Why did they collude together? This was a bit hard to say. After all, it was fratricide. Wei Shu was slightly hesitant.
Xiahou Ta didn't rush him. He squinted his eyes and chewed on the seafood, taking small sips of wine.
Wei Shu thought for a moment and said, "Third Master might be worried that Second Master has the intention to kill him."
Xiahou Ta chewed his food and said with a slightly muffled voice, "Now do you understand why Niu Youde could be so calm? Because Niu Youde was sure that Second Master and Third Master wouldn't be in the same pot. He was sure that Third Master would cooperate with him and wouldn't cooperate with Second Master to turn against him. "
Wei Shu couldn't help but sigh, "Third Master is confused!"
"Confused?" Xiahou Ta shook his head, "Since I can put Third Master in that position, I know what kind of person he is. If he wasn't sure that Second Master wanted to kill him, he wouldn't collude with outsiders to protect himself. It's because I know Third Master. Here's the problem. Third Master should know that with Second Master's power, it would be difficult to touch him at that time. Second Master also didn't dare to show his killing intent and force Third Master to do something desperate. Then how did Third Master know that Second Master wanted to kill him? Why did Third Master immediately collude with Niu Youde? Why did Third Master collude with outsiders to fight against the family? "
Wei Shu realized something and said in a low voice, "It must be because Third Master received reliable information and was sure that Second Master wanted to kill him!"
Xiahou Ta said, "Think about Niu Youde's calmness when facing Second Master. Don't you think it's suspicious?"
Wei Shu was shocked, "Niu Youde must have done something!"
Xiahou Ta drank a mouthful of wine and swallowed the leftovers in his mouth, "So I was thinking, where did Third Master get the information that Second Master wanted to kill him. If it was provided to Third Master by an outsider, Third Master would definitely be suspicious. After all, an outsider is an outsider. He has been in charge of the Pavilion of Loyalty and Justice for so many years. How could it be so easily taken down by an outsider? Then the most likely source of the information is someone from within the family. Niu Youde did something, someone from within the family, and someone that Third Master can trust. The relationship between these three forced me to target Sixth Master, who is by Niu Youde's side. "
Wei Shu was even more shocked. "Sixth Master has been exposed?"
Xiahou Ta: "I sorted out the situation when Old Six was by Niu Youde's side. At first glance, he didn't seem to be exposed, but after a closer look, I found that Old Six was isolated from the Governor's Office of the Netherworld most of the time and followed Xu Tangran to run the Virtuous Gathering Hall. Niu Youde never let Old Six control any military power from the beginning. From the beginning, he was quietly guarding against Old Six. Only then did I realize that perhaps Old Six was exposed from the beginning. I wondered how Old Six had been exposed. It wasn't a small matter. If the Xiahou family's secret plot could be easily uncovered, it would be a big problem. It was very unlikely that Old Six was exposed. I suspected that something went wrong around Old Six. After sorting out the relationship between Old Six and the Governor's Office of the Netherworld, I found a problem. The Virtuous Gathering Hall that Old Six helped Niu Youde run was basically on the same level as Old Six's business in the Xiahou family. It was not until then that I realized that Niu Youde had not only seen through Old Six's identity but also learned which aspect of the Xiahou family he controlled. Old Six must've performed well in order to win Niu Youde's trust. Niu Youde was basically using Old Six's resources to expand his business and accumulate wealth. "
Wei Shu sucked in a breath of cold air. "This thief is too sinister!"
Xiahou Ta said, "If Old Six was exposed from the very beginning because of his relationship with Old Six … I followed that direction and noticed the Alliance of Stars, which made the Virtuous Gathering Hall rise all of a sudden. I planned to comb through it from the beginning, but I found something wrong. I found out that Chu Antian, the leader of the Alliance of Stars, was unwilling to be controlled and had secretly hidden his wife and children, leaving a way out for himself. If we wanted to comb through everything, we had to investigate everything thoroughly. We didn't want to let go of any suspicious points. I immediately ordered my men to capture Chu Antian and interrogate him. Chu Antian told me the truth. It turned out that Chu Antian had a supernatural ability that allowed him to recognize people by their scent. He found a way to trace the source that controlled him. Eventually, he found Old Sixth. Chu Antian didn't dare to expose it, but Xu Tangran, in order to expand the Virtuous Gathering Hall, targeted the Alliance of Stars and controlled Chu Antian's wife and children by any means necessary. Chu Antian secretly joined Xu Tangran's side, and the secret fell into Xu Tangran's hands. What happened next was simple. Old Six happened to go to the ghost market. How could Niu Youde not know that a spy from the Xiahou family had sneaked into his side when he saw the name list? "
Wei Shu was no longer surprised by the Old Master's ability to pull off such a precise investigation. If he didn't have this ability, how could he have single-handedly built such a large Xiahou Family? What surprised Wei Shu was the old man's control over the Xiahou family. The old man had been investigating in secret, but the Xiahou family didn't notice anything.
He suspected that Xiahou Ta had used the hidden power of the elders in the family.
Of course, he wouldn't say that out loud. He simply snorted and said, "Chu Antian ruined our plan. We can't let him off easily!"
Xiahou Ta waved his chopsticks. "He didn't have a choice. Since he was found out, he had no choice but to join the Xiahou family again. There was no need to touch him anymore. Keep him alive and don't alert the enemy. It's more interesting to keep a chess piece there. He might play a greater role in the future."
"So, Niu Youde pretended not to know Old Six's identity and used him to drive a wedge between the other masters. That's why Third Master fell for Niu Youde's trap?" asked Wei Shu.
Xiahou Ta nodded. "Third Bro was forced into a corner. In order to protect himself, he had no choice but to cooperate with Niu Youde. Little did he know that he was forced into a dead end, unable to back down. From the moment he began cooperating with Niu Youde, Second Bro knew that there was no way he would let him go. Either he dies, or Second Bro dies. In the end, one of them will die."
Wei Shu looked sad. He stared at him for a while and asked, "Old Master, since you already knew, why didn't you warn me in time?"
Xiahou Ta chewed. "Like I said before, I didn't want to get involved in these things. If it wasn't for the demon monk Nan Bo's reappearance, I wouldn't have told you this and you wouldn't be in front of me now. In fact, you and I both know that after I die, no matter who becomes the family master, they will find a way to control the power of the Xiahou family. Killing each other is inevitable. I can stop them for a while, but I can't stop them forever. In the end, someone will die. The result of my interference will only make their resentment deeper. The result of suppressing it will make it explode even more. I can't be emotional. Being born in such a family is their fortune, but also their misfortune. "
Wei Shu didn't know if he should say that he was heartless. He asked, "Old Master, you mean that Second Master will be in danger when he goes to the Netherworld Governor's Office?"
Xiahou Ta looked up at him. "Do you think there's no danger?"
Wei Shu said, "Would he dare to kill the Xiahou family master? Even Master Qing wouldn't dare to do so! "
Xiahou Ta said, "That's because Master Qing doesn't know about the conflict between the brothers, doesn't know the details of Second Brother's strength, and doesn't know the internal strength of the Xiahou family. Otherwise, do you think Master Qing would miss this opportunity? Niu Youde, the one who interfered in the dark, was well aware of it. After saying so much, can't you see it? Those rumors are aimed at Third Brother. Niu Youde is trying to force Third Brother to seize power! "
Wei Shu was puzzled. "Second Master also suspected that those rumors were spread by Niu Youde, but this old servant can't figure out how Niu Youde knew we knew about his relationship with the Six Realms. Could it be that Third Master leaked it?"
Xiahou Ta sighed. "Third Brother wouldn't go so far as to destroy the foundation of the Xiahou family. If he didn't even have this bottom line, I wouldn't have put him in that position. As for how Niu Youde found out, there are only two reasons. One is that there's a traitor in the family, and the other is that there's a capable person on Niu Youde's side who saw through our flaws. Looking back at the process of Niu Youde's rise, he was more passive when he was in Heavenly Street. Most of the time, he relied on improvisation to get through, which seems to be more in line with Niu Youde's character. But after he came to the Ghost City, he seemed to have been following the general trend and rarely made mistakes. So, I'm more inclined to believe that there's a mastermind by his side. From him tricking Second Brother to toppling Ying Jiuguang, to using Cheng Yu to firmly establish himself in the netherworld, and now to the plot to get rid of Second Brother, there's a reason for this series of actions. It's obvious that there's a master who has set up a series of traps. People who can do this are not simple, so it's not surprising that they can see through the flaws. Of course, we can't rule out the possibility of a traitor. I've already started investigating this matter, but so far, I haven't found anything suspicious. "
Wei Shu still couldn't understand, "Isn't Niu Youde very stable now? He has an army and Hao Defang as a barrier. I'm afraid that even Qing Zhu wouldn't dare to rashly touch him. Why did he make such a move, forcing Second Master and Third Master to kill each other? What's in it for him? "
"Stable?" Xiahou Ta put down his chopsticks and chuckled, "It's because he's too stable, and the strength of his subordinates has grown too smoothly. Sooner or later, he'll become a big trouble in the eyes of others. It's impossible that he doesn't have a master who can't see this. Instead of being passive, it's better to find the right opportunity to strike first! The demon monk Nan Bo's appearance attracted the attention of the world, which just happens to cover up his little tricks. With his current strength, how can Third Brother's Ghost City satisfy his appetite? The Ghost City is a piece of meat placed in front of his mouth. He can eat it whenever he wants. He doesn't care about it at all, and it's not worth his effort. Then it's obvious who his main target is. Whoever stands in his way, he'll get rid of them. Whoever is a big fat piece of meat placed in front of him, he'll bite them. Whoever is closest to him will be out of luck. Hao Defang has protected Niu Youde for so many years, I'm afraid she's inviting a wolf into her house! "
Wei Shu was shocked, "Niu Youde wants to occupy Hao Defang's territory? Isn't he overestimating himself if he wants to swallow Hao Defang's territory with his strength? "
"So what if I can get the full support of the Xiahou Clan?" Xiahou Ta said indifferently, raising his cup to drink.
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