Chapter 1301 — A Covert Investigation

"That is true... but the cultivation method our Sun family practices is far too difficult. Each level can heal and assist only one single person. We, the juniors of the Sun family, will likely manage only one level in our entire lives, and breaking through is harder still!" Sun Yikai said. "In that way, the usefulness of the Sun family is greatly diminished. Being unable to heal everyone leaves us feeling a bit like chicken ribs—of little value, yet hard to cast aside. Otherwise, given the nature of the Sun family, joining the ranks of the hidden aristocratic families would be no difficult matter at all!"

Sun Yikai saw the matter through to its depths. Only after hearing this did Wei Zhao remember the peculiar feature of the Sun family's art—its limitation. In that way, the Sun family's growth was constrained, and only through marriage alliances could they gain strength and maximize their interests!

Otherwise, once a member of the Sun family had healed someone, for the rest of his life he could heal and assist in cultivation for that one person alone. In that case, unless that person joined another family, his staying with the Sun family would serve no purpose whatsoever! Marriage alliance was the only road left.

"What level have you cultivated to now? Have you ever healed anyone?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Me? I haven't even reached the first level..." Sun Yikai gave a bitter smile. "How could it possibly be so easy to cultivate? With my sister's astonishing talent, she has only perfected the first level, and breaking through is harder still!"

"Actually, I feel you might try cultivating an offensive internal art," Wei Zhao suggested. "Sometimes making a change is not necessarily a bad thing!"

"I've thought of it myself, but every family guards its art in strict secrecy. How could they let an outsider like me cultivate it?" Sun Yikai smiled ruefully. "Besides, the Sun family's cultivation method is very peculiar: once you have cultivated it, all the true qi drawn into your body is automatically transformed by the method. Cultivating some other art, I'm afraid, is rather unrealistic."

"I was only saying it in passing—in the end it still depends on you!" Wei Zhao patted Sun Yikai on the shoulder. "Alright, I won't take up any more of your time. Wu Chengtian has been glancing over this way many times; don't let me bring trouble down on your Sun family. That man Wu Chengtian has no brains—just humor him appropriately."

"Very well, thank you for the warning." Sun Yikai rose to his feet and walked over toward Wu Chengtian.

On Xu Shilan's side, her chat with Feng Xiaoxiao had also drawn to a close. After all, this was her celebration banquet; however unwilling she might be, she still had to go and play her part—she could hardly sit there talking with Feng Xiaoxiao and no one else.

Throughout this time, Feng Sanhuang had been watching the proceedings in the hall with cold eyes. When Zhao Qibing had come earlier to make trouble for Xu Shilan, he had not lifted a finger either. In his view, so long as matters did not exceed a certain limit, he would not lightly raise a hand in front of such a crowd.

Of course, with Wei Zhao stepping in to defuse the situation, there was all the less need for Feng Sanhuang to act.

Still, Feng Sanhuang took the man Wei Zhao very seriously, and he decided to report everything concerning Wei Zhao to his master at the first opportunity.

Zhao Qibing's face was dark with gloom. He had never expected Xu Shilan and Wei Zhao to have hooked up. Watching Xu Shilan whisper away so intimately with Feng Xiaoxiao, Zhao Qibing knew that he was thoroughly out of the running.

When it came to medical skill, Wei Zhao was no inferior to the Medicine King—perhaps even more formidable! Though Zhao Qibing did not want to admit it, he had no choice but to admit it! With Wei Zhao intervening in this affair, he no longer had the slightest chance of claiming her favor.

"Ruining my good business!" Zhao Qibing gnashed his teeth in fury.

"Young Master Bing, she is only a celebrity. If it cannot be done, just let it go." Li Cihua was feeling somewhat cowed himself by now. With the matter entangling Wei Zhao, he did not dare resist head-on, and could only grit his teeth and give up.

"What else can I do?" Zhao Qibing felt utterly pathetic. "I don't know what my father is thinking over there. He is just a measly Wei Zhao—sending someone to wipe him out would have settled it, yet he has let him live on until now!"

"The family head has his own difficulties. Though he is now the family head in name only, the former head still stands above him, so..." Li Cihua said obliquely. That the former head favored Zhao Qibing little was hardly a secret.

"That old fossil—I am his very own grandson, and he cannot even stand me!" Zhao Qibing knew the reason well enough too, and let out an displeased snort.

The celebration banquet drew to a close in its plainness, thanks to the little episode of conflict between Wei Zhao and Zhao Qibing. Those who had hoped to claim Xu Shilan's favor lost all such inclination.

Seeing Xu Shilan surrounded by a crowd, Wei Zhao and Feng Xiaoxiao simply waved to her from afar and left the venue.

Zhao Fafa had spent these past two days making inquiries about Tang Yun. He had hired several housewives—the sort with nothing better to do than trade gossip with their neighbors around the compound—and had them find out where Tang Yun lived and all about her family!

Having been humiliated, Zhao Fafa was naturally disgruntled. In his view, he was already the number-one young master in Songshan City; how could he fail to handle one little girl? After all, the backing behind the Zhao family these days was rock-solid!

Before long, Zhao Fafa had obtained the complete family records on Tang Yun from these housewives. After all, in the compound, pretty teenage student girls were few and far between; with these women poking about, it was easy to lock the target onto Tang Yun.

And so Tang Yun's full dossier came together. Given Tang's mother's fondness for showing off and boasting, when she chatted with these housewives she naturally poured out everything about her own family, never realizing in the least that others were extracting information from her.

Tang Yun, eighteen years old, a third-year senior at Songshan City First High School. Both her parents were unemployed; they had once been workers at an electronics plant in Songshan, but after the plant was restructured, Tang's mother was laid off, while Tang's father had been confined to his bed at home ever since an industrial injury.

It was only this year that Tang Yun's family had the good fortune to meet a wealthy benefactor, and only then had their lives begun to improve!

Looking over Tang Yun's file, Zhao Fafa's face was cold and sinister. He had taken her for some rich man's daughter, when in truth she was nothing but a Cinderella—only one whom someone else had got to first!

"You are still just a cheap piece of goods, and here I thought you were so pure!" Zhao Fafa sneered. "Once I have dug up your man's background, I will come back and play you to death! Daring to pull a face at me? You might want to consider who I, Zhao Fafa, am!"

Since he now had Tang Yun's information, her boyfriend's was hardly a difficulty either. Zhao Fafa directly enlisted a friend studying at First High School to make the inquiries, and he was confident that results would come soon.

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