Qin Yuxuan shifted her gaze from Zhou Li to Qin Fu:

"Take him to Father's study."

"Yes!"

Qin Fu answered in a deep voice. He stepped forward and lifted Zhou Li like a chick, with the household guards following closely behind in vigilant escort.

Within the Qin Residence at night, lanterns blazed brightly. Patrolling guards, seeing Steward Qin and the Third Miss hurrying along with a bound man under an atmosphere of lethal solemnity, all instinctively stepped aside and bowed, none daring to ask a single question.

Inside Qin Lu's study, candlelight flickered. He was leaning against the soft couch, resting his eyes.

"Father."

Qin Yuxuan's voice sounded at the doorway.

Qin Lu opened his eyes to see his daughter, followed by Qin Fu and... a man trussed up like a dumpling!

He started slightly, then sat up straight, the proper authority of a family head returning to his eyes.

"Xuan'er? What is..."

Qin Lu's gaze swept over the wretched Zhou Li, finally settling on his daughter.

Qin Yuxuan walked quickly to the desk, her voice tight with suppressed fury:

"Father, did you know? Your poor appetite, your irritability and fatigue these past days—it is not the weather. Someone has been deliberately poisoning you! This man, under the alias Zhou Li, his true name unknown, forged his indenture papers and infiltrated the residence over two months ago with a clear target—you, Father! He is skilled in cooking, especially soups and stews, precisely so he could mix poison into them!"

"Oh?"

Qin Lu raised an eyebrow, not displaying the expected rage, but rather a trace of helplessness at having his peace disturbed. He leaned forward slightly, his eyes falling on the tightly bound Zhou Li.

"Poison?" he repeated. "Xuan'er, you mean... this brat?"

"He is the one!"

Qin Yuxuan placed the soup pot on the desk. "Doctor Chen has already verified that the dregs of the soup he made contain a secret, lethal poison—Bone-Corroding Wither-and-Bloom Powder!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Lu's mouth opened slightly, a look of sudden realization spreading across his face.

"So that's why I've been feeling off all these days, no appetite for anything, sleeping restlessly. So it was this brat lacing the soup?"

"Exactly!"

Qin Yuxuan nodded emphatically, her voice urgent. "This poison is insidiously vicious—colorless, odorless, undetectable by silver needle. It specifically erodes vital essence, qi, and blood. The victim grows weaker day by day, until finally nothing but skin and bones remains—then death! Father, you must..."

"Don't panic."

Qin Lu waved a hand, signaling Qin Yuxuan to calm down.

Seeing her father's almost slow reaction, Qin Yuxuan's anxiety grew, and she was about to explain in detail the poison's peril when Qin Lu's gaze settled on Zhou Li's face.

He narrowed his eyes slightly, his voice not loud but perfectly clear:

"This face... does have a certain craftsman's air. Qin Fu, tear that layer of skin off his face for me."

"Yes!"

Qin Fu responded immediately. His fingers precisely located the subtle wrinkles along the edge of Zhou Li's cheek and tore fiercely!

Riiiip—

A soft sound.

A paper-thin, exquisitely crafted human skin mask was ripped away!

Beneath it was a hideously fearsome face! Most of the face was severely burned, scars crawling like revolting centipedes across the left cheek, extending deep into the neck, even the left ear incomplete. Only the right half of the face retained the faint outline of his original features, now twisted in agony.

Qin Yuxuan gasped sharply! Though her mind was as fine as a hair, she had never imagined this man had been wearing a human skin mask all along! The degree of disfigurement was no ordinary accident!

Qin Lu slowly shook his head, his tone flat to the point of indifference:

"I have no particular impression of you. What then? What irreconcilable blood feud do you have with me, worth scheming so painstakingly to sneak in and poison me?"

"Hah... hah hah..."

With his jaw dislocated, Zhou Li could only make indistinct, rasping noises, glaring fixedly at Qin Lu, the roar of hatred rolling in his throat.

Qin Fu stepped forward and manipulated the area around his Adam's apple with a pinch and a push.

A soft click, and Zhou Li's jaw was reset.

"Qin... Qin Lu!!"

Zhou Li's hoarse voice was like sandpaper scraping, saturated with bone-deep hatred:

"You don't recognize me?! Fine! Very fine! Then tell me... do you still remember... ten years ago, Lion's Ridge outside Qingzhou Prefecture... Black Wind Stronghold?!"

"Lion's Ridge? Black Wind Stronghold?" A flicker of movement in Qin Lu's eyes. "Oh... that bandit's nest that plundered merchant caravans and plagued the region, which I eradicated single-handedly by going up the mountain?"

"Bandit's nest?! That was my home!!"

Zhou Li roared, the motion tugging at his facial scars and making him even more monstrous. "My father was the stronghold chief! My eldest brother, my second brother... the entire stronghold burned to nothing by your torch! This ghastly appearance I now bear—all thanks to you!"

Qin Yuxuan's heart shook violently. She had heard of this matter—the night raid on Lion's Ridge, one of Father's renowned battles that had spread his fame far and wide. She had never imagined there were such twists to the tale.

Qin Lu listened quietly, his expression still unruffled, and spoke evenly:

"So that's it. If you don't pull out the roots when cutting the grass, the spring breeze will blow it back to life. I missed you, a tiny fish, back then, and you went elsewhere, learning these poisoning skills and coming back to harm others."

Seeing him so utterly calm, the flame of vengeance in Zhou Li's heart was instead doused with a bucket of oil, burning away all reason.

He laughed maniacally, a rasping, ugly sound:

"Hahaha! Correct! I took advantage of the drought and the floods of refugees to infiltrate your Qin Residence! Just for this day! Just so you, Qin Lu, could taste a fate worse than death!"

He fixed his stare on Qin Lu:

"How does the Bone-Corroding Wither-and-Bloom Powder taste? Hah! It was specially prepared for someone with profound internal power like you! The greater your power, the faster it erodes, the fiercer the backlash! Hahaha! No cure! No antidote! I traded half my life for this formula, made specially for you!"

He seemed on the verge of madness. "A pity! A pity I couldn't see you wailing in agony as you die! But to make you suffer this torment day and night, to leave the Qin family's foundation without a successor! I... have no regrets! Hahaha!!"

His insane laughter echoed through the study.

Qin Yuxuan listened, her heart pounding with terror. Watching her father's face, a tide of fear surged within her:

"Father! What he says..."

At that moment, Qin Lu suddenly let out a soft chuckle.

That soft laugh, amidst Zhou Li's howling, was extraordinarily jarring and instantly cut off his laughter.

"Specially made for me?"

Qin Lu shook his head, pity in his eyes:

"Then you... are probably destined for disappointment. A mere trifling poison, sapping a bit of my vitality—do you think I, Qin Lu, would take it seriously?"

"Wh-what?!"

Zhou Li stared fixedly at Qin Lu, searching for any trace of forced bravado in that face, but saw only an unfathomable calm.

"Impossible! I don't believe it! Once the Bone-Corroding Wither-and-Bloom Powder enters the body, it absolutely cannot..."

"Believe what you will."

Qin Lu could no longer be bothered to look at him. He waved his hand, his tone as indifferent as brushing away a speck of dust:

"Drag him out and kill him."

"Yes!"

Qin Fu stepped forward, lifted Zhou Li like a sack of garbage, and dragged him out. The mad, venomous atmosphere in the study dissipated with him.

The door closed again.

Only father and daughter remained in the study.

"Father!"

Qin Yuxuan rushed forward and seized Qin Lu's hand. "Are you truly alright? That poison..."

"It's nothing."

Qin Lu gently patted the back of his daughter's hand, a smile appearing on his face that was the complete opposite of the coldness from moments before:

"Xuan'er, this time you handled it excellently—meticulous thinking, penetrating insight, decisive action—far beyond your father's expectations."

His eyes were full of gratification. "Had you not detected this early and rooted out this scoundrel, though this poison would not have been fatal, prolonged exposure would eventually have been troublesome."

Receiving her father's affirmation, a warm current surged through Qin Yuxuan's heart, but even stronger was her concern for his health:

"But Father, that time three months ago..."

"That time I did overexert myself somewhat, but I am fine now."

Qin Lu cut her off, clearly unwilling to discuss it further, and changed the subject. "Right now in the household, your elder brother is at a critical juncture. Your sister-in-law is about to give birth; he must devote his full attention to caring for her and cannot be in two places at once."

He looked at Qin Yuxuan. "After much deliberation, I have decided to formally entrust you with full authority over certain aspects of the household's inner affairs. Can you shoulder this?"

A shock coursed through Qin Yuxuan! This was not merely trust, but an immense responsibility! Looking at the expectant light in her father's eyes, a surge of bold resolve rose in her chest, dispelling much of the gloom from the poisoning incident.

She straightened her back and responded with solemn gravity: "Father, rest assured! Your daughter will do her utmost and not fail this trust!"

Gazing at his daughter's young yet already formidable face, a measure of relief finally appeared in Qin Lu's eyes. He waved his hand: "Go now. You've had a tiring day; rest early. Tomorrow, you formally take over."

"Yes, Father."

Qin Yuxuan gave a deep bow and withdrew from the study.