Chapter 4005 — Safe and Sound

Shangguan Lan'er, however, rolled her eyes and declared with certainty, "You just don't get it, Little Junior Brother. A nuisance like Xu Lingchong spends every waking hour scheming about how to take over the family business—everything else is nothing but clouds drifting past. So there's no way he'd dare breathe a word about what happened today. On the contrary, he'll be covering it up at every turn, terrified his family will find out he's been turned into a eunuch. Hee hee!"

"True enough. If his grandfather Xu Yuanzheng got wind of it, he'd probably be relegated to the fringes for good," Wei Zhao nodded in agreement.

This was hardly difficult to grasp. No family on earth would let a eunuch inherit the reins of power—that went without saying.

Besides, even if Xu Lingchong did tell, it would bring him no benefit whatsoever—only enormous risk. Shangguan Tianxia would never simply let the matter of his only granddaughter slide.

"And that's exactly why we mustn't tell Grandfather. Otherwise you and I and Little White would be in real trouble—no telling how long we'd be locked up in confinement." Shangguan Lan'er stuck out her tongue.

Wei Zhao nearly laughed out loud. No wonder the girl had spoken with such insight—so this was where it came from. This little senior sister's cleverness had always been deployed selectively.

With Xu Lingchong vanished and that pool of blood in the corner of the wall, Shangguan Lan'er felt a fair measure of disgust. A moment later she took Wei Zhao by the hand and headed downstairs.

By the time the two of them came down, the banquet was in full swing. The great personages were raising their cups to one another, gathered in twos and threes, cultivating ties and holding forth in high spirits, their faces flushed with wine.

Scanning the crowd, Wei Zhao paid particular attention to a few groups. Nan Tianxiong and his companions were clustered around Xu Yuanzheng, fawning on him; but Gongyang Jun, the Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall—the youngest and most dazzling figure among all the dignitaries present—was nowhere to be seen. For some reason, he had left early from what was surely a rare and important occasion.

At this, a vague unease stirred in Wei Zhao's heart. Then again, recalling Gongyang Jun's proud and aloof nature, leaving such an occasion without a word was hardly strange.

"At a banquet of this scale, does Hall Master Gongyang always leave this early?" Wei Zhao turned to Shangguan Lan'er and asked.

Shangguan Lan'er thought it over, then shook her head. "No, he doesn't. He's the Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall—it's his duty to keep order, so he usually stays to the very end. He only leaves early under special circumstances. Why do you ask?"

"Special circumstances... it's nothing. Just asking." Wei Zhao smiled.

Just as Wei Zhao was quietly nursing his suspicions, an old acquaintance came straight toward him—none other than Hong Zhong, the Hong Clan Merchant Guild's plenipotentiary agent for North Island.

"Young Hero Lin, safe and sound, I see." Hong Zhong wore a gentle smile, but his words carried a meaning beneath them.

"Steward Hong, safe and sound. Thank you for coming to my rescue today." Wei Zhao gave a faint smile.

In that single simple exchange, both parties understood each other perfectly. Wei Zhao had admitted his identity to Hong Zhong—after all, if he were not Lin Er, he would never even have met Hong Zhong, and the phrase "safe and sound" would have had no basis at all.

Although Hong Zhong had been ninety-nine percent certain that Wei Zhao was Lin Er from the moment he stepped forward to extricate him, surmising it privately was one thing, and having Wei Zhao admit it to his face was quite another.

Had Wei Zhao refused to acknowledge it, the favor Hong Zhong had risked himself to do would have been flushed down the drain—and naturally, his assessment of Wei Zhao's character and worth would have been downgraded a notch.

Fortunately, Wei Zhao was not the sort to forget a kindness, and gave him no such opportunity.

Hong Zhong's eyes lit up. He glanced at Nan Tianxiong and the others in the distance, then sighed. "Young Hero Lin, you truly have great skill and even greater nerve—surrounded by formidable enemies, and you still dare show yourself on such an occasion. This old man must say it: I salute you."

"What must come will come, sooner or later. One can only meet force with force," Wei Zhao said calmly.

Honestly, so many things had happened today out of the blue that he could never have anticipated them. Had he known in advance, he would have thought long and hard about whether to risk attending this birthday banquet at all.

But what should have happened and what should not had both already come to pass; no amount of regret could mend it now. Wei Zhao's mindset had become that of a man so lice-ridden he no longer bothers to scratch—or, as the saying goes, a dead pig that fears no boiling water.

In the end, nothing in the world of cultivation was ever absolutely safe. Threats always existed, differing only in magnitude. Rather than fleeing from them, it was better to face them head-on—Wei Zhao had long since come to this realization.

"Young Hero Lin has real mettle. But if you ever have need, don't hesitate to tell this old man. These old bones may be worn, but they can still handle a petty villain or two," Hong Zhong said with a laugh.

"Then I thank Steward Hong for his kindness." Wei Zhao spoke evenly. For the time being he had no need of outside help—at least not until his identity was exposed, he did not.

After a few words with Wei Zhao, Hong Zhong did not linger long. His status represented the Hong Clan Merchant Guild, after all, and he was one of the few focal figures at the banquet.

In such a delicate situation, his contact with Wei Zhao could only go so far. Any more, and showing him too much favor would not be helping Wei Zhao but harming him.

The birthday banquet that followed had turned into an out-and-out gathering of power among the elite, having nothing more to do with a nobody like Wei Zhao. After being dragged by Shangguan Lan'er into staying a while longer, Wei Zhao ultimately left early anyway.

Rather than standing on the sidelines watching these great personages play their games of power, Wei Zhao would sooner go back to his cave abode and cultivate. At least that gave him a greater sense of solid ground underfoot. Perhaps one day in the future he too would count among those dignitaries—but for now, at least, he had not the slightest interest in such confounded nonsense.

As things stood, Xu Lingchong had become an enemy to the death. After being snipped into a eunuch, there was no telling what revenge he might attempt. Before, he had abided by the Threefold Pavilion's rules of the game; hereafter, who could say? A personal ambush or assassination was not beyond him.

Beyond that, the threat from Nan Tianxiong and his crew had plainly grown. Wei Zhao could sense it clearly—their suspicion of him had come surging back.

So Wei Zhao's position was now more dangerous than ever before. Only by ceaselessly raising his strength could he calmly deal with these crises that might erupt at any moment. To that end, he must cultivate without pause. R1152