Chapter 2986 — Stop Him, Quick!

"All right, much obliged. Stay put, then—I'm going to take a look." Qing Yi did not shoo Yu Yi away; taking him for someone Yu Bing had sent to protect Wei Zhao, she simply turned and headed off toward the villa.

Yu Yi let out a breath of relief. Watching Qing Yi's receding figure, he hurriedly dialed Old Master Yu's number! He had to report this at once—the Ice Palace had sent someone too! It seemed the situation in the Ice Palace was not as Yu Bing's letters had described, with Bing Tang in complete control. Feng Xiaoxiao could now evidently make her voice heard within the Ice Palace—or rather, the relationship between Feng Xiaoxiao and Bing Tang had grown close enough that Bing Tang would never have allowed an elder like Qing to appear here in person otherwise!

It seemed the Yu family had been absolutely right not to involve themselves too deeply in this affair; otherwise, Yu Bing might well have been dragged into it.

Old Master Yu was somewhat surprised by Yu Yi's report, but not especially alarmed. He merely said, "Yu Yi, do your duty. If that Elder Qing speaks to you again, find an opportunity to hint that you are here to help Wei Zhao on Yu Bing's account!"

"Yes, Old Master!" Yu Yi said quickly.

Qing Yi asked a few general questions, then decided to go straight to the villa to see Wei Zhao—first, to check on his injuries, and second, because her presence here would be enough to deter any petty troublemakers who came knocking. With an Ice Palace elder personally holding the fort, even the Night Palace would have to slink back home if it came again.

Standing before Wei Zhao's villa, Qing Yi pressed the doorbell.

The sudden ringing startled everyone inside, for Wei Zhao was at a critical juncture in his breakthrough; an unexpected visitor at such a moment was bound to put them on edge.

"I'll go and see," Old Master Pi said after a moment's thought. A Heaven-rank expert and the strongest among them, he volunteered.

No one objected. Old Master Pi went to the door and found a woman in blue standing outside, dressed unlike anyone of the modern age—more like someone out of antiquity, or a costume from a martial-arts drama.

"May I ask whom you're looking for?" Old Master Pi inquired, somewhat puzzled.

"Hello. This is Mr. Wei Zhao's villa, I take it? I am Xiao Qing, an elder of the Ice Palace. The Palace Master and Deputy Palace Master Feng sent me. They heard Mr. Wei Zhao was injured and asked me to come and deter any petty troublemakers!" To those around Wei Zhao, Qing Yi saw no reason to mince words about who she was or why she had come, and she handed her Ice Palace elder's token to Old Master Pi.

"Ah! Elder Qing—please, come in, come in!" On hearing her identity, Old Master Pi hastily gestured her inside. As for the token in her hand, he had heard of such things; one glance told him it was no forgery. "I am the head of the Hidden Pi family. Everyone inside is Mr. Wei Zhao's family and sworn brothers!"

Qing Yi nodded and entered the villa with Old Master Pi. Those inside had already overheard their exchange outside; hearing that an elder of the Ice Palace had come, their faces lit up with delight.

Still, it seemed Qing Yi's arrival hardly mattered now, for Wei Zhao was about to recover his strength—and once he did, she could be on her way.

"Hello, Aunt Qing. I'm Gu Mengyao. Wei Zhao has mentioned you to me—thank you for looking after him at the Ice Palace." Gu Mengyao had heard from Wei Zhao about his time there, and knew that Qing Yi had spoken up for him.

"Heh, just small things, whatever I could do." Qing Yi smiled indifferently. "Where is Wei Zhao? I'd like to see how he's doing."

"Well, you see, Wei Zhao is in his room right now recovering his strength. I'm afraid you'll have to wait a while, Aunt Qing," Gu Mengyao said quickly.

"Recovering his strength?" Qing Yi was taken aback. "Wasn't his dantian and meridians destroyed? How could he recover his strength?"

The reason was that when Qing Yi arrived, Wei Zhao had just completed his breakthrough from the peak of the late Earth rank to the early Heaven rank. The surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth had already poured into his body, and no further anomalies could be sensed around him—so Qing Yi had no idea he was in the midst of a breakthrough.

"Wei Zhao's meridians and dantian have been restored by special means, and now he is preparing to use the Mid-Gathering Qi Pill that Zhao Qitan brought back from your sect to break through to the early Heaven rank." Gu Mengyao held nothing back—after all, the Mid-Gathering Qi Pill had come from the Ice Palace.

"What?!" Qing Yi was startled. "You're saying Wei Zhao has taken that Mid-Gathering Qi Pill and means to use it to break through to the Heaven rank?"

"Yes—is something wrong?" Seeing Qing Yi's expression change, Gu Mengyao's heart skipped a beat. There seemed to be something amiss here!

"Stop him, quick! Whatever you do, don't let him use the Mid-Gathering Qi Pill to break through the rank barrier—the consequences would be unimaginable!" Qing Yi said urgently. The reason she asked Gu Mengyao to go was that this was Wei Zhao's villa, and she could hardly go barging through the rooms; Gu Mengyao, after all, knew the layout.

"Ah?" Gu Mengyao did not stop to ask why. She ran to Wei Zhao's room, and without even knocking, pushed the door open and rushed in, with Shen Yushu right behind her: "Wei Zhao, whatever you do, don't take the Mid-Gathering Qi Pill to break through!"

Gu Mengyao stood in the doorway and cried out instinctively. But as the words left her mouth and she looked up at Wei Zhao inside, she froze—Wei Zhao was sitting cross-legged on the bed, completely naked...

"Ah!" Gu Mengyao could not help but shriek. Face crimson, she spun around to leave—but then it struck her that she had come here to stop Wei Zhao from taking the Qi-Gathering Pill, and she hastily checked herself.

Inwardly, though, she was fuming: What on earth was Wei Zhao doing—**why wasn't he dressed yet?

"What is it, Sister Yaoyao? What's wrong with Arrow-Brand Bro?" Little Shu, following behind, heard Gu Mengyao's scream and thought she had seen something horrifying. She asked anxiously.

"It's... n-nothing... Little Shu, go and see what's happened to Wei Zhao!" Gu Mengyao, blushing, stammered, not knowing what to say. Her heart was still pounding, and she dared not raise her eyes toward Wei Zhao, yet she could not simply turn and leave—so she could only send Shen Yushu to find out what was going on!

"Huh?" Shen Yushu was taken aback, puzzled as to why Sister Yaoyao wouldn't go and look at Wei Zhao herself but instead sent her. Still, her heart was set on Wei Zhao, so she quickly stepped around Gu Mengyao and headed into the room.

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