Chapter 876 — The Target

Even so, the effort had cost Wei Zhao a head full of cold sweat and no small amount of energy. After all, that single palm strike had been enough to kill Uncle Qing. Wei Zhao had not fully healed him—the body and bones had yet to recover—but the organs he had been obliged to repair with his energy, for the slightest injury to any one of them would have been enough to end Uncle Qing's life.

Had Uncle Qing not possessed such an extraordinary physique, no ordinary man could have held on this long.

Wei Zhao wiped the sweat from his brow. When he looked up, he saw that Qiu Lingshan and Gu Pengzhan had already arrived and were standing to one side, watching him anxiously.

Qiu Lingshan had seen Wei Zhao heal before. The moment she arrived, she had cleared everyone away from him and dispatched Liu Wangli and his squad to guard Wei Zhao, so that no one would disturb him.

"Xiaoyi, how is he?" Gu Pengzhan's face was grim, his brows tightly knit. Anxious as he was for his daughter's safety, he was also worried about Uncle Qing's injuries.

"His life is saved, but whether he'll recover his strength, I can't say. Uncle Qing is an external-school expert, and his body has been battered this badly..." Wei Zhao shrugged. His energy could restore damaged parts to their original state, as though newly born, but it could never drive Uncle Qing's body and bones into a tempered state.

That could only be achieved through long, unremitting training afterward—it was not something Wei Zhao's energy could alter. Unlike the true qi of an internal-school expert, which could be replenished through energy conversion, this was the greatest difference between internal-school and external-school experts.

Once the meridians of an internal-school expert were destroyed, the true qi within the body could no longer be preserved, and the man became a cripple. And once an external-school expert's body suffered severe injury, even if the wounds healed, the body could never return to its former state—he would be essentially no different from an ordinary man...

"As long as his life is saved!" Gu Pengzhan let out a breath. Whether Uncle Qing could recover his strength no longer mattered; living was what mattered most. Though Gu Pengzhan and Uncle Qing were master and servant in name, after all these years, how could a man be devoid of feeling?

His bond with Uncle Qing was already much like that of old friends and confidants. Even if it cost him every last penny, Gu Pengzhan would want Uncle Qing to live.

"What about Yaoyao and Xiaoshu? Any word?" Wei Zhao's face was somewhat pale. Healing Uncle Qing had plainly drained a great deal of his strength, and in such a state he was unfit for battle. But the situation was urgent, and he could not spare the time to rest.

"The two Range Rover Evoques the kidnappers drove all had fake plates—cloned from a car-rental company in Donghai City. A check through the system shows the original model was a Honda RV. For now we can't identify the kidnappers," Liu Wangli reported. "And they're cunning—they must have strong counter-surveillance skills. Only a few cameras on the main roads caught the two vehicles, and after that the trail went cold. Two possibilities: either they switched cars, or they reached their destination or deliberately avoided certain cameras while driving..."

Gu Pengzhan nodded and sighed softly. He did not even know who the enemy was this time—he was utterly at a loss. Hearing Liu Wangli's words, he could not help turning to Wei Zhao, hoping Wei Zhao would make a decision for him.

"Uncle Chu, since the kidnappers took Yaoyao and Xiaoshu, they must have their reasons. I believe they'll contact us of their own accord," Wei Zhao said after a moment's thought. "If they didn't intend to use Yaoyao and Xiaoshu to achieve some end, they wouldn't have taken them. If it were mere vengeance, they would have shot them on the spot, like Uncle Qing."

"Yes... but they're both young girls..." Gu Pengzhan had thought the same—that since the kidnappers had taken his daughter and Xiaoshu, they must mean to use them for some purpose. But he feared the kidnappers might lust after them...

"Rather than wearing ourselves out here, I say we go back and wait for the kidnappers' call," Wei Zhao suggested. He urgently needed to sleep a while and replenish his strength; otherwise, even if word of the kidnappers came, he would have no way to fight them.

"All right!" Gu Pengzhan was no longer the high-spirited company chairman but an anxious father, with no ideas of his own. Since Wei Zhao proposed going back to wait, that was all they could do for now.

Qiu Lingshan did not stop them either, for she knew that if Wei Zhao could not resolve this, her own worry would be useless. Since Wei Zhao wanted to go back, then let him go back.

As for Uncle Qing, Wei Zhao did not send him to the hospital either, but had the paramedic named Xiao Liu help carry him into the villa. Wei Zhao had already brought Uncle Qing's injuries under control; so long as he was not hurt again, his condition would not worsen.

Now only three remained in the villa—Wei Zhao, Gu Pengzhan, and Uncle Qing—along with that high-ranking yellow-tier dog, General Weiwu.

"Xiaoyi, are we just going to wait for the kidnappers to contact us?" Gu Pengzhan glanced anxiously at his watch. More than an hour had passed, and the kidnappers had not called, which left him restless.

"I can't think of a better way," Wei Zhao said with a sigh. "The most important thing is that I need to rest. To control Uncle Qing's injuries earlier, I used up a great deal of true qi. I fear this may be a trap the enemy set deliberately—leaving Uncle Qing barely alive on purpose, just to drain my strength..."

At Wei Zhao's words, Gu Pengzhan's expression turned grave. He had not thought so far before, but now that Wei Zhao said it, it seemed quite possible. He said hurriedly, "Xiaoyi, then go rest at once. I'll wait here for the kidnappers' call!"

"No need. The sofa will do." With that, Wei Zhao closed his eyes and entered a light doze. He did not fall into deep sleep; after entering the jade pendant's space, he remained aware of everything happening outside.

Though Wei Zhao had entered the jade pendant's space and was frantically absorbing its energy, his mind never rested. He kept speculating about just who the enemy would be this time.

Following the sequence of cause and effect, Wei Zhao narrowed his suspicions down to two people: one was Yu Kun of the Yu family, and the other was Zhen Yingjun.

As the foremost family, the Yu family could not possibly show no reaction at all after their direct line descendant had been beaten and injured; that would hardly befit the name of the Yu family, the foremost family, nor could the Yu family possibly swallow such an insult! But what struck Wei Zhao as strange was that, if the Yu family were to send someone, the first person they would likely move against would be himself, not Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu!