Chapter 2511 — Here to Be My Bodyguard

The Heaven Rank vice president had been right. When You Panga returned to the hotel room and told the short expert everything that had happened, the short man flew into a towering rage. That pure yellow jade was something the old master of the You family had personally ordered them to obtain at all costs—for someone to snatch it away was not a slight he would swallow.

And when You Panga, laying it on thick, told him how insolent Wei Zhao had been, how utterly he had disregarded Hidden You Family, the short expert grew angrier still. He stormed straight out, dragging You Panga along with him.

"Boy, you certainly know how to pick your route!" You Panga caught up with Wei Zhao and, eyeing his receding figure from afar, sneered. "Don't think that just because you've gone up the mountain we won't find you! I told you before—I want to see how long you can hold on to that pure yellow jade!"

The path Wei Zhao had taken had indeed taken You Panga and the short expert by surprise, but with a few hints from certain "well-wishers" in the Cultivators' Guild, they had found their way here easily enough. In truth, the Heaven Rank vice president was using them as pawns to test the waters.

Wei Zhao had easily annihilated an expert at the peak of the late Earth Rank. That meant his true strength had to be at least early Heaven Rank. If so, why not send an early Heaven Rank expert to sound him out and see how deep Wei Zhao's power ran?

Wei Zhao gave a cold laugh, turned around, and regarded You Panga and the short expert who had come up with him with a teasing, half-smiling look. His tone was utterly calm as he said, "Do you know why I took this path?"

"Isn't it obvious? You're afraid we'll chase you down and take the pure yellow jade, so you're trying to slip away—that's why you deliberately took such a remote route. But there's no hiding from us!" You Panga said smugly.

"Wrong," Wei Zhao said mildly.

"Wrong? Quit making excuses. There's no one here—you don't have to cling to that pitiful pride of yours. That woman companion of yours already ran off to save her own skin, ha-ha! You can drop the act!" You Panga taunted.

"I chose this place because there are few people here—it doesn't matter if my identity is exposed." Wei Zhao waved a hand and said to You Panga, "The people of Hidden You Family really are a bunch of fools. You're one, and You Panhu is another."

"You—hmph. Clever words, but you're staring death in the face and still talking tough!" You Panga snorted. "Expose your identity? What identity do you have to expose?"

"I say, you short little robber—your wounds seem to have healed quite fast. Looks like I didn't hit hard enough with that palm back then, for you to be hopping around and making trouble for me so soon." Wei Zhao ignored You Panga and fixed his cold gaze on the short expert not far away.

"Ah?" The short expert started, then a flash of terror crossed his eyes. "You… you're…"

"Which is why I say everyone in Hidden You Family is a fool. You bring your grandson all this way, rushing to your deaths chasing after me?" Wei Zhao said, watching the short expert with an amused air.

"Boy, who are you calling a fool rushing to his death?" You Panga didn't know Wei Zhao and hadn't grasped the situation. Hearing Wei Zhao call him suicidal, he exploded.

"Smack!"

But before You Panga could finish, the short expert slapped him hard across the face. "You little brat, shut your mouth!"

"Ah? Grandfather… I…" You Panga, bewildered, had no idea why his grandfather had suddenly slapped him, and felt rather wronged. "I… what did I do?"

"Heh-heh, uh, Mr. Lin, I was only joking…" Sweat poured down the short expert's face. He was a Heaven Rank expert, overbearing enough, true—but he also knew how to gauge strength. His combination with You Panga was far weaker than his former pairing with the tall robber. Wei Zhao had annihilated that one with ease; wiping out him and his grandson now would be as easy as turning his palm.

So, once he had sized up the situation clearly, the short expert wisely backed down.

"Joking? You dragged your grandson all the way out here to find me just to make a joke?" Wei Zhao glared furiously at the short expert. "Are you sick in the head?"

"Uh… no, no. Actually, my real purpose was to make sure you weren't in danger, Mr. Lin, carrying something as precious as the pure yellow jade all alone. What if you ran into robbers along the way? So my grandson and I volunteered to come be your bodyguards." The short expert said, "Yes, that's it exactly!"

"Oh, so you're here to be my bodyguards. Fine, then—hide yourselves first. Someone's coming." Wei Zhao waved a hand.

"Someone's coming? Then we'll be off…" the short expert said hastily.

"Aren't you supposed to be my bodyguards? Why are you leaving? Unless you weren't really here to be bodyguards?" Wei Zhao glanced at the short expert and said, his voice chilling.

"This… of course we're here to be bodyguards!" The short expert's heart lurched, and he hurried to say it. He was terrified Wei Zhao would strike him down, so he clung fast to the bodyguard story and would not let go.

"Since you're here as bodyguards, good. Hide yourselves and wait for my call to come protect me," Wei Zhao instructed them.

"This… yes!" The short expert nodded helplessly, pulled You Panga along, and hid behind a large boulder not far off—yet he dared not flee, afraid that this was a trap set by Wei Zhao, and that the moment they ran, Wei Zhao would cut them down.

"Grandfather, why did you call him Mr. Lin? Who is he really?" Once hidden behind the boulder, You Panga asked anxiously.

"Who is he? The same man who wounded your grandfather, the same man who killed your Grandfather Gao!" The short expert glared at his grandson and said viciously, "You nearly got us killed today. That boy is savage and brutal—an outright madman. Last time, when your Grandfather Gao and I played the robbers, he attacked and wounded us without a word. Today he probably just closed the deal on the pure yellow jade and is in a good mood, which is the only reason he let us off!"

"Ah… it's him…" You Panga's face turned ashen, cold sweat beading on his skin. So it was that calamity of a man. And he had brazenly thrown his weight around in front of him, courting death—he had truly been a hair's breadth from the grave!

"All right, no more talking. It seems someone really is coming…" The short expert was slightly alarmed. He was a Heaven Rank expert, yet Wei Zhao had sensed the newcomers before he did—just what rank was Wei Zhao?

In truth, he was worrying over nothing. He had been so frightened by Wei Zhao earlier that he had not carefully probed his surroundings, whereas Wei Zhao had long anticipated that, besides Hidden You Family, the Heaven Rank vice president would come too, and had naturally kept more watch than the short expert.

The Heaven Rank vice president arrived at Wei Zhao's location with Skinny Scarecrow, only to find Wei Zhao all alone, standing there at his leisure.