Chapter 1861 — A Lucky Escape

When An Mingyue heard the words "Xuandan Sect," he wilted at once. He knew well what kind of power the Xuandan Sect was. Even the leader of the Fire Wolf Gang was merely their equal. Pills of such rare value—perhaps they might be used on An Jianwen, but on An Jiande, it was surely out of the question.

Though the pain in his leg was agonizing, An Jianwen could still endure it. He glanced at An Jiande, who lay on the ground in a state too horrible to look at, and a strange look flickered in his eyes. "According to Dr. Yin, his senior fellow disciple is highly skilled in medicine, even more accomplished than Dr. Yin himself. Why not have Dr. Yin's senior disciple take a look? He might just save our eldest brother's life."

"Good—then I'll have to trouble you, nephew Jianwen!" Hearing there was hope, An Mingyue said hurriedly.

He knew full well how ruthless Wei Zhao's strikes were, and that Wei Zhao was skilled in the medical arts as well. Since Wei Zhao had struck with his own hand, An Jiande was almost certainly doomed. But now that a glimmer of hope had appeared, of course he would seize it.

"Please take my eldest brother back to the Fire Wolf Gang. As for asking Dr. Yin's senior disciple to help, I'll speak to Dr. Yin about it," An Jianwen said to the man in black.

"Very well." Though the man in black was not An Jianwen's subordinate, he would hardly refuse such a trivial request. Anyone the branch leader ordered him to protect must be someone the branch leader valued greatly—and one day, perhaps, this favor might help him rise even higher than his present station.

After all, within the Fire Wolf Gang, rank was not determined purely by martial strength. There were also strategists who devised plans and doctors who conducted scientific research—and such men all enjoyed high status.

For the Fire Wolf Gang was a gang, and though it possessed power equal to that of the ancient sects, it was still a gang after all, and its structure was bound to differ from that of the ancient sects.

"Mr. An Jianwen, please take this medicine—it will help your broken leg!" As one of the branch leader's guardians, the man in black naturally carried a variety of healing medicines, among them remedies for swiftly mending broken bones.

"Many thanks!" An Jianwen took the medicine and swallowed it. At once a cool sensation spread through his whole body, and his legs hurt far less than before, smoothing the deep furrow from his brow.

Seeing An Jianwen's expression, An Mingyue was filled with envy. Then he looked at his own son and sighed inwardly. He could only hope Dr. Yin's senior disciple had a way.

After leaving An Jianwen's villa, Wei Zhao walked a full kilometer before he saw that no one was pursuing him, and only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. A lucky escape, he thought.

His show of force at the An family villa today had been pure bluff—borrowing the awe inspired by wiping out three Earth-rank experts in a single move to make the man in black dare not act rashly. Otherwise, Wei Zhao would likely have been left there today.

His vengeance was taken, Gu Pengzhan's assets had been recovered, and he had even brought back an extra two billion. Such a result was abundantly fruitful, and Wei Zhao was well satisfied. As for An Jianwen's life, it would do to leave it for now.

With the Fire Wolf Gang backing him, An Jianwen was not someone the present Wei Zhao could afford to provoke. This, too, was why Wei Zhao had never finished An Jianwen off in their previous clashes.

Even so, An Jianwen had gained no advantage at all—he had lost a kidney and bled a great deal of money to Wei Zhao. A money tree like that—what a pity it would be to kill him outright.

But as for An Jiande, Wei Zhao had no such scruples. It was plain that the Fire Wolf Gang did not value him much at all.

Though he had killed three Earth-rank experts in one move today, Wei Zhao's head was not turned by victory. He knew his own measure. Even standing up to the Hidden Families was a stretch for him now, let alone a colossus like the Fire Wolf Gang. Of the three Earth-rank experts who had appeared at the courtyard gate today, Wei Zhao recognized one and had heard of another, but the origins of the strongest among them he did not know. Of course, that man was now ashes—there was no asking him.

Yu Liu—Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had said he was the one who had pursued them that day. As for You Shisan, Wei Zhao had crossed hands with him. The only one Wei Zhao did not know was Zhao Guang'er.

The Hidden Yu family and the Kang family...

Wei Zhao sighed. He had never been willing to face the Hidden Yu family, never willing to oppose them openly. Part of that was because of Yu Bing, but the greater reason Wei Zhao knew all too well in the depths of his heart... it was because of that girl...

But now he had wiped out the worldly Yu family and killed Yu Liu. The feud was sealed. Though it could not be called irreconcilable, unless Wei Zhao produced some means absolutely certain to dissolve the grudge, it would not be lightly set aside.

As for the Kang family—now it was time to strike back.

The news that Wei Zhao had wiped out three Earth-rank experts spread to every household as if on wings.

Old Master Liu Zhenhu of the Liu family naturally beamed with joy upon hearing it, while Liu Jinghan looked at her embarrassed father and smiled without a word.

Liu Tianyi, too, let out a long breath. Though he had his father's support, the entire fortune of the Liu family had been staked on Wei Zhao—a gamble that was truly too risky.

Old Master Wu Gonggao of the Wu family and the Sun family's old master, however, slapped their thighs in a mix of regret and vexation. Had they known Wei Zhao liked to play this trick of feigning illness and disguising himself as a pig to eat the tiger, why had they wavered this time? At the last great gathering of the families, even Wei Zhao's underlings Chen Yutian and Wu Chengtian had learned to feign illness and play the pig to eat the tiger—so why had they not believed that Wei Zhao was doing the same this time?

But aid in the snow is precious, while icing on the cake only looks absurd. Though Wu Gonggao and the Sun family's old master wished to make amends, how could they do so now? Once Wei Zhao awoke, would there be any place left for them to offer their help?

Wu Gonggao and the Sun family's old master could only telephone Wu Chengtian and Sun Jingyi, urging them to do their utmost to cultivate good relations with Wei Zhao. Yet Wu Chengtian and Sun Jingyi were helpless at heart. Though they despised their own old masters' conduct, even if the old men at home had said nothing, they would have cultivated good relations with Wei Zhao all the same.

Fatty Lai, Kang **, Sun Jingyi, Wu Chengtian, Chen Yutian, Qiu Lingshan, and even Guan Xuemin all came together to the First People's Hospital, to Gu Pengzhan's ward. Though they did not know where Wei Zhao was, in their view, the moment Wei Zhao awoke he would surely come to the ward first.

Kang ** had arranged to go traveling with Xiaofen during the summer vacation and had only just returned, only to find that such a great upheaval had befallen the family!