Chapter 2667 — The Family's Secret Art

"Brother... you mean it wasn't Wei Zhao who sent you to talk to me about this?" Yu Xiaoke was somewhat taken aback, feeling as though she had misjudged something.

"No, why would Mr. Lin send me?" Yu Dake was equally startled and asked in puzzlement.

"Well, the thing is like this..." Yu Xiaoke then told Yu Dake about how Wei Zhao had helped her time and again, and how most of the profits from Wei Zhao's company had been poured into building the orphanage: "Brother, if Wei Zhao has no feelings for me, then I truly can't figure out what he's after. Could it really be that he just wants to help me?"

"That..." Yu Dake fell silent. Yes, he was no callow youth fresh to society; in his years hidden away in the Hidden Right Clan, scheming and maneuvering against rivals, he had witnessed far too many exchanges of interest, and so he naturally understood Yu Xiaoke's misgivings. Moreover, he knew full well that Wei Zhao had saved him simply to plant a nail within the Hidden Right Clan—except that Wei Zhao's strength had now surged so greatly that he no longer needed a nail like him. And regardless of all that, Yu Dake was grateful to Wei Zhao for saving his life; nail or no nail, he did not care.

But his sister had a point too. Wei Zhao really was a little too good to the orphanage—one might even call it excessively good—and the only thing Wei Zhao could possibly covet was Yu Xiaoke's beauty. Otherwise, what on earth was he after?

Could it really be simple charity? But there were many ways to give charity, and this was not the only orphanage nearby; East Sea City had orphanages too. Even if theirs were not as large as Yu Xiaoke's, he had never heard of Wei Zhao donating to them...

"Brother, what... what should I do?" Yu Xiaoke was somewhat at a loss. "Truly, by both feeling and reason, since he has treated me this way, I ought to give myself to him in return. But there is someone else in my heart. Even if I forced myself to be with him, I could promise my body would not stray, but I cannot promise my thoughts would not... Rather than be unhappy, I would sooner..."

"Then why don't you speak plainly with Mr. Lin?" Yu Dake asked. "Mr. Lin seems a reasonable man; surely he would not force you against your will?"

"I have said so, but he won't admit it. He says he doesn't like me, so what more can I say?" Yu Xiaoke smiled bitterly. "But brother, do you believe it? That he treats me this way merely out of help, asking nothing in return? And he even brought you to see me—I suspect that's part of the reason too. I guess he knows there's someone else in my heart and wants to move me little by little this way, to make me come to him of my own accord? That's the only explanation I can think of..."

"Ah, never mind. Since that's how it is, I'll have a good talk with Mr. Lin in a bit and hope he understands." Yu Dake was somewhat resigned, but there was nothing else to be done. He did not want his sister to be unhappy. There were many ways to repay Wei Zhao—giving herself to him was one, but it was not the only way. Yu Dake thought that if he ever had his revenge, he would come and serve as Wei Zhao's loyal henchman, following him at his heel, and that too would count as repaying his kindness.

"Mm..." Hearing her brother's words, Yu Xiaoke nodded happily at once. "Brother, you're the best!"

"Originally, I wanted Mr. Lin to protect you for the rest of your life, but now it seems that won't do..." Here Yu Dake lowered his voice. "Still, it's not as though there's no way... In our family there is a secret art handed down from our ancestors, passed from mother to daughter, never to sons. That secret art is in my keeping; next time I'll bring it to you. Your bloodline will allow you to cultivate it too. When that time comes, you'll have only your own cultivation to protect yourself. The process will be somewhat painful, but I must give you the ability to defend yourself!"

"What?" Yu Xiaoke's eyes went wide. She had never imagined that her family still possessed an ancestral cultivation art!

"But you must cultivate this secret art in secret, and before you have mastered it, you must never reveal it before others, lest disaster befall you. Back then, our family suffered its great upheaval precisely because of this secret art..." Yu Dake said cautiously. "Xiaoke, do you understand?"

"I... understand!" Yu Xiaoke nodded solemnly, her breathing a little quick, her heart pounding violently. Never had she imagined that her family's secret art was so important—an art that could bring death upon its possessor; what a formidable thing it must be!

At the same time, Yu Xiaoke felt a certain relief and joy. If her strength advanced by leaps and bounds, could she not then be together with the male thief? And with that strength, the way she repaid Wei Zhao could also become risking her life in his service, rather than selling her body.

"Mm, remember, you must not speak of it to anyone, not even your master!" Yu Dake enjoined gravely. "Fortunately, you have only trained in external martial arts and never cultivated an internal family's mental method. Otherwise, if you had cultivated some other internal method, it would be impossible to cultivate this one..."

"Mm..." Yu Xiaoke silently counted herself lucky, and only then did she realize why her brother had said it was well she had not cultivated an internal method and had trained in external arts instead—so this was the reason! In truth, the old director of the orphanage did possess internal mental methods, but she had simply never let Yu Xiaoke cultivate them, fearing that if Yu Xiaoke did, their enemies would discover it and come looking for her. After all, Yu Xiaoke often went out and showed herself in public, so the chance of exposure was far higher than her own; thus she had taught Yu Xiaoke only the external art of lightness, which by a strange twist of fate had turned out for the best.

"All right, we brother and sister have talked enough. Mr. Lin is still waiting outside; let's hurry and let him in!" Yu Dake said.

"All right." Yu Xiaoke's mood had improved considerably—first, because she now had a formidable mental method and mnemonic verse to cultivate, and second, because her brother had promised to explain her situation clearly to Wei Zhao—so the gloom that had clouded her face was gone.

Wei Zhao was a gentleman, and while Yu Dake and Yu Xiaoke talked, he had not eavesdropped; instead he stood at the end of the corridor gazing at the night view. Hearing the door open, Wei Zhao turned and walked over. "Finished talking?"

"Mm, Mr. Lin, I'm sorry—it took a little long. You weren't getting impatient, were you?" Yu Dake said apologetically.

"Not at all. Brother and sister reunited after so long apart—naturally you'd have a great deal of heartfelt words to share. This was already quick." Wei Zhao smiled. "I was all set to sit on the floor and cultivate!"

"That's good, then. Mr. Lin, please come in!" Yu Dake made a gesture of invitation and let Wei Zhao into the room.

After entering, Wei Zhao glanced at the room's furnishings, then sat straight down on Yu Xiaoke's bed. In truth, this was because in his heart he had naturally conflated her image with that of the male thief.