Chapter 2258 — Cheated Again

Revenge, of course, was a must—but it need not necessarily be achieved this very time. First, he must discover just who the enemy was; if he himself was no match for them, he could send his master and his eldest senior brother and the others into the field. And if even that failed, there were still the elders, the uncles, and the grand-uncles above them. In the end, the score could always be settled.

With that thought, Old Six lay low in the Wulonghaote Mountains, preparing to search for clues about the enemy in secret...

At the foot of the mountain, when Old Twelve received the message delivered by the ancient flying beast, his expression could not help but change!

He had thought the same as Old Six earlier: no matter how formidable the enemy, with a fighter of Old Six's caliber—peak late Heaven-Rank strength—going into action, would it not be taken with the mere stretch of a hand? But now Old Six himself said the enemy was very strong, so naturally he dared not treat the matter lightly.

Crushing the documents in his hand to ashes, Old Twelve said to Tagan Hao, "Keep close watch on those coming down the mountain. If anyone looks suspicious, report to me at once, and do not act on your own judgment!"

"Yes!" Tagan Hao nodded in assent.

The Wulonghaote Mountains held more than just Wei Zhao and his companion. Many parties of adventurers had gone up the mountain before—some belonging to the Adventurers' Guild, some to other families and factions, and some herb-gatherers from minor powers.

Ordinary adventurer parties also went up the mountain each day, and the Tagan family had no way of stopping them. Although they had two formidable fighters in Old Six and Old Twelve, they clearly did not wish to reveal their strength, and the Tagan family had deliberately kept a low profile, so naturally they made no move to block anyone.

Fortunately, the two they sought—one man and one woman—were fairly easy to recognize, the man martial and handsome, the woman pretty and elegant. Each of the Tagan family's retainers and guards posted at the foot of the mountain carried a portrait; though the likeness was not especially good, they could at least identify the pair at a glance.

Up on the mountain, Wei Zhao and Sun Jingyan rested briefly, then rose and resumed their journey, pressing on through the central vein of the range.

Suddenly, the jade pendant at Wei Zhao's chest sent out a sharp, urgent warning, and the Thunder Pig seemed to sense something amiss as well, squealing loudly!

But it was already too late—a great net descended from the sky, covering Wei Zhao, Sun Jingyan, and the Thunder Pig!

Wei Zhao reached out instinctively to fling the net aside, but the great net seemed to have a life of its own, swiftly drawing inward and binding him, Sun Jingyan, and the Thunder Pig up tight as rice dumplings...

.........In Songshan City, during the days since Wei Zhao's departure, certain things had quietly come to pass.

The Hidden You Family.

You Panhu solemnly handed the documents he had obtained from Wei Zhao to You Zhentian, who did not dare be remiss either and hastily took them. "Are you certain this time—these really are a pill refiner's personal notes?"

"Uncle, I'm certain. They're a pill refiner's notes, no mistake—not the sort of thing meant to hoodwink people. I flipped through them, and I benefited greatly!" You Panhu nodded.

"Good, then!" You Panhu let out a breath of relief. "Last time Wei Zhao cheated us once; this time we've cheated him in turn. Trading a useless broken pill cauldron for a white-ranked pill refiner's personal notes—what a bargain! Wait here a moment, I'll present this to your grandfather right now!"

"Yes!" You Panhu nodded and sat down to one side, waiting to see how his grandfather would reward him.

You Zhentian did not linger either. Taking the pill refiner's notes You Panhu had handed over, he went straight to the Old Master You's chambers.

"Zhentian, have you looked at the thing? How is it?" asked Old Master You.

"I haven't had the chance to look yet—I brought it over first thing!" You Zhentian dared not delay; though he wanted to look, he knew the Old Master was waiting, so how would he presume to waste time? Still, he added, "You Panhu did glance through a few pages. He says they're indeed a pill refiner's personal notes, and that he benefited greatly!"

Old Master You nodded and took the pill refiner's notes from You Zhentian's hands, flipping through them with a smile on his face. But after only a few pages, Old Master You's expression turned ugly to behold; and as the pages turned, his face grew ever more overcast, until at last it was ghastly beyond description!

"Father, what... what's the matter? Is there some problem with these pill refiner's notes?" You Zhentian had seen the change in his father's face as well and asked, somewhat puzzled.

"These pill refiner's notes... are the personal notes of a pill refiner of the Xuandan Sect!" Old Master You flipped through several more pages before speaking with certainty.

"What?" You Zhentian frowned. "You mean... these pill refiner's notes belong to the Xuandan Sect?"

"That's right. Come with me!" Old Master You seemed to want to confirm it one last time. He rose and walked toward his own study, and You Zhentian did not dare be remiss either, following cautiously behind the Old Master into the study!

This place was forbidden ground for family members. The study housed many precious pill formulas, materials on pill refining, and a number of pill cauldrons, rare medicinal herbs, and the like. It was nearly a small treasury, **containing all the finest treasures of the Hidden You Family.

Even You Zhentian, heir to the You family, could not set foot here without Old Master You's permission.

Once inside the study, You Zhentian did not look around, only standing to one side with his head lowered. Curious as he was, he gave no sign of it.

Old Master You, meanwhile, strode quickly to a bookshelf, took down a thread-bound volume, and on its cover were written several large characters in plain script: "Notes on Pill Refining of the Xuandan Sect."

Having taken it out, Old Master You could not wait to flip through and compare them. Though he had long been mentally prepared, at the sight of two identical sets of pill refiner's notes his face was still unspeakably grim, as though his mother had died—though, of course, his mother had long since died; it was more as though she had died a second time.

"Identical! They're actually identical to the Xuandan Sect's pill refiner's notes!" Old Master You put the thread-bound volume back and slammed the copy in his hand onto the writing desk, grinding his teeth in fury. "That little beast Wei Zhao—cheated again!"

"This..." Though You Zhentian had not read the contents of the pill refiner's notes, since Old Master You said they were the same, then the same they surely were. He could only smile bitterly. The You family had been cheated by Wei Zhao once more—but then, whose fault was it?

As for the Xuandan Sect's pill refiner's notes, not to mention You Panhu, even You Zhentian had scarcely glanced at them—because their own pill-refining skill was poor, and Old Master You, to keep them from leaking secrets, had only ever extracted a few passages on pill refining that were within their level of understanding and told them those.

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