Chapter 1834 — The Uninvited Guest at the Villa

"Yes, Patriarch Yu, your command!" Yu Liu was of the Yu family's direct line, utterly loyal to it, the sort of man who had been through the harshest training—like a soldier sworn to death. Whatever Yu Xiaochen told him to do, he did without question.

"Go to Songshan City, eliminate a man for me, and bring back the Qi-Gathering Pill in his possession!" Yu Xiaochen said.

"Yes!" Yu Liu agreed without a moment's thought. "Speak, Patriarch!"

"The man is named Wei Zhao. As you surely know, here are his files and his address. Once you get there, move directly against him. As for the people around him..." Yu Xiaochen paused deliberately here, then said gravely, "Do not touch the people around him, and above all, do not harm the two girls at his side! Every wrong has its source, every debt its debtor—our Yu family cannot be so overbearing. Just make trouble for Wei Zhao and no one else!"

"I understand!" Yu Liu nodded.

In truth, Yu Xiaochen need not have explained so much. Yu Liu's loyalty was beyond doubt—whatever Yu Xiaochen said, he did, unlike Yu Huoxing, who always kept a few schemes hidden in his heart.

"Good. Off you go..." Once the orders were given, Yu Xiaochen said.

And Yu Liu vanished in a flicker of movement, gone in an instant—the speed of a peak mid-stage Earth-rank expert was truly swift beyond measure...

Later that day, Chen Yutian and Qiu Lingshan came to visit Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, and Wei Zhao. Chen Yutian had learned of their return from Shen Yushu and come straight to the villa afterward; as for the news of Wei Zhao's qi deviation, he had it through other channels.

At Qiu Lingshan's arrival, Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu showed rather less hostility than before. They knew the outcome of the Family Assembly, and Qiu Lingshan was now one of Wei Zhao's camp. Although this vixen had designs on Wei Zhao, she was nonetheless an expert at the peak of the late Profound rank, and during Wei Zhao's unconsciousness she could at least lend a hand in protecting his safety.

"Brother. Fox Song," Shen Yushu said as she opened the door.

"Xiaoshu, mind your tongue. Call her Sister Lingshan," Chen Yutian scolded.

"Then I still won't call her Sister Lingshan. She wants to be Shield Bro's wife—even if I'm the junior wife, she'd have to line up at least sixth or seventh, so she ought to be calling me Sister Xiaoshu!" Shen Yushu said.

"Lingshan, don't mind her. That's just how Xiaoshu is," Chen Yutian said apologetically, caught between laughter and tears at Xiaoshu's behavior.

"It's all right. Once I'm formally in the household, I'll follow the rules," Qiu Lingshan said, glancing at Shen Yushu with a calm indifference. "But as for your status as junior wife—Wei Zhao has never once acknowledged it, has he? When he does, what harm is there in my calling you Sister Xiaoshu?"

Hearing this, Chen Yutian could only smile bitterly again; he had not expected Qiu Lingshan's tongue to be quite so sharp.

"All right, Lingshan, Xiaoshu, stop quarreling, both of you. The leader Wei Zhao hasn't even woken up yet—who are you competing to be junior wife to?" Chen Yutian tried to smooth things over.

"Yes, Xiaoshu, don't squabble over such things. Yunyun has already entrusted Wei Zhao to us—what is there left to fight about?" Gu Mengyao spoke to Xiaoshu on the surface, but in truth she was declaring to Qiu Lingshan her and Shen Yushu's relationship with Wei Zhao.

Qiu Lingshan gave a faint smile and said nothing more.

"Brother, do you want to see Shield Bro?" Shen Yushu asked.

"Whether I see him or not is secondary. I came mainly to warn you: you had best not stay in this villa. Move out and find some out-of-the-way place to settle..." Chen Yutian said. "From past experience, news of the leader's qi deviation getting out will likely draw retaliation from old enemies. With just the two of you living here, it's far too dangerous!"

"Ah!" Gu Mengyao could not help crying out. She had overlooked this before, but now, reminded by Chen Yutian, she suddenly recalled how, when Wei Zhao had been injured and unconscious once before, several great families had converged on their door as if by prior arrangement. Even now, thinking of it, she felt a lingering dread!

Back then, at the critical moment, Wei Zhao had awakened—but now? Now Wei Zhao absolutely could not wake. If enemies came calling again, there would be no way out but death!

"From what I've learned, at the very least the hidden Pi family behind the Xiao family and the hidden Yu family behind the Yu family will not let matters rest, so you had best leave here as quickly as possible. If both those families send their experts, then even with Brother Yutian and me joined together, we would not be their match!" Qiu Lingshan said.

"Thank you for the warning. We'll pack our things right now!" Gu Mengyao nodded decisively, without a trace of attachment to this vast villa. Since it was no longer theirs, what meaning was there in living here? Once Wei Zhao woke, they could buy an even bigger, better villa!

Gu Mengyao had always had great faith in Wei Zhao—so great that even she did not know where it came from. Could it be simply because of that upright, towering figure of his during the bank robbery?

"Let us help you. Just take the important things, the ones that mean something to you, and leave the furniture and appliances here," Chen Yutian said.

"Mm!" Gu Mengyao nodded, and together with Shen Yushu, Chen Yutian, and Qiu Lingshan, she set about packing...

An hour later, panting for breath, Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu dumped several bundles onto the car in the courtyard—everything they had packed, all of it useful. Inside were changes of underclothes and outerwear, plus a laptop holding photographs and other important files; as for the rest of the computer's data, it had all been deleted.

Wei Zhao did not have much, as it happened. In his room there was nothing but a few shabby clothes and the few garments Gu Mengyao had bought for him. She packed these together with some nameless things from Wei Zhao's drawers.

"Finally, we're done..." Gu Mengyao let out a breath of relief, glanced at the things left in the villa that they could not carry, and shook her head slightly. Goodbye, villa! From the moment they set foot out of this villa today, perhaps they would never come back again!

But just as Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had lifted Wei Zhao into the car and were about to get in and drive away, the unexpected happened...

An uninvited guest arrived at the villa's gate. Even with the strength of Chen Yutian and Qiu Lingshan, they had not noticed how this person had come to be there. He seemed simply to have appeared out of thin air, without the slightest omen!