Northern Wei Dynasty, Hengwang Palace.

After being burned by the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast's Heavenly Fire, Helian Qin was in excruciating pain. Just as Su Xuening said, he could only find some relief by soaking in the Black Tortoise Divine Beast's Heavenly Water.

When Helian Zheng and Helian Jun came to see him, he was lying in the bathtub.

There was nothing he could do; his entire body was scalded, even his face. If he weren't a poor swimmer and couldn't hold his breath, he would have chosen to immerse himself completely in the bathtub.

"How did you get so badly injured?" Helian Zheng frowned as he looked half-dead.

Helian Qin gritted his teeth in resentment: "That was the fire of a divine beast! I, a mere mortal, almost perished. If that girl hadn't summoned the Xuanwu divine beast in time and had it spray me with water, I'm afraid I would be meeting the King of Hell by now!"

To be honest, Helian Qin was somewhat grateful to Su Xuening, at least she saved his life!

Seeing Helian Qin in this state, Helian Jun frowned and said, "It seems this divine beast is indeed powerful!"

Then, he looked at Helian Zheng and said, "Now that kid Helian Ci has the help of a divine beast, we're at a disadvantage!"

Helian Zheng also frowned deeply, his face solemn: "Now it's not just about the divine beasts and Xiliang, but also about Dongchu. News just came from the palace that Father Emperor is terminally ill and only has one month to live!"

"What!" Helian Qin and Helian Jun were both shocked. Helian Qin even sat up directly from the bathtub.

"What happened? Father was perfectly fine yesterday. How come he only has one month left to live?" Helian Qin asked anxiously.

Helian Jun asked nervously, "Where did you hear this news from?"

Helian Zheng glanced at the two men and said, "I bribed the imperial physicians in the palace. This morning, Father Emperor summoned all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy to examine him. All the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Academy diagnosed that Father Emperor only has a month or so to live. Father Emperor also summoned two doctors from outside the palace, namely the resident doctors from Hechuntang and Huashoutang. I also asked them after they were brought here. They also diagnosed that Father Emperor only has a month to live!"

Helian Qin looked at Helian Zheng with a strange expression. He hadn't expected that the second son had bribed the imperial physicians in the palace. What was he planning to do? He was really cunning!

Helian Jun glanced at Helian Zheng without showing any emotion; in fact, he had also bribed the imperial physicians in the palace.

He was just acting; in reality, he had received the news that his father only had one month left to live long earlier.

"I heard that Father Emperor hasn't seen a royal physician for two years. Why do you think he suddenly summoned so many royal physicians?" Helian Jun asked, narrowing his eyes.

Father Emperor probably knew all along that the Imperial Medical Academy was corrupt, which is why he didn't consult the imperial physicians even when he was sick. This time, with such a grand display, he felt there was something fishy going on!

Helian Zheng had considered the possibility that the old man was behind this, but...

"I heard that this morning Father Emperor only summoned two imperial physicians, but those two physicians said that Father Emperor only had one month to live. Father Emperor must have been anxious, so he summoned all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital. But they all said that Father Emperor only had one month to live. Father Emperor has never trusted the imperial physicians, so he had two doctors summoned from the clinic outside the palace."

As he spoke, Helian Zheng frowned again and said, "Father must have instructed those two doctors, and probably said something about executing their entire families. I had to go through a lot of trouble to get the answers from them. I don't think Father deliberately planned these things; he was just in a hurry."

Helian Qin nodded: "If Father really only has one month to live, wouldn't he be anxious?"

Helian Jun still felt there was something strange about this: "Father's health had always been quite good before, how could he suddenly only have one month to live?"

Helian Zheng had bribed the imperial physicians long ago, and he knew what was going on: "Actually, Father's health started to deteriorate two or three years ago. That's when he stopped summoning the imperial physicians to see him, because he was afraid we would find out about his health condition. Even earlier, the year we brought Helian Ci back, his health should have already been compromised."

If he hadn't known he had health problems, he probably wouldn't have gone to bring Helian Ci back.

Helian Jun and Helian Qin both agreed with this statement.

When he brought Helian Ci back, they suspected that something was wrong with his health. However, he had rarely summoned imperial physicians over the years, and his health seemed quite robust. He even insisted on attending court on his own at the age of eighty, which lulled them into a false sense of security.

"So, Father really only has one month left to live," Helian Qin said, his voice still tinged with excitement.

God knows how long he had been waiting for this day, from his thirties to his forties, and from his forties to his fifties. If he didn't die soon, he might have already died!

Helian Zheng glanced at the excited Helian Qin, frowned and said, "Before the Western Liang Empress and the Eastern Chu new emperor appeared, this might have been good news for us, but now..."

Before Helian Zheng could finish speaking, both Helian Qin and Helian Jun understood.

"So what do we do now?" Helian Qin asked anxiously.

Now that they've finally waited until the old man is about to die, that old bastard Helian Ci has gained two more powerful backers, Xiliang and Dongchu. This is definitely not good news for them!

Helian Jun also looked at Helian Zheng: "You're the second oldest, the third oldest and I will listen to you!"

Helian Zheng knew exactly what they were thinking, but since things had come to this point, he couldn't be bothered to argue with them.

Helian Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "I reckon Father will definitely make Helian Ci the Crown Prince. We must speed up our actions. This time we must work together, otherwise we won't be able to defeat Helian Ci."

Helian Qin and Helian Jun exchanged a glance and nodded together.

"Second brother is right. This time we can't afford to play mind games with each other anymore. We must unite against Helian Ci!" Helian Qin was the first to speak up, directly handing his military tally to Helian Zheng: "I'm also handing over my troops to you for command. I'll do whatever you say!"

Helian Jun was surprised that Helian Qin had taken out his military tally so directly. He glared at him secretly, but could only take out his own military tally: "I will also temporarily hand over my military tally to my second brother for safekeeping. Those troops will be under your unified command!"

Helian Zheng was somewhat moved when he saw that the two of them had handed him the military tally. He comforted them, saying, "Don't worry, with our united efforts this time, we will definitely be able to defeat Helian Ci."

The three of them combined possessed 70% of the Northern Wei's military strength. No matter how powerful the Western Liang and Eastern Chu were, could they even reach the Northern Wei?

He refused to believe that with so many troops, they couldn't defeat Helian Ci, who had nothing!