Chapter 4613 — Are You Out of Your Mind?

But when he saw the一号 residence ablaze with light, and above all heard the peals of laughter and cheerful voices spilling out from within, Ma Dangfeng's already wretched face turned an even more ghastly white. To think that bastard had even seized his own dwelling—damn that Wei Zhao to hell, the arrogant swine had gone too far!

"Bro Qiang, what are we going to do now?" The two lackeys turned to Ma Dangfeng with faces full of dismay. Listening to the voices of Wei Zhao and his lot inside, they would not have dared to step through that gate for anything—they did not even dare come within a hundred zhang of the place. A man of Ma Dangfeng's strength had nearly died a senseless death; for two lowly lackeys like them, walking in would be plain suicide...

The two lackeys were afraid, but in truth Ma Dangfeng was even more afraid. Now, even at the mere thought of Wei Zhao's name, he could not stop his whole body from trembling. Losing was not what terrified him; what truly terrified him was not even knowing how he had lost. Just how vast was the gulf in strength between them?

Ma Dangfeng did not dare dwell on it, and still less did he dare face Wei Zhao again. Though the一号 residence was nominally still his, even if he were given ten thousand times the courage, he would never dare go demand it from Wei Zhao to his face. He was arrogant, but he was not stupid.

"Take me to the Chongtian Pavilion—I want to see Bro Chong, hurry!" Ma Dangfeng ground out through clenched teeth, on the verge of hysteria. Under the lash of his fury, the unhealed wounds on both legs burst open and bled without cease, and the pain nearly knocked him unconscious—yet he forced himself to hold on. This humiliation was one he would sooner die than swallow. He would not accept it!

The two lackeys did not dare delay. They hoisted Ma Dangfeng up at once and hurried off toward the Chongtian Pavilion, heedless of the gathering dusk. They pounded on the gate that very night and, all in a fluster, carried him into Xu Lingchong's residence.

This place, like the一号 residence of the Qingyun Pavilion, was brightly lit at that moment. Xu Lingchong himself was there, and so too were Meng Zhou, Kang Jingming, Zhong Yongliang, and the rest of his trusted inner circle—for tonight was their customary meeting day.

When they saw the pitiful state Ma Dangfeng was in, Xu Lingchong and the others were struck dumb. That very morning Ma Dangfeng had told them he was setting off for the Southern Island—how had he suddenly wound up like this?

"Bro Chong, I saw Wei Zhao." Ma Dangfeng's opening words sent a shock through everyone. News of Wei Zhao's return was already spreading like wildfire out in the world, but these men had been shut up in here holding their meeting and had known nothing of it until now.

At the sound of that name—one that made their teeth itch with hatred yet left them utterly helpless—the expressions of Xu Lingchong and the others all turned exceedingly subtle. Zhong Yongliang in particular was secretly elated; like Lu Bianren and the others, he had been worrying about Wei Zhao all along, and now at last his heart could rest easy.

"Wei Zhao? When did that thing get back?" Xu Lingchong's expression shifted.

"Just today. I ran into him when I went to the Northern Island Cultivators' Guild to take on a mission, and then... and then..." Ma Dangfeng looked down at the bandages on his legs, soaked through with blood, and said with grief and indignation written across his face, "I've been reduced to this state all because of that bastard Wei Zhao. Bro Chong, you've got to stand up for me!"

"You traded blows with him?" Xu Lingchong frowned and glanced at his knees.

"Yes. I meant to vent some of your anger for you, Bro Chong. I challenged him openly in front of everyone, but I never expected the bastard to be even more formidable than I imagined—I let my guard down and fell for his dirty trick. Bro Chong, you've got to win this face back for us. Don't let that bastard get so full of himself..." Ma Dangfeng said sheepishly, his face burning with shame. Though he was already haunted by the unfathomable methods Wei Zhao had shown, he could not admit weakness aloud—otherwise how would he ever show his face in public again?

Ma Dangfeng stared fixedly at Xu Lingchong. Their whole faction had long been at irreconcilable odds with Wei Zhao, and the reason he had crossed paths with Wei Zhao this time was precisely the mission Xu Lingchong had assigned him. So by any reckoning, in reason and in sentiment, Xu Lingchong would surely step forward for him. And with Young Master Xu's strength, he would certainly not let that bastard Wei Zhao off easy—then at last this foul grievance would be vented!

Yet Xu Lingchong's next words left him dumbstruck: "Are you out of your mind? Is there shit where your brain ought to be?"

"Huh?" Ma Dangfeng could not react for a moment.

"I told you to find out what Wei Zhao was up to—did I ever tell you to provoke him, to go pick a fight with him on your own?" Xu Lingchong said, his face expressionless.

"But... but..." Ma Dangfeng looked utterly wronged. When the mission had been handed down, Xu Lingchong truly had not said anything about doing anything to Wei Zhao. But whenever Wei Zhao's name came up at their usual meetings, everyone was always so filled with righteous fury that they wished they could hack the fellow to pieces—and wasn't all the trouble of seeking out Wei Zhao precisely in order to deal with him? Was he wrong?

"Hmph—but nothing! Even I don't dare cross that thing lightly, and you went and did it anyway? You think you're more capable than me now, do you?" Xu Lingchong's face darkened. He turned and pointed at the others. "Here—go on, ask them. Ask if there's a single one among them who'd dare go pick a fight with Wei Zhao alone."

At that, Ma Dangfeng looked over at the crowd, his gaze sweeping across Meng Zhou, Kang Jingming, and Zhong Yongliang—and found every last one of them shaking his head. He was utterly floored. From what he knew, none of these men were cowards, so how could they be this afraid of that bastard Wei Zhao?

Even if their strength fell a little short, surely that was no reason to shake their heads so adamantly. They practically had the words "I fear Wei Zhao" written across their faces—had they no shame left at all?

What he failed to realize was that although Xu Lingchong and the others were all proud and high-spirited men, they were no fools. They had already paid such a bloody price at Wei Zhao's hands—if they still could not learn their lesson after all that, then their brains would truly be the problem.

"You see that? You dumb son of a bitch! Every person here outranks you—not one of them dares provoke Wei Zhao, and you did? You even challenged him to a duel in public? You're lucky he didn't kill you this time!" Xu Lingchong jabbed a finger at Ma Dangfeng's nose and cursed him roundly. "I sent you to gather intelligence, not to deliver yourself to death at his doorstep! You little bastard—did you think your wings had grown strong enough to treat my words as so much wind past your ear?"

"N-no... I wouldn't dare..." Ma Dangfeng shook his head frantically, his already ugly complexion turning even paler with fright. If Xu Lingchong truly believed he had developed a second mind, then he was as good as dead.

"I know you've been making quite a splash lately—top newcomer king of the Nascent Soul stage, future heir to the Sandie Pavilion, and so you think you're something special, do you? Let me tell you, back in the day Meng and I were far more impressive than you, and even we couldn't get the better of Wei Zhao. Who the hell do you think you are? Stupid as you are, you could make a pig faint with rage!" Xu Lingchong kept up his torrent of abuse, paying no heed whatsoever to his image as a young master. (To be continued...)