Chapter 3160 — The Assassination of Old Wei

Yet this seemingly comfortable and untroubled life instead gave Wei Zhao a faint stirring of unease. Was this not far too peaceful? The Dongfang clan seemed to have vanished from the world entirely, which made Wei Zhao wonder: were they brewing some greater conspiracy? Or had they been thoroughly cowed?

Then there was the matter of the ancient Feng family. No further definite news had come from Feng Tianqi, father of Feng Shihua and Xu Shilan, so whether Xu Shilan meant to leave or to remain here under Wei Zhao's protection, there was still no new development.

In any case, the young lady had left the villa, and once Xu Shilan moved in, things grew considerably livelier. Since they showed no sign of leaving, Wei Zhao was quite willing to let them keep Shen Yushu company; after all, every day he was cultivating and researching the art of forging the fire of condensation, leaving him little time to talk with little Shu.

Little Shu, obedient as ever, did not come to disturb Wei Zhao. It was plain that she understood in her heart that his diligent cultivation was for her sake, for the young lady, and for Xiaoxiao... and also for the Tang Zhi he had already forgotten.

East Sea City was calm, but West Star Mountain Village had received three uninvited guests! These three were Blood Garment Ancestor, who had just emerged from seclusion with the peak late Heaven-rank cultivation of a grandmaster; Yellow Springs Ancestor, of equal strength; and the sinister Gloomy Ancestor, who possessed peak late Heaven-rank strength!

The three of them had come to West Star Mountain Village in search of a wandering physician by the name of Old Wei, for according to their investigations, this man was the one who had raised Wei Zhao, his adoptive grandfather, as dear to him as a true grandfather by blood.

Once this man was dead, Wei Zhao would surely come to West Star Mountain Village, and when he did, his hour of death would be at hand! No matter how formidable Wei Zhao was, Yellow Springs Ancestor was confident that two grandmasters at peak late Heaven-rank and one expert at peak late Heaven-rank would be enough to ensure Wei Zhao never returned from his journey!

With such a combination, to say nothing of killing someone like Wei Zhao, who had not yet reached peak late Heaven-rank strength and merely possessed the ability to fight above his level, even slaying two peak late Heaven-rank experts would be more than ample!

Of course, after arriving at West Star Mountain Village, they did not act rashly. Though this place could already be called a remote mountain village, where the Blood Garment and Yellow Springs Sect could act without alarming anyone, it was still the mortal world after all, so they dared not throw their weight around without restraint.

After all, the psychological shadow left by the Twin Vajras of that year was too great; before undertaking anything, they would always consider whether they might be violating the rules the Twin Vajras had laid down for them. If they were, the consequences would be nothing short of utter annihilation!

"Those Twin Vajras vanished over ten years ago, and this place can hardly be counted as the true mortal world anymore. The mountains are high and the emperor is far away; the Twin Vajras have no clairvoyant eyes or wind-borne ears, so how could they possibly know we are acting here?" The Gloomy Ancestor, too, could see that Yellow Springs Ancestor and Blood Garment Ancestor were somewhat daunted, and he hastened to reassure them—though he himself was a little afraid as well!

"Gloomy, you speak the truth. We act here without gods or ghosts knowing of it. However formidable the Twin Vajras may be, they cannot possibly run off to such a remote backwater! Besides, they may not even exist in this world any longer; perhaps they have already fallen for all we know!" Yellow Springs Ancestor nodded in agreement, though in truth he was also heartening himself.

"Yellow Springs, that is hard to say. I keep feeling a sense of unease." Blood Garment Ancestor, however, knitted his brows and said, "I have heard that certain peerless masters are fond of going into seclusion and living in hiding. Those two may not have vanished at all; perhaps they lurk somewhere, waiting for someone to break the rules, whereupon they leap out and reap lives!"

"Blood Garment, I think you have been in seclusion so long that you are judging others by your own experience. Even in hiding, such exalted figures could not possibly choose a place like this to hide. And we are slipping in here to act in secret; no one will know. Could Wei Zhao really have ties to those two?" Yellow Springs Ancestor waved his hand and said, "I say we should stop fretting over troubles that may never come!"

"It is not fretting over troubles that may never come; I simply feel we should be careful once the deed is done..." Blood Garment Ancestor nodded, and reflecting that he might indeed be overthinking, he said no more, but quickened his pace and walked on with the others toward West Star Mountain Village.

By day they did not act, but chose to eat at the Widow Wang's eatery at the head of the village. They claimed to be old men come to visit relatives, a pretext no one would think twice about—not even Widow Wang. After all, though visitors to West Star Mountain Village were few, there were still some; now and then people from the surrounding villages and towns came to visit kin and would stop in for a meal.

Nor did the three of them sit idle. Taking advantage of the meal, they chatted with the many villagers who came to Widow Wang's grocery and eatery, and roughly confirmed one thing: that there really was an Old Wei in this village, and he was indeed a wandering physician, and that Wei Zhao was Old Wei's adopted grandson, raised by him from childhood. It was said that Wei Zhao now worked in the city, had founded his own company, and had prospered.

This information set the hearts of the three Yellow Springs cultivators at ease. It seemed this trip had not been in vain! Their target was right here.

It was not until the sun had set that Gloomy Ancestor paid the bill and left Widow Wang's little shop together with Yellow Springs Ancestor and Blood Garment Ancestor. Though they could easily have refused to pay, they feared complications and did not tyrannize the people of the mortal world.

According to the news they had just gathered, Old Wei's dwelling was at the edge of the village—a solitary little courtyard closest to the rear mountain! Though they did not understand why Old Wei would live in such a remote, isolated compound, this suited them all the better, for it made killing convenient; otherwise, alerting the neighbors would spoil the fun!

So the three of them—Yellow Springs Ancestor and his companions—headed west all the way until they reached the vicinity of Old Wei's residence.

"Could he be asleep? Or not at home? Why is there no light?" Blood Garment Ancestor gazed at the distant residence with some puzzlement.

"Country folk go to bed early; it is only natural. Let us go and have a look. He is just an old man; he cannot get away. Even if we startle the snake in the grass, it does not matter!" Yellow Springs Ancestor waved his hand and spoke indifferently.

Blood Garment Ancestor nodded, and together with Yellow Springs Ancestor and Gloomy Ancestor, walked toward Old Wei's residence.

With a harsh creak of the door, Yellow Springs Ancestor furrowed his brow. He had meant to push the door open silently and slip into the courtyard, but never expected the shabby wooden door to make such a noise. Still, it did not matter; now that they had come, Old Wei certainly could not escape.