"Su Mo?"
"Visiting so late, do you want to spar with me deliberately?"
"He must be an assassin!"
"No meeting!!"
Ning Zhuo received the report from the Foundation Establishment Guard and immediately shook his head: "Send him away."
Ning Zhuo's attitude was straightforward and determined.
The Foundation Establishment Guard hesitated: "Young Master Ning Zhuo, if you do this, I'm afraid..."
"Afraid of what?"
The Foundation Establishment Guard continued: "I'm afraid it will harm your reputation."
"This Su Mo claims to be a low-level cultivator. If you don't respond to such a challenger, how will the outside world think of you, young master?"
Ning Zhuo sneered: "Do you think I don't know this?"
"The opponent probably heard some rumors and came to test me deliberately."
"There must be others behind him!"
"This might not just be a test, but an assassination."
"Reputation is important, but my life is more important."
"I climbed up from the bottom; see, others despise the dirty business of the black market, but I don't! I'm pragmatic."
At this point, Ning Zhuo added: "However, your reminder is not without reason."
"Here's the plan, bring Su Mo to the courtyard, serve him good wine and food."
"Tell him that the current situation is tense and strange, and that someone is slandering and spreading rumors about me. I'll remember this challenge and spar with him when I have the time in the future."
"During this period, I will stay reclusive and not make any moves easily. The signs are not right, not at all."
"It's very likely that someone will come to assassinate me!"
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
"Heh heh, I won't give assassins an easy chance."
"Hmm..."
"I'll move back to the family estate tomorrow."
Ning Zhuo let out a cold laugh.
"Understood, I'll take care of it." The Foundation Establishment Guard retreated.
Ning Zhuo's explanation convinced him.
However, Ning Zhuo's words were mainly not for him but for someone else.
Zhu Xuanji and Ning Jiufan both frowned slightly upon hearing Ning Zhuo's plan.
They wanted Ning Zhuo to act as bait to induce the City Lord's Mansion to make a mistake in their assassination attempt. But Ning Zhuo himself had also sensed the oddity and was already planning to retreat.
"This won't do!" Zhu Xuanji thought.
Ning Jiufan frowned: "Moving to the family estate won't prevent an assassination? Naive!"
He didn't want to see Ning Zhuo take such action.
Although moving to the family estate was indeed much safer for Ning Zhuo, it wouldn't stop the City Lord's Mansion if they truly wanted to assassinate him.
If Ning Zhuo moved into the family estate, it would only increase the casualties. After an assassination attempt, other family members of the Ning Family could also suffer.
Zhu Xuanji straightforwardly transmitted a message to Ning Jiufan: "Brother Ning, I ask you to arrange something. Ning Zhuo is a member of your Ning Family."
In such matters, it was difficult for Zhu Xuanji to step in.
Ning Jiufan's persuasion would be more appropriate.
So, Ning Jiufan sent a message to Ning Zhuo.
"Ancestor, Ancestor!" Ning Zhuo was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly called out, "Ancestor, you've come to save me! Your life-saving grace will never be forgotten by this junior."
Ning Jiufan, however, told Ning Zhuo not to be afraid, that he had already arrived nearby and was lying in wait to protect Ning Zhuo. He urged Ning Zhuo to bravely face the challenge!
"Even if this Su Mo is an assassin, I, the old man, will ensure your safety." Ning Jiufan said.
Ning Zhuo, however, shrank back: "Ancestor, I, I don't want to."
He touched his big head and suddenly looked enlightened.
"Wait, could it be..."
"Ancestor, could it be you spreading the rumors that I have the Demon Sect's True Scripture?"
"You're secretly protecting me and making me face the challenge, isn't this obviously using me as bait?"
"Who are you trying to deal with?"
Ning Jiufan coughed: "You don't need to know who."
If Ning Zhuo were told that they were targeting the City Lord's Mansion, wouldn't he be scared stiff?
So Ning Jiufan didn't respond directly but deflected the question.
Ning Zhuo, of course, wasn't stupid.
"I won't do it; I won't do it!!"
"This job is too dangerous. One mistake, and my little life is at risk, Ancestor."
"I have small arms and legs; I can't take it."
Seeing Ning Zhuo so uncooperative, Ning Jiufan snorted coldly.
Unexpectedly, this snort didn't scare Ning Zhuo. Instead, it triggered his "rebelliousness."
"Ancestor, you can't do this, Ancestor!"
"Although I'm from a branch family, I'm still a Ning, still a human, Ancestor."
"You can't treat me so differently, Ancestor."
"If you do this, it will break my heart."
Being told this, Ning Jiufan suddenly felt like a biased patriarch, very unwitting.
Ning Jiufan said coldly: "Don't you call out randomly. Let me tell you, even if the main family patriarch were in your position, he would have to do the same."
"This is the bigger picture."
"You are in this position, and the situation urges you. You have to consider the bigger picture, child."
Ning Zhuo stiffened his neck: "No, I won't do it!"
"Ancestor, don't force me."
"How can an ancestor force a junior to die?"
"If you keep pushing me, I'll kneel in the ancestral hall, holding your father and grandfather's plaques, and cry!"
"I'll complain! I'll move into the ancestral hall, eat, drink, and relieve myself there."
Ning Jiufan: ?!
For a moment, he was stunned.
To be honest, he had never seen such a younger family member!
This was too disrespectful.
He was about to teach Ning Zhuo a lesson but was stopped by Zhu Xuanji.
Zhu Xuanji said: "At present, we still need this child to cooperate with us."
"The bigger picture is more important. Keeping him stable for now is the best strategy."
Ning Jiufan immediately frowned.
Zhu Xuanji added: "Ning Zhuo is your family junior; don't you understand him yet?"
"Let me remind you a little."
"He is from a branch family, harshly treated since childhood. Though he went to school and received training, his Mechanical Techniques have accumulated without showing results. This means he wasn't highly regarded in the school."
"Only recently, with the emergence of the Magma Fairy Palace, his Mechanical Techniques reached a breakthrough."
"It is only recently that he has discovered his own talent."
"Such a young man, neglected by both uncle and grandmother, struggling for sixteen years to grow up wild, don't expect him to be filial to the elders and high-ranking members of the Ning Family from his bones."
"Don't forget, he recently overthrew the previous young clan leader of your family. To this day, your former young clan leader is still locked in the family's private prison, right?"
Ning Jiufan frowned even more tightly: "Then according to your suggestion, Lord Zhu..."
Zhu Xuanji just smiled and didn't answer.
Ning Jiufan felt very uncomfortable!
What?
He, an illustrious Golden Core ancestor of the Ning Family, still had to accommodate a junior in the family?
It was simply intolerable!
But Zhu Xuanji was right; everything had to be considered in the context of the bigger picture.
What was the current bigger picture?
It was to induce the City Lord's Mansion to make a mistake and send someone to assassinate Ning Zhuo.
Only by catching the City Lord's Mansion's wrongdoing could they leverage it to prove and expose the City Lord's Mansion for colluding with the Black Shadow Demon Cultivator, bombing the Immortal Palace, and raising bandits for self-interest!
Once the major crimes were confirmed, the South Bean Royal Family could justifiably intervene, overturning the entire situation in Fire Persimmon Immortal City.
At that time, Zhu Xuanji wouldn't have to do anything, and he would be directly promoted to become the Master of the Immortal Palace.
Ning Jiufan fell into silence.
Right now, if Ning Zhuo abandoned his post and stopped pretending, it would be easy for Fei Si to realize something was wrong and become wary. How could an assassination be planned then?
So Zhu Xuanji was right; they needed to stabilize Ning Zhuo, to persuade Ning Zhuo to cooperate with them.
Of course, Golden Core ancestors had their ways, such as spells, to control Ning Zhuo like a puppet.
But this approach wasn't good.
On one hand, they were all righteous path cultivators and maintained their integrity. Being senior cultivators, a total of six people bullying a small Qi Refinement junior wouldn't look good.
Especially Ning Jiufan, as the Ning Family Ancestor, should protect the younger family members. If he collaborated with the other five Golden Core cultivators to bully and control his junior, it would be disgraceful.
On the other hand, Ning Zhuo needed to maintain a normal state. Only if he willingly cooperated could they most effectively fool Fei Si.
Strong control methods by the ancestors could easily leave traces or difficult-to-hide abnormalities, making it easy for Fei Si to notice.
"Ancestor, Ancestor, are you there? Are you still there?" Ning Zhuo called out quietly as Ning Jiufan remained silent for a long time.
"I'm here." Ning Jiufan chuckled angrily, "You little rascal, you need a good beating."
"Let me tell you clearly, you can't escape. Stay here and wait for the assassination."
"With me here, you won't die!"
"The emperor does not mistreat starving soldiers. Tell me what you want. I'll see if I can reward you. I won't let you take this risk for nothing."
Ning Zhuo smiled bitterly and sat back in his chair.
His face looked awful: "So I really can't run, Ancestor?"
Ning Jiufan's tone grew serious: "No."
"Alright. Quickly, tell me your demands," Ning Jiufan grew impatient. As a Golden Core, his attitude toward a mere Qi Refinement junior was already extraordinarily generous.
"Fine." Ning Zhuo gritted his teeth, "Ancestor, I want to inherit the whole family; I want to be the clan leader!"
Ning Jiufan: ...
"Ancestor? Ancestor?" Ning Zhuo called out again.
Ning Jiufan laughed again in anger: "How dare you, a mere Qi Refinement cultivator, have such ambition as to covet the position of clan leader?"
Ning Zhuo quickly said: "Ancestor, being the clan leader is so prestigious. I just want it."
"Especially now, our Ning Family, the main lineage looks down on our branch family every day. They constantly try in every way to suppress us."
"Our branch family lives a tough life."
"Otherwise, I wouldn't have brought a group to the black market to make a living, Ancestor."
Ning Jiufan fell silent again.
He wasn't unaware of the Ning Family's situation; he knew Ning Zhuo wasn't wrong.
But it was hard for Ning Jiufan to deal with the main lineage.
The main lineage was also Ning Family's bloodline, direct descendants of another former Ning Family ancestor. Ning Jiufan had promised his friend to take care of his descendants.