Chapter 2076 — An Invitation at the Doorstep
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
In the blink of an eye it was the thirteenth of the month, two days before the Hidden World Clan Summit. The competition rules had already been sent down to every hidden clan, and Wei Zhao met Han Xiaohu as promised.
This time it was after school. Han Xiaohu called him. Wei Zhao had already told Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, and Han Jingyi about the Hidden World Clan Summit and that he might be away for a few days; for safety's sake he had them stay in the school dormitories, not wanting them going to and from school on their own.
Judging by how things had gone lately, Wei Zhao's enemies had all gone quiet—at least for the time being, none of them had any designs on him—so the young ladies should be in no danger; even so, staying inside the school was the safer course.
"Boss!" Catching sight of Wei Zhao, Han Xiaohu waved to him eagerly. He had been waiting a long while in the parking lot outside the school gate.
"You're here?" Wei Zhao nodded. "Where are we going now?"
"Boss, if you've nothing else on, stay at my place tonight. Tomorrow is the registration day for the Hidden World Clan Summit, the competition officially begins the day after, and we need to study the rules ahead of time!" Han Xiaohu said.
"You're worried about your strength?" Wei Zhao gave a faint smile and glanced at Han Xiaohu.
"That… well, it would be a lie to say I wasn't. There's less than two days left, and my strength is so poor—if I really go into that two-person cooperative match, I'll only be a drag on you…" Han Xiaohu was not being coy; he spoke the plain truth.
"Two days. That's enough," Wei Zhao said lightly.
"This…" Han Xiaohu was slightly taken aback, unable to guess by what means Wei Zhao meant to raise his strength within two days. But since he had already acknowledged Wei Zhao as his boss, he ought to trust him. So he said, "I'll do whatever Boss says!"
"Let's go. First to your Hidden Han Family," Wei Zhao said.
"Yes, Boss, please get in!" Han Xiaohu was still driving the same Mercedes-Benz S600. He respectfully opened the door and let Wei Zhao in, then took the driver's seat and started the car. As he drove he said, "Boss, the old master has already prepared the materials for the Qi-Gathering Pill. The moment you arrive at the Hidden Han Family, he'll present them to you with both hands!"
"No rush about that." Wei Zhao had not set out to covet the Hidden Han Family's treasure in the first place; it was only that Han Xiaohu was too impatient, too eager to prove his sincerity, and so had brought out such a fine thing. But since it was of use to Wei Zhao, there was no reason on earth for him to refuse.
The Hidden Han Family's seat was not in the urban districts of Donghai City but close to its outskirts. At the edge of a small town on the outskirts of Donghai City stood a vast manor, with no sign or house number of any kind, yet enclosed by very high walls; anyone who did not know the place, coming here for the first time, might well take it for the site of a prison.
In fact, that was the first impression it made on Wei Zhao as well. The manor's exterior was unremarkable, thoroughly low-key, unlikely to draw much notice—and yet this was the seat of the Hidden Han Family, one of the hidden clans!
It was Wei Zhao's first time at a hidden clan, so the architecture here rather intrigued him. So this was what a hidden clan looked like! Truly a clan hidden away within the city! Only, by his recollection, he seemed to have visited a hidden clan once before as well—but where exactly, he could not remember. Could it have been a dream?
Han Xiaohu's car stopped at an unremarkable entrance to the manor. Unremarkable as it was, an ordinary car that came here would never have the gate opened for it at will! Presumably a camera had picked out Han Xiaohu's car, for only then did the manor gate swing open of its own accord.
"The security here is pretty strict. This gate is no simple piece of design!" Wei Zhao said, studying the manor gate.