Chapter 2325 — A Phone Call for Advice

"What?!" Feng Tianlong was momentarily stunned by Wei Zhao's words. He had not expected Wei Zhao to be so formidable—to have actually kicked in the Red Conch's branch! After all, they had a peak late Earth-rank expert stationed there year-round!

Much as Feng Tianlong would have loved to tear the Red Conch's domestic branch out by the roots, the limits of his own strength had kept him from acting rashly.

"Xiao Yi, you're in Qingrun City?" Feng Tianlong asked.

"That's right. You knew their headquarters is in Qingrun City?" Wei Zhao was somewhat surprised—he had not expected Feng Tianlong to know the location of the Red Conch's headquarters as well.

"I'd only heard rumors, never confirmed them. But your car is in Qingrun City—I checked the positioning coordinates just now," Feng Tianlong said.

"You can see where my car is?" Wei Zhao was startled, and his expression turned somewhat strange. He had not expected Feng Tianlong to be able to see where his car was. Had he known, he could have simply called Feng Tianlong and saved himself the trouble of finding a local guide.

Still, the Red Conch had been careless too—they had actually tried to use that car to transport drugs. Once it was being tracked, they would not even know how they died.

"Of course I can see it. The car's current location... let me check the map—it should be the Fire Wolf Hotel in Qingrun City. Are you at the Fire Wolf Hotel?" Feng Tianlong asked.

"Yes, I'm right here. Uncle Feng, send someone over to take charge," Wei Zhao said.

"All right. I'll dispatch members of the local Mystery Investigation Bureau right away. I'm also getting on a plane now—I should be able to arrive a bit later," Feng Tianlong said quickly.

"Good." Wei Zhao hung up. He had not expected the car to be at the Fire Wolf Hotel right now—it was probably in the underground parking garage. He would know once he went to look. Wei Zhao turned to Sun Jingyan. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine. They didn't do anything to me, just locked me up alone in a room," Sun Jingyan said. "What about you? You look injured."

"I'm fine." Wei Zhao had more or less recovered, so there was nothing to worry about.

As for the waiter in the hotel lobby and the Third Boss's men, they had all fled without a trace—though they had only run deeper into the hotel, not out of it. Wei Zhao was not worried about them escaping. When Feng Tianlong's people arrived, they would catch the whole nest in one sweep.

Wei Zhao simply shut the indoor entrance to the underground parking garage, then kept watch in the hotel lobby, waiting for Feng Tianlong's people to arrive.

Before long, the sound of engines came from the hotel entrance. Wei Zhao looked up and saw more than a dozen Cheetah off-road vehicles parked at the hotel's front doors. It seemed Feng Tianlong had also realized there would likely be quite a few people to arrest here, which was why he had sent so many vehicles.

Once the cars were parked, several dozen men in black filed briskly into the hotel. The man at their head saw Wei Zhao and immediately came over. "Hello, you must be Mr. Wei Zhaolin? I'm one of Captain Feng's subordinates—Chen Buyi, the Mystery Investigation Bureau's person in charge in Qingrun City."

"Hello, Mr. Chen." Wei Zhao nodded, then pointed at the Third Boss on the ground. "This is the Red Conch's Third Boss. Take him away. I've killed several of his cultivator underlings. As for the hotel's other waiters, arrest them as you see fit. I'm in room 1209—when Uncle Feng arrives, have him come find me directly."

"Understood, Mr. Lin." Chen Buyi nodded hurriedly. "You get some rest. Leave this place to me."

"By the way, delete the security camera footage. I don't want anyone to know I was here." By now Wei Zhao had removed the Thousand-Silk Mask and returned to his former appearance.

"No problem." Chen Buyi agreed readily.

To Chen Buyi, Wei Zhao's request was a trivial matter—and besides, such confidential footage could never be released to the public anyway.

"Jingyi, you go up first. I have a few things to take care of—I'll be back shortly," Wei Zhao said to Sun Jingyan.

"Oh? All right..." Sun Jingyan was slightly taken aback. She did not know where Wei Zhao was going at this moment, but she guessed that there were some matters he did not want the men before them to know about.

Wei Zhao turned and left the hotel. Chen Buyi did not send anyone to follow him—he knew that Wei Zhao could shake off a tail with the greatest of ease, and that with their strength, none of them were a match for Wei Zhao anyway!

Naturally, Wei Zhao had gone to find Brother Dafeng. He still had use for this man. Although the Mystery Investigation Bureau had already wiped out the Red Conch's branch in Qingrun City, as long as the Red Conch's headquarters remained standing, Wei Zhao did not believe they would quietly abandon their domestic base.

So sooner or later they would certainly establish a new stronghold, and the best candidate to run it would be Brother Dafeng.

Before going to find Brother Dafeng, Wei Zhao first called the old man at home. Controlling one of his own people was something Wei Zhao had never attempted before. When Wei Zhao took in underlings, they submitted to him sincerely because of his strength—but Brother Dafeng was different. Wei Zhao could not watch over him day and night, and in such a short time, the man might not truly submit.

That being so, Wei Zhao had no choice but to resort to certain methods.

"Xiao Yi, what made you think of calling this old man?" Old Man Wei had just seen off a patient from the same village and was sun-drying medicinal herbs in the courtyard. He was rather puzzled to receive Wei Zhao's call.

"Old man, let me ask you something. I want to control a person, make him work for me—what should I do?" Wei Zhao asked. "This person may not truly submit to me, and if I leave, he won't be easy to control."

"Oh, poison him, of course," Old Man Wei said quite casually.

"Poison him?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback, not quite following.

"A slow-acting poison—give him a bit of the antidote once a year or every two years, and he dies if he doesn't take it. And a poison that others won't easily be able to cure," Old Man Wei said. "Do I need to teach you this? The books you used to read were full of such things—the Seven Insects and Eight Herbs Poison, the Nine Deaths and One Life Poison, and so on..."

"I understand." Wei Zhao nodded. It had not occurred to him before. His medical skills had always been used to save people—he had never thought of using them to harm anyone.

"How have things been lately? Have you run into any trouble?" Old Man Wei asked.

"Not too bad. There's been some trouble—a few close calls—but it's all been resolved," Wei Zhao said.

"Mm. Without facing life and death, you gain no experience. Jade that is not carved cannot become a vessel..." Old Man Wei said mildly.

"..." Wei Zhao broke out in a sweat. He had heard that saying far too many times. Ever since his master left, Old Man Wei had been trotting it out at every opportunity.