Chapter 884 — Split Up and Move

"Heh, Uncle Chu, you've got the wrong idea. What I meant is that there's no one there — which makes it the perfect place for me to take them out." Wei Zhao smiled as he spoke, his tone utterly relaxed.

"Oh? You're confident?" Gu Pengzhan was taken aback by Wei Zhao's words.

"I am." Wei Zhao nodded, his voice full of certainty.

In truth, he was not. But he could not simply abandon Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu; saying so was only meant to set Gu Pengzhan's mind at ease. Wei Zhao could only take things one step at a time. At present there was no one in Songshan City he could call on for help, and since the other side had skilled fighters, Wei Zhao had no choice but to grit his teeth and face them alone.

"That's good to hear!" Gu Pengzhan had no doubts at all; seeing Wei Zhao so confident, he finally relaxed. "I was worried you wouldn't be able to handle it — now I can rest easy."

"Ha ha, no time to lose, Uncle Chu. I'll be on my way." Wei Zhao said no more; he rose and headed for the villa's front door.

"Woof, woof!" Mighty General barked twice behind him.

Wei Zhao's steps slowed for just an instant as he walked out of the villa. Then he smiled suddenly and beckoned to Mighty General. "You're coming with me!"

Wasn't this a ready-made helper? Who would ever guess that a dog was actually a high-grade Yellow-rank beast? It was the perfect case of a pig playing the tiger — catching the enemy completely off guard!

Even if Wei Zhao brought a dog to South Mirror Mountain, he would not be violating Zhen Yingjun's terms — that Wei Zhao must come alone! Because the other one was not a person. It was a dog.

Mighty General wagged its tail excitedly and followed Wei Zhao.

Naturally, Gu Pengzhan had no idea that Mighty General had already become a high-grade Yellow-rank creature. He simply assumed Wei Zhao was bringing the dog along to make the search easier.

Just like last time at Twin Swallow Mountain, when Wei Zhao had also taken Mighty General with him — for the purpose of tracking Gu Mengyao's scent...

Wei Zhao got into Shen Yushu's yellow Beetle, set the navigation for South Mirror Mountain, and the man and dog set off for the mountain.

As for Qiu Lingshan, after Wei Zhao's refusal she naturally could not take any further action — especially since the other side clearly had skilled fighters. She did not know whether going would help or only make things worse. Since Wei Zhao had said he did not need her, all Qiu Lingshan could do was wait anxiously at the police station.

Fortunately, this time Gu Pengzhan did not use any connections to pressure the police station. After he returned, not a single word of news came out.

South Mirror Mountain — this was Wei Zhao's first time here. He had not even known before that there was such a mountain near Songshan City.

The foot of the mountain was desolate: no houses, no buildings of any kind, only a few fire-prevention slogans and warning signs declaring the mountain dangerous and forbidding entry. A short way ahead along a mountain road, two cars were parked — the very two cars Zhen Yingjun had mentioned.

Wei Zhao got out of the car, then stroked Mighty General's head. "In a bit, you and I split up and act as the situation allows. Understand?"

After its upgrade, Mighty General understood human nature even better. It nodded — though whether it truly understood was anyone's guess. In any case, even before the upgrade Wei Zhao had felt this dog was no ordinary animal, and now he felt its intelligence had climbed another level entirely.

A steep mountain path like this was nothing to Wei Zhao, and even less to Mighty General. It did not even use the road, but leapt from tree to rock along the roadside, vanishing from sight in no time...

Wei Zhao reached the summit. From a distance he could see several people gathered in the open space at the top.

One of them was Zhen Yingjun himself! Beside him stood a middle-aged man in a white robe, tall and broad, like a pillar.

Behind Zhen Yingjun were two black-clad bodyguards. On the ground to either side of them lay Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, both bound hand and foot with rope. But Wei Zhao breathed a sigh of relief — from the look of things, neither had been harmed.

"Wei Zhao, you've finally come — wahahahaha!" Zhen Yingjun was no fool. He had men lying in ambush at the foot of the mountain, precisely to see whether Wei Zhao had really come alone! Better safe than sorry — he had feared Wei Zhao might bring a whole squad of police, and that would have been trouble!

Zhen Yingjun was arrogant, and he had good men at his side, but surely he could not have his musket squad trade shots with the police? That would be courting death, wouldn't it? If it came to that, he might have no choice but to give up on killing Wei Zhao and settle for gunning down Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu to vent his fury.

Back on the mountain, Zhen Yingjun had long since readied a helicopter. Even if the police encircled the hill, he could still slip away without trouble. The police would never imagine that he had a helicopter as his escape route; by the time reinforcements arrived, he would already be long gone.

The musket squad under Zhen Dazhou dealt in piracy on the seas — how could they not have a seaplane or some such means of escape? Zhen Yingjun's equipment was thoroughly complete, and that was precisely why he dared wait here for Wei Zhao.

Still, when Zhen Yingjun received the report from his men at the foot of the mountain, he breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he had been too cautious after all — Wei Zhao really had come alone, bringing no reinforcements, with no police involvement whatsoever.

As for the dog at Wei Zhao's side, Zhen Yingjun automatically filtered it out. A dog — what was there to worry about?

"Heh, so it really is you, Zhen Yingjun." Wei Zhao shrugged. It seemed his guess had been right — this matter was indeed not so simple, and his coming here this time was probably a trap Zhen Yingjun had deliberately set. Wei Zhao went on full alert.

"Oh? So you're quite clever after all — you actually guessed it was me?" Zhen Yingjun was briefly taken aback, but then he burst out laughing. "Hahahaha! Since you guessed it was I who summoned you here, and you still dared come alone — are you stupid? Are you stupid? You really are a fool!"

No wonder Zhen Yingjun was so delighted. In his eyes, Wei Zhao was an utter idiot. Having guessed that he was the one who had kidnapped Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu, Wei Zhao still dared to come for the hostages — and alone, no less. If he was not a fool, then his arrogance had reached a truly extraordinary degree.

"So which is it — are you trying to say I'm clever, or that I'm stupid? Those words of yours contradict themselves." Wei Zhao could not help laughing. "Who's the fool here, you or me?"

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were both here, and Wei Zhao made up his mind and began to think through his options. Ever since he had reached the summit, the jade pendant had been warning him without pause — which meant this mountain was fraught with danger, and Wei Zhao himself had no idea where that danger might be hiding.

But sometimes, knowing full well that danger lies ahead, one still has to grit one's teeth and press on. That is the meaning of the saying, "Knowing there is a tiger on the mountain, one still heads for the mountain."