Chapter 545 — Uncle Qing's True Strength

Zhong Yongliang nodded silently, said no more, and left Gu Pengzhan's office straight away. He knew well enough that Uncle Qing would most likely not be driving him back this time, and, unwilling to make a fool of himself, he had not asked.

"Follow him! Find out how Yaoyao is doing." The moment Zhong Yongliang was out of the office, Gu Pengzhan gave Uncle Qing the order.

"Yes, Mr. Gu!" Uncle Qing nodded, turned, and left the office as well. Catching up to Zhong Yongliang, who had not gone far, he said, "Mr. Zhong Yongliang, let me drive you back."

Zhong Yongliang was elated. What did this mean? That Gu Pengzhan still meant to make peace? At the thought, his spirits soared, and his confidence that Gu Pengzhan would ultimately consent to the matter swelled enormously.

"Then I'll put you to the trouble, Uncle Qing." Zhong Yongliang already carried himself like a son-in-law who had moved into the family home.

Uncle Qing, naturally, said nothing more. He and Zhong Yongliang went downstairs and got into the car, and only then did he ask, "Where would Mr. Zhong Yongliang like to go?"

"Home, of course!" Zhong Yongliang thought. He must not let Uncle Qing see through him. "Yaoyao is still waiting for me at home. I have to get back early. If she gets hungry, I still have to fix her some instant noodles!"

"Oh, since Miss Gu is at your home and the two of you haven't eaten, then come with me to the hotel and we'll pick up the bento." Uncle Qing said, "I prepare one for Miss Gu every day."

"Fine, then hand it to me." Zhong Yongliang nodded, thinking that at least tonight's dinner was taken care of.

They went to Pengzhan Grand Hotel to collect the dinner, and Uncle Qing drove Zhong Yongliang to the foot of the villa where he lived. Uncle Qing took up the meal box and made to go upstairs with him, but Zhong Yongliang stopped him.

"Mr. Zhong Yongliang, I'd like to see Miss Gu, and ask whether she needs anything. It's late today, and I'm afraid she won't be able to go back, so I'll go buy her some toiletries." Uncle Qing explained mildly.

"Oh, that, no need!" How could Zhong Yongliang let Uncle Qing go up? If he went up and did not see Gu Mengyao, would not everything be exposed? He waved his hand hastily. "Uncle Qing, Yaoyao must be undressed at this moment. It wouldn't be convenient for you to go up!"

"Oh, then you go in first and have her put something on?" Uncle Qing suggested.

"That... her body isn't convenient, as you know. A girl's first time is always a little inconvenient. Wouldn't putting on clothes be torment for her?" Zhong Yongliang, quick-witted, explained. "Besides, the guest rooms here all have toiletries. I'll just take her a set."

"I see. Then never mind. Go up yourself." Uncle Qing handed him the bento, then turned and got back into the car.

Zhong Yongliang hurried upstairs with the bento, went into his room, and glanced out the window. Seeing that Uncle Qing's car had already gone, he breathed a sigh of relief and thought: Gone at last. I nearly failed to fool him. Good thing your young master is quick on his feet, or I'd have capsized in a ditch.

If he could only hold out these two days, until Gu Pengzhan made his decision, he would see the clouds part and the blue sky beyond. Reassured, Zhong Yongliang opened the bento box before him and found the dinner inside rather sumptuous. His appetite stirred, and he ate quickly.

In truth, Uncle Qing's departure was only an illusion. He had not left at all. He drove around in a circle, parked the car in a corner, got out, and made his way to the vicinity of Zhong Yongliang's villa, where he hid behind a transformer box.

He glanced at the second-floor window and saw that Zhong Yongliang was still there. Uncle Qing breathed a sigh of relief; his one fear had been that Zhong Yongliang might slip away in the blink of an eye, but it seemed he had not.

Whether out of caution, or for some other reason, it was hard to say.

After reporting the situation to Gu Pengzhan, Uncle Qing stayed on to keep watch over Zhong Yongliang. Gu Pengzhan had sent Uncle Qing precisely to find out how Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were faring.

Neither Gu Pengzhan nor Uncle Qing truly believed Zhong Yongliang could be so foolish as to keep both Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu in his own home; that would be pure suicide. What Zhong Yongliang had said before was nothing but lies.

What left Gu Pengzhan and Uncle Qing uncertain was whether Zhong Yongliang had done anything to Gu Mengyao. Thus only by having Uncle Qing secretly follow Zhong Yongliang and locate the place where Gu Mengyao was imprisoned could the truth be uncovered.

And Zhong Yongliang was indeed not so utterly foolish. Though from the second-floor window he had not seen Uncle Qing's car, in such circumstances he did not dare rashly return to the cave in Shuangyan Mountain. Until Gu Pengzhan made his position clear, going there would be a wasted trip; besides, enough food and water had been stored in the cave, so the two girls certainly would not starve.

After dinner, Zhong Yongliang watched a horror film for a while and then went to sleep. These past few days Zhong Fabai had been with Bing Shao and Li Cihua studying the demolition matter and had no time to come home at all. With a chance like this to curry favor with a patron, how could he let it slip?

Seeing that every light in Zhong Yongliang's house had gone out, Uncle Qing did not act rashly at once. He waited a good while, about an hour, until normal people should be asleep, before leaping into the villa's courtyard in one bound and climbing up to Zhong Yongliang's window. Peering through a gap in the curtains, he saw Zhong Yongliang sleeping alone in his single bed; there was no second person in the room.

Uncle Qing grew all the more certain of his guess: Gu Mengyao was probably not in Zhong Yongliang's home. Yet he dared not be a hundred percent sure, so he decided to go into the villa and search around first; caution could never do much harm.

That Uncle Qing was a Yellow-rank external-school expert was known to no one but Gu Pengzhan. In fact, even Gu Pengzhan had no clear notion of just how much of Uncle Qing's strength had been restored.

Uncle Qing's current strength had reached the peak of the late Yellow rank, but for an external-school expert to break through to the Mystic rank was impossible without a fitting opportunity. That was why external-school experts at the early Mystic rank, like Wu Gonggao, were exceedingly rare.

Because Uncle Qing cultivated only the body, attaining formidable strength through the body itself, the energy fluctuations within him differed little from those of an ordinary person; thus Wei Zhao could not detect his true strength either. Only in the instant Uncle Qing gathered power to strike could Wei Zhao have discovered it.

But when in Uncle Qing's company, Uncle Qing almost never made a move, and that was why Wei Zhao, to this day, had never figured out the secret of Uncle Qing's strength.

Searching for activity within a villa posed no difficulty at all for an expert at the peak of the late Yellow rank. Uncle Qing completed the search smoothly, and even discovered a secret chamber door hidden behind a wardrobe in Zhong Fabai's study.

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