Chapter 586 — The Zhao Family Head

To deal with Wei Zhao, they first had to ascertain his true background; they could not act rashly. If Wei Zhao truly was a prized talent cultivated with the full resources of some other hidden clan, and they killed him, that clan would likely throw everything they had into a desperate, all-out war with the Zhao family, sparing no cost!

To be at the Mystic rank at twenty meant a future with no limits—he might even reach the late Earth rank, or even the Heaven rank. If the Zhao family were to kill such a man, the family behind Wei Zhao would very likely go mad with fury.

Still, they could not rule out the possibility that Wei Zhao had merely been a blind cat stumbling onto a dead mouse—that he had swallowed some miraculous elixir, or broken through by sheer freak coincidence. If that were so, then they could simply have him wiped out and save themselves the trouble of nursing a tiger that would one day turn on them.

It was the first time Li Cihua had heard the Family Head speak in such a tone. He was briefly taken aback, but still answered, "Understood."

The ambulance arrived. Li Cihua sent Young Master Bing and Uncle Zhu to the hospital for basic treatment first, then waited for the Medicine King to come in person and tend to them.

Meanwhile, Zhao Guangyin put down the phone and sat in silence for a moment. Then, his expression grave, he rose and strode quickly out of the room, into the open air, and toward a detached villa.

"Young Master of the House, you have come." Zhao Guangyin had barely reached the villa's gate when an old man appeared out of nowhere and blocked his way. The old man's words were courteous, but he showed not the slightest intention of letting Zhao Guangyin in.

Zhao Guangyin took no offense; instead he said to the old man with every appearance of respect, "Elder Bi, I wish to see my father." This Elder Bi was one of the few formidable men the Zhao family had left—a retainer of the house, and one of the right and left hands who had helped Zhao Guangyin's father conquer his domain. He had never married and had no children, and in his old age he remained at the elder Zhao's side, serving him faithfully as his right hand.

"Please wait a moment, Young Master of the House. I will announce you," Elder Bi said with a nod, then turned and went into the villa. Zhao Guangyin stood at the gate with a reverent expression, not daring to do anything else.

After a while Elder Bi came out again and nodded to Zhao Guangyin. "Young Master of the House, the Family Head bids you enter."

In truth, Zhao Guangyin was already the head of the Zhao family. The old master Zhao had stepped down from that position years ago to devote himself to cultivation and the pursuit of a higher realm. But in Elder Bi's eyes, old master Zhao would always be the head of the Zhao family, and Zhao Guangyin only the Young Master of the House.

Zhao Guangyin bore that form of address without complaint. After all, though he was the Family Head, in many matters he still had to seek his father's instruction. The Mystic-rank experts of the family he could command, but Earth-rank men like Elder Bi he could not.

Zhao Guangyin entered the villa with the utmost deference and saw that the old master was already seated in the reception hall, quietly savoring a cup of fragrant tea. Zhao Guangyin hastened to bow. "Father!"

"Mm. What have you come to see me about?" Old master Zhao had been wholly absorbed in cultivation, searching for the opportunity to break through to the Earth rank, and had long since paid little attention to family affairs. Unless some grave matter arose, Zhao Guangyin would not disturb him.

Indeed, the hidden clans as a rule did not meddle in the affairs of the mundane world. Though they all more or less had companies, spokesmen, and collateral descendants out in that world, their power was nothing like that of the Four Great Families and the Five Minor Clans.

Such ventures existed only to earn a little money for the clan. The material needs of these families were not great, and with the wealth accumulated over generations, they could live on comfortably even without running companies on the outside.

Running those companies abroad was simply a way of avoiding the fate of eating through one's mountain of stored grain—using the profits earned to maintain the household, while leaving the ancestral foundations untouched wherever possible. Only thus could a family remain prosperous across the generations.

Above all, the several great hidden clans had long ago reached an understanding among themselves not to involve themselves lightly in the affairs of the mundane world. Otherwise, if all the martial experts of the world poured into that realm, the rules would be thrown into chaos—if they all came out, how would the other great families survive?

Besides, what they sought was the highest pinnacle of martial arts; their desires were for the summit and for eternal life. The glittering world outside held little interest for them.

"Father, Xiaobing has had both his legs crippled, and Mr. Zhu has been gravely wounded..." With such a calamity befalling the family, Zhao Guangyin naturally had to report it to the old master.

"Oh?" Old master Zhao's gaze sharpened. "Little Zhu is an expert of the early Mystic rank, is he not? How could he be beaten so badly? In the mundane world, apart from the Yu family's branch, whose house still has such an expert?"

Old master Zhao's words woke Zhao Guangyin as if from a dream. It struck him all at once—was not his wife's natal family the Yu family? Could it be that she had learned of his illegitimate son and hired someone to deal with Zhao Qibing?

At that thought, Zhao Guangyin's expression changed, and he grew somewhat tense. "Could it be the Yu family? Has Yu Xiaojin learned about Xiaobing?"

Yu Xiaojin was Zhao Guangyin's wife, a daughter of the Yu family—the youngest daughter, doted on by Old Master Yu. If it was Yu Xiaojin who had made the move, then it was indeed quite possible!

"Xiaojin has known about Xiaobing for a long time. The reason she never made a scene with you is that she is a woman of principle. So long as you did not bring Zhao Qibing home, she would turn a blind eye. As for hiring someone to deal with Xiaobing—that is impossible," Old master Zhao said. "Unless Xiaobing threatened her son's standing—that is, your youngest son."

"So it was not the Yu family after all?" Zhao Guangyin was taken aback. He had not expected his wife to have known about Zhao Qibing's affair long ago, while he himself had assumed she was ignorant of it. At that thought he could not help but smile bitterly. The women of the Yu family were truly no simple matter.

It had plainly been a marriage of convenience, yet all these years she had remained gentle and refined, cultured and sensible, tending to his daily needs without fail. It was hard to imagine that she had once been the cherished young mistress of the Yu family.

"I did not say that. Old man Yu is not one to swallow a loss, and Xiao Jin is his favorite. It is quite possible that he sent men after Xiaobing on Xiao Jin's account." The old master Zhao shook his head. "Do not place too much hope in that boy Xiaobing. I am not optimistic about him; he is nothing but a spoiled young master. Of course, the Zhao family is not to be bullied at will either. I have heard this matter now. Spread the word and put out a wanted notice for this man among the various hidden families. If some other family speaks up, we will take that into consideration. If no one speaks, then it means this man does not come from any hidden family!"

Zhao Guangyin was slightly startled, and could not help but admire his father's shrewdness. Indeed, he would first put out a wanted notice for this Wei Zhao among the hidden families. If Wei Zhao truly was an elite raised by another family, someone would certainly step forward to stop the Zhao family from moving against him.