Zhao Xilai silently gazed at the necklace.
According to the council’s intelligence, Xiao could craft Extraordinary Sealed Objects... Then this necklace must have been made by him, it only required wearing for a brief moment to banish a person’s spirit, truly a terrifying demon method.
Having acknowledged all this, Zhao Qi felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation.
He smiled and said, "I have no talent, no courage, nothing at all. I just want to live a little better."
"That’s called selfish," Zhao Xilai said indifferently, "Compared to others, you’re already living quite well."
He was born with a silver key in his mouth.
From the moment of his first cry, he was destined to live a life of luxury.
"Then I want to live even more selfishly," Zhao Qi said with an ’oh,’ his expression unchanged, he held the necklace, casually stating, "Is there a problem with that?"
The old man looked at his son with great disappointment.
"The things done by Freedom Hall... I haven’t left any evidence. All of you were in Dream, and the hall’s surveillance was damaged... No one will know it was me."
Having said that, Zhao Qi raised his head and looked around.
This was a highly customized VIP hospital room, with Zhao Xilai’s status, there would be no surveillance, no cameras in the room.
"Do you truly believe... this matter could be carried out flawlessly?"
The old man slowly spoke.
Zhao Qi was startled.
"After everything ends, go to the North Continent," Zhao Xilai slowly propped himself up and sat, he took the teacup from the bedside table, handed it to his son, indicating the tea had cooled... to help him pour it out.
Zhao Qi, with intentions of murder flickering between his brows, stood frozen in place.
He subconsciously bent down and bowed, took the teacup, then replaced the tea leaves for his father, and infused them with hot water, a movement he was very skilled at, having practiced hundreds of times from childhood.
When he was even younger, he always ran around eagerly serving tea and water to his father, but those memories had become blurred.
He vaguely remembered, back then, his father was not so stern, not so cold.
"I still have some friends in the North Continent... The Lin family have always kept their word, they won’t harm you," Zhao Xilai coughed softly, stretching out a hand to cover his mouth, his voice becoming hoarse, weak, "Even if... they look down on you."
While carrying the hot tea to his father, Zhao Qi suddenly remembered the real purpose of his "family visit."
He didn’t want to pretend anymore.
Nor did he want to endure any longer.
Freedom Hall’s use of the necklace, he knew he couldn’t hide it from his father, nor from that woman... after all, in this struggle, he was the most redundant existence, a bottom-feeder in the food chain.
He spent the whole night convincing himself to live a little more selfishly.
A bit more selfishly!
Coming here... was to lay his cards on the table with his father, and to... prove his "ability."
Perhaps the bewitchment of that devil within played a part, there was always a voice deep in his heart, relentlessly repeating, urging him to vent his long-suppressed anger at the world, at those who looked down on him!
With... this necklace!
"The North Continent?"
Zhao Qi strained to make his voice sound cold and displayed a derisive sneer, "What a joke, who would go to such a place?"
Zhao Xilai took the hot tea, sipped lightly, and looked at his child with eyes full of pity.
Everything was unspoken.
Zhao Qi looked at the face that had ignored him and felt his fingers begin to tremble again. He had thought it was nerves, but now he realized... it was fury.
"Faint hearts, stay away from North Continent."
Zhao Xilai spoke softly, "The Fortress welcomes neither cowards nor the faint-hearted... The question now is not whether you are willing to go to North Continent but whether North Continent is willing to shelter you."
Zhao Qi clenched his fists in silence.
"You seem to want to say something."
The old man looked directly at his son, speaking at an even pace, "If I guess correctly, you want to angrily refute me, to say that you are not a coward... If you want to prove it... then put this necklace around my neck."
Zhao Qi thought he had misheard and looked incredulously at the elderly man.
"Isn’t that exactly why you came to see me today?" Zhao Xilai smiled and gestured for Zhao Qi to come closer. He brushed his hand in front of his own neck and said, "I’m very old and lack the strength to resist. You put the necklace on me, I fall into a deep sleep... Soon enough, my spirit will be banished. In your own words just now, this isn’t called murder."
Zhao Qi gazed at his father in a daze, unconsciously moving closer.
A loud slap sent him tumbling to the floor.
The necklace was thrown into the air, landing on the ground with a grating sound of scattering.
Zhao Qi covered his swollen cheek, his spirit jolted awake by the fierce slap.
He looked up fearfully... but did not see the rage he had expected on his father’s face.
"Now you have nothing left... just a bit of conscience," the old man spoke softly. "Maybe it’s because you’re a coward, or maybe it’s because I’ve protected you too well."
"Since the day Lu Nanzhi openly opposed the bill, I’ve been wondering about the decisions I’ve made over the years, which ones were right and which were wrong..."
These voices faintly reached Zhao Qi’s ears.
"I have dedicated my life to the banner, to the edifice built by Lu Cheng... I lack his talent, and for a lifetime, I could only lead us to this point," Zhao Xilai murmured looking at his child. "A person’s energy is limited. By exhausting everything in business, other aspects... are very much a failure."
Zhao Qi silently cradled his face, curling up in a corner.
"The final will, I have already revised. I will hand over the estate to Lu Nanzhi, and Cui Zhongcheng will realize a portion of the shares, setting up a trust fund exclusively for you," the elderly man said calmly. "If you want to take out that inheritance, then go to North Continent Fortress as you should, stay there for five years if you’re a man. If you don’t desert, after five years, return to East Continent and then you can prove... you’re not a weakling, not a coward, worthy of your father’s legacy."
"There’s another path before you—"
Zhao Xilai looked down at Zhao Qi, coldly stating, "With this necklace or whatever else you can think of... let me sleep here forever. If I die today, then you will have nothing to do with the inheritance. But surely you won’t need it since to do such a thing would mean you’ve completely lost your last bit of conscience. In this world, a person who has entirely abandoned morals can certainly live very well."
Zhao Qi looked at the necklace that had fallen in front of him. The low whispers of the demon within him rose again. He mustered the courage to grasp the necklace but found himself unable to stand up.
All strength had been drained from him.
The flames that filled his chest, what he thought was fury... turned out not to be fury after all.
It was fear, it was dread, it was struggle.
He clasped his head with both hands, kneeling on the ground, and finally burst into anguished tears.
The necklace was clenched tightly in his fist.
And then... released again.