Chapter 664 — What Level of Strength?

The driver was left in awe of Wei Zhao. Only after Wei Zhao pulled the car to a stop in front of the hospital did the man come back to his senses — this was nothing short of a driving god! He glanced at the time: nineteen minutes! A miracle, utterly unbelievable!

He had never imagined that his beat-up old car, worth a few tens of thousands and five years on the road, had the potential of a sports car — had even outrun one?

As Wei Zhao got out, his phone rang again. He assumed it was Shen Yushu calling to ask whether he had arrived, but the caller ID read Guan Xuewen.

Wei Zhao answered as he walked toward the hospital: "Hello, Grandpa Guan. Is something the matter?"

Anxious about the young lady's safety, Wei Zhao kept his tone polite with Guan Xuewen, yet a thread of urgency ran through it; he wanted to finish the call as quickly as possible.

"Xiaoyi, where are you? If you're not busy, could you come over?" Guan Xuewen had caught the haste in Wei Zhao's voice, and the thought that Wei Zhao might have something on his hands made his heart clench.

If Wei Zhao could not come, then there truly would be no hope left at all.

"I'm at the Second People's Hospital. A friend of mine is in trouble, and I'm rushing to treat them — I'm afraid I don't have time right now!" Wei Zhao answered quickly. "I'm sorry, Grandpa Guan. Once I'm done here, I'll call you back, all right?"

Even as he spoke, Wei Zhao had already pushed open the door and burst into the emergency room. A doctor tried to grab hold of him, but how could anyone match Wei Zhao's speed? In the blink of an eye he was inside.

Guan Xuewen was briefly startled by Wei Zhao's words. Wei Zhao was at the Second People's Hospital too? And why had there been an echo when he spoke? Guan Xuewen looked up — and saw a figure hurtling toward him. Who else could it be but Wei Zhao?

Wei Zhao had come? Could Wei Zhao's friend be one of the poisoned students? The moment the possibility crossed Guan Xuewen's mind, his heart eased. If that were so, then those students really did have hope!

Guan Xuewen rose hurriedly and followed after him: "Xiaoyi!"

Hearing his name called, Wei Zhao froze for a moment; listening closely, he recognized Guan Xuewen's voice. He glanced at the phone by his ear — the sound had not come from the phone, but from behind him.

Wei Zhao turned around, surprised: "Grandpa Guan? What are you doing here?"

"Is your friend one of the students who collapsed?" Guan Xuewen asked urgently, without answering Wei Zhao's question.

"Oh?" Wei Zhao was taken aback, then understanding dawned. "I see. Grandpa Guan, you called me here for the students too, didn't you? But whether or not someone you know is among them, I have to go see my friend first. I'm sorry — I'll come over once I've finished."

Wei Zhao politely made his position clear. Close as his ties with Guan Xuewen were, the one who had fainted was not Guan Xuewen — so Wei Zhao still had to check on the young lady first.

"Ha ha, no one I know is among them. Go and see your friend. As long as the cause of the collapse is clear, treatment can begin — I was merely invited here to examine the patients." Guan Xuewen waved a hand, telling Wei Zhao to set his mind at ease and focus on treating his friend.

Wei Zhao nodded. So Guan Xuewen was worried about the students' condition; he had misjudged the old man.

"All right, then I'll go see my friend first!" Wei Zhao nodded and began looking for Gu Mengyao's room. He had not gone far when he spotted Gu Pengzhan, Qing Bo and Shen Yushu in one of the rooms — clearly this was Gu Mengyao's isolation ward.

Wei Zhao pushed the door open and walked in. Gu Pengzhan was not at all sure of Wei Zhao's medical skill; when Xiaoshu had called Wei Zhao earlier, Gu Pengzhan had assumed it was simply a case of a panicked patient turning to any doctor she could find, and had never truly believed Wei Zhao could cure his daughter. Qing Bo, however, was deep in thought. He knew Wei Zhao's abilities were no simple matter — two Yellow-rank experts had died at his hands, so how formidable must his skills be?

At first, Qing Bo had suspected Wei Zhao of possessing late Yellow-rank strength. But a few days ago he had heard that Wei Zhao had exchanged a palm strike with Uncle Zhu, the man at Zhao Qibing's side, and Qing Bo had been stunned on the spot. Qing Bo had naturally heard of Uncle Zhu's reputation: in his early years, Zhu Laoliu had been a name to be reckoned with in the martial world, possessing early Mystic-rank strength and all but without a rival.

Later it was said that a certain family had taken him in, and he had unexpectedly become one of Zhao Qibing's men. A fighter of that caliber, even if he had made no breakthrough in the past dozen years, could not possibly have regressed — early Mystic-rank strength was a certainty. Yet after exchanging palms with Wei Zhao, the man had seemed utterly unaffected, showing no sign of injury at all. That was what astonished Qing Bo.

Just what was Wei Zhao's level of strength? Could he too be an early Mystic-rank expert? Only an expert of the same Mystic rank could go head-to-head with Uncle Zhu like that! Of course, if Wei Zhao were of mid Mystic rank, then even though a head-on clash would not leave him unscathed, he would certainly be able to kill Uncle Zhu.

But now Uncle Zhu was not dead, and Wei Zhao was not injured — which was rather strange! If Wei Zhao's strength truly far exceeded Uncle Zhu's, then emerging unharmed was possible. But if Wei Zhao's strength truly far exceeded Uncle Zhu's, could Uncle Zhu have survived? He would surely have died long ago, wouldn't he?

A capable fighter of the middle Mystic rank could kill an opponent in a clash of brute force like that, though he would surely be wounded too. Yet Wei Zhao was unharmed and had not killed Zhu Bo. The only explanations were either that Wei Zhao had not gone all out, or that his medical skill was so extraordinary that he had healed himself.

And most important of all, Wei Zhao had indeed been injured that night and had even tended his wounds at Fatty Lai's home. Qing Bo had not witnessed the scene and had no idea how badly Wei Zhao was hurt, but from inference alone he could conclude it was likely no light matter.

It was precisely for this reason that Qing Bo suspected Wei Zhao's medical skill must also be highly accomplished.

When Gu Pengzhan saw Guan Xuewen enter together with Wei Zhao, he was at once somewhat delighted. After all, Guan Xuewen was known as Doctor Guan; if he could examine his daughter, perhaps there was still hope. But Gu Pengzhan quickly noticed that Guan Xuewen seemed to defer to Wei Zhao, always trailing half a step behind him with a most respectful expression on his face, which left Gu Pengzhan rather puzzled.