Chapter 2976 — Many Things Have Happened
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
When Zhao Qiwu and Yu Bing heard that an old friend had come to visit, they were taken aback at first, then guessed that the visitor could only be Wei Zhao or Zhao Qilei. Delighted, the two of them set off for the Ice Spirit Inn.
Zhao Qiwu, for his part, had brought along the pills the Ice Palace had bestowed on him—he meant to give Wei Zhao or Zhao Qilei a surprise.
In no time the two of them arrived at the Ice Spirit Inn, where Steward Li received them with the utmost courtesy. After all, the status of Zhao Qiwu and Yu Bing was not what it once had been: they were not only stewards of the outer court, but friends of Vice Palace Master Feng.
"Steward Zhao, Steward Yu, your friend Mr. Zhao Qilei has been waiting upstairs for some time!" Steward Li told them. Of course, Steward Li himself could not fathom why, when he had plainly written to Vice Palace Master Feng, it was Zhao Qiwu and Yu Bing who had come.
But such matters were decisions of the Ice Palace's high command, and Steward Li had no authority to interfere.
"So it is Young Master Tan after all!" Zhao Qiwu rushed excitedly up the stairs. Yu Bing, by contrast, let a flicker of disappointment cross his face—not that seeing Zhao Qilei displeased him, but his ties with Zhao Qilei were not especially close in truth. Once Zhao Qilei acknowledged Wei Zhao as his leader, he had left the Ice Palace, and the two had had little to do with each other since. It was his bond with Wei Zhao that had always been the closest.
Hearing the footsteps, Zhao Qilei opened the door and saw Zhao Qiwu charging ahead with Yu Bing following behind. He said joyfully at once, "Qijiu, Yu Bing, you've come! Why isn't Sister-in-law with you?"
"Eh?" Yu Bing was startled. "Were you expecting Sister Xiaoxiao too? She didn't come."
In front of outsiders, Yu Bing naturally addressed Feng Xiaoxiao as Vice Palace Master Feng, but among their own circle he called her Sister-in-law.
"Is that so..." Zhao Qilei frowned. He had plainly asked Steward Li to put him in touch with Feng Xiaoxiao, but since she had not come, it was clearly Bintao's doing, and so he asked no more. "I'm very glad the two of you have come!"
"Young Master Tan, I'm truly happy that you could come see me! What happened after you and Leader Wei Zhao went back? How are things with the Zhao family?" Zhao Qiwu had practically no sources of news in this place—despite being an outer-court steward, the information he could get was limited to the Ice Palace's internal affairs, and of outside news he knew nothing at all.
At Zhao Qiwu's question, Zhao Qilei's expression fell at once, and he gave a faint sigh. He did not conceal it. "It's all my fault—I'm the one who brought harm to Leader Wei Zhao!"
"What? What happened to the leader?" Yu Bing's expression changed as well, and he fixed Zhao Qilei with an urgent stare. "Has something happened to the leader?"
"Yes..." Zhao Qilei did not hold back, and briefly told the two of them how Wei Zhao had gone to the Zhao family as a guest, been secretly poisoned, and then had his meridians and dantian destroyed...
Although Yu Bing knew of Wei Zhao's wondrous healing ability, he understood at this moment that poison combined with ruined meridians and a shattered dantian truly left no room for remedy—every path to recovery was blocked!
Even if Wei Zhao had heaven-reaching powers, if he could not circulate his mental techniques and incantations, and if his shattered dantian could not break down pills, then there was nothing he could do.
Zhao Qiwu stared blankly at Zhao Qilei after hearing this. He had never imagined such a thing could happen. "Then... what are we to do now?"
"Yes—now that Leader Wei Zhao has been crippled, have his enemies gone looking for trouble with him? Has the hidden Yu family taken revenge on him?" What worried Yu Bing most was whether his own family would make trouble for Wei Zhao, for the accumulated grievance between Wei Zhao and the hidden Yu family ran deep.