Chapter 909 — Wei Zhao's Final Decision

Ma Zhu nodded; he knew that Zhao Qibing was speaking the truth.

"Has Wei Zhao made any other enemies lately? Now is the time to let them make their move, isn't it?" Zhao Qibing turned to look at Li Cihua and asked.

"Hmm... apart from An Jianwen, there's only Zhong Yongliang!" Li Cihua sounded rather helpless. "Those are the only two I know of, and An Jianwen has quieted down lately anyway. Zhong Yongliang has thrown in with you, young master... and neither of them is a match for Wei Zhao! Oh — a few days ago, when Xiao Ji of the Xiao family came to visit me, he seemed to be asking, more or less pointedly, about Gu Pengzhan and the experts around him..."

"Oh? And did you receive him? Did you tell him about Gu Pengzhan?" Zhao Qibing asked.

"The Xiao family has never had any grudge against us, and our relations have been decent enough. They say they're about to be kicked out of the ranks of the great houses by the Yu family, but a camel on its deathbed is still bigger than a horse — the Xiao family still has its uses, so of course I didn't slight them," Li Cihua said. "As for Gu Pengzhan, naturally I told him. Judging by his tone, he plainly has a grudge against the man, so I gave Xiao Ji everything I had on the two experts at Gu Pengzhan's side. But when Xiao Ji heard that Wei Zhao was an expert of the early Mystic rank, he seemed to hesitate, and said nothing more!"

"Oh? In that case, first round up a few small-time thugs to test Wei Zhao, and see whether he still has any strength left. If he really doesn't, then we put out the word!" Zhao Qibing thought for a moment. "I refuse to believe that Wei Zhao and Gu Pengzhan have no enemies besides us. As things stand, the Xiao family probably wants them dead too. All we have to do is sit back and reap the rewards!"

"Yes, sir!" Li Cihua nodded and withdrew...

After leaving the villa, Wei Zhao drove off toward Pengzhan Department Store. Before his rendezvous with Tang Yun, he had some preparations to make.

Nor did Wei Zhao bother to shake off the little tails hovering near the villa. He had more or less guessed that they must be Zhao Qibing's men. Once Zhen Yingjun and Ma Zhu were wounded, they would surely go to that Zhao Yaowang — the Medicine King — for treatment, so it was only natural for Zhao Qibing to send people to pry into his condition.

The less Wei Zhao cared about them, and the more he acted as though nothing were wrong, the more it would mislead them, making them believe that Wei Zhao's strength had fully recovered.

Only, Wei Zhao had not counted on the matter of Uncle Qing. He overlooked the fact that Zhao Qibing had even put Uncle Qing under surveillance.

But even if Wei Zhao had known, it would have changed nothing, for he had only recovered from the external wounds to his body; the internal injuries to his meridians had shown not the slightest improvement. Never mind healing Uncle Qing!

Wei Zhao drove openly and unhurriedly to the Pengzhan Department Store building — precisely so that people would think him uninjured. He had to conceal the news as long as he possibly could, and keep on concealing it until Gu Pengzhan found a usable expert.

Wei Zhao had meant to leave the next day, but then he remembered that Zhen Yingjun's trouble was not yet fully settled. If Gu Pengzhan did not find a stand-in for the bodyguard post, Wei Zhao could not leave with an easy mind. So he would simply have to tough it out, keep a low profile, and take care not to give anyone a handle against him.

What Wei Zhao had not foreseen was that the Medicine King had already guessed his true strength — and a plan of probing was quietly unfolding against him.

Wei Zhao parked in the underground garage of the Pengzhan building, asked a security guard there for directions, and made his way to the jewelry section on the first floor.

"Hello, sir. Are you looking to buy jewelry?" No sooner had Wei Zhao arrived in front of a counter called "Liu Weishan Jewelry" than a salesgirl came over and asked him warmly.

"Yes," Wei Zhao nodded. He had not expected such good service from this jewelry company; he had meant to look around casually, but now he had decided to buy here.

In truth, every jewelry shop in the Pengzhan building carried much the same goods; what set them apart was mainly the service.

"What would you like to choose, sir? Something for yourself, or a gift for a friend?" the salesgirl asked.

"I'd like to buy a ring, for my girlfriend," Wei Zhao said.

"A ring? For your girlfriend?" The salesgirl nodded. "Is it an ordinary gift, or an engagement ring?"

"An engagement ring, I suppose..." Wei Zhao sighed softly. She was the first girl who had ever entered a confirmed relationship with him, and on the eve of his departure, he had made a decision.

"Then over here, sir, if you'll look — these are all wedding rings. What sort of price range did you have in mind? They run from a few thousand yuan up to tens of thousands..." The salesgirl pointed to the rings inside one of the cases.

"This one, then. How much is it?" Wei Zhao had no expertise in jewelry and little idea how to choose, so he picked a ring with a somewhat larger diamond, having heard that with diamond rings, the bigger the stone, the better.

"This one..." The salesgirl was startled. What Wei Zhao had set his eyes on was the treasure of the shop! Her heart thumped. If she could sell it, the commission would be enormous! She had only started work a couple of days ago; if she really closed this sale, she would make a fortune.

"What is it?" Wei Zhao asked, seeing the salesgirl hesitate.

"Nothing..." The salesgirl shook her head. "This ring is the treasure of our shop, kept locked in the case. Please wait a moment — I'll call the manager and have him come open it for you!"

"All right," Wei Zhao nodded.

The salesgirl was just about to make the call when a salesgirl from the neighboring shop, "Yunguangdu Jewelry," glanced mockingly at the girl standing before Wei Zhao. "Ask him whether he can even afford it before you call. Carrying on like that, on the phone all day long, you'll waste yourself to death on phone bills alone!"

Wei Zhao frowned. What business was it of hers if he bought jewelry? Was she jealous because he had not bought from her shop? But he did not want trouble just now, and forced down his anger, saying nothing.

"I'm so sorry, sir. Please don't mind her." The salesgirl smiled at Wei Zhao a little apologetically, then went on with her call.

"Hmph! Fine, don't take a kind heart!" The girl from Yunguangdu Jewelry snorted and turned away. She really was rather jealous of Liu Weishan Jewelry's sales, and had deliberately said something cutting to drive the customer away: "Look at what he's wearing — do you really think he can afford your shop's treasure?"

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