Chapter 2975 — Seeking Feng Xiaoxiao

"Of course not!" Kang Jingming denied it flatly. "I'm an elder of the Xuandan Sect—why would I use poison? If anyone's an expert in poison, it's the hidden Yao family's Medicine King!"

"Oh..." Seeing how tightly Kang Jingming had sealed his lips, Wei Zhao knew he would get nothing more out of him, so he asked straight out, "When will my Qi-Gathering Pill be ready?"

"That sort of thing takes time, you know that. I agreed to half a year, and barely a month has passed—how could it possibly be done so soon? Besides, I have the Xuandan Sect's affairs to see to; I can only study your pill in whatever spare moments I get," Kang Jingming said. "But rest easy—within half a year, I guarantee it will be yours."

"Fine, then." Wei Zhao had no other choice. Kang Jingming had indeed promised exactly that before, and since half a year was the agreed term, Wei Zhao could only accept it.

Wei Zhao hung up, and on his end, Kang Jingming went off to find the Xuanchen Patriarch.

"Master, Wei Zhao just called to ask about the Qi-Gathering Pill. Isn't he a cripple now? Why would he still want a Qi-Gathering Pill? Don't you think there's something odd about all this?" Kang Jingming reported to the Xuanchen Patriarch honestly, recounting the whole of his conversation with Wei Zhao.

"Hmm..." The Xuanchen Patriarch pondered a moment, then said, "Wei Zhao's dantian and meridians are ruined, so a Qi-Gathering Pill would indeed be of no use to him. But does he have any subordinate of peak late Earth Rank at his side? Perhaps he means to create another Heaven Rank expert to protect himself."

"That's quite possible!" Hearing the Xuanchen Patriarch's analysis, Kang Jingming found it wholly convincing. "In that case, the hidden Han family's Han Tianba must be at peak late Earth Rank, and the hidden Zhuang family ought to have someone of that level too. If he means to create another Heaven Rank expert, it's hardly surprising."

"String him along for now. There's no hurry in any case. Perhaps before the half year is out, Wei Zhao will be dead, and then we won't need to refine any Limit Qi-Gathering Pill for him at all. And if he's still alive within the half year, then refining him one won't hurt. If he wants to make himself a Heaven Rank expert, let him—it does us no harm. He's no more than an ant. Were it not for the White Leader's side, I'd have killed him long ago! Would it even have come to the hidden Zhao family having to act?"

"True enough!" Kang Jingming nodded in agreement.

……………………

After a long journey, Zhao Qilei finally arrived at the borders of the Ice Palace—the Ice and Snow Spirit Town!

Coming to this familiar place once more, Zhao Qilei was overcome with emotion for a time, and old memories surged up in his heart all at once: his clashes with Wei Zhao, then his submission to him, and together with Wei Zhao encountering the mad old Heaven Rank man in the mountain cave. Thinking back on all this, Zhao Qilei felt a pang of sorrow.

How high-spirited Wei Zhao had been back then! Yet out of trust in him, he had fallen for the Zhao family's trick and been reduced to a cripple. And he, as a subordinate, had been unable to do anything for him. Though Wei Zhao had never blamed him, Zhao Qilei's own heart ached terribly.

He parked the car before the Ice Spirit Inn. At this time no one was taking part in the Ice Palace's trials, so the inn seemed utterly desolate. The sudden arrival of a stranger's car brought even Manager Li of the inn out in person to see what was going on.

"Are you here to stay, sir?" Manager Li asked from a short distance away. Although the Ice Spirit Inn had been built specifically to house the Xuandan Sect's trials, it also did ordinary business the rest of the time, taking in travelers and adventurers as well—hence Manager Li's tentative question.

"No, I've come to the Ice Palace to find someone," Zhao Qilei said, having parked the car and gotten out. He came straight to the point with Manager Li.

"It's you?" Manager Li recognized Zhao Qilei at once as he stepped out of the car! After the Ice Palace trials had ended back then, everyone else had left the inn, but Zhao Qilei alone had stayed on for some time waiting for Wei Zhao. Manager Li's impression of him remained very sharp.

"You know me, Manager Li?" Zhao Qilei was pleasantly surprised to find that Manager Li seemed to recognize him.

"Yes—you're a friend of Vice Palace Mistress Feng, and family to Steward Zhao of the outer court." Having recognized Zhao Qilei, Manager Li was much more courteous. "What brings you here? Is something the matter?"

"There's a matter I'd like to see Vice Palace Mistress Feng about. Could you help arrange it, Manager Li?" Zhao Qilei asked.

"Stay here for now. I'll pass word to the Palace Mistress. If she agrees, Vice Palace Mistress Feng will naturally come here to see you," Manager Li said.

"All right." Zhao Qilei nodded and checked into the inn, and into his old room besides! It was plain that no one had stayed here since Zhao Qilei's last departure—not a single thing in the room had been moved!

Even if someone had stayed and it had been cleaned afterward, it was impossible that every item in the room would be exactly as it was—the positions of the telephone and the remote control, for instance...

Manager Li dared not be negligent. Once Zhao Qilei had checked in, he sent word to Bing Tang by carrier pigeon, telling her that Zhao Qilei had come and wished to see Vice Palace Mistress Feng.

When Bing Tang received Manager Li's message, however, she did not pass the letter on to Feng Xiaoxiao. She had long since learned of Wei Zhao's injury but had not told Feng Xiaoxiao—she did not want her distracted—nor would she lift a finger to help Wei Zhao.

If Wei Zhao could not weather even this little difficulty, then he did not deserve to bargain with her, and could never make her his littlest-littlest-littlest-littlest wife! On the matter of this "littlest-littlest-littlest-littlest wife," Bing Tang still harbored some objections, and so not once did she act when Wei Zhao ran into trouble afterward.

"Aunt Qing, go and have Zhao Qiwu and Yu Bing make a trip to the Ice Spirit Inn. Tell them an old friend has come calling." But Bing Tang was not unreasonable, either. If Feng Xiaoxiao met with Zhao Qilei, she would inevitably worry herself sick over Wei Zhao's injuries—and in truth, even Bing Tang herself had no way to heal Wei Zhao's wounds. So rather than let Feng Xiaoxiao worry for nothing, it was better she knew nothing at all.

Bing Tang could guess without much thought what Zhao Qilei had come for: nothing more than to plead with Feng Xiaoxiao to step in and help Wei Zhao. What puzzled Bing Tang, though, was this—wasn't Wei Zhao injured because of Zhao Qilei's betrayal? So why would Zhao Qilei come to the Ice Palace looking for Feng Xiaoxiao? Was he not afraid of dying?

There must be some hidden circumstance in all this that Bing Tang did not know. But she had no mind to dig into it; such things did not interest her.

"Yes, Palace Mistress!" Xiao Qing had read the letter in Bing Tang's hand as well. Documents submitted to Bing Tang from within the Ice Palace generally passed through Xiao Qing's eyes first; whatever she could endorse and decide, she endorsed directly, and only what she could not decide went up to Bing Tang. (To be continued)