Chapter 2269 — A Visitor from the Wu Family

"Hold on a moment—I need to make a phone call." Qiu Lingshan felt it necessary to speak with Gu Mengyao in private once more. She had no idea when Wang Xinyan had become Wei Zhao's girlfriend, but if that was indeed the case, then Wei Zhao could not possibly stand by and do nothing. There had to be a way out of this.

Wang Xuben nodded helplessly. He had originally intended to seek help from the Xiao and Kang families—after all, Wang Xinyan was a member of the Xiao family and a daughter-in-law of the Kang family. But upon hearing that his daughter had taken a boyfriend at school, Wang Xuben dismissed the notion.

True, he did not think his daughter was the sort to act so rashly. She was already betrothed to the Kang family—how could she go and find a boyfriend at school? Yet the present problem was that it was better to believe it than not. If he brought the Kang family into this and they caught wind that his daughter had cuckolded Kang Zhaolong, they would hardly let the matter rest. Better to wait until his daughter returned and question her thoroughly.

Meanwhile, Qiu Lingshan stepped into the inner office and dialed Gu Mengyao's number directly.

Gu Mengyao was not surprised that Qiu Lingshan called so soon. "Lingshan... sis."

"Yaoyao, is there something more to this?" Qiu Lingshan asked.

"Wu Chengtian has already contacted the hidden Pi family. I hear Old Master Pi is rushing over overnight to handle this himself!" Gu Mengyao held nothing back from Qiu Lingshan. For one thing, the other woman was also from a great family; for another, they were well enough acquainted with each other.

"The hidden Pi family is getting involved?" Qiu Lingshan was baffled by Gu Mengyao's words. Wang Xinyan had been kidnapped—what business did the hidden Pi family have here? Were they not the Xiao family's backers? And did they not hold a grudge against Wei Zhao?

"Pi Zhishan of the Pi family has already acknowledged Wei Zhao as his leader." Gu Mengyao did not know the details herself, so she simply explained, "In any case, he is an early Earth-Rank expert. If he takes the field, it should not be much of a problem."

"That's good, then..." Qiu Lingshan had been considering whether to notify the Mysterious Investigation Bureau to intervene, hearing that the other side consisted of cultivators. But now it seemed unnecessary. If even Old Master Pi could not handle it, no one else would fare any better.

Qiu Lingshan hung up and walked out to address Wang Xuben and his wife. "I've made the arrangements. When the kidnappers call again, just do as they ask and play along for now—but don't be in a hurry to hand over the money. If we can stall them past today, there shouldn't be much of a problem."

Qiu Lingshan said nothing about the hidden Pi family. Since Gu Mengyao had not mentioned it just now, she clearly did not want Wang Xuben and his wife to know.

"Ah, wonderful, thank you so much!" Hearing that Qiu Lingshan had everything arranged, Wang Xuben felt the weight lift from his heart.

Qiu Lingshan wanted to say that no thanks were needed, but on second thought, she held her tongue...

Big Mule assumed the matter had been handled safely and returned to headquarters at his ease, leaving Test Subject No. 02 to keep watch over Wang Xinyan. With him standing guard here, there was no need to worry about any trouble arising.

Back at headquarters, An Jianwen asked straightaway, "Well? Any problems?"

"None after that. Everything went smoothly!" Big Mule said.

"Good." An Jianwen nodded. "From now on, don't go provoking anyone with backing like Wang Xinyan. Nothing good comes of tangling with Wei Zhao!"

"You're telling me. This time was a real close call." Big Mule had been badly frightened himself. Being chased by that bizarre beast had left his heart racing and his legs cramping—he had nearly gotten into a car accident.

"Mm, by the way—as my strategist, you shouldn't be showing your face so much. It invites trouble. Do you have anyone you trust? Recommend someone to me, let them take some of the work off your hands." An Jianwen said, "Once the plan to rob the great families gets underway, you won't be able to handle it all yourself."

"Hmm... I have a cousin back home, goes by the nickname Little Pure. Sharp fellow. How about I bring him in to try?" Big Mule thought it over and said.

"Fine, have him come. But don't bring him before me just yet—give him some tasks to do, and we'll talk once he's done well." An Jianwen remained wary of strangers. Even though the man's background was well known, he would not entrust him with anything important right away.

"All right, I'll call him in and have him handle some trivial matters first." Big Mule nodded... The night passed without incident, and dawn broke calm and uneventful.

Qiu Lingshan, Wang Xuben, and Xiao Qinlin had barely slept a wink, all waiting for the kidnappers' call. But apart from that first call, the kidnappers never rang again.

Big Mule was not like those kidnappers who frantically demand their money. He had nothing to fear, and he knew full well that it would take Wang Xuben some time to raise the ransom—pressing too hard would do no good. This unhurried approach, in fact, put even more pressure on Wang Xuben.

So after leaving An Jianwen's place, he went back to sleep, utterly unconcerned about the Wang Xinyan affair.

With Test Subject No. 02 standing guard, Wang Xinyan could not possibly escape, even on wings. And should anyone come to stir up trouble, they had best worry whether they would leave alive.

Old Master Wu Gonggao arrived first. He had received good news from Wu Chengtian: Wei Zhao thought highly of him, had promoted him to an early Earth-Rank expert, and had given him the body-tempering medicine for outer-path cultivators, not to mention establishing ties with the hidden Pi family. Wu Gonggao was both astonished and delighted.

The Wu family had risen steadily ever since Wu Chengtian fell in with Wei Zhao. Wu Chengtian's strength had soared from a mere early Yellow-Rank to early Earth-Rank—several levels above even Wu Gonggao, the family head himself. And he cultivated both inner and outer arts, making him stronger than before by no one knew how many times.

This time, Wu Chengtian had not only brought news of a breakthrough but had also obtained the body-tempering medicine from Wei Zhao. Most importantly, there was even a bottle for himself. Wu Gonggao thought that the cleverest member of the family was, after all, his own grandson.

Back when Wu Chengtian first acknowledged Wei Zhao as his leader, Wu Gonggao had been none too pleased, feeling it a disgrace to the family name. But now it seemed Wu Chengtian had been remarkably wise. Among the great families, Wei Zhao stood as the highest power, and even at the level of the hidden families, two of them had acknowledged Wei Zhao as their leader!

Compared to that, what did the Wu family amount to? Of course, since the Wu family's Wu Chengtian had been the first to submit to Wei Zhao's banner, those who came later—Han Xiaopo, Pi Zhishan, and the rest—had to step aside and become Wu Chengtian's juniors! (To be continued.) RQ

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