Unparalleled Double Harmony

Chapter 602 Feuds Among Wealthy Families (Part 2)
Yan Haitang paused for half a second before asking, "Who is in charge of our Murong family now?"

This is undoubtedly a trap question.

Because Murong Shu, who died suddenly in the prime of his life, left no last words or will, and his attitude toward his sons had wavered several times in the past, he had never clearly stated who he would pass the position of head of the family to in the future.

Therefore, if Ah-Xiao were to reply here with "I am in charge," then he would be acting on his own initiative and overstepping his bounds.

However, he couldn't bring himself to give a nonchalant reply like "It's not confirmed yet" or "I don't know."

After all... now most of Hebei Province believes that Ah Xiao is in charge of the Murong family.

At this point, some people might ask, it's reasonable that the Third Madam and Murong Yue didn't get involved, but after Murong Shu's death, the First Madam and her two sons didn't do anything, right? So why is everyone convinced that Ah Xiao will succeed her?
To be fair, it's not that they didn't want to take action, it's just that Ah-Xiao is too powerful; they can't outmaneuver him...

When Yan Haitang, Murong Ji, and Murong Dian recovered from the shock of Murong Shu's death, A Xiao had already taken control of all the family business with astonishing efficiency, and also swiftly quelled many "troubles" caused by Murong Shu's death.

Leaving aside distant cases, let's take tonight's hot pot dinner as an example. Ah Xiao has handled at least dozens of such cases recently, and most of the time he doesn't need to do anything himself; he just needs to use his brain and his mouth.

With this move, naturally everyone, both inside and outside the family, only recognized him as the "Second Young Master".

As for the eldest and fourth young masters...

If you go out and ask, most people will just say, "Who is it?"
Murong Ji? Is that the chubby guy who calls himself the "Gambling King"? He went to Jiangnan last year trying to show off, but ended up getting humiliated by Sun Bancheng from Hangzhou and coming back looking disheveled, right?
Murong Dian? That spoiled brat? He's still a greenhorn; he can wait until he's all grown up before he tries to show off.

As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day, and the impression that the three young masters of the Murong family have in the eyes of outsiders is not something that has been created in just ten days or half a month.

So later Yan Haitang also realized that it was impossible for her two sons to win against A Xiao through their hard power and reputation. So she simply stopped doing anything unnecessary outside, as it would only make her look bad.

Let's try to find a solution in the "family meeting". If we can't do it, can't we at least try to make you fall into a self-justification trap based on morality and ethics?

That's how tonight's "Feast at Hongmen" came about.

"Heh...then, madam, who do you think is in charge now?" Murong Xiao sneered when he heard the question, passing the buck back to Murong Xiao.

Snapped--

"I'm asking you now!" Yan Haitang wasn't buying it. She adopted the air of an elder, slammed her hand on the table, and demanded a second time.

“Then, if I may be so bold as to say something…” Ah Xiao replied calmly, “I have indeed been temporarily assuming the duties of the head of this household recently.”

His choice of words was quite deliberate. Not only did he emphasize "temporarily," but he also described the "position of the head of the family" as "the responsibility of the head of the family," highlighting the duty rather than the power of this position.

"Fine, since you dare to admit it, then don't blame your aunt for speaking harshly..." Yan Haitang thought the other party had fallen into her trap, so she suppressed her anger and said smugly, "Let's not even talk about the many suspicious points surrounding your father's death..." As she said this, she didn't forget to turn her head and glare at Murong Yue, putting pressure on her, "...just say that his body is barely cold, and you are already so eager to seize power and profit, wanting to solidify your position as the head of this family... Ah Xiao, where do you place your brothers and sisters, and us elders, by doing this? What are your intentions!"

The First Madam's actions were quite typical. She attributed her own desires, fears, or failures to others to her own beliefs, while she herself stood on the moral high ground, arbitrarily criticizing and demanding that others defend themselves.

But Ah-Hsiao obviously won't, and doesn't need to, fall into the other party's logic.

“Please calm down, Aunt.” Murong Xiao’s tone remained calm. “As I just said, I am only temporarily assuming the role of head of the family. After all, such a big change has happened in the family, and someone has to step up and stabilize the situation first…” He paused, “It just so happens that the situation has basically stabilized these past few days, so it is indeed time for me to unload this burden on my shoulders and hand it over to my elder brother.”

"Huh?" Murong Ji, who was suddenly called out, was also taken aback. "No... this..."

He babbled out a few words incoherently, then turned to look at his mother, his eyes seeming to say, "Mom, what's going on? This doesn't match any of the reactions you predicted!"

Yan Haitang was also unable to respond to her son at this moment, because she was also a little dumbfounded. She couldn't help but think to herself: If Ah Xiao's move was "retreating to advance", wasn't he retreating a bit too far?

The book subtly reveals that Yan Haitang and her two sons orchestrated this whole affair to force A Xiao to relinquish the position of family head, which they had essentially already secured. They even summoned Murong Yue and her daughter, having devised another excuse to shift the blame, intending to use Murong Shu's death as grounds for unsubstantiated rhetoric to coerce Murong Yue into standing up for them against A Xiao.

But who would have thought that Ah-Xiao would deliver the other party's ultimate goal with just a few words, leaving them completely bewildered?
"Uh... Xiao'er, what are you saying again..." Yan Haitang thought for a few seconds, then stammered, "...where should I begin?"

“Since Father never mentioned who should succeed him as head of the family, and Second Uncle has no such intention, then this position should naturally be taken by the eldest brother, who is the eldest son of the legitimate wife.” Ah Xiao said, then glanced at Murong Ji.

"Heh... Second brother... You're being a bit... Heh... Right..." Murong Ji's expression was rather embarrassed at this moment, and what he said was incoherent, but he could hardly suppress the smile on his lips.

Murong Dian rolled his eyes at his older brother, inwardly cursing him for being hypocritical after getting the benefit.

"All that I've done these past few days has been for the sake of this family. If it has caused any misunderstandings among my elder sister, third sister, and brothers and sisters... I hope you will not blame me." Murong Xiao then bowed to everyone around him and took a step back.

"Brother Xiao, what are you saying? I've never said a bad word about you!" Murong Yue's reaction was both sincere and excited, because she had been forced to come by the First Madam and her family of three today, and her mother had only accompanied her because she was afraid that she would suffer a loss.

As she said this, Murong Yue didn't forget to glare at Yan Haitang, Murong Ji, and Murong Dian.

This glance also means that the truth is out – all those harsh and difficult words were said by these people, and have nothing to do with me.

"Oh dear! Why are you speaking like two different people when we're family!" Murong Ji was also anxious when he heard his third sister's words, and quickly expressed his opinion, "That was all a misunderstanding. I'm just being straightforward. Second brother, please don't hold a grudge."

"Hmm..." At this moment, Yan Haitang quickly cleared her throat to stop Murong Ji from saying anything more. Then she put on a fake smile and said to Xiao, "Xiao'er, your elder brother is right. We are all family. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, what's so strange about it?"

With these words that seemed to "define" the matter, she unilaterally absolved herself and her two sons of their earlier behavior.

And that wasn't all, because she had other things to ask Ah-Xiao tonight...

"Oh, right, Ah Xiao, your aunt has something else to ask you." Seeing that the head of the family's problem had been resolved, Yan Haitang prepared to smoothly change the subject.

"Xiao'er understands..." Before she could even speak, Murong Xiao took out an "iron scroll" from his person. "Is what you want to ask about, Auntie... the Heavenly Silkworm Divine Skill?"

When he took this out, the other five people present were all stunned.

As a legendary martial art, its sudden appearance in a place full of martial arts practitioners certainly has such magic.

"Why is this thing in your hands?" At this moment, Murong Dian's mind was the quickest, and he immediately asked Ah Xiao this question.

“It’s very simple,” Murong Xiao replied calmly. “I found it on my father after he died.”

"You..." Murong Dian wanted to blurt out "Why did you take the thing away without permission?" but he realized that it was a pointless question. Ninety-nine out of a hundred people would take the treasure and practice it themselves after discovering it. He would definitely make the same choice if he were in his shoes, so he swallowed his words back.

“My father fell into demonic ways after practicing this skill, committing the atrocity of using living people as cocoons to practice his skill. He even tried to kill his own flesh and blood to silence them. Therefore, with his body still warm and the family beset by internal and external troubles, I felt it was best to hide this iron scroll to avoid any unnecessary disputes over it,” Murong Xiao continued. “However, now… I will naturally hand it over to my elder brother, the new head of the Murong family, to deal with.”

Murong Ji was laughing so hard he was practically drooling. He was thinking to himself, "Today I finally understand. Second brother, you're even closer to me than my own brother. If I don't have a son in the future, I'll definitely pass the position of family head to you. Adian can forget about it."

"Wait a minute." But Yan Haitang was clearly not as naive as her son; her first thought was, "How can we prove that this thing is real?"

This is indeed a crucial question: from the perspective of Yan Haitang and others, although this cultivation technique has not been in Murong Xiao's hands for several months, it has been quite a few days. He could easily produce a fake to deceive people.

Of course, Ah-Xiao always thought a few steps ahead of others, and when faced with this question, he answered fluently: "That's easy! Just take the martial arts techniques on this and practice them, and you'll see the difference."

"So you've already practiced?" Yan Haitang asked again.

"Yes," Murong Xiao replied in a deliberately relaxed tone, "This Heavenly Silkworm Divine Skill is indeed well-deserved of its reputation. I only practiced a few levels, and my skill level has already improved by leaps and bounds."

"What?" Murong Yue's expression changed upon hearing this, but she was worried. "Brother Xiao, you mustn't practice this skill..."

"Don't worry, little sister." Murong Xiao was waiting for her to say this, because he wanted to use this opportunity to further explain his father's death. "From what I understand, as long as the cultivator doesn't have any martial arts skills from the beginning, and stops breaking through after reaching the fifth level, then the Heavenly Silkworm Divine Art won't cause any abnormalities." He paused. "The reason Father became possessed by a demon is probably because he forcibly practiced this divine art without abandoning his original martial arts skills."

"How long have you had this martial art? You've already mastered several levels and know so much about it?" Yan Haitang still hadn't given up her suspicions.

"Auntie, have you forgotten? Father used the Heavenly Silkworm Internal Energy to heal my body before." Murong Xiao remained calm despite the barrage of questions. He immediately used the story he had made up to cover it up. "So, I have the internal energy of this divine skill as a foundation, and I haven't broken the cultivation requirement of 'having no martial arts at all.' Plus... my aptitude isn't bad either, so my progress is naturally extremely fast."

With that explanation, Yan Haitang couldn't delve any further. After all, it was Ah Xiao's body, so it didn't matter how she explained it.

Moreover, as Ah-Xiao said, the authenticity of this iron scroll can be easily determined by testing it... He has given you everything now, which means he is not afraid of verification, so it must be genuine.

To put it another way, if you don't dare let your son practice, why not find a few trusted confidants who have no martial arts skills or are willing to cripple their own martial arts to try it out? You only need to provide them with the very beginning of the manual, don't tell them the whole thing, and don't worry about them mastering it.

“Good…good…” Yan Haitang thought for a moment, then put on a look of being so moved that she was about to cry, “Xiao’er, it was not in vain that your father loved you so much in the past…you are indeed a loyal subject of the Murong family.”

Her words were defining the roles again, assigning the roles of "ruler" and "subject" to each person.

"Auntie, you flatter me." Ah Xiao simply smiled and said, "This is all part of my duty."

He naturally wouldn't bother arguing with Yan Haitang, nor with Murong Ji or Murong Dian.

The title of "Head of the Murong Family" is just a title. There are so many martial arts families and powerful sects in the martial arts world... There are at least a hundred titles that are similar to or above this, and it's impossible to count them all at once.

Whoever wants this kind of thing, just give it to them.

And the "Wudang Modified Heavenly Silkworm Divine Skill" manual left by Master Yun, you can take it if you want.

Anyway, you can't spread it around, and after I said that breaking through to the fifth level would cause trouble, most of you probably wouldn't dare to continue practicing. If you did practice... it wouldn't be a big deal.

Do you think you'll be stronger than me if you train to the tenth level?
This is Ah-Xiao's thought process and logic.

When he was chatting with Wu Mingzi (Volume 8, Chapter 40), he said that as long as he could achieve his goal, he was willing to share the Heavenly Silkworm Divine Skill with others. This was because a peerless martial art was nothing more than a 'limited thing' in his eyes. What he valued was the 'infinite thing' that was composed of wealth, power, wisdom, reason, and so on.

Now it seems that the latter refers to himself... except that now he not only has "wealth, power, wisdom, and reason" in his hands, but also "martial arts".

He believes that he can gradually become better than anyone else in any aspect.

He needs to be stronger than anyone else.

Therefore, Murong Xiao's vision could not possibly be limited to just being a mere family head... If Murong Ji wanted this position, then just give it to him.

Ah Xiao's gaze had long since been set beyond his family, reaching out to the entire martial arts world and even the imperial court.

And because of this, he inevitably came into contact with a force that even he found incredibly powerful and invincible.

The rational Ah-Xiao made the most reasonable choice for him at that moment: to secretly "cooperate" with that force.