Chapter 3362 — Negotiating Terms
"Open the gate." Thor Ri Yue and Thor Long stood before one of the underground entrances of the ancient castle; Thor Ri Yue ordered Thor Long.
"Yes, Father." Thor Long nodded, drew from his pocket an iron key of a most peculiar shape, and placed it into a notch beside the underground entrance. The key's shape matched the notch exactly, fitting in perfectly!
Once the iron key was inserted, the underground entrance slowly and silently opened. So this entrance required a key to open, and it opened only one way—no wonder Yu Xiaoke had searched so long without finding how to trigger the mechanism!
Wei Zhao was growing impatient. If they waited any longer without finding a way to open it, he would simply blast it apart with a true-qi bomb and be done with it.
Just as Yu Xiaoke was searching for the trigger mechanism, the door before them opened silently of its own accord. A piercing beam of light shot in through the crack, making all three—Yu Xiaoke, Wei Zhao, and Yu Dake—freeze at once, puzzled.
Yu Xiaoke, of course, was the most bewildered. She did not believe she had found any mechanism, so why had the door suddenly opened? Could it be that she had accidentally brushed against some trigger and set the door open?
True, there were night-pearls in the vault for light, but the color of the light outside was entirely different—a bright yellow glow. So when the door opened, Yu Xiaoke's eyes could not adjust in time; Wei Zhao, however, was immune to all this and saw the arrivals outside the door directly!
That gave Wei Zhao a sudden start. Surely they could not be so unlucky that the Pao'li clan would happen to come to the vault? Wei Zhao knew this was the Pao'li clan's storehouse and that they placed spent energy stones here—but among the arrivals, one happened to be a master of peak late Heaven-rank, at the full circle of perfection. That left Wei Zhao deeply disgruntled!
Yet it was too late now to hide. Wei Zhao could only secretly circulate the mnemonic of his heart technique, ready to meet any clash that might break out at any moment.
"Mr. Lin, is it? Greetings. Allow me to introduce myself—I am the current clan chief of the Pao'li clan, and my name is Thor Ri Yue!" Seeing Wei Zhao circulate his heart technique, Thor Ri Yue was startled at once. He knew well what Wei Zhao was capable of; if Wei Zhao crippled his eldest son as well, he truly would find nowhere to weep.
"Oh? You are the Pao'li clan chief? You come here—" Wei Zhao had not expected that this friendly old man was in fact the Pao'li clan chief, and that he would speak to him so courteously.
"Forgive me, Mr. Lin. Earlier, my third son was also beguiled by a sorcerer, which is why he raised his hand against you here. I offer you my most sincere apologies—I am sorry!" Thor Ri Yue kept his posture very low, because he knew this was his chance—and also the chance of his third son, Thor Tu!
Wei Zhao was quite surprised by Thor Ri Yue's apology, but it did not look feigned—and in Wei Zhao's view, the man had no need to feign it. He nodded: "A sorcerer? What do you mean? Old clan chief, have you come here to make peace with me?"
"Indeed. That sorcerer claimed to come from the Central Plains—one is called Kang Jingming, the other He Yi, a disciple of the Patriarch Xuanchen, acting head of the Five Luminaries Sect of the Central Plains." Thor Ri Yue did not conceal it; in the blink of an eye, he had sold out Kang Jingming.
"Kang Jingming? He Yi?" A flicker of shock crossed Wei Zhao's face. "So it is them?"
"Two men? From the Central Plains? The Five Luminaries Sect?" Yu Dake was shocked as well. By Yu Dake's reckoning, these two must surely have come from the Gu family to seek out the Pao'li clan and settle a feud of their own!
"It seems Mr. Lin knows these two!" A flash of shame crossed Thor Ri Yue's face. "Indeed. They promised to give our Pao'li clan a top-grade fourth-rank Great Return Pill, and in return our Pao'li clan would lend them a hand against an enemy! And Mr. Lin has surely seen it for himself—my meridians are wholly ruined, and only a top-grade fourth-rank Great Return Pill can heal my injuries. So we agreed to the request. I only never imagined that Mr. Lin was also of the Five Luminaries Sect—"
"Ah?" Yu Dake had not expected Wei Zhao to be one of the Five Luminaries Sect as well. If so, were those two foes not Wei Zhao's fellow disciples? Could Wei Zhao still avenge him? Wait—if they were fellow disciples, why would those men move against Wei Zhao?
"So that is how it is." Wei Zhao nodded. "Then the purpose of the old clan chief's visit is—"
"Mr. Lin, let us speak plainly, without riddles. I have learned a thing or two of your deeds. If I am not mistaken, you should have a top-grade fourth-rank Great Return Pill in your possession—and more than one, no?" Thor Ri Yue asked tentatively.
"And then?" Wei Zhao neither confirmed nor denied; he merely asked in return.
"If Mr. Lin could provide us with one or two, I believe the Pao'li clan would be endlessly grateful to Mr. Lin," Thor Ri Yue said.
"You mean to heal both your injuries and your son's, is that it?" Wei Zhao asked.
"Yes, precisely. What does Mr. Lin think?" Thor Ri Yue nodded and asked.
"You think that after your son treated me as he did and locked me in the dungeon, I would turn around and save him—do you take me for a fool?" Wei Zhao smiled and countered.
"Of course—this is a transaction. Mr. Lin may state his terms. Earlier, my son Thor Tu also said that Mr. Lin came to our Pao'li clan to discuss business," Thor Ri Yue hastily added.
"Good. First, help me kill He Yi." Wei Zhao did not demand that the Pao'li clan kill Kang Jingming, because Kang Jingming still owed him a Qi-Gathering Pill—and with his strength, killing Kang Jingming was a matter of moments for Wei Zhao; there was no need for the Pao'li clan to act on his behalf.
He Yi, however, was a grave menace. Wei Zhao did not yet have absolute confidence that he could kill him in an instant, and if it went wrong and he was slain instead, the loss would far outweigh the gain. So the more enemies dead, the better.
"This—" Thor Ri Yue hesitated a moment, then said, "If Mr. Lin truly can provide me with a top-grade fourth-rank Great Return Pill, I can satisfy Mr. Lin's request."
"A top-grade fourth-rank Great Return Pill? Kang Jingming can give you one? Has he given you one?" Wei Zhao did not answer; instead he looked at Thor Ri Yue with a half-smile. (To be continued)