Chapter 2999 — After the Heaven Rank

He was seething. If Kang Zhaoming had delivered the cultivation vessel straight to him, he could have used it just the same to bolster the strength of Zhao Guangyin and Mian Huatang of the Hidden Zhao family—exactly as things stood now. But once it had passed through the Xuandan Sect, how could he ever take it back?

"Uncle Xuanchen, is there anything else?" Tianchan had seen the look on Old Ancestor Xuanchen's face and naturally guessed what he was thinking, but she had no intention of letting him have his way. Feigning ignorance, she asked.

"Nothing. You may go back. That Kang Zhaoming, honestly—doing such a thing! Just wait till I give him a piece of my mind!" Old Ancestor Xuanchen cursed the mulberry while pointing at the locust, his words aimed elsewhere.

"That works out well, actually. I was just thinking I needed to find a maidservant. Xiaotaohong and Kang Zhaoming are sweet on each other, so I plan to betroth Xiaotaohong to Kang Zhaoming and make a happy match of it. That means I'll have to find myself another maidservant. I suspect Kang Zhaoming sent this cultivation vessel over to me with exactly that in mind." Tianchan deliberately twisted Kang Zhaoming's meaning as she spoke to Old Ancestor Xuanchen.

Why Kang Zhaoming had drawn close to Xiaotaohong, Tianchan knew perfectly well: he simply wanted to use Xiaotaohong to get close to her. Xiaotaohong was no great beauty, yet Kang Zhaoming pursued her with all his might—the implication was plain enough.

"Oh? So that's how it is!" Old Ancestor Xuanchen's face lit with sudden understanding, and he gave a cold snort. "No wonder the brat didn't give me a heads-up beforehand. He wanted to swap Xiaotaohong out. I knew it!"

Old Ancestor Xuanchen had no particular fondness for feminine charms, so when he looked at Xiaotaohong he saw neither beauty nor ugliness. He believed Tianchan's words readily enough—after all, he had seen with his own eyes how close Kang Zhaoming and Xiaotaohong had grown of late.

"So I thought I might as well do them a kindness and let Kang Zhaoming and Xiaotaohong have each other," Tianchan said.

"Fine. But you must warn Xiaotaohong to keep her mouth shut tight. If she lets slip that you're a woman, don't blame me for being unkind to her—her family will die with her!" Old Ancestor Xuanchen said.

"Understood. I'll pass your meaning on to her, Uncle Xuanchen." Tianchan nodded.

"Go on, then." Old Ancestor Xuanchen waved a hand, indicating that Tianchan could take her leave.

……………………

When Wei Zhao returned to the villa, Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu saw at once that his expression was grim. The young miss asked, puzzled, "Wei Zhao, what's wrong? Did things with the Hidden Zhao family not go smoothly?"

"Zhao Guangyin got away, and he took Chen Xi with him. I can't reach Chief Zhu or Zhu the Second right now—no idea how they're doing." Wei Zhao frowned.

"Got away?" Gu Mengyao was slightly taken aback.

"Yes. But he only took Chen Xi and left Ying Ziyu behind—that's what confuses me. If Zhao Guangyin meant to threaten me, he would have made his demands by now, but there's been no word at all." Wei Zhao sounded worried.

"That is strange." The young miss was startled as well. By rights, abducting someone always had a reason—either for wealth, or for lust, or else to use as leverage.

Chen Xi was Zhao Guangyin's own flesh and blood. However wretched a man Zhao Guangyin might be, he surely would not do anything lustful with her. As for wealth, Chen Xi's family was utterly destitute; even with the bit of money she had come into lately, it would never catch the eye of the Hidden Zhao family.

That left only leverage—yet he had made no threat against Wei Zhao.

"Arrow-Brand Bro, Xiaoshu can think of one possibility!" Shen Yushu pondered and found a thread to follow. "Could it be that Zhao Guangyin took Chen Xi away to give her as a gift?"

"A gift?" Wei Zhao did not quite follow.

Beside him, Zhuang Niaoqiang slapped his thigh and cried, "That's it! Chief Wei Zhao, why didn't we think of it? Xiaoshu's the clever one! Earlier, we two brothers both wanted to abduct Chen Xi to use as a cultivation vessel. Zhao Guangyin must have known about that. He could very well give Chen Xi away as a vessel in exchange for the protection and backing of some great figure!"

"Oh? Put that way, it does make some sense." Wei Zhao nodded and looked at Shen Yushu. "Xiaoshu, is that what you meant too?"

"Yes, that's what Xiaoshu means." Shen Yushu said with certainty. "It fits Zhao Guangyin's way of thinking. The Hidden Zhao family can no longer stand against Arrow-Brand Bro. He doesn't want to die, so he has no choice but to seek a bigger patron. But the only bargaining chip left in his hands is Chen Xi."

"In that case, Chen Xi could be in danger!" Wei Zhao's frown deepened.

"But worrying won't help right now. All we can do is investigate slowly," Han Tianba consoled.

Wei Zhao nodded. Soon enough, however, word came from the Hidden Zhuang family: Chief Zhu and Zhu the Second had both been found in a small alley near the school. Both were injured to varying degrees, Chief Zhu rather seriously, and the two were being rushed to Donghai City.

But when Wei Zhao heard this, something struck him as off. Chief Zhu and Zhu the Second were both Earth Rank experts. For both to be wounded, the other side must have had at least three Earth Rank experts. Could there be a third person besides Zhao Guangyin and Old Mian?

Zhao Qibing! Suddenly Wei Zhao thought of Zhao Qibing. He picked up his phone at once and dialed Ge Xian's number.

"Chief, calling again so soon? I don't have any new information yet!" Ge Xian asked, puzzled.

"I'm not calling for news. I need you to keep an eye on someone for me—Zhao Qibing of the Dark Night Palace. He has something to do with Chen Xi!" Wei Zhao said.

"Oh? All right, I'll find some informants and ask around right away." Ge Xian answered hastily.

Though the matter left Wei Zhao deeply uneasy, life had to go on. Until Ge Xian reported back, Wei Zhao could not very well run around like a headless fly searching for news of Chen Xi—he could only go about his own business step by step.

Having suddenly broken through to the early Heaven Rank, Wei Zhao had a great deal to do: practice the later moves of the Mad Fire Eight Trigrams Palm, find himself a suitable Heaven Rank weapon. The second layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon Taming Art had reached full mastery, and he could return to West Star Mountain Village at any time to open the third stone gate.

(September has begun! An early-morning extra update, my dears—time to cast your monthly votes! Tianchan says: no monthly votes, and I'll kick you!) RS

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