Chapter 2590 — The Data Is Gone

After Elder Su and Protector Chen returned, they reported the whole matter to the three great chiefs of the Red Conch. Hearing how it had unfolded, the three chiefs agreed that sending Military Advisor Zhuge had been truly reckless. But the one who had proposed it back then was the Third Chief—Zhuge's own patron. His idea had been to let Zhuge go and skim off some profit; by sending him, he meant to strip Great Prosperity of his real authority and bring the domestic branch under control. Yet no one had foreseen how tangled things would become. Barely had Zhuge arrived than he provoked a power that seemed no weaker than the ancient ones—and was killed with a single palm strike.

Unlucky as the affair was, the Third Chief was utterly helpless. He could blame no one but Zhuge, who had charged in without investigating the situation. All he could say was: "I was the one who proposed sending Military Advisor Zhuge to hold the fort and assist Great Prosperity. I merely feared that a single early-stage Earth-rank expert like Great Prosperity couldn't keep the place in line. I never imagined it would backfire like this!"

"Enough," said the First Chief, who naturally understood the Third Chief's original intent. But Great Prosperity's patron was only Elder Su, not any of the three chiefs, so the First Chief had not stopped the plan at the time; now that things had gone wrong, he could hardly blame the Third Chief either. "I say we don't rashly send anyone else over. Great Prosperity knows that region best. His strength is low, but he has always been steady. So I say we let him carry the load alone!"

"Agreed!" the Third Chief said at once. Matters had already come to this—who would dare go now? Never mind whether Wei Zhao might come looking for trouble at any moment; with Military Advisor Zhuge's death as a warning, no one would risk throwing his life away.

Elder Su narrowed his eyes slightly. Great Prosperity might face some trouble ahead, but standing on his own would do him good as well, so he raised no objection. Once the three chiefs had settled it, he passed the good news on to Great Prosperity.

The three chiefs, however, were unanimous in warning Great Prosperity: under no circumstances provoke Wei Zhao or the Guan Family Medicine Company, and do not even think of revenge. If they could be won over and soothed, well and good; if they refused, do not press the matter.

The three chiefs were Heaven-rank experts themselves, and at a glance they could tell that Military Advisor Zhuge's wounds had been inflicted by a single martial technique. Anyone capable of unleashing such a technique was surely ruthless, and there were likely greater masters behind him. The three chiefs were not so foolish as to seek revenge.

The Red Conch had always put profit above all. As for vengeance—only the three brothers who once ran the domestic branch could have done such a thing; everyone else was far more cold-blooded. Even the Third Chief never entertained the thought of avenging Military Advisor Zhuge. All he thought about was how to keep this matter from dragging him in.

Through Zhuge, the Red Conch had senselessly made a powerful enemy. If that enemy did nothing, fine; but if he acted, could the Third Chief escape involvement?

When Great Prosperity received the good news, his admiration for Wei Zhao flowed on and on like the rolling Yangtze. He decided that since Wei Zhao would in all likelihood wipe out the Red Conch sooner or later, he would retire cleanly when the time came and be a follower of Wei Zhao—that wouldn't be bad at all. So he resolved to commit fewer evils and accumulate more virtue, lest Wei Zhao refuse to take him in.

Then there was Zhao Qibing. Though the hidden Zhao family's influence in Donghai City was fading day by day as Wei Zhao set foot there, the hidden Han family—which had always kept its head down—was slowly making its voice heard in Donghai City. Of course, everyone knew they were in fact Wei Zhao's spokesmen, and the hidden Zhao family knew it too, but there was nothing to be done.

Old Bi was still barely clinging to life, and now word suddenly came that Wei Zhao had killed a Heaven-rank expert of the Red Conch. Only a handful of people knew of it, yet in the cultivation world there were scarcely any secrets to speak of—Wei Zhao himself had never expected the news to spread so fast.

Wei Zhao had not told Wu Chengtian to keep it quiet: the more his victories over higher-ranked foes spread, the better for him. This was a crucial period of growth for Wei Zhao. His only course was to keep intimidating the petty schemers in his path so they dared not act rashly—and then, by the time they came to their senses, he would already be standing over their heads, leaving them no room to turn the tables.

Wu Chengtian shared Wei Zhao's exploits with Wu Gonggao, Pi Zhishan, Han Xiaopo and the others, and they in turn spread the tale abroad, so that before long even the hidden Zhao family had heard of it.

Zhao Qibing tracked down the gang of thieves and found the flying thief who had snatched You Panhu's phone on his motorcycle. Bringing both the thief and the phone, he went to claim credit with You Panhu. In truth, he threw himself so eagerly into this trifling task because he wanted You Panhu to have Wei Zhao break his legs.

You Panhu had been delighted to see Zhao Qibing recover his phone, but when he took it and found nothing on it at all, he grew anxious at once. "Where's the data inside? Where did the data go?"

"Don't worry, Young Master You—the data definitely hasn't leaked. When I found this kid, he was using a computer to flash the phone's system. All the data was wiped. Your xx videos absolutely will not get out!" Zhao Qibing said.

"Damn it! To hell with your xx videos!" You Panhu was so furious that he hurled the phone straight into the thief's face, bloodying it on the spot.

"To hell with his grandmother?" Zhao Qibing was taken aback. "Young Master You, you really do have peculiar tastes!"

"Peculiar my ass! Can't you tell when you're being cursed at?" You Panhu was caught between laughter and tears at Zhao Qibing's words. "Young Master Bing, what I wanted was the data on that phone. It's very important—it's a document!"

"This... then why didn't you say so earlier? How was I supposed to know?" Zhao Qibing shook his head. "But what you promised me—getting Wei Zhao to break my legs—you can't go back on that! Whether you want it or not, I've found your phone for you!"

"Fine, fine, fine. Isn't it just having Wei Zhao break your legs? I'll help you," You Panhu said, without any attempt to wriggle out of it. In fact, he didn't consider it any great matter at all.

"That's more like it. Don't you dare go back on your word!" Zhao Qibing breathed a sigh of relief and added, "I'll be waiting for your good news!"

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