Chapter 496 — Blades Drawn and Bows Bent

Everyone in the great families and the wealthy merchant houses knew Guan Xuewen's temper: he would treat the sick, and he never haggled over his fee, but he would not go out on house calls, ever. If you were ill, you came to Songshan City. Otherwise, no one could move him.

Part of the reason was that Guan Xuewen still taught courses at the Medical and Pharmaceutical University. In his own eyes he was a professor first — teaching and shaping young people was his true calling — and so nothing, absolutely nothing, could be allowed to interfere with his lectures.

"Very well, then. One of these days I shall be sure to come and impose on you," Wu Gonggao said with a smile and a nod.

"Grandfather! It's him — the very man I told you about! Not only did he go sniffing around Sun Jingyan, he's also posing as some kind of miraculous doctor — the man's an obvious fraud! And because of him I got slapped by Auntie!" Wu Chengtian had suddenly caught sight of Wei Zhao standing beside Guan Xuewen, and a wave of unbearable humiliation came surging up into his skull. In an instant he lost every shred of reason, and jabbing a finger at Wei Zhao, he began to shout and curse.

Lately the Wu family had lifted Wu Chengtian very high indeed, grooming him as the hope of the third generation. And no wonder — a youth barely past twenty who had already reached the early Yellow Rank; what an achievement was that? There might not be another such in the whole world! That, at least, was what the Wu family believed.

And so every advantage and every glory the Wu family possessed had been heaped upon Wu Chengtian's head, which in turn had bred in him a domineering, overbearing temperament — one that could not tolerate the slightest loss and repaid any offense without fail. Seeing Wei Zhao now, he did not think at all; the insults simply came bursting out of his mouth.

Guan Xuewen's face darkened at once. In his eyes Wei Zhao was both teacher and friend — at the very least, a senior fellow disciple. So when someone spoke of Wei Zhao like that, he was naturally displeased. He glanced at Wu Gonggao and said coolly, "Elder Wu, if there is nothing else, we shall be going."

Wu Gonggao's expression too went stiff for a moment. He had not expected Guan Xuewen to stand up for Wei Zhao, and for a moment he was rather at a loss. Wu Gonggao was famously protective of his own, and this grandson of his was extraordinarily gifted — a treasure doted on daily, given whatever he asked for, a boy no one dared criticize or lay a finger on. When the grandson got into trouble, the grandfather would naturally step forward for him, no matter whose fault it was or who the other party might be.

But now, of all people, Guan Xuewen was one of the very few men he dared not offend. With Guan Xuewen present, it would hardly do to go making trouble for Wei Zhao. He cast Wei Zhao a cool glance, fixed his face in his memory, and resolved to find an opportunity to deal with him later.

Yet though Wu Gonggao said nothing, there were others who would not let it lie — and the whole temple fair promptly blew up.

"Who did you call a fraud? You're the fraud — look at you! You're worse than dog shit!" Feng Xiaoxiao would not stand for it the moment she heard this stranger insult Wei Zhao for no reason at all. Who did he think she was? In her current role she was Wei Zhao's pursuer — and if this man insulted Wei Zhao, was he not equally saying that she, Feng Xiaoxiao, had no eye at all, and had fallen for a fraud?

So of course Feng Xiaoxiao would not let it pass. She glared at Wu Chengtian, and had there not been so many people about, she would have kicked him outright. What sort of girl was Feng Xiaoxiao, after all? Dealing out blows was as ordinary to her as eating and drinking.

Wu Chengtian heard someone speaking up for Wei Zhao and insulting him, and was instantly enraged. He was about to retort when he saw that it was a pretty, delicate young girl, and somehow the curses would not come out. All he could manage was: "Don't stick your nose into this — this has nothing to do with you!"

"The young one's ill-mannered, and the old one's ill-mannered too?" Feng Xiaoxiao curled her lip. "Hey, old man, your grandson has no manners at all — aren't you going to teach him?"

"What did you say, you little chit?" A flash of anger crossed Wu Gonggao's face. He stared at Feng Xiaoxiao with a cold, baleful look, and his clenched fist opened into a palm. As head of the Iron Hand Wu family, to have a junior dare speak to him like this — if he did not teach her a lesson, where would his dignity be? Where would the Wu family's dignity be?

"You — what are you going to do, you old man?" Feng Xiaoxiao was startled. Though she knew no martial arts, she could clearly sense the killing intent radiating from Wu Gonggao.

An expert at the early Mystic Rank! Wei Zhao's heart tightened. Wu Gonggao, like Wu Chengtian, was one of those external-style body cultivators, so Wei Zhao could not sense the energy stored within their bodies — only when they circulated their external-style mental methods could he gauge their level of strength.

He had not expected the old man to be this formidable. Wei Zhao shifted his stance unconsciously and gave a wry smile.

At any rate, Feng Xiaoxiao had just spoken up for him. Whatever her motives, Wei Zhao could not simply stand by and do nothing — that would be far too dishonorable. So the moment Wu Gonggao made a move, Wei Zhao intended to block it for Feng Xiaoxiao. The man might be an early Mystic Rank expert, but Wei Zhao possessed peak late Yellow Rank strength and had cultivated the Xuanyuan Dragon-Slaying Art, so he was confident enough of taking one blow from an early Mystic Rank expert. Whether he could win was another matter, but he could certainly protect himself.

He was, it turned out, acting unnecessarily — for the instant he moved, a middle-aged man appeared swiftly before Feng Xiaoxiao, fixing Wu Gonggao with a calm stare: "Elder Wu, do you mean to strike my daughter?"

Wu Gonggao started slightly, and his expression changed at once. Feng Tianlong — how could he fail to know him? Wu Gonggao drew a deep breath and knew there would be no fighting today. Any thought of teaching Feng Xiaoxiao a lesson was now utterly impossible.

What made Wu Gonggao wary was not Feng Tianlong's mid Yellow Rank strength — in the eyes of an early Mystic Rank expert, a Yellow Rank expert was nothing but a floating cloud. Nor, of course, was it Feng Tianlong's background. The mysterious Investigations Bureau was indeed a mysterious institution, with authority so vast it made one's tongue click. But that was so for ordinary people. Toward such a family as the Wu, it might not be an enemy, but it was certainly nothing to fear.

What truly filled Wu Gonggao with dread was that man who had withdrawn from the jianghu more than a decade ago and never emerged again — Feng Tianlong's former captain. That man had once been a member of the Investigations Bureau's special service team; he had led Feng Tianlong on missions, and the bond between them ran deep.

Had it been anyone but Feng Tianlong, Wu Gonggao might not have shown him face. But Feng Tianlong's face could not be denied. In that man's eyes, to say nothing of an early Mystic Rank expert like himself — even an Earth Rank expert, he feared, would be dispatched in a single blow.

Though he did not know that man's true strength, of one thing Wu Gonggao was certain: offend him, and the Wu family was finished — it would take no more than a single day.

"Phew..." Wu Gonggao let out a long breath and laughed awkwardly. "So it's Captain Feng. Why would I ever lay a hand on your daughter? I was only joking!"

"You had better mean that." Feng Tianlong nodded, exhaled in relief, and took Feng Xiaoxiao's hand. "Don't go running off on your own again!"