Chapter 4812 — Zhang Lifeng's Closed-Door Disciple

Wei Zhao was speechless for a moment. Love truly was the most wondrous thing under heaven—look at what it had done to a perfectly good Cold-Faced Blade God. This scene was exactly like a schoolboy caught red-handed cheating on an exam!

"You're right. I've seen it clearly enough over the past month—Brother Leng, you really are a devoted fool. But there's no way your flailing about like this is going to get you anywhere, and I can't bear to watch it anymore, so I've decided to make an exception and step in this once to restore Miss Yang's looks." Wei Zhao looked at Leng Rufeng as he spoke.

Leng Rufeng was startled at these words. He looked Wei Zhao up and down all over again, and said with some disbelief, "You're not just trying to stall for time, are you? Making up some excuse about searching for medicinal ingredients, and using that to keep me here protecting Miss Ning? I don't need to think twice to guess what filthy ideas are in Ren Zhongyuan and his lot's heads, but I've already told you—once two months are up, I will go to the Profound-Tier Sea Region no matter what!"

"So you knew about that too?" Wei Zhao was rather taken aback, though on second thought it came as no surprise. Leng Rufeng and Ren Zhongyuan's crowd had been bitter enemies for years, and he understood those scum far more deeply than Wei Zhao himself did. He nodded at once. "You're half right. I do want you to stay, but I want you to protect Feifei sincerely and wholeheartedly—not so that I can stall you."

Leng Rufeng fell silent for a moment, his face still plainly doubtful. In truth, Wei Zhao was a man who commanded his respect. Whether it was the astounding strength he possessed or his status as a seventh-grade alchemist, he was far beyond ordinary people—even Leng Rufeng himself could not remotely compare.

But to say that Wei Zhao could restore Yang Qianshuang's looks was a bit too absurd. If even the Beauty Pill had failed, what other method could he possibly have?

After a whole month of asking around, the only reliable option Leng Rufeng could see was to seek out a healer of Zhang Lifeng's caliber. No other route was trustworthy.

"How am I supposed to believe you?" In the end, Leng Rufeng spoke, clinging to a hope of one in ten thousand.

"I'll tell you a secret, but you absolutely must not breathe a word of it. Because it could bring me trouble." Wei Zhao's expression turned grave.

"Go on. I'm not one to blab." Seeing Wei Zhao look so deadly serious, a few sparks of hope truly kindled in Leng Rufeng's heart.

Wei Zhao smiled faintly, paused a moment, and then said, "All right. The truth is, I am Zhang Lifeng's closed-door disciple."

"What?!" Leng Rufeng was instantly shocked out of countenance, nearly crying out loud. He stared at Wei Zhao up and down, uncertain and alarmed, his mind rapidly digesting this earth-shaking news. This creature was actually the closed-door disciple of the Alchemy God and Medical Sage Zhang Lifeng!

Borrowing someone else's tiger skin to raise one's own banner was something many people did. Zhang Lifeng in particular was one of the few top-tier figures across the Five Cloud-Tier Islands, and there were no fewer than eight thousand—maybe even ten thousand—swindlers trading on his name. Under normal circumstances no one would believe it for a moment. Yet the instant Leng Rufeng heard Wei Zhao's words, he believed them.

Not because he trusted Wei Zhao's character, but because all the signs from before, pieced together, made a perfect corroboration of that very claim!

Setting aside Wei Zhao's formidable strength for the moment—back when this creature had fought him, he had been beaten every day into a limp dog that could barely walk. And yet the very next day he would be fully recovered, brimming with vigor at his peak. If he didn't know medicine, how could that be possible?

What was more, Wei Zhao was a seventh-grade alchemist. Without a renowned master like Zhang Lifeng, who could possibly have trained such a young seventh-grade alchemist?

Every last bit of it invisibly proved that Wei Zhao was Zhang Lifeng's closed-door disciple. There was not a drop of exaggeration in that claim.

"You… you can really cure Qianxue?" Leng Rufeng was instantly excited. He had thought only Zhang Lifeng could cure Yang Qianshuang, but a figure like Zhang Lifeng was hardly easy to meet—perhaps even ten or twenty years of searching might not bring such an opportunity. And now, all at once, here was a closed-door disciple of Zhang Lifeng. It was as if he had been delivered right to his door!

"That's right. I've thought it over carefully. Though this matter is very difficult, and I'll have to pay a great price for it, the odds of success in the end are not small." Wei Zhao nodded.

The reason he had deliberately invoked Zhang Lifeng's great banner was in fact to give his own all-purpose true qi a convincing excuse. After all, Leng Rufeng was not yet truly one of his own. If Yang Qianshuang were cured by him and word of it got out, what then?

Besides, in this world, only by borrowing a tiger's skin could one quickly win others' respect and trust. Wei Zhao had discovered this during the Western Island trial last time—the moment he raised the name of Shangguan Tianxia's personal disciple, even Ren Zhongyuan and his crowd had instantly regarded him with new eyes.

Judging from Leng Rufeng's reaction now, the title of Zhang Lifeng's closed-door disciple worked just as well. Of course, Wei Zhao was not the sort to shamelessly boast and brag. Strictly speaking, he really was Zhang Lifeng's disciple—it was just that he had never met this cut-rate master of his, and had never been formally registered.

"In that case, I'll go fetch Qianxue right now. I leave everything to you, Brother Lin!" Leng Rufeng was so excited that he immediately executed his strongest movement technique. His whole body turned into an ice spike and vanished in an instant, leaving only a patch of ice shards on the ground.

Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback. He had never seen Leng Rufeng display this move during their fights before. It seemed the man truly had not gone all out.

Of course, against his relentless draining attacks, Leng Rufeng could not possibly maintain his peak condition anyway. He had to make sure every ounce of true qi was spent where it counted most in order to hold out. As for movement techniques and martial skills that consumed enormous true qi without deciding the outcome of a battle—naturally, he used them as little as possible.

A short while later, Leng Rufeng brought Yang Qianshuang over in high spirits. She had been rather listless these past days, but now her eyes were bright as she looked at Wei Zhao—clearly she already knew that Wei Zhao was Zhang Lifeng's closed-door disciple. She was seeing hope once more in the depths of despair.

"Feifei, you and Brother Leng keep watch outside. This shouldn't take too long." Wei Zhao gave his instructions, then immediately led Yang Qianshuang into the inner room.

Once seated in the inner room, Wei Zhao gestured for Yang Qianshuang to remove her veil. She struggled and hesitated for a while, but under the encouragement of Wei Zhao's gaze, she finally removed it with difficulty. In the past, every time she took off the veil she would lose control; now, after all this time, she could just barely keep her emotions in check.

Though she had already taken the Beauty Pill, Yang Qianshuang's current appearance was still quite frightening. Had he not been prepared, Wei Zhao reckoned he would have been startled again—and if that had then provoked Yang Qianshuang into losing control and running amok, the joke would have gone much too far. (To be continued…)