Chapter 1468 — Zhao Qilei's Recruitment
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
"That is true." Zhao Qilei nodded. "I am not doubting his qualifications. Anyone who comes here for the trial is certainly strong enough to qualify, or he would not come seeking death. I simply do not know what faction he belongs to, or whether he has any ties to our Hidden Zhao family."
"I have never heard of our Hidden Zhao family having especially close relations with any other hidden family or sect. Only the Hidden Yu family counts as in-laws to us... but your position, Young Master Tan, is a little awkward..." Zhao Qiwu smiled bitterly.
Had the child of Zhao Guangyin and Yu Xiaojin come in person to take part in the trial, there might have been a chance of forging an alliance with the Yu family. But as things stood, the Yu family would be doing well merely not to harm them — who had made them contenders for the position of the next Zhao family head?
The Yu family surely wished for Yu Xiaojin's son to inherit the position of Zhao family head, so that their good cooperative relations with the Yu family could be maintained.
"That is no problem... The Yu family is no solid block of iron either. From what I know, the ones who came to this trial are Yu Bing and Yu Shan. Yu Bing is out of the question, but Yu Shan can be put to use — Yu Shan wants to compete for the Yu family heir as well, and that suits us to a tee!" Zhao Qilei saw things with clarity. "Those two from the Yu family are not of one heart, so there will be a good show to watch."
"Young Master Tan is truly brilliant!" Zhao Qiwu said. "That way, whatever happens, we have an ally within the Yu family, and it gives us that much more confidence for this trial!"
After returning to the inn, Wei Zhao bade farewell to Zhao Qilei and Zhao Qiwu and went back to his room.
The information Wei Zhao had gained today was not much, but all of it was useful. Naturally he did not expect to ferret out every piece of news in a single day — that was unrealistic — and if he asked too many questions, Zhao Qilei would certainly grow suspicious. One could see that Zhao Qilei was a man with some brains about him.
Wei Zhao had obtained two useful pieces of information. One was that the location of the Ice Palace was very similar to the location of the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit. The other was the reward for winning the Ice Palace's trial: one was to become an outer sect disciple of the Ice Palace, and the other was to gain the right to exchange for heaven-and-earth treasures.
Becoming an outer sect disciple of the Ice Palace did not interest Wei Zhao much, but the right to exchange for heaven-and-earth treasures interested him rather more. He did not know whether the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit truly was under the Ice Palace's control; if it was, then could that right of exchange be used to trade for the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit?
Of course, this was only the preliminary information Wei Zhao had gathered. Everything would have to wait until he obtained a few more pieces of news before he made his decision.
Over the next two days, Wei Zhao practiced catalyzing pill fire by day, and by night he went out to dine with Zhao Qilei and Zhao Qiwu. He ate no small amount of fine food and drank no small amount of strong liquor, but he did not say much. It seemed that what Zhao Qilei and Zhao Qiwu knew was limited as well; Wei Zhao even looked at their invitation letters, and what was written on them was less than what Zhao Qilei and Zhao Qiwu knew.
And Wei Zhao did not again mention whether he would join Zhao Qilei's team, nor did Zhao Qilei ask again.
In Zhao Qilei's view, it would not do to press such a matter too urgently. Wei Zhao's failure to make a choice was probably because he wished to wait a few days until more people had arrived before deciding; facing the two of them alone, he was in no hurry to make up his mind.