Chapter 2425 — Who Have You Come Looking For?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Oh? How so?" Kang Jinglong's interest was roused at once. He dared not confront Wei Zhao openly—that was the sort of thing that got a man beaten, and he was not about to do it—but from what Huang Mao was saying, it seemed there was no need to go head-to-head with Wei Zhao at all. A roundabout approach might get the job done, and that would be all the better.
"Brother Kang, we don't have to lift a finger ourselves. All we have to do is this..." Huang Mao lowered his voice and laid out his scheme.
"Good, good!" Kang Jinglong turned it over in his mind and saw that it really could work. He nodded. "Then I'll leave it to you, Brother Huang Mao. Once it's done, dinner's on me!"
"No need to go to any expense. It's this kid's honor to serve Brother Kang. Now hurry along!" You Panhu, for his part, wanted to see Wei Zhao take a fall too—for no other reason than that Wei Zhao had burned him several times already.
Wei Zhao gave a faint glance at Huang Mao as he left the booth, but said nothing. These few were sitting well out of the way, and Wang Xinyan and the others had not yet noticed they were there.
It had been agreed that the meal was to be for Shen Yushu's sake, so Wei Zhao let her order first; once she was done, it was the turn of Gu Mengyao, Wang Xinyan, Han Jingyi, He Meiyue, and Chai Xiaoling. Bai Weituo and Zhao Shengji, for their part, did not take the menu—those two would eat anything and enjoy it.
A phone rang. Wei Zhao picked it up and glanced at the screen—unexpectedly, it was Qiu Lingshan!
"Lingshan." With so many people around, he could not call her "little silly girl," though to be honest, every time he did there was a certain feeling to it. Wei Zhao did not know whether he had some perverse streak in him; all he knew was that whenever he called Qiu Lingshan "little silly girl," a sense of satisfaction rose in him for no reason at all.
"Wei Zhao, thank you. The kidnapping case is closed. It really was the Fire Wolf Gang—a minor boss from their ranks came in and confessed..." Qiu Lingshan trailed off there, because she knew perfectly well that this minor boss was almost certainly a scapegoat. As things stood, gathering evidence to take down the Fire Wolf Gang was very difficult. That much was plain from the fact that the gang could attend the hidden-family assembly: their connections and strength were enormous.
"Ha, it's good that it's closed." Wei Zhao had expected as much. An Liwen was probably the mastermind, but the man was shrewd enough to leave no loose ends, and he would never have taken the field in person.
The one time he had lost his head over Gu Mengyao, he had personally put Wei Zhao on the operating table—and in the end it was not Wei Zhao's kidney that was cut out, but one of his own.
"Didn't we agree that once things were settled here you'd come find me?" Qiu Lingshan asked.
Wei Zhao paused a moment, then said, "Mm. I happen to be free this afternoon. Come over now—we're at the Little Chef Restaurant in the university district."
"Now? All right." Qiu Lingshan was a little taken aback, but she agreed.
He hung up and looked at his classmates, whose faces were full of questions. "A friend of mine is coming to join us. Qiu Lingshan—Yaoyao, Xiaoshu, Xinyan, you all know her."
"Oh. Sister Lingshan." Gu Mengyao nodded, though she found it a little odd that Wei Zhao should call her over to eat at this hour.
Before long, with the food not yet served, Qiu Lingshan came in, dusty from the road. She was a cultivator too, and her eyes were sharp; she spotted Wei Zhao at once and came over with a smile. "Wei Zhao. Yaoyao. Xiaoshu, Wang Xinyan."
"Lingshan, sit down. How did you get here so fast?" Wei Zhao was a little surprised at her speed.
"I was nearby. Most of the victims are students from around here, and Xinyan happens to be here too, so it saves me a trip to look for you." Since she had to close the case, she naturally had to interview each victim in turn.