Chapter 2572 — Ying Ziyu's Lie

"You know as well as I do that the Hidden Zhao family and the Hidden Zhuang family were much the same back then—no Heaven-rank experts to speak of, scraping the bottom of the barrel among the hidden clans. A marriage alliance with the Yu family alone was never going to be enough. To claw its way up, the Hidden Zhao family has always dreamed of finding itself a patron," Chief Zhu said. "So once Chen Xi succeeds, she'll be presented to some promising young talent of an ancient sect as a cultivation cauldron, and in exchange the Hidden Zhao family gets itself a backer at the ancient-sect level."

"I see." Wei Zhao nodded. No wonder the Hidden Zhao family had never come over to his side and had opposed him at every turn—they had a hidden card to play all along. Still, it was understandable. Compared to Wei Zhao, a backer at the ancient-sect level was nothing but a minnow beside a whale.

The trouble was that the Hidden Zhao family suffered from a shallow view of things; they had overlooked Wei Zhao's capacity for growth. In so short a time, he had gone from a Yellow-rank expert who could be wounded by Uncle Zhu to a mid-stage Earth-rank peak expert capable of skipping ranks and one-shotting Heaven-rank fighters. Such a rate of growth was simply breathtaking.

Wei Zhao might not yet possess the power of an ancient sect, but what of him after a while? If they knew of his plan to mass-produce Heaven-rank experts with Spirit-Gathering Pills, they would probably think twice.

"You keep Chen Xi safe. If they make a move on her, tell me first," Wei Zhao said.

"Understood, Mr. Lin." Chief Zhu could not fathom why Wei Zhao still would not move against the Hidden Zhao family. With his abilities, wiping them out ought to be the work of minutes. What he did not know was that while Wei Zhao could indeed destroy the Hidden Zhao family, it would be a considerable strain—he could only pick them off one by one, striking from the shadows. And the moment the other hidden clans that bore him a grudge decided Wei Zhao had become a threat they could no longer ignore, they would band together and fight him to the bitter end.

And when that time came, it would be more than a fight to the bitter end. Wei Zhao knew his own limits well enough: a sneak attack on a single Heaven-rank expert was no problem, but facing several Heaven-rank experts head-on would be little short of walking to his own death.

As things stood, so long as Wei Zhao did not wipe out any one family root and branch, they would not join forces. Each had its own calculations, and none was willing to stick its neck out and be the first to be picked off as the offending bird. Thus a delicate balance held.

Wei Zhao's task was to maintain that balance as best he could, to draw as many hidden clans to his side as possible—to turn enemies into friends where he could. And where he could not, he would at least refrain from striking at them outright until he was absolutely certain of victory.

"Mm. Your brother, Zhu the Second—how are his injuries?" Wei Zhao asked mildly. If he wanted Chief Zhu to follow him with wholehearted devotion, he could not withhold a few favors; and Zhu the Second's injuries were the perfect opening. If Wei Zhao healed him, Chief Zhu would surely follow him in earnest.

"He..." Chief Zhu's expression faltered at the question, and a flash of incredulous joy crossed his eyes. "The Second—he's crippled now. Mr. Lin, do you mean..."

"Find a suitable opportunity, and I'll treat him," Wei Zhao said with a nod. "Serve me well, and I'll raise Zhu the Second's cultivation as well—late-stage Mystic-rank peak is not out of the question."

"Ah!" Chief Zhu had not expected Wei Zhao to truly mean to heal his brother—and more than that, to raise him to late-stage Mystic-rank peak. What joyous news! To think that at the outset, Chief Zhu's fondest hope had been merely to mend Zhu the Second's meridians so that he could walk the path of a cultivator once more. Now Wei Zhao's promise far exceeded that hope, and for the first time Chief Zhu felt the impulse to follow Wei Zhao in true earnest. "Thank you, Mr. Lin!"

Wei Zhao waved a hand. "You've surely noticed by now—I've never shortchanged anyone who serves me in earnest. The Liu and Wu families of the mundane world, the Hidden Han and Hidden Pi families—all of them have reaped their due rewards."

"I understand. Rest assured, Mr. Lin—from now on, my brother and I will follow you through thick and thin!" Chief Zhu said excitedly.

"Ha. I still have some minor Spirit-Gathering Pills on hand. If he wants to break through to Earth-rank, that's not impossible either," Wei Zhao said with a smile. "It all depends on how you two brothers perform."

"I understand!" Chief Zhu said, his voice thick with excitement.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Ying Ziyu laid Chen Xi on the bed, and before long she began to stir. She had slept for quite a while, and her strength had long since returned. Drowsily she sat up, looked around at her surroundings with some puzzlement, and could not help but be surprised.

"Huh? What am I doing at home?" Chen Xi rubbed her eyes, made sure she was truly awake and not seeing things, and then called out, "Sister Ziyu? Are you there?"

"Xiao Xi, you're awake?" Hearing Chen Xi's call, Ying Ziyu hurried into the bedroom.

"Did I... fall asleep?" Chen Xi looked at Ying Ziyu with some suspicion. "Sister Ziyu, weren't we at school? How did we end up home all of a sudden? I remember... Brother Wei Zhao seemed to have come, and we went to the school gate to find him? Where is Brother Wei Zhao?"

"Uh..." Ying Ziyu's head ached. Looking at Chen Xi, she could not bring herself to tell her the whole truth—Wei Zhao clearly did not want Chen Xi anywhere near such violent business. So Ying Ziyu could only say vaguely, "Well, we did go to the school gate to find Brother Wei Zhao, but it wasn't really Brother Wei Zhao—it was Chen Xiaoba in disguise. He wanted revenge on the two of us, and when we opened the car door, his lackeys knocked you unconscious. So I fought them off. You know I used to be a gang leader, Xiao Xi—dealing with a few petty thugs is nothing to me..."

"Ah... I see..." Chen Xi was taken aback by Ying Ziyu's account, and disappointed too that Wei Zhao had not really come. "Those people really are awful. You're not hurt, are you?"

"Not at all—they were nothing before your Sister Ziyu!" Ying Ziyu said. "Then I drove them off, saw you'd fainted, and carried you home on my shoulder."

"Fainted? Carried me? Home?" Chen Xi's eyes went wide, and she found it hard to believe. "Sister Ziyu, why didn't you take me back to school or to the infirmary? Wouldn't that have been easier? Our neighborhood is a fair distance from the school—carrying me... all that way? Could you really manage?"