Chapter 2979 — Bringing Good News

Everyone present, including Wei Zhao's other lackeys in the living room, only understood after hearing his account: Zhao Qilei had been forced into it back then. Had he not done so, Wei Zhao might well have been kept in the Hidden Zhao family. What looked like Zhao Qilei's betrayal of Wei Zhao had in truth been his way of helping him!

"Boss, you really are brilliant—I nearly got beaten to death!" Seeing that the way everyone looked at him had softened considerably, Zhao Qilei finally let out a breath of relief.

"A few stones could beat you to death?" Wu Chengtian gave a cold snort. "If you hadn't failed to see through your grandfather's scheme in time, the boss wouldn't have gotten hurt! Your Zhao family—you people are simply no good. Look at our Wu family, the Han family, the Pi family, the Zhuang family—every one of us follows Boss Wei Zhao!"

"Well... there was nothing I could do about it! The old man Zhao is shortsighted—you can't pin that on me," Zhao Qilei said a little helplessly.

"All right, enough about Qitan. I couldn't see through this myself; no one imagined Old Master Zhao would offer two hundred million to bribe me. That's a huge sum—even for a Hidden family, it isn't easy to produce, especially for the Zhao family, who haven't made much money lately. So when the money was offered, right when I needed it most, I never suspected Old Master Zhao had other motives," Wei Zhao said, smoothing things over.

"Thank you, boss..." Zhao Qilei said gratefully. "By the way, boss, your injuries... are they all healed?"

"Healed!" Wei Zhao nodded. "Thanks to Jingyi—she used the Sun family's mental cultivation method to restore both my meridians and my dantian!"

"Wonderful! Boss, you can finally be your old self again and come back to the Zhao family with me to demand justice!" Zhao Qilei stood up excitedly. He was utterly disillusioned with the Zhao family and no longer held any of his former feelings for them, for in Old Master Zhao's eyes he was nothing but a usable tool, a pawn to be discarded once used. That chilled Zhao Qilei to the bone. From the moment he started calling Old Master Zhao "the old man Zhao," he had resolved to cut all ties with the Zhao family for good!

"??" Wei Zhao was stunned, and so was everyone else in the room; they all stared at Zhao Qilei, somewhat speechless.

"Qitan, the boss has only recovered his dantian and meridians—his strength hasn't returned. True, we have an early Heaven-rank expert like Old Master Pi among us, but even so, we're not confident we could take down the Hidden Zhao family in one stroke! Besides, if we go after the Hidden Zhao family and the Hidden You family, the Qianshan Sect, and the Jinzhong Sect all intervene at the same time, won't our chances be even slimmer?" Han Xiaohu raised an objection to Zhao Qilei's proposal.

"Strength is easy!" Zhao Qilei said. "What worried me most was his meridians and dantian. Once those are restored, regaining his strength and breaking through to Heaven rank is a matter of minutes!"

"What? Zhao Qilei, are you running a fever? Aren't you talking nonsense?" Han Xiaohu was somewhat exasperated. "Sure, the Xuandan Sect promised the boss they'd refine a Qi Gathering Pill for him, but they're still dragging their feet and haven't given a firm answer. And even if they do deliver the Qi Gathering Pill, it's only one pill—we're still one short, so it won't help!"

"We don't need a Qi Gathering Pill!" Zhao Qilei wasn't annoyed; he merely shook his head mysteriously and pulled a delicate little wooden box from his pocket. "Guess what fine thing I've brought back?"

"A Qi Gathering Pill?" Han Xiaohu said instinctively, then shook his head. "No, you just said we don't need a Qi Gathering Pill. Then what is it? Could it be the antidote?"

"It shouldn't be the antidote!" Old Master Pi shook his head. "Qitan said earlier that Mr. Lin could break through to Heaven rank in a matter of minutes—a mere antidote couldn't do that. Could it be some kind of substitute for the Qi Gathering Pill?"

"Ha ha, Old Master Pi, you really are old and wise!" Zhao Qilei laughed and opened the wooden box in his hand. A rich, potent medicinal fragrance spread out, giving everyone present a jolt!

Cultivators especially—upon smelling it, it seemed as though even their cultivation speed would quicken!

"Hm?" Wei Zhao was rather surprised, because the scent of the pill Zhao Qilei had produced was remarkably close to the fragrance emanating from Wang Xinyan's body! This discovery struck Wei Zhao as very strange.

"What is it, boss?" Seeing the odd expression on Wei Zhao's face, Zhao Qilei quickly asked.

"Nothing..." Wei Zhao shook his head and asked, "What is this thing?"

Naturally, Wei Zhao could not say that the scent on Wang Xinyan was the same as this pill's. Only a few people knew that Wang Xinyan could help Wei Zhao cultivate; these lackeys were unaware of it. Besides, such a private matter was hardly something Wei Zhao could carelessly mention. He was simply curious about what this pill was.

"This pill is called the Intermediate Qi Gathering Pill!" Zhao Qilei explained. "Zhao Qiwu found a hundred-thousand-year spirit herb in the Ice Palace and received it as a reward. They say the recipe for this Intermediate Qi Gathering Pill was lost long ago and can no longer be refined! But although a single Intermediate Qi Gathering Pill is far less effective than a Qi Gathering Pill—only about half as effective, or even a bit less—it lacks the Qi Gathering Pill's drawback of preventing further cultivation after being taken!"

"Oh? The Intermediate Qi Gathering Pill?" It was the first time Wei Zhao had heard the name, but it sounded like a fine thing indeed! It was just a pity that taking it himself would be a waste—the Qi Gathering Pill had no drawbacks for him either.

"Yes. I'm told that all the Intermediate Qi Gathering Pills left are stock from a very long time ago. The recipe is lost, and no alchemist can refine them anymore—each one eaten is one fewer in the world," Zhao Qilei nodded and said.

"Something so precious, and Zhao Qiwu actually gave it up..." Wei Zhao was moved. These pills were undoubtedly a gift in the snow!

"Boss, if Sister Xiaoxiao hadn't been serving as deputy palace master of the Ice Palace, do you think the Ice Palace would have given such a lavish reward to an ordinary outer-sect disciple? Not only a reward, but a promotion to outer-sect steward—that's simply unrealistic! Unless Zhao Qiwu has lost his mind, he must realize on whose account he got all this," Zhao Qilei explained. "So, boss, you can take this pill with a clear conscience—no need for any guilt or embarrassment. You've earned it! Besides, you ended up in this state because of me. As your lackey, it's only natural that I provide you a pill to help cure the poison!" (To be continued)