Chapter 2871 — Finding Zhang Naipao

"Here's how it is, Secretary Cui—don't panic just yet. I'll think of something on my end, and you get word to President Lang as fast as you can. I'll raise the money as quickly as I'm able. This shipment has to be kept!"

"All right, President Liu. I'll go and tell President Lang, then. Call me the moment you have news."

Liu Tianli hung up, rose from his desk, and headed straight downstairs, out to his car, and off toward the bank. The company had no cash left, true, but it still held plenty of real estate—its office tower, the Liu family villa, the hotels and property developments it had invested in years ago, luxury cars and the like. Add to that the Liu family's long-standing reputation and connections, and while a loan of a billion was a sizable sum, it was not beyond reach.

As for Cui Mianshi, he turned around the moment the call ended, an oily smile on his face, and looked at Xiao Chunjie. "Brother Chunjie, it's done. Liu Tianli took the bait!"

"Good. Still, Cui Mianshi, you've earned your share of the credit this time. When we're back, I'll be sure to report it to Young Master Wen on your behalf." Xiao Chunjie nodded in satisfaction. He hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. The hypnotist truly was formidable—one session, and Liu Tianli had lost all sense of direction.

"Then thank you, Brother Chunjie..." Cui Mianshi said, hastening to express his gratitude.

Liu Tianli moved quickly. In fact, now that the Liu family served as raw-material purchaser and finished-product distributor for Guan the Healer's Pharmaceuticals, everyone in the trade knew it. With that connection behind him, securing a loan was still a simple matter.

The paperwork was wrapped up in no time. Liu Tianli smoothly drew a billion from the bank, got in touch with President Lang, and transferred the money into President Lang's account.

When Xiao Chunjie saw the funds all land in his own account, he knew it was time to draw in the net—time to bid Liu Tianli farewell. But to wound him all the deeper, Xiao Chunjie deliberately said nothing. He meant to let Liu Tianli enjoy a few days of sweet dreams first, and only then deliver the blow.

An Liwen had never expected this scheme to go so smoothly either—far easier, in fact, than the last time he had swindled Gu Pengzhan!

"Wei Zhao, oh Wei Zhao, this never even crossed your mind, did it? You go off to some trial or other, and now your company's about to collapse! Hah—this is what you get for crossing the Fire Wolf Gang and Red Conch!" An Liwen sneered once the news reached him.

After so long, he had finally vented his spleen. For ages he had been suppressed by Wei Zhao; no matter what he tried, in the end Wei Zhao or the people around him would tear it apart. It had left An Liwen stifled and furious—but this time, at last, he was the one holding his head high.

…

The Thunder Pig was a spirit beast to begin with. Its movements were unimpeded in the wilds of the Five Evils, and no spirit beast would attack it. They simply ignored its running to and fro…

Of course, even with such freedom of movement, finding any trace of Zhang Naipao in the vast Five Evils wasteland was easier said than done!

Still, the Thunder Pig did not search blindly. Whenever it reached a new stretch of territory, it would linger a while. It had seen Zhang Naipao before and remembered his aura; within a certain range, if Zhang Naipao was there, it could sense him.

At last, heaven did not betray the diligent pig. When the Thunder Pig came into one particular region, it picked up Zhang Naipao's aura. That discovery thrilled the Thunder Pig at once, weary as it had grown of the fruitless search, and it raced off at full speed in the direction of the scent…

That Zhang Naipao was still alive at all was something of a miracle. After Wei Zhao drove him mad, he had run wild through the Five Evils wasteland, and inevitably he encountered spirit beasts. Seeing a human cultivator of the early Heaven rank, they naturally attacked.

Yet though Zhang Naipao was insane, some instinct deep within him still fought back whenever man or beast attacked. Lucky for him, he did not unleash any martial technique; instead, he began circulating the mental formulae of the Thorn Divine Art.

Had he lashed out with martial techniques at random, they might well have done no good—or he might have been killed by a spirit beast in an instant, like Dongfang Bushu, before he could even unleash them.

But the Thorn Divine Art was different. It was a passive counterattack art. When a spirit beast struck him, a counterattack of two hundred and forty percent arose of its own accord!

The spirit beasts were no fools. After attacking Zhang Naipao and taking a massive blow in return, they would strike once or twice, sense something was wrong, and stop. Though they had badly wounded Zhang Naipao, they did not press the attack. What was more, they spread word to the sonic flying spirit beasts of how dangerous Zhang Naipao was, warning any other beast that came across him to be on guard and not attack this strange cultivator, lest they injure themselves.

And so Zhang Naipao escaped catastrophe by sheer luck. Wounded as he was, he could not run; he simply sat on the ground, cackling like a madman, while the spirit beasts passing nearby, all forewarned, treated him as so much air and left him there to live or die as he would.

When the Thunder Pig found Zhang Naipao, it had not expected to see him sitting there in a vacant stupor. Yet observing his injuries, and watching a while to see that the other spirit beasts paid him no mind, it found the sight rather curious!

The Thunder Pig had been in the Five Evils Mountains all along. That place was forbidden ground for spirit beasts, and the sonic flying spirit beasts naturally did not fly near it, so the Thunder Pig had never received the warning.

Originally the Thunder Pig had worried that even if it found Zhang Naipao, it would not be easy to bring Wei Zhao and Tianchan to him. Zhang Naipao was a living man, after all, and a mad one at that—his position was never fixed. The pig had wondered whether it ought to shadow him, wait until he tired himself out and rested for the night, and only then go back for Wei Zhao. But now, it seemed, that would not be necessary.

Once it had fixed Zhang Naipao's location in its mind, the Thunder Pig hurried back to Wei Zhao in the Five Evils Mountains as fast as it could!

Seeing the Thunder Pig return so quickly, both Wei Zhao and Tianchan were astonished!

"Little thing, did you find Zhang Naipao?" Tianchan had all but given up hope of finding Zhang Naipao, yet the Thunder Pig had actually done it? Her real purpose in coming here had been to find Wei Zhao; Zhang Naipao was merely a pretext to placate Ancestor Xuanchen. But now, it seemed, there was an unexpected gain.

"Squeak, squeak!" The Thunder Pig nodded smugly. Not only had it found Zhang Naipao, it had also discovered an important pattern in the movements of spirit beasts!