Chapter 2265 — The Secret Pursuit

Having thought it through, the Wind-Thunder Purple-Lightning Beast made up its mind. Swiftly it seized Wu Chengtian in its jaws and, instead of attacking, retreated—fleeing in the opposite direction.

The Wind-Thunder Purple-Lightning Beast had no confidence of victory, but when it came to speed in flight, none could match it. In the blink of an eye, it had vanished without a trace.

Far from regretting that the Wind-Thunder Purple-Lightning Beast had carried Wu Chengtian off, the Big Mule actually breathed a long sigh of relief. He ordered Test Subject No. 2 back into the vehicle, then floored the accelerator and sped off toward the destination he had chosen in advance.

Though he sensed that the Wind-Thunder Purple-Lightning Beast seemed afraid of Test Subject No. 2, the Big Mule was himself somewhat afraid of that beast. The thing was neither man nor ghost, and the mere sight of it filled him with dread.

As he drove, the Big Mule dialed An Jianwen's number.

"Big Mule, how did it go?" An Jianwen was no longer playing with his phone; he was waiting anxiously for the Big Mule's report.

Whether Test Subject No. 2 lived or died did not much concern An Jianwen. The success rate for compounding Formula 02 was not high, but the formula was not irreplaceable. Nor did he much care whether Wang Xinyan had been rescued. What concerned him was that his capable right-hand man, the Big Mule, must not die. An Jianwen had grown used to having the Big Mule at his side, and many of his plans had been made with the Big Mule's involvement; the man knew his way around every task. If the Big Mule were to croak, finding someone to replace him would leave An Jianwen ill at ease.

"Brother Wen, the fellow riding that beast—Test Subject No. 2 took him down with a single blow, badly wounded. And the beast itself, after trading a couple of moves with No. 2, chose to back off and ran away carrying the wounded man..." the Big Mule reported.

"Ran away? Good, very good!" An Jianwen was overjoyed. His test subject could even beat the Wind-Thunder Purple-Lightning Beast? That was truly cause for celebration. After all, at the Hidden Families Assembly, those Heaven-Rank old men had not dared to meet the Wind-Thunder Purple-Lightning Beast head-on. In the future, if he produced a few more test subjects, robbing the Hidden Families would be as easy as stretching out a hand.

The only question was whether this Test Subject No. 2 could beat Wei Zhao.

"Yes, it looks like Test Subject No. 02 is really quite powerful!" said the Big Mule.

"Well done. In that case, proceed as planned—take Wang Xinyan to Outpost No. 3," An Jianwen instructed.

"Yes, sir!" the Big Mule answered with a hasty nod.

What the Big Mule did not know was that although no one appeared to be following his vehicle, in the shadows the Wind-Thunder Purple-Lightning Beast was trailing him all along.

The Wind-Thunder Purple-Lightning Beast was an ancient spirit beast of exceptional intelligence. After leaving Wu Chengtian temporarily in a safe place, it once again took to the air and gave chase in the direction of the van the Big Mule was driving—only this time, it pursued in secret.

The vehicle drove along the road while the Wind-Thunder Purple-Lightning Beast flitted along rooftops and walls nearby. With the perception of an ordinary man like the Big Mule, it was naturally impossible to detect that the beast was still behind him.

As for Test Subject No. 2, formidable though it was, it was nothing more than a mindless puppet—even less capable of noticing that it was being followed.

The Big Mule drove smoothly all the way to the prearranged Outpost No. 3. It was an abandoned farm; the property, of course, belonged to the Fire Wolf Gang, though on paper it was held under the name of an unrelated company.

If the police followed this lead in their investigation, they would naturally turn up nothing.

An Jianwen had always been cautious and careful, incapable of slipping up on details. That was why, after all the wicked deeds he had done, he had always found someone to take the fall while never getting into trouble himself. He never personally risked danger—the only exception being when love and hatred had clouded his head and he had wanted to cut out Wei Zhao's kidney with his own hands. In the end, Wei Zhao's kidney had been spared, and his own had been cut out instead.

From then on, An Jianwen was even less inclined to do such foolish things.

The Big Mule drove safely into Outpost No. 3. Inside the abandoned farm, underlings of the Fire Wolf Gang were waiting to receive him. The Big Mule gave a few instructions, and they obligingly locked Wang Xinyan alone inside a single-story house, while Test Subject No. 2 was ordered to stand guard at the door.

The next step was simply to wait—to wait for word of Wang Xinyan's abduction to spread. Once it did, the Big Mule could rightfully call her family and demand a ransom.

The Wind-Thunder Purple-Lightning Beast appeared near the abandoned farm of Outpost No. 3 as stealthily as a ghost. Only after confirming that the Big Mule had driven inside and that Wang Xinyan was being held there did it turn and speed away, leaving the dust behind...

The Wind-Thunder Purple-Lightning Beast first went to Wu Chengtian's hiding place and carried him back to the villa.

Though Wu Chengtian's injuries were severe, he was fortunately a cultivator of both inner and outer arts, and he had taken only a single blow from Test Subject No. 2. His life was not in danger.

Even so, his wretched appearance gave Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, Han Jingyi, and Han Xiaochao a terrible fright.

Gu Mengyao had been counting on Wu Chengtian and the Wind-Thunder Purple-Lightning Beast to rescue Wang Xinyan together. But now it seemed that not only had the girl not been saved—Wu Chengtian himself had come back gravely wounded.

"Wu Chengtian, how are you?" Gu Mengyao was frantic with worry. Not long ago, while Wei Zhao was home, nothing had gone wrong; yet the moment he left, trouble struck. Were these people timing it all in advance?

"I'm fine... not dead yet. But Wang Xinyan..." Wu Chengtian felt he had badly failed Wei Zhao's expectations. Last time he had gone to rescue Tang Yun and been wounded; this time he had gone to rescue Wang Xinyan and been wounded again.

"Do you know who the enemy was?" Gu Mengyao found the whole affair strange. If Wei Zhao's enemies were behind this, why not move against her and Yushu? Why go after Wang Xinyan of all people? Even Gu Mengyao was not entirely certain of the relationship between Wang Xinyan and Wei Zhao—there had only been some rumors at school. So why had the enemy singled out Wang Xinyan?

"I don't know." Wu Chengtian shook his head. The opponent's methods were utterly unfamiliar. An enemy who said not a word, attacked the moment they met, and gave off not the slightest aura—Wu Chengtian had never encountered such a thing.

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