Chapter 28: Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad!

Seeing that Zhou Yu had taken the bait, Shen Lang immediately chimed in, "The Zhao clan were once royalty, after all; their greatest specialty is using others as blades to eliminate their rivals!"

"You of the Zhou family must never trust Zhao Tianba or any other member of the Zhao clan again!"

Zhou Yu nodded with utmost seriousness. "Rest assured, our Zhou family will never make a move against you!"

"Sigh, what I fear is that they might impersonate your Zhou family to strike at me. After all, to secure the position of successor, the Zhao clan will certainly go to great lengths to solve any problems for Her Majesty."

Hearing Shen Lang mention the word "successor" once more, Zhou Yu’s brow furrowed tightly. With a grave expression, he asked, "Brother Lang, if I may be so bold as to ask, aren't you a candidate? Why have you changed your terminology to 'successor'?"

Seeing that Zhou Yu had finally asked the critical question, Shen Lang feigned panic. "What successor? You misheard; I was talking about candidates!"

"Is that so?" Zhou Yu narrowed his eyes, feeling as though he had stumbled upon a monumental secret. But since Shen Lang was unwilling to elaborate, Zhou Yu could not press him. He offered a sheepish smile and said, "I must have misheard, then. Might I ask what a 'candidate' actually entails?"

"This..." Shen Lang stood there, pretending to be in a difficult position. He then cast a glance toward Nalan Yanran. This gesture left Nalan Yanran stunned once again, completely failing to grasp what Shen Lang was playing at. Just as she was about to ask him what he was looking at, Shen Lang spoke up.

"Fine, I suppose there is no other way now! Brother, I have discussed this with your sister-in-law. If we want to defeat Zhao An this time, I’m afraid we will need the help of your Zhou family. I can tell you about the status of the candidate, but your family must help me collect the taxes!"

Hearing this, Zhou Yu sneered inwardly, cursing Shen Lang as an utter fool. On the surface, however, he nodded with feigned solemnity. "No problem. Taxes are a trivial matter for our Zhou family; it will be effortless!"

"Good, then I shall tell you! In truth, to be a candidate means to become a direct disciple of the Great Emperor Shenxiao!"

"Oh?" Zhou Yu’s heart skipped a beat at this answer. Being a direct disciple of the Great Emperor Shenxiao was an extraordinary status. Look at Nalan Yanran; merely by being a disciple, she had become the most sought-after person in the Great Qin Empire. To be a *direct* disciple would be even more monumental.

No. That wasn't right. At that moment, Zhou Yu recalled Shen Lang’s slip of the tongue regarding the "successor." He suddenly felt he had oversimplified the matter. In the world of cultivation, a direct disciple is often closer than one's own kin.

The Great Emperor Shenxiao was the current ruler of the Great Qin. If she were to abdicate in the future, would that direct disciple not be the heir to the Great Qin Empire? Only such a status could drive the former royal Zhao clan to fawn over the Great Emperor without reservation. And only this could explain why the Zhao clan would proactively lure them into a trap, dragging the Zhou family into an bottomless abyss!

With this thought in mind, Zhou Yu grew desperate to relay this information to his father. He looked at Shen Lang with newfound gravity. "Brother Lang, I shall go speak with my father about the taxes immediately! Once you reach Guiyun City, I will give you a final answer. How does that sound?"

"Very well, I shall leave it to you, brother!" Shen Lang nodded, feigning gratitude.

As Zhou Yu hurried away in a frenzy, Nalan Yanran, who had remained silent, couldn't help but ask, "Do you intend to use the Zhou family to fight the Zhao clan?"

"No!" Shen Lang watched the direction in which Zhou Yu had disappeared, a flash of cold, murderous intent in his eyes. "I intend to wipe out the entire Zhou family!"

"What?" Nalan Yanran was bewildered. She instinctively asked, "If you want to destroy them, why tell Zhou Yu about the candidates? Aren't you afraid they will alert the enemy and let the Zhao clan realize they are being manipulated?"

Facing this question, a chill flickered in Shen Lang's eyes. "To destroy someone, you must first make them mad! If no one else were competing with the Zhao clan, they would soon realize they were being deceived. But if other influential families join this race for succession..."

Nalan Yanran was no fool. Hearing this explanation, she reached an epiphany. As long as the Zhou family joined the scramble for the succession, the Zhao clan would inevitably sense a crisis. At that point, to prevent their status as successors from being revoked, they would be forced to serve the Great Emperor with even greater humility.

Seeing this, Nalan Yanran began to look at Shen Lang with admiration. She finally understood why her master was not angry even after being desecrated by him. He was truly useful!

"Miss Nalan, looking at me like that—have you fallen in love with me?"

Suddenly caught off guard by the question, Nalan Yanran’s face flushed red. "What nonsense are you spouting? Who would fall for a lecher like you?"

"Hehe, whether you love me or not, you have no choice this time. You must act as my Dao companion for a while; otherwise, the Zhou family won't be fooled!"

Hearing the term "Dao companion," Nalan Yanran’s face turned even redder. She couldn't help but whisper, "I won't end up returning to my master with a big belly, will I?"

"Haha, rest assured! At most, I'll only have you perform oral service; there won't be any big belly!"

Watching Shen Lang walk away with a loud laugh, Nalan Yanran’s cheeks turned crimson down to her ears. *Only oral service? That... that I can do!*

...

One day later, at the Zhou residence, Zhou Huaian looked at his son, Zhou Yu, who had entered his study with a grave expression. "Did you kill him?"

"No."

"No?" Zhou Huaian’s voice rose an octave. "You couldn't even kill a piece of trash who hasn't even reached the Foundation Establishment stage? Are you a piece of trash too?"

Reprimanded, Zhou Yu clenched his fists in resentment. "Father, we have been deceived by Zhao Tianba! That Shen Lang is no weakling at all. He sent a Golden Core demon of the Demon Race flying with a single kick!"

"What?!" Zhou Huaian stood up abruptly from his seat, his expression turning deathly serious. "Are you joking?"

"Father, would I joke about a matter of such magnitude?"

Seeing that his son was clearly not joking, Zhou Huaian said in a deep voice, "What is going on?"

"We have likely been plotted against by Zhao Tianba. He wants our Zhou family to vanish completely..." At this moment, Zhou Yu recounted everything Shen Lang had told him.

Zhou Huaian’s pupils contracted sharply as he listened. "You mean Nalan Yanran is Shen Lang's Dao companion? And the Great Emperor Shenxiao is choosing a successor for the Great Qin?"

"Yes!" Zhou Yu said with absolute seriousness. "I saw their relationship as Dao companions with my own eyes. As for whether the Great Emperor is truly choosing a successor, I cannot be entirely certain!"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Huaian fell into deep contemplation. He paced back and forth in his study, pondering every word his son had spoken. The more he thought, the more it seemed the Great Emperor really was selecting a successor. Otherwise, Shen Lang would not be so desperate to seek help from their Zhou family.

However, as the old saying goes, a clear conscience fears no knock at the door. Because the Zhou family had once killed Shen Chen, he was deeply worried that Shen Lang was intentionally setting a trap for them.

With that, Zhou Huaian gritted his teeth. "I understand the situation. Wait here while I go find He Xiufei to probe for information!"