinging to life, crawled over to find the Chenshu patriarch; seeing this, he was almost scared to death, and Chenshu's long sword pointed straight at his brow.

"What's there to panic about? I'm not going to kill you—don't you have an important report to make?"

Chenshu tilted his head, Grinning, a threat flashing in his eyes—as if he would be beheaded the next second if he didn't speak.

"Glug…"

The guard could clearly hear his own swallowing; the fear of death was manifested to the fullest at that moment.

He stammered, "Report, report to the patriarch: the Yao King has broken the seal, and the Slay Demon Sect disciples guarding outside the barrier, as well as our people, are about to be slaughtered…"

"Oh dear, the Chenshu family is about to fall."

Chenshu couldn't help laughing out loud, turned his eyes to admire the patriarch's expression, and said, "Father, you must be feeling heartbroken too, right?"

"Wretched spawn! Wretched spawn!"

The Chenshu patriarch was so angry he was nearly losing his reason, clutching his bleeding chest wound, his tone lacking its former vigor.

"Your mother… was the chief demon hunter, and as her descendant you actually collude with demons!"

"Father, your words are quite interesting: the woman who gave birth to me was killed by your lady, the one who raised me was beaten to death by you, and even I was treated by you as a sacrificial offering."

Chenshu's tone was utterly calm, as if he were merely mentioning trivial matters, yet the hatred in his eyes was shocking enough to make one's heart race.

"And now you have the nerve to blame me for colluding with the Yao tribe?"

Chenshu Ning lay limp on the ground, his heart in utter panic, yet he clenched his fingertips tightly to barely maintain composure.

"Chenshu! You can't kill me, or the Slay Demon Sect won't let you off!"

His words reminded Chenshu that Chenshu Yu was still waiting, destined to love and kill this protagonist.

Chenshu nodded thoughtfully, as if agreeing, "You're right—I won't kill you."

"But since you're here, I must take a life from among you."

He paced up to Chenshu Ning, tipped the youth's chin with the tip of his sword, and looked down with a strange smile.

"Why not hand the choice over to you?"

"Father and matriarch—choose one of you to live."

The youth's voice was clear and pleasant, but to Chenshu Ning it sounded no less than a demon's whisper.

"No… you can't do that—they're also your family!"

Chenshu Ning's current appearance was a far cry from the usual gentlemanly guise he affected; he was disheveled beyond bearing, and even his voice was hoarse to an extreme degree.

Even now he couldn't believe things had turned out this way, and deep down he harbored a grudge: if his mother was going to poison, she should have used more back then, so he wouldn't have ended up as Chenshu's pawn today.

"They're your family, not mine."

Chenshu emphasized this again, still smiling and locking eyes with Chenshu Ning; his sword‑free hand suddenly shot out, a strange power directly binding the Chenshu patriarch and matriarch, suspending them in midair, struggling.

"Or, I'll give you a third option."

"I'll kill them both, give you a carriage, and let you leave in peace—how about that?"

Chenshu Ning's expression shifted slightly; he instinctively looked up at his parents, who were beginning to lose consciousness.

He gritted his teeth: "Are you serious?"

"Of course," Chenshu replied with a smile, already able to guess how this "extremely filial" protagonist would choose—"I don't want to be like you, saying one thing to your face and another behind your back."

Chenshu Ning covered his still‑aching arm, gritted his teeth, and said, "I choose the third option—let me leave now!"

"All right."

Chenshu, pleased with the answer, smirked to himself for a while, then grabbed Chenshu Ning's collar and turned him to face his suspended parents.

"Then you take care."

The long sword in his hand flicked out another blossom of sword light, as if conscious, it thrust straight into the madame's and the Chen family head's chests. Both instantly spat out large mouthfuls of blood, staining the ground beneath their feet red, and also staining Chen Ning's eyes red.

Even the madame's eyes hadn't closed, she stared straight at Chen Ning, stiff and lifeless.

Chen Ning's body began to tremble uncontrollably; the scene of his parents being slaughtered before his eyes was too gruesome, triggering an involuntary physical reaction—he turned away and vomited.

Only Chenshu nodded in satisfaction, waving his hand to let the two corpses crash to the ground, piled up like arhats.

"Dage, take care, we'll meet again next time."

Chenshu grinned and patted Chen Ning's shoulder, "Pleasant cooperation."

Having said that, he didn't even glance at Chen Ning's still-trembling body, casually tossing a horse tether at his feet, "The carriage is parked at the side gate of the front courtyard—don't be late."