Chapter 2480 — A Bully at the Gate

And this one was even more overbearing—he had actually traded a first-grade pill for the Blue Crystal. That scrawny beanpole had been fleeced inside and out.

Yet Yang Qiqi knew very well that going to Wei Zhao now to demand the Blue Crystal back would only earn her a rebuff. So she hesitated a moment, then hit upon a fine idea. She swallowed her resentment, put on a look of boundless gratitude, walked over, and said to Wei Zhao, "My good warrior, I thank you!"

"Pfft..." Wei Zhao stared at her with a strange expression. "Warrior?"

"Uh..." Yang Qiqi was taken aback too. Her experience in the jianghu was slight—she had grown up abroad since childhood, and her knowledge of jianghu custom went no further than the martial-arts movies and television dramas she had watched. She had no idea how to address Wei Zhao, but she sensed that "warrior" seemed wrong, so she said, "Then... a hero?"

"..." Wei Zhao was somewhat speechless. Where had this cool little miss picked up all these odd terms?

"That is... I just wanted to thank you for stepping in for justice back there!" After groping for the right word for so long, Yang Qiqi realized that none of the jianghu honorifics she had learned seemed quite right, so she simply said it outright.

"Oh, it was nothing." Wei Zhao glanced at Yang Qiqi and spoke flatly.

As for Yang Qiqi being grateful to him? Wei Zhao did not believe that for a moment. He had snatched this little miss's Blue Crystal—it was one thing that she did not dare demand it back, but that she should speak to him so sweetly and try to ingratiate herself? That was not Yang Qiqi's character at all!

When something is out of the ordinary, there is sure to be a trick. Naturally, Wei Zhao did not believe Yang Qiqi was truly grateful. And in truth, any clear-eyed person could see that Wei Zhao had only helped Yang Qiqi in passing; his true aim had been the Blue Crystal—though he had taken it from the beanpole's hands "by right and by name."

"Leader, they are about to open the gate over there. Shall we go?" Han Xiaohu reminded Wei Zhao. In a place like this, it was best not to talk more than necessary with strangers—after all, hearts lie hidden behind faces, and who knew whether it might bring unnecessary trouble?

"Very well. Then, heroine, let us part ways here." Wei Zhao smiled and said to Yang Qiqi.

"Ah... wait!" Yang Qiqi had no intention of letting Wei Zhao leave just like that. If he left, how would she ever get her Blue Crystal back? So she hurriedly called him back.

"Is there something else?" Wei Zhao asked.

"That is... the hearts of people here are treacherous. This young woman has just entered the jianghu, and I wonder if this... this young hero might do me a favor and let me travel with you?" Hearing Wei Zhao call her "heroine," she in turn addressed him as "young hero."

In fact, this too was an honorific used among cultivators in the present age—only it was not often employed.

"Is that so? Well, all right then." Wei Zhao nodded and agreed readily. In truth, this was only because it was Yang Qiqi. Had it been anyone else, Wei Zhao neither would nor could have agreed so readily.

Han Xiaohu frowned, wanting to remind Wei Zhao to refuse. But on second thought he swallowed his words—after all, Wei Zhao was the leader, and surely had his own plans, so Han Xiaohu said no more.

"Many thanks!" Yang Qiqi was overjoyed. She thought: as long as you agree, I can work away slowly and get the Blue Crystal back! That thing was meant to trade for Xiao Jiu's life—she could not under any circumstances let Wei Zhao take it. A second-grade pill was precious enough, but its value was far below that of the Blue Crystal; ten second-grade pills might not even buy a small piece of it!

What Yang Qiqi sought was likewise a supreme treasure, so she had to get the Blue Crystal back, or this trip would end in failure! Moreover, according to the intelligence reports, the heaven-and-earth treasure that could sustain Xiao Jiu's life did indeed exist in this cultivators' market!

The three of them traveled together, yet Wei Zhao noticed, faintly, that the people nearby kept their distance from the trio. The strength Wei Zhao had just displayed was enough to rank him in the upper-middle tier among these cultivators—in the eyes of most Mystic Rank cultivators, an unattainable existence.

Especially since Wei Zhao had behaved so domineeringly before, bullying that scrawny beanpole until he dared not speak—so most people had written Wei Zhao off as a dangerous character, a troublemaker.

They came quickly to the foot of the mountain, where there was a checkpoint—evidently this was the place for verifying identities. This could not help but remind Wei Zhao of the scene at the Ulonghot Mountains!

"Show your invitation... hey, boy, is this invitation yours? A mere peak late-stage Yellow Rank expert—is a market like this a place for small fry like you?" One of the two guards, a somewhat younger burly man, seized a scrawny cultivator of peak late-stage Yellow Rank strength.

"Brothers, the invitation is genuine. I signed up formally through the Cultivators' Guild..." That expert of peak late-stage Yellow Rank strength would have been a formidable figure in the secular world, yet here he had become the lowest of the low, and had to mind his manners.

It was no wonder that Wei Zhao could see this man's strength clearly—Wei Zhao had his golden finger. But these two guards could hardly possess such a thing. That they could discern the strength of a peak late-stage Yellow Rank expert without his circulating his heart method or striking a blow was truly baffling.

"Genuine? Even if the invitation is genuine, who knows where you got it? Maybe you picked it off a dead man!" The other man, the older of the two, raised an eyebrow and said coldly, "All right, if you have no business here, clear off!"

"This..." The peak late-stage Yellow Rank expert was at a loss. Gritting his teeth, he took a small box from his pack and handed it over together with the invitation, saying, "Brothers, this invitation was indeed picked off a dead man. But he had this thing on him as well. The man is dead, so this thing must belong to the Cultivators' Guild by rights—I shall hand it in..."

"Hm... let me see!" Seeing how sensible the peak late-stage Yellow Rank expert was, the younger burly man smiled at once, took the small box, and opened it. Inside was a first-grade pill. He nodded and said, "Not bad. In view of your honesty in returning what you found, you may enter!"

"Thank you, brothers!" The young man of peak late-stage Yellow Rank strength hurried into the market.

Wei Zhao had been watching the two guards closely. They were plainly making trouble out of nothing, bullying the weak and fearing the strong—a sight that filled Wei Zhao with utter contempt! (To be continued)