Chapter 1464 — The Same Purpose
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Fine. One room, a deposit of ten thousand, and five hundred a day for rent," the innkeeper said flatly.
Zhao Qiwu hurriedly swiped a card to pay, then he and Zhao Qilei took the room cards and quickly went upstairs.
The room rates here were not high, but the deposit required to participate in the trial was frighteningly expensive. Clearly, the rent and the security deposit were merely a cover, put on display for ordinary tourists who knew nothing of what was really going on.
By now, Wei Zhao had already come out of his room and was standing at the doorway, quietly listening to the conversation between Zhao Qilei and the innkeeper downstairs.
Curious about who Zhao Qilei and his companion were, Wei Zhao had gone to the doorway to see what was happening. The hotel was empty at the moment, so even though their voices were not loud, every word reached Wei Zhao's ears with perfect clarity.
The Ice Palace trial? What was that? Wei Zhao found it baffling. It sounded like some kind of event organized by a sect. And what was this about an invitation? Zhao Qilei and Zhao Qiwu seemed to have one, yet the innkeeper had disdained to even look at it, as if he assumed everyone who came here had one.
So no wonder the innkeeper had not been at all surprised when Wei Zhao arrived, and had simply turned a blind eye to his behavior. He must have taken him for someone else who had received an invitation and come to join the Ice Palace trial. It suddenly dawned on Wei Zhao why the hotel was so large: this was what it was for. And the old-fashioned name was for the same reason. Sects and the like always liked old-fashioned names.
But what exactly was the Ice Palace trial for? He had stumbled into this inn by pure accident and was now staying here—was that a blessing or a curse?
Zhao Qilei, Zhao Qiwu... Hidden Zhao Family? Their names sounded rather similar to Zhao Qibing's. Could they be from the hidden clan that Zhao Qibing belonged to? With that thought, Wei Zhao immediately added the two men to his list of people to guard against.
The enmity between himself and the Hidden Zhao Family was almost impossible to resolve. Zhao Qibing, Zhu Bo, the Medicine King—one after another, they had been hurt because of him, and Wei Zhao had no intention of reconciling with Zhao Qibing either. After all, the grievance between him and Zhao Qibing was not like the one with Wu Chentian.
Between Wei Zhao and Wu Chentian, it had all been in the nature of horseplay, mostly just pranks at Wu Chentian's expense, and it had never escalated into real fighting. With Zhao Qibing, it was different. Zhao Qibing had repeatedly made trouble for him. Unless the Zhao Family was willing to cast Zhao Qibing aside and apologize to Wei Zhao, there was practically no chance of reconciliation.
Of course, even though the two men had been placed on Wei Zhao's watch list, that did not stop him from making contact with them and worming useful information out of their mouths. Wei Zhao had to find out first what exactly the Ice Palace trial was.
But his name could hardly be a secret in the Hidden Zhao Family. At that thought, Wei Zhao counted himself lucky. This time out, his identity had been arranged for him by Feng Tianlong; his name was Ling Yi, not Wei Zhao. Ling Yi was the name he had used while carrying out missions for the Mysterious Investigation Bureau, and Feng Tianlong had complete files on it, so there was no need to fabricate a new one for this trip.
Using the Mysterious Investigation Bureau identity was also to keep Wei Zhao from running into trouble along the way, since after all, he was hauling an ice coffin behind the car.
Wei Zhao, Ling Yi—though the names sounded somewhat alike, they were two completely different people. He believed these two from the Hidden Zhao Family would not connect him to it. Even if they grew suspicious afterward, by then he would already have gotten what he wanted.