Chapter 2561 — Deception

"We do it quietly, without a soul the wiser. Even if someone else cultivated her, we can't let such a golden opportunity slip through our fingers!" Zhuang Niaoqiang said. "If Grandfather becomes a Heaven-rank expert, think of the benefits it would bring the family! Look at the hidden Zhao family—wasn't Old Master Zhao's rise all thanks to his becoming a Heaven-rank expert?"

"Hmm... that's true enough..." Zhuang Niaopao nodded. "Then, Second Brother, will you speak to Grandfather about it?"

"Yes, I'll call him right now!" Zhuang Niaoqiang said.

Neither he nor Zhuang Niaopao had ever considered using the vessel themselves. A vessel could only serve one person, after all, and if one of the brothers used it and his strength soared, it would wreck their combined-strike techniques and martial arts. Only when the two were of comparable strength could they execute their joint attacks; if one pulled too far ahead, their coordination would fall into disarray.

Zhuang Niaoqiang and Old Master Zhuang conspired at length, and at last reached a single conclusion: they would do it.

With Old Master Zhuang's nod, Zhuang Niaoqiang and Zhuang Niaopao set to work. Of course, they said nothing to Chen Xiaoba about Chen Xi being a vessel.

"Xiaoba, that little girl beside Ying Ziyu looks fine too—dewy and fresh, a prize in her own right. You take Ying Ziyu, and leave the other girl for us two brothers to enjoy. How about it?" Zhuang Niaopao asked Chen Xiaoba.

"Of course, no problem—even if both girls go to Brother Qiang and Brother Pao first, that's fine..." Chen Xiaoba's heart bled as he said it, but he had no choice; he had to curry favor with and flatter the two Zhuang brothers.

"Oh, we won't touch the girl you've set your sights on—we brothers would never do such a thing!" Zhuang Niaoqiang waved his hand and shook his head. "We'll take the other one, and that's all."

"Heh, then this little brother thanks you both!" Chen Xiaoba said with relief and gratitude, thinking to himself that these two Zhuang brothers were truly decent fellows.

"Enough. We move now. It's just a kidnapping, isn't it? You're the son of a gang boss—a professional second-generation thug—and you still can't manage it. We two brothers have to do it ourselves. Pathetic, really!" Zhuang Niaopao said.

"Haha, isn't this Li Cihua's territory? I had no confidence. But with Brother Qiang and Brother Pao on the job, there's nothing to worry about!" Chen Xiaoba said with a laugh as he opened the car door and invited the two Zhuang brothers into his Mercedes business van. Then he started the engine and headed for Songshan City No. 1 High School.

School had not yet let out at Songshan City No. 1 High School, so there were not many cars at the gate. Chen Xiaoba parked in front of the school and, as arranged beforehand, sought out the old gatekeeper.

"Sir, I'm the older brother of Ying Ziyu from Class Five, Grade One. Could you call her out for me? Tell her something's gone wrong at home, and it'd be best if she brought a good friend along to help!" Chen Xiaoba was dressed respectably today, looking like a successful man, a sunny, handsome young gentleman, so the old gatekeeper was off his guard and took him for Ying Ziyu's real brother. He nodded readily.

"All right, I'll notify her right away!" The gatekeeper picked up the phone in the guardroom and called the homeroom teacher of Class Five, Grade One, explaining the situation at the school gate.

Ying Ziyu and Chen Xi were special favorites whom Principal Ding Binggong had personally instructed the school to look after, so the homeroom teacher dared not be negligent. Hearing that something had happened at Ying Ziyu's home, she hurried to tell her. When Ying Ziyu heard her brother had come for her, she thought it was Wei Zhao, and though delighted, she was also deeply worried. Wei Zhao said something had gone wrong at home? What could it be?

So Ying Ziyu quickly dragged Chen Xi along and ran out of the school. By then, afraid that Ying Ziyu and Chen Xi would see his face, Chen Xiaoba had already climbed into the Mercedes van and hidden himself. He had claimed to be Ying Ziyu's brother because Li Cihua had once mentioned that Ying Ziyu had an older brother and had given the school a heads-up about it, so he had simply borrowed the identity—and it worked perfectly, leaving Ying Ziyu unsuspicious.

"Sir, where's my brother?" Ying Ziyu asked the gatekeeper curiously when she and Chen Xi reached the school gate and saw no Wei Zhao.

"Oh? Your brother? He was just here... he must have gotten in the car already. It's chilly out!" The old gatekeeper, thinking nothing of it, pointed to the Mercedes van not far away.

"All right, thank you, sir!" Ying Ziyu led Chen Xi toward the van. Her heart was anxious, so she thought nothing of it and took no precautions. She was just about to knock on the door when it flew open and Zhuang Niaoqiang's hand chops struck like lightning. Neither Ying Ziyu nor Chen Xi had time to react before they collapsed unconscious.

Zhuang Niaopao helped shove the two quickly into the back seat of the van, and then they sped away from the scene...

The whole thing took only a few seconds. Zhuang Niaoqiang and Zhuang Niaopao were cultivators, so Ying Ziyu, however skilled a little delinquent girl she might be, was no match for him.

The old gatekeeper did not see any of this—but someone nearby did: Leader Zhu. His task was to watch over and protect Chen Xi, and every day he disguised himself as a rag picker and loitered near the school, precisely to protect Chen Xi on her way to and from class.

When he saw Zhuang Niaoqiang and Zhuang Niaopao seize Chen Xi and drag her into the Mercedes van, he panicked. But he dared not pursue them—others might not recognize the two Zhuang brothers, but he did!

He knew the faces of the hidden-family youths inside and out, and he made a point of avoiding any clash with them. He also knew the strength of these two: both were peak of the early Earth rank. So Leader Zhu did not dare make a reckless move at all!

He was only an early Earth-rank expert, while the other side had two at the peak of early Earth rank. If he chased after them, he would simply be throwing his life away!

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