Chapter 3164 — Visiting Wei Zhao

Of course, from their point of view, Lin Dongfang had no reason whatsoever to put on a false show of cordiality with them. If Lin Dongfang wished to kill them, it would be no more than the lifting of a hand; that he was willing to entrust them with errands was, in itself, a mark of favor.

"As for my presence here, I want you to keep it secret. Before Xiaoyi has grown into his strength, I do not wish word of me to spread, and he himself knows nothing of what happened to me in those years!" Lin Dongfang glanced at the three—Ancestor Huangquan, Ancestor Blood-Robe, and Ancestor Gloom—and spoke in warning.

"Rest easy, Old Master. We will not be loose-lipped. Unless it is absolutely unavoidable, we will not act. In public, shall we and the young master keep to the same terms as before?" Ancestor Huangquan nodded and inquired cautiously.

"That won't be necessary. Find some pretext and settle the grudge between you first, so he won't have to worry." Old Man Wei also hoped to ease the pressure on Wei Zhao a little. Wei Zhao's burden was, after all, rather too heavy now, and Old Man Wei feared he might not hold up under it; anyone with a weaker constitution of mind would have gone mad by now.

"Understood. We know what to do," Ancestor Huangquan answered hastily.

"Very well, off you go. If anything comes up, you may contact me." Old Man Wei gave Ancestor Huangquan his phone number. "I have no calling card, so take it down."

"I've got it!" Ancestor Gloom had already produced a notebook and written down Lin Dongfang's number. He was rather excited—this was a master of the Heavenly Dao! From now on, the Blood-Robe Huangquan Sect would no longer be a sect without a patron; their patron would be a master of the Heavenly Dao, an existence even more formidable than the Five Luminaries Sect!

If Lin Dongfang and Mr. Yang were to set out together, the Five Luminaries Sect and the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow cult would both be finished!

Ancestor Huangquan, Ancestor Blood-Robe, and Ancestor Gloom departed without a sound. Watching their receding backs, Old Man Wei could not help a bitter smile. Today's business was half good, half bad, he supposed. He could not leave West Star Mountain Village for long—that was his fatal weakness. Fortunately, only the Blood-Robe Huangquan Sect knew he was here; the more sects that knew, the greater the chance that the matter of Lin Dongfang would be exposed!

Exposure would be no good thing. If people deduced that Lin Dongfang could not leave West Star Mountain Village, those sects that had suffered losses back then would vent their wrath on Wei Zhao. Unless Wei Zhao too returned to West Star Mountain Village to take shelter, he would likely find enemies all over the world.

It was out of this consideration that Lin Dongfang had strictly ordered the Blood-Robe Huangquan Sect to keep the secret.

Once Ancestor Huangquan, Ancestor Blood-Robe, and Ancestor Gloom had left the bounds of West Star Mountain Village, the three of them sat down together on a patch of grass by the roadside and breathed a sigh of relief. The sky was gradually brightening now, and all three were still panting, their hearts not yet at ease.

"Blood-Robe, it seems your premonition was right, and your guess too. Who would have thought the Old Master would come here to live in seclusion?" Ancestor Huangquan gave a bitter smile and wiped the cold sweat from his brow.

"Ah, I was only speaking offhand at the time. What is even more surprising is that Wei Zhao is actually the Old Master's grandson and Mr. Yang's disciple—and we were actually thinking of doing away with Wei Zhao! Wasn't that just courting death?" Ancestor Blood-Robe sighed and spoke with some helplessness.

"By the way, how are we to settle our grudge with Master Wei Zhao?" Ancestor Gloom suddenly thought of the crux. Lin Dongfang had told them to find a pretext and smooth the grudge over—but how were they to smooth it over?

"How about we make a trip to Donghai City and have a word with Master Wei Zhao?" Ancestor Huangquan suggested.

"And say what? Just say it outright?" Ancestor Blood-Robe frowned. "Won't Master Wei Zhao suspect our motives?"

"You two ancestors, I actually have a good idea!" Ancestor Gloom's eyes rolled. "We can go and tell Wei Zhao that the man who hired us back then was Zhao Qibing, that all of this was caused by Zhao Qibing. A wrong has its source and a debt its debtor—we want revenge on Zhao Qibing, but now Zhao Qibing is a disciple of the Night Palace, and it is not convenient for us to go after him. If we could have Master Wei Zhao put in a word with Palace Master Gu Mengyao of the Night Palace and ask her to help deal with Zhao Qibing, that would be splendid!"

"Oh? That is a good idea, but will Master Wei Zhao help us?" Ancestor Huangquan nodded and asked.

"I'd say there's a good chance. After all, we can offer him a benefit—say, whenever he needs the Blood-Robe Huangquan Sect's help, we will lend a hand!" Ancestor Gloom said. "That way, not only do we have a reason to help Master Wei Zhao, but he won't suspect us either!"

"Gloom, I find your mind is rather nimble!" Ancestor Huangquan, on hearing this, at once felt Ancestor Gloom's idea was excellent. He nodded and said, "Very good. In this way, we too shall have a reason to act on Wei Zhao's behalf!"

Ancestor Gloom breathed a sigh of relief at once. "Ancestor Huangquan flatters me. Let this count as your subordinate making amends for his faults!"

"No, you have not only no fault, but merit—great merit! If we had not investigated so slowly and delayed our move against Master Wei Zhao, and had we truly gone to kill Wei Zhao, then whether or not the Old Master arrived in time, and whether or not Master Wei Zhao died, we would all have been doomed beyond doubt!" Ancestor Huangquan waved a hand. "This is a great merit of yours!"

"Indeed. Gloom, this time you saved our Blood-Robe Huangquan Sect! From now on, you are no longer a servant—you are our Blood-Robe's third brother, and may be counted as a formal higher-up of the Blood-Robe Huangquan Sect!" Ancestor Blood-Robe nodded.

"Thank you both for your fostering, Ancestors. In Gloom's heart, the two of you will forever be my masters!" Ancestor Gloom said, tears of gratitude in his eyes.

"No—our master now is Wei Zhao. Do not get it wrong, lest the Old Master misunderstand," Ancestor Huangquan said. "From now on, our station is that of the master's junior brothers, all the same!"

"Yes!" Ancestor Gloom answered hastily.

Having settled on their plan, the three set out for Donghai City—partly, of course, to avoid trouble from delaying. In their minds, Lin Dongfang was about as welcome as a death summons.

When Ancestor Blood-Robe, Ancestor Huangquan, and Ancestor Gloom stood at the gate of Wei Zhao's villa, their mood was utterly different from when they had left the Blood-Robe Huangquan Sect. Back then their hearts had been full of rage and hatred toward Wei Zhao, and they wished for nothing more than to kill him and be done with it; but now their hearts held only awe and dread.