Chapter 69 — Why Not Invite Him Along? (Please Vote, Bookmark and Support)

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There was no time for explanations. Zhong Yongliang turned and ran. Gao Xiaofu and Zhang Naipao saw that Zhong Yongliang had bolted, and since neither of them was a match for Wei Zhao anyway, they spun around and fled after him, legs pumping.

Kang Xiaofeng had squeezed his eyes shut and craned his neck, ready to go down fighting. But he waited and waited, and nothing came from Zhong Yongliang. Puzzled, he cracked one eye open for a look—and found the three of them running up ahead like startled rabbits, already a blur of dust.

"Huh?" Kang Xiaofeng froze. What was going on? Could it be that his earlier tiger-body shudder and surge of kingly aura, plus that line—"One day I'll pay you back tenfold, a hundredfold!"—had actually scared Zhong Yongliang and his crew away?

No way. Then wouldn't that make him the protagonist of some novel out of legend?

While Kang Xiaofeng was still reeling in disbelief, a large hand landed on his shoulder. He jumped, whirled around, and found Wei Zhao standing behind him with a grin. "What are you standing around spacing out for?"

"Ah!" Kang Xiaofeng was startled to see Wei Zhao—and in that instant it clicked why the three of them had turned tail and run. It wasn't his so-called tiger-body shudder or a burst of kingly aura. It was because Wei Zhao had shown up, and those three rats had fled at the sight of him.

"Let's go, or we'll miss the ride!" Wei Zhao patted Kang Xiaofeng's shoulder, then turned and strode quickly toward the next intersection, where Uncle Qing parked his car every day.

Earlier, when Wei Zhao and Kang Xiaofeng had split up, he had glanced back out of the corner of his eye and seen Kang Xiaofeng surrounded by Zhong Yongliang and the others. Wei Zhao knew perfectly well that Kang Xiaofeng was no match for Zhong Yongliang, so he had gone to break it up.

Kang Xiaofeng drew a deep breath, wanting to say a word of thanks, only to find that Wei Zhao had already walked off and vanished. Kang Xiaofeng clenched his fist. When would he ever be able to stand tall like Wei Zhao, like a real man?

He had only transferred here two days ago, and already he had brought Zhong Yongliang—one of the school's Four Great Tyrants—to heel…

Wei Zhao got back into Uncle Qing's Bentley. Gu Mengyao frowned; she said nothing about his getting in. But Shen Yushu looked at Wei Zhao with a grin. "Well, aren't you something, Mr. Arrow-Shield? Zhong Yongliang and his gang actually turned and ran the moment they saw you?"

Hearing Shen Yushu say that, Wei Zhao knew she must have seen from the car how he had gone to help Kang Xiaofeng. He smiled noncommittally.

"Yaoyao, see? I told you Wei Zhao was up to the job. With him around you, Zhong Yongliang definitely won't bother you again!" Shen Yushu tugged at Gu Mengyao's hand.

"He's not much better than Zhong Yongliang!" Gu Mengyao snorted. Privately, though, she was puzzled. Could Wei Zhao really be that capable? Bringing Zhong Yongliang to heel in two days? Hmph—he's probably just a bit better at fighting.

Wei Zhao was used to Gu Mengyao's attitude by now and paid it no mind. A rich young lady, after all—they were always a little harder to please. As long as she didn't find him utterly unbearable, that was enough. He was here on a mission anyway—a mission whose reward would let him eat for the rest of his life.

Back at the villa, Wei Zhao saw the tissue box on the living-room table and was reminded of that embarrassing scene that morning. Then he noticed Shen Yushu rolling her eyes slyly off to the side, and he knew at once it was bad news. What scheme was this little miss cooking up now to make him do? Wei Zhao hurried back to his own room.

Today at the bookstore he had looked up some books on the properties and pharmacology of herbs. While the material was still fresh in his mind, Wei Zhao wanted to write it all down as quickly as possible and then work out a feasible treatment plan for Yang Huaijun.

Yang Huaijun's entire bodily function had been thrown into chaos by medication—both Chinese and Western drugs. They kept him alive for the moment, but to put it bluntly, he was a crossbow at full draw: any tiny lesion could turn fatal.

To heal all the damaged internal organs at once was impossible. Even the old man himself probably didn't have that ability—and besides, Wei Zhao had already inherited all of the old man's true teachings.

After carefully checking Yang Huaijun's pulse today, Wei Zhao realized that the root of the man's illness lay in his meridians being completely severed. With the meridians connecting the five viscera and six bowels cut off, the organs' functions were bound to suffer, leading to organ failure.

In that case, Wei Zhao decided to start with the damaged meridians. Once the meridians throughout the body were unblocked, the organs' functions would naturally recover as well. Yang Huaijun was only in his twenties, not yet at the stage of bodily decline—all this could recover on its own.

Only after writing out a satisfactory prescription and treatment plan did Wei Zhao breathe a sigh of relief. Though he had been confident before that he could restore Yang Huaijun to normal, until he had a workable plan in hand, he had still been a little worried.

Ah, Wei Zhao sighed. If he could teach Yang Huaijun the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art that he himself cultivated, all this trouble would be unnecessary. But he had promised the old man: apart from the old man and his own master, no fourth person could be told.

Though the old man counted as Wei Zhao's master in a sense, strictly speaking he was more like family. The old man was no weakling himself, but the lethal moves Wei Zhao had learned came down from another master.

Rumor had it that in their youth, his master and the old man of this house had gone through hardship together, their bond forged in life and death. Of course, Wei Zhao knew little of the details — only the haziest outlines.

"Click..." A faint sound came from beyond the room. Wei Zhao's sharp senses caught it instantly. He swept the prescription and treatment plan out of sight and slipped like a shadow to the door.

But in the next breath, Wei Zhao relaxed. It was Uncle Qing, come to deliver dinner — the sound must have been Uncle Qing opening the door.

Wei Zhao pulled open the door and stepped out. "Uncle Qing."

"Mr. Lin, dinner is ready." Uncle Qing smiled and gave Wei Zhao a nod.

Uncle Qing left swiftly after setting down the food. Gu Mengyao locked the villa door and glanced over at Wei Zhao, who had just helped Shen Yushu lay out the dishes and was already heading back to his room. She wanted to call him over to eat with them, but the words caught in her throat and she swallowed them back. In that moment of hesitation, Wei Zhao had already disappeared behind his door.

Hmph, suit yourself. Gu Mengyao bristled with irritation. She had gone out of her way yesterday to signal that he could eat with her, and this was how he repaid her — straight back to his room.

Had Wei Zhao known what was running through Gu Mengyao's mind, he would have howled about being wronged. It was precisely because he feared this young mistress would take offense that he had helped Shen Yushu lay out the food and then returned to his room, waiting for the two of them to finish before going to pick over the remains like a sweeping wind.

Wei Zhao didn't mind their leftovers in the slightest. As Kang Xiaofeng had put it, back at school the boys who would queue up for the leftovers of Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu could form a line clear around the building.

"Aren't we going to invite Brother Arrow to eat too?" Shen Yushu had wanted to ask Wei Zhao earlier, but wasn't sure whether Gu Mengyao would object.

"Never mind him. Let's eat." The mere mention of the matter set Gu Mengyao's teeth on edge.