Chapter 3272 — Figuring It Out

"No need for that, then—I believe you," Xu Shilan said with a wave of her hand. "I'm just a little worried about Wei Zhao. Those people from the Overseas Cultivators Association—who knows whether they can track this place down?"

"Compared with the Overseas Cultivators Association, I'm actually more worried about those ancient sects," Cheng Yiyi said with a bitter smile. "The Overseas Cultivators Association is based overseas, after all. But those ancient sects—once Wei Zhao goes back, will they come looking to make trouble for him?"

"I don't know, but worrying won't do us any good. Wei Zhao himself must have his own plans by now, don't you think?" Xu Shilan still had more faith in Wei Zhao; she trusted that he would have thought things through.

"You're right. Our worrying... won't do any good." Cheng Yiyi shook her head with a bitter smile.

After Wei Zhao returned to his room, he put on the Thousand-Silk Mask, then, comparing it against the photo of Secretary Lu on his phone, began applying his makeup. With the Thousand-Silk Mask on, he looked remarkably like Secretary Lu; with a bit of disguise, he was confident that even Lute himself would not recognize him!

For Eastern faces, especially, looked much the same in the eyes of Westerners, so once Wei Zhao had finished his disguise, he was essentially foolproof! As for Secretary Lu's clothes, Wei Zhao had not managed to get hold of any—they were custom-made uniforms for the inside of the Conch Group, and he had no way of getting his hands on a set—so Wei Zhao decided to simply strip them off Secretary Lu himself tomorrow.

After all this was done, Wei Zhao took out his phone, hesitated a moment, and dialed Ge Xian's number.

"Boss, what made you think to call me?" Ge Xian picked up, somewhat excited. Truth be told, for a while now the ancient circles had been full of tales of Wei Zhao's prowess, and as Wei Zhao's underling, Ge Xian was rather proud of it. His boss was formidable, and that reflected well on the underling, didn't it? Even though no one knew he was Wei Zhao's underling, he was happy all the same!

"It's like this, Ge Xian. These past two days, have there been any rumors about me up in the ancient circles?" Wei Zhao asked after a moment's thought.

"Rumors about you, boss?" Ge Xian paused slightly, then said after a moment's thought, "No, none. If you mean rumors, there's still just the one about you killing the Black Horse Society's Grand Elder. Nothing beyond that."

"Oh? Is that so? Then keep an eye out for me—the moment any other rumors show up, notify me at once," Wei Zhao instructed. By the look of things, word of his business with the Overseas Cultivators Association had not yet made its way back to the ancient circles. Once it spread, the moment he returned would be the start of his troubles!

He was sure that even if the Xuandan Sect did not move against him, the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect and the Dongfang Clan certainly would—those two sects bore him the deepest grudges of all, feuds that were all but irreconcilable.

"Understood," Ge Xian replied.

In fact, at that very moment, with Xiao Yi's help, Kang Zhaoming had already uncovered some matters concerning Wei Zhao! Keeping secrets in the ancient circles from the Five Luminaries Sect was truly no easy task; from various scattered clues, Patriarch Xuanchen had already roughly pieced together a conclusion.

After hearing Xiao Yi and Kang Zhaoming's report, Patriarch Xuanchen frowned. The conclusion he had deduced left him somewhat shaken, and yet it was entirely reasonable: "So you're saying that whenever anyone from the Dongfang Clan, the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect, or the Black Horse Society met with trouble, the people of the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect were nearby—is that right?"

"That's right. This conclusion can be drawn from the movements of several Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect patriarchs," Xiao Yi said with a nod. After all, when several patriarchs of the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect went to the same place at the same time, so long as that place was not too secret, it could be investigated.

"So then it must be that Wei Zhao hired the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect to kill the people from the Dongfang Clan, the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect, and the Black Horse Society?" Having said this much, Patriarch Xuanchen grew doubtful himself.

The deduction was reasonable enough: wherever the rumors had sprung up, several patriarchs of the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect had been present, and the sect's trade was killing for hire. So long as Wei Zhao paid a sufficient price, it was not impossible that its patriarchs would take the field.

But the one thing Patriarch Xuanchen could not fathom was this: the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect was an oddity among the ancient sects, but it was still one of them. There was nothing wrong with their method of taking a man's money to spare him calamity—only, to kill off, one after another, the top experts of multiple ancient sects at a stroke—would that not stir up public outrage?

In the past, the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect had taken commissions, but when it came to figures at the level of a sect's leader, they would essentially never accept such a task. After all, if you killed some ordinary disciple, the sect might let it go—every debt has its debtor, and they would simply go after the one who hired the killer.

But if you killed their elders, was that not a blood feud? Patriarch Xuanchen did not believe the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect could be so foolish—that would be far too brazen, would it not? That was wanting to become the common enemy of the ancient circles, wasn't it? Even if the Five Luminaries Sect had the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect's back, they would not dare act this way.

Even Patriarch Xuanchen himself would not dare claim he could lightly put the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect's Pure Yin Heavenly Worthy to death—that would be forging a mortal enmity outright!

Still, Patriarch Xuanchen thought, even if one patriarch of the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect had gone mad, surely three of them could not go mad together? Did the three mean to make enemies of the entire ancient circles, or what?

Or was there someone even more formidable backing them? Patriarch Xuanchen was utterly baffled.

"It's possible. Otherwise, Wei Zhao had a grudge against the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect in the past," Kang Zhaoming said with a nod. "In the past, Zhao Qibing hired people from the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect to kill Wei Zhao."

Patriarch Xuanchen nodded. If someone said Wei Zhao and the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect were in league, he would not believe it—there had plainly been great conflict between the two. But just what kind of benefit had Wei Zhao used to persuade the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect to take action?

If the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect was dead set on backing Wei Zhao, then even knowing this and spreading word to move against him, they would still have to get past the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect first! To deal with Wei Zhao, they had to make the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect let go of him—but how could they make the Blood-Robed Yellow Springs Sect let go? RS

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