Chapter 2590 — The Data Is Gone
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
After Elder Su and Protector Chen returned, they reported the whole matter to the three great chiefs of the Red Conch. Hearing how it had unfolded, the three chiefs agreed that sending Military Advisor Zhuge had been truly reckless. But the one who had proposed it back then was the Third Chief—Zhuge's own patron. His idea had been to let Zhuge go and skim off some profit; by sending him, he meant to strip Great Prosperity of his real authority and bring the domestic branch under control. Yet no one had foreseen how tangled things would become. Barely had Zhuge arrived than he provoked a power that seemed no weaker than the ancient ones—and was killed with a single palm strike.
Unlucky as the affair was, the Third Chief was utterly helpless. He could blame no one but Zhuge, who had charged in without investigating the situation. All he could say was: "I was the one who proposed sending Military Advisor Zhuge to hold the fort and assist Great Prosperity. I merely feared that a single early-stage Earth-rank expert like Great Prosperity couldn't keep the place in line. I never imagined it would backfire like this!"
"Enough," said the First Chief, who naturally understood the Third Chief's original intent. But Great Prosperity's patron was only Elder Su, not any of the three chiefs, so the First Chief had not stopped the plan at the time; now that things had gone wrong, he could hardly blame the Third Chief either. "I say we don't rashly send anyone else over. Great Prosperity knows that region best. His strength is low, but he has always been steady. So I say we let him carry the load alone!"
"Agreed!" the Third Chief said at once. Matters had already come to this—who would dare go now? Never mind whether Wei Zhao might come looking for trouble at any moment; with Military Advisor Zhuge's death as a warning, no one would risk throwing his life away.
Elder Su narrowed his eyes slightly. Great Prosperity might face some trouble ahead, but standing on his own would do him good as well, so he raised no objection. Once the three chiefs had settled it, he passed the good news on to Great Prosperity.
The three chiefs, however, were unanimous in warning Great Prosperity: under no circumstances provoke Wei Zhao or the Guan Family Medicine Company, and do not even think of revenge. If they could be won over and soothed, well and good; if they refused, do not press the matter.
The three chiefs were Heaven-rank experts themselves, and at a glance they could tell that Military Advisor Zhuge's wounds had been inflicted by a single martial technique. Anyone capable of unleashing such a technique was surely ruthless, and there were likely greater masters behind him. The three chiefs were not so foolish as to seek revenge.
The Red Conch had always put profit above all. As for vengeance—only the three brothers who once ran the domestic branch could have done such a thing; everyone else was far more cold-blooded. Even the Third Chief never entertained the thought of avenging Military Advisor Zhuge. All he thought about was how to keep this matter from dragging him in.
Through Zhuge, the Red Conch had senselessly made a powerful enemy. If that enemy did nothing, fine; but if he acted, could the Third Chief escape involvement?
When Great Prosperity received the good news, his admiration for Wei Zhao flowed on and on like the rolling Yangtze. He decided that since Wei Zhao would in all likelihood wipe out the Red Conch sooner or later, he would retire cleanly when the time came and be a follower of Wei Zhao—that wouldn't be bad at all. So he resolved to commit fewer evils and accumulate more virtue, lest Wei Zhao refuse to take him in.