Chapter 2674 — Zhao Qibing Makes His Move

"Yes, Father," Yuning said with a nod. She pushed Yushan's wheelchair and left the Hidden Rain family estate.

The Rain family patriarch had already departed by then and knew nothing of this, and Yuxiaocheng did not give it much thought either. Naturally, it never occurred to him that trouble could arise so close to home, so he paid it no mind.

Yuning pushed Yushan out of the old castle and brought him to the family's estate on the mountain behind it. She did not know what to say. She knew how Yushan had been injured—one could say he had brought it on himself, but at the very least it had been caused by her cousin and Wei Zhao, so there was still some guilt in her heart.

"Xiaoning, I know what you must be thinking. You're thinking I surely hate your cousin, aren't you?" Seeing that Yuning said nothing, Yushan took the initiative to find a topic. He had to keep talking—if he did not, how else could he stall for time and get Yuning to push him to the back mountain?

"Ah..." Yuning was taken aback. She had not expected Yushan to ask so directly, but she still shook her head. "No. We're all named Rain, after all, and we're all cousins. What's past is past. And the fact that you could come out and attend the family banquet today, Yushan, proves you've already stepped out of the shadow of your injury, doesn't it?"

"Heh, yes, you're right. There's a saying that goes well—you can't write two Rain characters with one stroke. Yubing may have joined outsiders to beat me into a cripple, but in the end it was my own fault. I was beaten because I lacked the ability. Who can I blame? Once you come to terms with something, it's fine." Yushan smiled and said, "These past days, I've thought about a great many things... What are you doing? Can't you see my sister and I are discussing family matters? Why are you standing so close? Trying to eavesdrop?"

Yushan suddenly broke off and barked at a servant who was tending the flowers and plants not far away.

"Ah! Young Master Yushan... I... I wasn't eavesdropping!" The servant jumped in fright and hastily shook his head to prove his innocence.

"Yushan, he's only working here. He certainly had no intention of eavesdropping. Don't give him a hard time." Yuning was kind-hearted and quickly tried to smooth things over, though she did not doubt Yushan's behavior in the least. That was simply how Yushan was—ever since he had been crippled, his temper had been poor, and he often snapped at the family's servants and disciples, so his behavior seemed perfectly normal to Yuning.

"Hmph. Aren't you going to thank Miss Yuning?" Yushan said with a cold snort.

"Thank you, Miss Yuning, thank you..." the servant said hurriedly and gratefully.

"Xiaoning, let's go. Let's head to the back mountain where there's no one around, so we won't have these servants eavesdropping," Yushan snorted again before speaking to Yuning.

"Oh, all right..." After what had just happened, Yuning did not think much of it and pushed Yushan in the direction of the back mountain...

The two chatted as they walked, and their conversation was quite warm. Yuning even thought Yushan had truly come around and had a great awakening, so she was very happy. To Yuning, harmony in the Rain family was paramount, and if Yushan could sort out his feelings, then quietly taking on some steward's duties in the future would be quite good.

Yushan spoke fair words, but in his heart he was sneering. Xiaoning, oh Xiaoning, you're far too naive. Whatever your cousin says, you believe? Just wait until Zhao Qibing snatches you away—then you'll be wide-eyed!

At that moment, Zhao Qibing was already hidden in the back mountain of the Hidden Rain family. Both he and his companion were Earth-rank cultivators, and slipping past those mountain patrol disciples was child's play. The Hidden Rain family was only a hidden clan, and its patrol disciples were merely Yellow-rank experts—nothing compared to the ancient level.

Zhao Qibing had already received the text message Yushan had secretly sent and stood ready at any moment to abduct Yuning. Only when Yushan and Yuning drew near did Zhao Qibing give Uncle Zhu his orders: "Uncle Zhu, you go up in a moment. Knock that girl unconscious and carry her off! But mind where you carry her—don't go touching anything you shouldn't. She's my future wife!"

"Yes!" Uncle Zhu's heart tightened, and he hastily assented. Inwardly, though, he thought: I'm this old—of course I won't go groping about. But he was puzzled as to why Zhao Qibing had come to the Hidden Rain family's territory to seize someone. What exactly was Zhao Qibing up to?

Uncle Zhu did not know Yuning, so naturally he had no idea who this man and woman approaching were. Before acting, he hesitated. "Young Master Bing, just the woman? What about the man in the wheelchair? Do I finish him off, or take him too?"

"When you go, knock the man unconscious, then just take the woman," Zhao Qibing said.

"Ah? Then won't he see my face?" Uncle Zhu asked, startled.

"It's fine. He's my inside man—Yushan, a young master of the Hidden Rain family. The woman is his sister, Yuning. I intend to take her as my wife!" Fearing Uncle Zhu might feel uneasy, Zhao Qibing explained. Of course, since they were about to act, he no longer worried about leaks.

After all, once this was done, it would come out sooner or later. That would be the moment Zhao Qibing went to the Hidden Rain family to propose marriage. Once the rice was cooked, there would be nothing to fear.

"Ah? Yuning? But... an inside man still needs knocking out?" Uncle Zhu was taken aback. He thought Zhao Qibing certainly had nerve, daring even to abduct the eldest daughter of the Rain family. Still, he did not dwell on it—after all, he did not know of the relationship between Wei Zhao and Yuning. In Uncle Zhu's mind, Wei Zhao was an enemy of both the Hidden Zhao family and the Hidden Rain family.

"Yes. If I don't knock him out, won't that give us away? All right, move—quickly!" Seeing the two drawing near, Zhao Qibing gave the order.

"Yes!" Uncle Zhu nodded, understanding. He rushed forward swiftly. Before Yuning could react, he struck her unconscious with a single palm. Then, while Yushan's face remained expressionless, he knocked him out with a punch as well, shouldered Yuning, and turned to go...

Seeing that Uncle Zhu had succeeded, Zhao Qibing dared not linger. He hurried off with Uncle Zhu. After evading the patrol disciples, they got into a car at the foot of the mountain and sped away from the Hidden Rain family's territory like the wind!

"Phew..." Zhao Qibing had not let Uncle Zhu drive today; he took the wheel himself. A racer by nature, his driving was far better than Uncle Zhu's, so the getaway was best left to him. Only after driving clear of the Rain family's sphere of influence did Zhao Qibing breathe a sigh of relief. "Finally done. It's fine now—everything went smoothly!"