Chapter 2477 — Meeting Yang Qiqi Again
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
This was why every ancient sect preferred to find hidden families to serve as their spokesmen, rather than seeking out secular families or secular people—they feared being accused of meddling in the secular world.
Still, the dejection of Zuo Panhu and Kang Jinglong struck Wei Zhao as merely temporary; once the two of them got past this stretch, they would pop up again.
Frankly, Wei Zhao had no way to deal with them for the moment. The rules of the White Leader were what they were, and he could hardly stoop to moving against his own classmates. He only hoped they would not go too far.
In the blink of an eye, the day of the cultivators' market arrived.
Han Xiaohu drove up to the gate of Wei Zhao's villa first thing in the morning.
The trip to the cultivators' market would not take long, and Wei Zhao needed little arranging; he simply had Wu Chengtian return to take over as his driver and bodyguard, and to drive Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, Han Jingyi, and Han Xiaochao to school.
As for the hidden Pi family, they had only come here to stay temporarily. With the matter concluded, Old Master Pi took Pi Zhifeng and Pi Zhitao back to the hidden Pi family.
Though the earlier probes by the hidden You and Yu families suggested that the Hidden Family Arbitration Association existed in name only, the hidden Pi family still dared not linger long in the secular world. Even if Wei Zhao was a powerful patron, the founder of the Hidden Family Arbitration Association back then had been even more powerful.
"Leader, let's get ready to set off. You have everything with you?" Han Xiaohu asked, stepping out of the car.
"Yes, all here—just these." Wei Zhao pointed at the backpack behind him. In truth, he did not carry much: aside from the things he had won at the hidden-family summit, he had a few pills refined by Han Jingyi, and the most precious of all was the turtle-saliva ice crystal he had obtained from the lake beneath the valley during the winter outing. Only, Wei Zhao had no idea what the thing was actually worth.
Judging by how much the heaven-tier soft-shelled turtle had valued it, it had to be quite rare.
"Then let's go." Han Xiaohu nodded and waved Wei Zhao into the car.
Elephant Heart Mountain lay between Donghai City and Songshan City. Songshan City was called that, naturally, because mountains surrounded it—great peaks without end and lesser hills without number—and Elephant Heart Mountain was one of them. It was just that Elephant Heart Mountain was extremely out of the way, with no tourist attractions on it, and so few people ever went there.
Han Xiaohu drove to the foot of Elephant Heart Mountain, only to find that the place was busier than usual today. In the open space at the base of the mountain, luxury cars gathered in crowds—Benz, BMW, Land Rover everywhere, along with top-tier cars like Rolls-Royce and Bentley, and no small number of sports cars.
The sight made Wei Zhao click his tongue in secret. These cultivators were certainly rich! And the Benz sedan Han Xiaohu drove seemed downright ordinary here.
Not one of these luxury cars, however, bore a license plate. In its place was something like a special pass, stuck where the plate should have been.
Han Xiaohu's car had one too, affixed before they started up the mountain. It marked the vehicle as one coming to attend the cultivators' market, and also kept uninformed civilian cars from driving up and disrupting the market's secrecy and normal trade.
Han Xiaohu seemed to read Wei Zhao's surprise, and laughed. "Cultivators—who among them is poor? Even the retainers and guest elders attached to the various hidden families and sects draw a hefty monthly stipend. And the loose cultivators are mostly hired guards for wealthy bosses, with no small pay either."
"I see." Wei Zhao nodded, and he and Han Xiaohu put on their masks. Then they got out of the car together.