Chapter 2598 — Li Cihua's Departure

"Reporting to the Old Master, judging by Old Bi's present condition, he must have failed in his breakthrough attempt, causing his blood and vital energy to flow in reverse until his body burst and killed him. This is a circumstance that often befalls ** practitioners who force a breakthrough!" Zhao the Medicine King was deeply versed in the medical arts, and knew a great deal about the healing of ** practitioners in particular; Old Bi's manner of death was not especially rare.

When ** practitioners attempt a breakthrough, they invariably face a certain degree of danger—only for some the margin is a hair's breadth, so the risk of breakthrough is comparatively small; at worst they fail, but they will never die.

The so-called forced breakthrough is this: certain ** practitioners, having reached a certain age and knowing their days are numbered, understand that unless their strength advances to the next tier they are doomed beyond question—and so they choose to force the breakthrough.

In other words, such a person still has some distance to travel before breaking through, but because time runs short, he employs some secret method to compel himself through the barrier. This is what is called shutting oneself in the gate of life and death: no breakthrough means death. And the fatal signs that follow such a seclusion—Zhao the Medicine King knew a thing or two about them.

"Failed in his breakthrough?" Though Old Master Zhao had never witnessed such a thing, he had heard of it. Hearing Zhao the Medicine King's conclusion, his expression eased considerably; recalling what Zhu the Leader had told him before, he turned to look at Zhu the Leader. "Zhu the Leader, could this Barrier-Breaking Elixir be the legendary potion used precisely for forced breakthroughs, for sealing oneself in the gate of life and death?"

"I... I don't know..." Zhu the Leader's face was ashen. "That Heaven-rank expert only told me that either he recovers and breaks through, or he dies..."

"Then that must be it!" Old Master Zhao nodded after hearing this. Thinking on it now, it truly did resemble the sealing of the gate of life and death—it was only that the thought had not occurred to him at the time. "Never mind, this is not your fault. You did not know either."

"Thank you for your understanding, Old Master!" Zhu the Leader breathed a sigh of relief and said excitedly.

"As things stand, Zhu the Second held out, but Old Bi did not... Alas, the affairs of this world are truly beyond reckoning!" Old Master Zhao said. "Still, there is cause for celebration—our Hidden Zhao family has gained another early Earth-rank expert. That counts as a good thing, I suppose!"

"Thank you for your trust, Patriarch. We two brothers will surely do our utmost in service to the family!" Zhu the Leader and Zhu the Second hastened to declare.

Yet in Zhu the Leader's heart there was only contempt. He sneered coldly to himself: serve, my arse—from now on we serve Leader Wei Zhao!

"This matter must remain an absolute secret of our Hidden Zhao family. That Heaven-rank expert surely does not wish us to go around spreading it!" Old Master Zhao pondered a moment, then gave his orders. "Old Mian, see that Old Bi is buried with all due honor—he was a great contributor to our Hidden Zhao family! And Zhu the Second, since your injuries are fully healed, you shall continue to attend Zhao Qibing as before. Zhu the Leader, you too go back to Songshan City and keep watching over Chen Xi."

"Yes!" The others answered one after another, while Zhu the Leader and Zhu the Second quietly exhaled in relief. It seemed Shen Yushu's scheme had indeed been sound—it had successfully fooled Old Master Zhao and Zhao the Medicine King. Old Bi, though, had been rather unlucky, to drop dead just like that, carrying his regrets and his bitterness with him.

In Songshan City, Li Cihua received a warning from Zou Tiandi. At first Li Cihua wanted to fly into a rage—a piddling Zou family, a third-rate clan in Songshan City at best, was nothing compared to him, no more than the sort of figure Zhong Fabai had once been!

But behind Zou Tiandi stood Wei Zhao, and Li Cihua could not quite gauge Zou Tiandi's intent, so he questioned him closely—and at the first round of questions, he was startled half to death! It was indeed Wei Zhao's will; moreover, Wei Zhao had arranged for another of his underlings, the Hidden Zhuang family, to come to Songshan City and take over some of Li Cihua's business!

This left Li Cihua utterly despondent! How had the Hidden Zhuang family become Wei Zhao's underlings? Had it been only Zou Tiandi, Li Cihua could still have stood his ground—after all, he had seen for himself that Wei Zhao was not especially close to the Zou family, and that the Zou family had merely volunteered to play the running dog. But with the Hidden Zhuang family in the picture, this was no longer something Li Cihua could contend with alone. So after ending his call with Zou Tiandi, Li Cihua immediately reported the matter to Zhao Qibing and asked him to decide.

"Hello?" Zhao Qibing was in excellent spirits, having gained another early Earth-rank enforcer. Though he himself was an early Earth-rank expert, his fighting strength was markedly inferior—built up entirely by piling on pills, and gravely lacking in real combat experience—so he considered Zhu the Second's addition a fine thing indeed. At this moment his mood was buoyant. "Cihua, is something the matter?"

"Young Master Bing, Zou Tiandi came to see me just now..." Li Cihua then recounted to Zhao Qibing how Zou Tiandi, on behalf of Wei Zhao and the Hidden Zhuang family, meant to take over the business in Songshan City. In the past, in Songshan City's entertainment trade, Li Cihua had held shares here and there; though he took no part in running things, he had never stinted on collecting his cut for doing nothing, and to simply pull out now would leave him most reluctant.

"What? The Hidden Zhuang family has become Wei Zhao's underlings too?" Zhao Qibing was both shocked and furious at Li Cihua's report. He had never imagined that the Hidden Zhuang family would throw in their lot with Wei Zhao! It struck him as somewhat fantastical. "Is this news true or false?"

"I am not entirely certain either, but Zou Tiandi swore to it most solemnly. Surely he would not dare joke about a matter concerning Wei Zhao and the Hidden Zhuang family? He does not have the nerve for it—he can afford to offend neither of the two!" Li Cihua said. This too was why he had not flown into a rage: given Zou Tiandi's timidity, he ought not to speak wildly about such things.

"Hmm... Very well, let me make some inquiries and I will get back to you." Zhao Qibing hung up, then immediately dialed Zhuang Niaodao.

At that moment, Zhuang Niaodao had already received the family's decision and formally become Wei Zhao's underling. Zhuang Niaoqiang quietly wiped the cold sweat from his brow—thank goodness he had not offended Wei Zhao during this time. Though he had dined a few times with You Panhu and Li Biaohan, he had taken no part in any move against Wei Zhao; ever since the clash at the start of the term, he could say with a clear conscience that he had never crossed Wei Zhao, and that was a relief.

Although he was the future young patriarch of the Hidden Zhuang family, he knew his own measure. He was not a ** practitioner of any particularly high rank, and relied mostly on his two younger brothers; and if Wei Zhao did not acknowledge him, his claim to the patriarch's seat would be a hundred and twenty percent down the drain!