Chapter 1990 — Who Exactly Was This Man

The man in black was somewhat puzzled, but he did not give it much thought. He knew well enough that this was a major thoroughfare; though as a member of an ancient clan he had no fear of ordinary people, there were still lines that could not be crossed too flagrantly — after all, there were covenants among the ancient powers.

"Bang!" The two palms met with a muffled report, and that sound set the man in black at ease, for he could feel no great strength in Wei Zhao at all. It seemed Wei Zhao was merely an ordinary man; he had been overthinking it.

The next instant, however, the man in black was struck dumb — for suddenly an immense true qi surged from Wei Zhao's palm and poured straight into his meridians. In that moment he felt a tide of true qi come crashing over him like mountains and seas, sweeping away everything in its path and shattering every meridian in his body...

"You... you're early Earth rank..." The man in black stared wide-eyed in disbelief. He had never imagined that Xu Shilan would have an Earth rank expert at her side — could Feng Tianqi truly value Xu Shilan this much?

At that thought, Feng Sanlei felt a sudden pang of sorrow. He was a subordinate of Feng Tianqi's wife; his purpose in coming here was to quietly do away with Xu Shilan. He had learned of this matter from the mouth of the Feng family's third son, Feng Tianhu, and had assumed that, with Feng Sanmang absent, he could easily dispose of Xu Shilan. But...

Feng Sanlei smiled bitterly to himself. He wanted to send word back that Xu Shilan had an expert at her side, but he knew it was a fond delusion; before an Earth rank expert, flight was out of the question. And if Wei Zhao captured him and managed to wring something out of him, the situation would turn truly troublesome. At that thought, Feng Sanlei suddenly rallied in a final flare of life, summoned all his strength, and struck down the last remaining man in black on his own side with a single palm, killing him effortlessly. Then he swung his hand again — and brought it down upon his own face. With a great "bang," the masked man in black shattered his own skull; his brains burst apart and his features were utterly destroyed. His entire head had blown open — a grisly sight...

Wei Zhao had been secretly on guard, fearing the man might do Xu Shilan harm in his final moment, but he had never expected the creature to kill his own comrade and then take his own life. Such a bizarre turn left Wei Zhao somewhat caught off guard.

Originally, Wei Zhao had not killed him but only wounded him, intending to take him back and question him properly, to find out who had sent him. Yet the masked man in black had been utterly decisive: he killed the only living witness on his own side, then committed suicide — and by a most cruel method.

Looking at the man's mask, then at the skull fragments scattered everywhere, Wei Zhao vaguely guessed his purpose. He wore a mask, which meant he did not want his identity seen or recognized; and this manner of suicide before death was likewise meant to destroy his head, so that no one could identify him by his corpse. The man was remarkably loyal.

As for the other small fry, who were not cultivators, they were presumably not core figures; nothing could be learned from their faces alone...

At that thought, Wei Zhao could not help sighing. It seemed he had still been somewhat careless, thinking only of Xu Shilan's safety and never imagining that the masked man in black would kill himself.

But matters had come to this, and there was nothing Wei Zhao could do. Though it had all happened very fast — finished in barely two or three minutes — Wei Zhao had already glimpsed vehicles approaching from both directions in the distance. He dared not delay any longer. He ran straight to the two Audi A6s before the car and, with a palm strike apiece, sent them flying to the roadside; then he leaped quickly into the Grand Cherokee, stamped on the accelerator, and sped off into the distance...

Xu Shilan's face was very pale. Though she had stayed in the car the whole time, she had heard everything outside clearly, and she knew these four men had come for her. But who had sent them? And to what end?

She had experienced similar kidnapping attempts before, but never anything so thrilling and terrifying. In those cases the criminals' plans had been strangled in the cradle by the police, and the men she faced had never been so vicious — never men who would choose such a cruel method of suicide in the end...

"Thank goodness..." Xu Shilan patted her chest, but the heaving of her full bosom betrayed her true feelings. She had indeed been very nervous.

"Have you offended anyone lately?" Wei Zhao asked. "These men were clearly after you."

"Offended anyone? I don't think so!" Xu Shilan shook her head. "If we're talking about offending people, it would be the Kangshen Medical Company — at your new product launch last time... Beyond that, there's no one I've offended..."

"The Kang family? Impossible." Wei Zhao flatly rejected the possibility. "If they wanted anyone, they'd want me, and they wouldn't send such weak men."

"Then I really can't think who I've offended..." Xu Shilan thought it over seriously, but still came up with nothing.

"Never mind, don't think about it for now. Give me Feng Sanmang's phone number," Wei Zhao said.

"Feng Sanmang? What do you want his number for?" Xu Shilan was startled.

"He's your driver, and he generally follows you wherever you go. I'll have him help think it through." Wei Zhao did not explain much to Xu Shilan. Instinct told him that Feng Sanmang was probably the one protecting Xu Shilan — and the masked man in black had said he hadn't expected anyone here to be protecting Xu Shilan, which meant Xu Shilan had protection on that side as well. The only possibility was Feng Sanmang.

So Wei Zhao intended to tell Feng Sanmang about this matter and have him investigate whether Xu Shilan had offended anyone.

"Oh, all right..." Xu Shilan did not think much of it; she nodded and gave Wei Zhao Feng Sanmang's number.

Wei Zhao noted the number down. He did not call in front of Xu Shilan, but instead phoned Yang Huaijun directly.

"Eagle, you were looking for me?" Yang Huaijun asked as he picked up.