<h4>Chapter 1173: Chapter 1166: Feigned Friendship</h4>


    "Hahaha, Tianxing, it seems you’re not up to the task."


    Lu Hongdaughed heartily and, looking at Lu Tianxing with a sigh, said: "Ah, it’s been over twenty years. I still remember drinking like this with your father over twenty years ago, not stopping until we were drunk. But s, your father was too stubborn, otherwise, he wouldn’t have died."


    Lu Tianxing’s eyes flickered as he curiously asked: "Uncle, does that mean you and my dad had a good rtionship?"


    "Of course."


    Lu Hongda poured himself another ss of wine. This time, he didn’t clink sses with Lu Tianxing but instead raised the ss and drank it in one go. Only then did he look at Lu Tianxing and say: "Tianxing, you know, you look a lot like your dad, but your personalities arepletely different."


    Lu Tianxing chuckled softly and said: "Uncle, why do you say that?"


    "Because of the way you handle things."


    Lu Hongda said heavily: "Although your dad’s style was erratic and mboyant, he was too indecisive. Even when he had enemies, your father nheless always left room for retreat and didn’t eliminate thempletely, ultimately leaving endless hidden dangers for himself, leading to his own demise. But you, on the other hand, are utterly domineering in your approach, hardly showing any mercy. Once you have an enemy, it’s kill or be killed, which is a far better method than your father’s way of handling things."


    At this point, Lu Hongda paused and continued speaking: "Tianxing, don’t me your uncle for being talkative. While your method is indeed excellent, it’s not a long-term solution. Perhaps you can kill one person, kill ten people, and intimidate those people, but these are based on your strength. If one day their strength surpasses yours, they will certainly seek revenge. Do you understand?"


    After hearing Lu Hongda’s words, Lu Tianxing smiled faintly and said: "I know, but I’m also well aware that even if I let them go, they won’t let me go. So with that being the case, there’s no need to show any mercy. I’ll kill them until they’re terrified, until they don’t dare to seek revenge against me, until hearing my name makes them tremble in fear. Uncle, do you think by that time they would dare to seek revenge on me?"


    "They certainly wouldn’t dare, but Tianxing, your killing intent is too strong. If you don’t control it, you’ll be a demon sooner orter." Lu Hongda’s expression didn’t change as he spoke with concern.


    "Uncle, have you ever seen a demon? Who is the demon? The right path’s actions aren’t necessarily better than those of a demon. If I’m the strongest, then I’m the right path. No matter how many people I kill, I’m still the right path. If I lose, regardless of whether I’ve killed or not, I’m the demon. This rule is set by the strong, not the masses."


    "Hehe, Tianxing, you’re right. Thew of the jungle, where the strong are revered, is an eternal truth."


    Lu Hongda nodded in agreement, raised his ss and said: "Come on, Tianxing, let’s continue drinking."


    Lu Tianxing didn’t say anything more and continued drinking with Lu Hongda. They drank and talked, the atmosphere of the meal was extraordinarily lively. One wouldn’t have guessed that the two at the meal were merely pretending.


    This mealsted for nearly an hour. Only after that did Lu Tianxing, with Bai Zhiqing’s support, somewhat drunkenly head to his car.


    Meanwhile, Lu Hongda stood at the entrance of Jiangnan Restaurant, watching Lu Tianxing leave, his lips curling into a cold smile. Without saying anything more, he turned and went back into Jiangnan Restaurant.


    Bai Zhiqing helped Lu Tianxing into the passenger seat before turning to head to the driver’s seat. Just as she opened the car door, she saw Lu Tianxing sitting in the passenger seat with a smile on his face, hisplexionpletely normal with no trace of drunkenness. If it weren’t for the faint smell of alcohol on him, Bai Zhiqing would have hardly believed Lu Tianxing had just been drinking.


    "You’re not drunk?" Bai Zhiqing sat in the driver’s seat and looked at Lu Tianxing quizzically.


    "Of course not. If this little bit of alcohol got me drunk, how would I manage in the future."


    Lu Tianxing smiled slightly, reached over to embrace Bai Zhiqing to his seat, then settled back into the driver’s seat, started the car, and drove onto the road: "Wife, any thoughts?"


    "He’s hiding a dagger behind a smile. Lu Hongda is an old fox, smiling on the surface while scheming behind your back, extremely insidious and cunning. Dealing with someone like that requires being on guard; otherwise, you wouldn’t even know how you died." Bai Zhiqing paused for a moment and said solemnly.


    "You noticed."


    "Yeah!"


    Bai Zhiqing nodded slightly and said: "Although Lu Hongda kept drinking with you, he didn’t drink much. When you drank two or three sses, he only took a sip. He kept encouraging you to drink. And, just when you were about to drink enough, he kept creating verbal traps for you to fall into. Most importantly, even though he kept smiling, he gave me a very icy feeling, just like a venomous snake that hadn’t shown its fangs."


    Listening to Bai Zhiqing’s words, Lu Tianxing nodded gently. Bai Zhiqing wasn’t wrong. The feeling Lu Hongda gave him was indeed sinister. Despite iming to have forgotten what happened when he joined the Lu Family, Lu Tianxing could feel that Lu Hongda hadn’t truly forgotten and was secretly scheming against him. If he really believed what Lu Hongda said, it wouldn’t be long before he fell into an abyss with no way out.


    "You’re right, Lu Hongda is better at enduring than Liang Wanqing. Every step he takes is cautious. Don’t be fooled by the sincerity in his words today; I guarantee not a word of it is true. If I truly listened to him, I would be dead for sure." Lu Tianxing said solemnly.


    Bai Zhiqing furrowed her brows and said: "Since that’s the case, why did you tell him that you want topete for the position of the Head of the Lu Family? Do you really n topete for the family head position?"


    "Whypete for the Head of the Lu Family position? You know my temperament, I’d rather die than manage the whole family. If they happen to do something that displeases me, I fear I might lose control and destroy them. From that perspective, it’s better to turn a blind eye."


    Lu Tianxing rubbed his nose and said: "As the saying goes, ’never be without vignce against others.’ Lu Hongda suddenly asked if I was interested in the family head position, I believe he wasn’t just asking casually. He’s definitely scheming something. If my guess is right, very soon, rumors of mepeting with Lu Haoyue for the head position might spread."