Chapter 3205 — The Worry After the Feud

"Of course!" Tang's mother agreed with an unhesitating nod. After all, her heart was with Wei Zhao; even had he said nothing, she could never have gone around spreading his affairs.

Wei Zhao nodded, then set the third layer of the Xuan Yuan Dragon-Taming Art into motion, healing her injuries while restoring his own stamina and true qi.

Meanwhile, in Tang Yuqi's room, Tang Yuqi sat steeped in gloom.

"Ling Shan, though we've weathered this for the moment, the Overseas Cultivators' Association likely won't let it lie. I'm sure they'll come looking for trouble again, and by then Brother Wei Zhao and Brother Lin will be dragged into it!" Tang Yuqi sighed.

"It's nothing. Wei Zhao stepped in because of Aunt Wang." Qiu Lingshan did not count it as trouble brought on by Tang Yuqi. It all depended on how one looked at it. Tang's mother and Wei Zhao might appear unrelated on the surface, but Qiu Lingshan knew well enough what lay between them, and Wei Zhao had made a feud with the Overseas Cultivators' Association for her sake—no great matter, all told.

"Aunt Wang is my second aunt, when all's said and done. This still comes back to me!" Tang Yuqi was full of self-reproach. "It's all my fault for having such a loose tongue back then, reporting my breakthrough to Heaven-rank. If I hadn't, they could never have known any of it. I applied to withdraw from the Overseas Cultivators' Association—they might well have approved it outright, and they would never have sent anyone here."

"What's done is done. There's no point in going over it now. Let's hear what Wei Zhao has to say in a moment," Qiu Lingshan said.

Even as she spoke, Wei Zhao walked in with Tang's mother, restored to her former self. She was radiant with vigor, in no way resembling a woman who had just been injured, and the sight left Tang Yuqi clicking his tongue in wonder.

"Second Aunt, you're well?" Tang Yuqi asked in astonishment.

"Yes, all well." Tang's mother trusted Wei Zhao utterly, and so she nodded and said as much.

"Well is what matters! Brother Lin, Ling Shan and I were just discussing this—the Overseas Cultivators' Association won't let it go so easily. They lost a Heaven-rank expert this time. They're bound to come for revenge!" Tang Yuqi said.

"I know. But Aunt Wang belongs to Snow Valley, so she should be safe enough. Once she's back, they won't dare stir up trouble at Snow Valley—that would be courting death." Wei Zhao said, "As for me, they'll likely do some investigating before they move against me, and they won't act rashly. This isn't their territory, after all."

"True enough. Still, we've put you to trouble!" Tang Yuqi said gravely.

"The one you ought to worry about is yourself. This whole conflict started because of you, so you're the one they'll most want to take revenge on—and to use as leverage." Wei Zhao said.

"I know. But it has to be faced. We're just waiting for my father's flight to land here today, and then we head for Snow Valley. You were right—we'll be safest there." Tang Yuqi said.

In truth, easy as Wei Zhao's words sounded, there was still some pressure weighing on him. The Overseas Cultivators' Association was not like the ancient sects of these parts; their information would not travel so quickly, and they knew nothing of Wei Zhao's so-called "exploits." If they truly came charging in blindly, Wei Zhao would be hard put to deal with them.

After all, the tale of Wei Zhao slaying a peak late Heaven-rank expert in a single blow was nothing but rumor. As things stood, he had barely managed to finish off Elder Chen, a peak mid Heaven-rank expert, and had needed a long recovery afterward. Had Elder Wang made his move back then, Wei Zhao would have died beyond any doubt.

These fabrications would crumble at a single touch. Wei Zhao truly feared such a day arriving—yet fear afforded no remedy. Neither did he regret it. Aunt Wang had helped him back in Snow Valley, and he was deeply grateful for that.

Not long after Wei Zhao returned home, he received a call from Little Ken at the orphanage.

"Brother Lin, it's Little Ken!" Little Ken said. "The orphanage hasn't been doing well these past few days. We're stretched thin on funds, and Sister Xiaoke has been fretting over it endlessly…"

Wei Zhao picked up the phone. Hearing Little Ken's tale of woe, he felt rather helpless himself. Kang Jingming had reacted far too swiftly, rolling out an upgrade service for his medicinal cauldron straight away, so that Wei Zhao's own new upgrade could only be put on hold while he built the new peripherals.

But manufacturing and developing peripherals took time, and that created a gap. Sales of the medicinal cauldron had fallen sharply of late, and funds still had to be set aside for research and for building the cloud servers behind the peripherals. Naturally, less money found its way to the orphanage.

Yet construction on the orphanage had already begun—an arrow loosed cannot be recalled—and it could not stop now. In fact, Yu Xiaoke herself was surprised that Wei Zhao and Fat Lai had agreed to her charity group idea at all.

Yu Xiaoke's devotion to the children was genuine enough, but she was no fool. Wei Zhao's repeated help, given freely time and again, had grown more than she could bear. She knew she owed him more and more, and Yu Dake had hinted to her that Wei Zhao actually still had feelings for her—which left her thoroughly miserable.

But for the children's sake, Yu Xiaoke could only accept it and take things one step at a time. So even when Wei Zhao's funding shrank, she did not call to press or inquire, afraid that if she made the call, Wei Zhao would attach some improper condition.

In truth, Yu Xiaoke was rather puzzled herself. Was she really so wonderful? Wei Zhao had all that money, and pretty girls enough around him—was it worth spending such effort and expense on her? Yu Xiaoke did not think she was worth so much money.

Yet Wei Zhao's aid kept flowing in regardless, which baffled her and, at the same time, left her unable to pull away. She wanted to decline, but decline she could not.

Yu Xiaoke wanted to earn a little money to ease the pressure—a drop in the bucket, perhaps, but better than nothing. Yet apart from thieving, she truly did not know what to do.

Little Ken saw all of this with his own eyes, and could not help but dial Wei Zhao's number.

Wei Zhao thought it over, and then inspiration struck. He really did hit upon a good idea, and at once said, "I do have an idea. The famous star Xu Shilan happens to be here with me right now. If she were to hold a charity concert and donation drive, I imagine we'd raise some money—though not much, nothing compared to what Fat Lai gave before."

Fat Lai had handed the orphanage five hundred million all at once, whereas a concert and donation drive would bring in one or two hundred million at most. After all, a donation drive had just been held, so this one would not raise much (Yuren's public WeChat account yuren22; update times and the latest plot shared by Yuren at any time).

(To be continued,