Chapter 1556 — You've Got the Wrong Person?

"How could I mistake you? How could I mistake you? You are clearly my disciple, Li'er. Do you recognize your master? It is I, your master! Look!" With that, the strange man reached out and brushed the tangled hair from his forehead, then said to Wei Zhao, "Look at me, Li'er. Look at me carefully!"

"Old sir, you really have the wrong person... I am not any Li'er..." Wei Zhao actually felt some sympathy for the old man. From the look of it, the old man must have been separated from his disciple and had gone muddled in the head, his mind unwell.

And besides, his disciple had apparently been hunted by some enemy back then — otherwise he could not have spoken of having escaped from those people.

"You are not... you are not... impossible! How can you not be?" The strange man's hands, gripping Wei Zhao's shoulders, suddenly tightened, squeezing hard enough to hurt — but fortunately he used no true qi, so no real harm was done to Wei Zhao.

"I really am not... Old sir, you have the wrong person..." Wei Zhao said with a bitter smile. Truthfully, he did feel a certain sympathy for the old man, but there was nothing to be done; with someone this crazed, there was no way to hold a conversation.

"You are not... how can you not be? You clearly are... Ah!" The strange man suddenly let out a shrill scream, his eyes turning blood-red in an instant, and he shoved Wei Zhao away, clutching his own head with both hands as if in agony. Abruptly he sat down on the ground and began howling, "It hurts... my head hurts so much... ah... my disciple, you killed my disciple... no... my disciple is absolutely not dead..."

The strange man's sudden behavior gave Wei Zhao and Zhao Qitan a fright. Still, the man seemed to be having a psychotic fit, or perhaps an old injury had flared up; in any case, he was writhing on the ground in pain.

"Boss Wei Zhao, how about we finish him off right now?" Zhao Qitan hesitated a moment, then said to Wei Zhao, a ruthless glint flashing through his eyes.

Wei Zhao was just about to shake his head when he saw the strange man abruptly brace both hands against the ground, leap up, and come flying to a stop before Zhao Qitan. His hands seized Zhao Qitan's arms, and he demanded in a harsh voice, "Who are you going to finish off? It is you! You killed Li'er — it is you! I will kill you and avenge Li'er!"

As he spoke, the strange man applied force, and Zhao Qitan's arms gave two sharp cracks — the man had crushed them outright.

Even though Zhao Qitan was a cultivator, the pain was enough to leave him gasping. Cold sweat instantly poured down his forehead, his legs went weak with fear, and instinctively he cried out, "Boss Wei Zhao, save me!"

Wei Zhao too was badly startled by the strange man's sudden move. Yet although he saw the man attack Zhao Qitan, he did not rashly strike out.

The other party was an expert at the peak of the late Heaven-tier. Never mind Heaven-tier — even for an Earth-tier expert, Wei Zhao would not think it worth risking his life in a hard fight for the sake of a Zhao Qitan he had only just met. Besides, this strange man was plainly deranged; reasoning with him was utterly useless. For the moment, Wei Zhao found himself in a difficult position.

To strike, or not to strike?

True, he and Zhao Qitan had not known each other long, but for the sake of Zhao Qitan calling him "Boss," Wei Zhao could not simply look the other way. Yet how was he to intervene now?

"Old sir, he did not kill your disciple. Look carefully — have you not mistaken him?" Having no other choice, Wei Zhao could only brace himself and explain to the strange man, hoping the man would understand his words and spare Zhao Qitan. Otherwise, a head-on clash would be plain suicide.

"Yes, yes, it was not me! Look more carefully — my name is Zhao Qitan, a member of the Hidden Zhao family... I am not the enemy you are looking for!" Zhao Qitan was on the verge of tears. What was wrong with this Heaven-tier expert? The moment he appeared he accused Zhao Qitan of killing his disciple. He was no fool — why would he kill a Heaven-tier expert's disciple? Was he out of his mind?

"It is you! Do not quibble — let this old man take your dog's life and avenge Li'er!" As he spoke, the strange man reached out to smash his palm down on Zhao Qitan's crown, frightening Zhao Qitan so badly that he wet his pants.

"Mother of God... Boss Wei Zhao, save me..." Although Zhao Qitan knew the odds of Wei Zhao stepping in were slim — after all, Wei Zhao could not beat a Heaven-tier expert, and this one stood at the peak of the late Heaven-tier, making Wei Zhao all the less likely to act rashly — he still cried out for help instinctively.

Wei Zhao was exceedingly tense as well; he wanted to act but could not. In desperation, inspiration struck: he ran over and caught the strange man's arm. "Master, Li'er is here. He did not kill Li'er — he is Li'er's friend..."

When the strange man heard Wei Zhao's words, his whole body trembled. The hand poised to smash Zhao Qitan's crown abruptly stopped. He shoved Zhao Qitan away, paid him no further heed, and instead turned eagerly to look at Wei Zhao. "Li'er, Li'er, your master has finally found you! Wonderful!"

With that, the strange man gave Wei Zhao a bear hug, crushing him to his chest. The musty stench of his body made Wei Zhao frown. It seemed the strange man had not changed his clothes or bathed in a very long time.

Even so, to keep the strange man calm, Wei Zhao did not resist. "Master, your disciple has missed you too..."

Watching this, Zhao Qitan inwardly admired Wei Zhao's quick wit, and at the same time breathed a sigh of relief. Mother of God, if not for Wei Zhao's fast reaction, he would have died right there. Even if Wei Zhao sent word back to the Hidden Zhao family, they would absolutely never seek revenge on an old madman at the peak of the late Heaven-tier over a matter like this.

"Li'er, good disciple, your master knew you were not dead!" the strange man said. But no sooner had he spoken than he released Wei Zhao and clutched his head again, going berserk: "It hurts, my head hurts so much, ah — Li'er..."

Wei Zhao was startled again by the strange man's behavior. Fearing another fit of madness, he quickly took out the silver needles he carried with him and swiftly inserted them into the strange man's head. But after only two needles, the strange man flew into a rage: "Who are you? You want to kill me? You are throwing hidden weapons!"

"Master, it is I, your disciple. I am treating your headache..." Wei Zhao said hurriedly.

"Good... good... good disciple, with you here your master is at ease! Your martial uncle and that lot — they bite the hand that feeds them, collude with wicked men, and mean to kill us master and disciple both!" After hearing Wei Zhao's words, the blood-red in the strange man's eyes gradually faded, and he grew calm, letting Wei Zhao insert the silver needles into his head...

"There. Master, in a little while you will no longer be in pain..." Though Wei Zhao did not know what caused the strange man's headaches, the method of easing pain was much the same; Wei Zhao could use the silver needles to temporarily suppress the strange man's suffering.

Fastest updates, pop-up-free reading available.