Chapter 1323 — Before Departure

So these days Wei Zhao studied the material on tomb traps every single day, and the blueprints and notes Liu Bojia had given him were read and reread as well. Yet even with the drawings in hand, Wei Zhao did not slacken in the least. It was not that he distrusted Liu Bojia, but that Liu Bojia's material was incomplete. It covered only the ways to break a few of the traps and hidden passages on the tomb's outer edges, and said nothing of the installations within, because Liu Bojia himself had only ever observed the tomb from outside and had never gone in. So no one could vouch for what conditions inside were really like.

At noon each day, Wei Zhao, the Eldest Miss, Xiaoshu and Yunyun still ate together, but it was as though something had gone missing. None of them seemed to have any desire to talk, and the only subject was urging Wei Zhao to go raid the tomb and find some way to save Xiaoxiao.

With Xie Yufeng gone from the school, it turned peaceful again, and Zhong Yongliang kept his head down for the time being as well, no longer clashing with Wei Zhao and the others.

The days wore on one after another, and in the blink of an eye the day of the tomb raid was nearly upon them.

Wei Zhao took his leave of the Eldest Miss, Xiaoshu and Yunyun, yet they showed not the least reluctance. On the contrary, they let out a breath in relief, happy and light of heart: "He's finally going!"

Wei Zhao was rather at a loss for words. He gave a wry smile and said, "Wait for my good news."

"Mm, but you must be careful!" Tang Yun exhorted him gravely. "To us, Xiaoxiao is important, but so are you. Don't push yourself; do only what you can. As long as the green hills remain, there will never be a shortage of firewood. If anything were to happen to you, then not only we, but Xiaoxiao too would be left without hope!"

"That's right, Wei Zhao, you must be careful," Gu Mengyao said with a nod.

"I understand, don't worry," Wei Zhao said, nodding and smiling faintly.

Before setting out, Wei Zhao summoned Ergoudan to the villa.

Though during this time the enemy in Songshan City had not come knocking, Wei Zhao still did not feel easy about the safety of the women. Better to be safe than sorry. Even with Uncle Qing there, Uncle Qing's strength was only the peak of the late Yellow rank, enough for ordinary opponents, but no match at all for a stronger enemy.

"Ergoudan, while I'm away, the safety of Yaoyao, Xiaoshu and Yunyun is in your hands," Wei Zhao instructed Ergoudan.

"Don't worry, boss, leave it to me!" Ergoudan vowed, thumping his chest. "While you're gone, I'll be sure to keep them safe!"

"But your physical constitution is a special one, so remember what I tell you," Wei Zhao said gravely. "If a skilled hand comes looking for trouble and you're not certain you can handle him, then kill him outright. Don't hold back. Strong as you are, if a Mystic-rank fighter lands a single punch on you, you'll die beyond question. And if the opponent isn't very strong, then first cripple his ability to fight back, and then question him about who put him up to it."

"I've remembered it!" Ergoudan took Wei Zhao's words to heart. Simple and honest as he looked, he was no fool, and he knew that what Wei Zhao said was the truth.

That very night, Ergoudan moved into the Gu family villa, into Wei Zhao's room, and he and Yu Yuanyuan would simply have to be apart for the time being. Though neither of them was quite willing, in Ergoudan's eyes the task the boss had assigned him came first and foremost.

Wei Zhao, meanwhile, went to the police station and met up with Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yutian. Certain things had to be squared away with a single, consistent story. The other tomb robbers were no idlers either; if the husband-and-wife master thieves they were impersonating showed the slightest flaw, the whole game would be up.

"Brother Yutian, Lingshan, you must have drawn up a detailed plan for the tomb raid by now, haven't you? Just hand it over for me to look at," Wei Zhao said, dispensing with pleasantries and coming straight to the point.

With Chen Yutian, Wei Zhao had no need for ceremony; and with Qiu Lingshan, he had even less.

"It's already done, here it is," Chen Yutian said with a nod, handing the plan to Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao said no more, but sat down on the sofa and began leafing through it. As for the arrangements for the raid itself, he gave them only a cursory glance; they were all armchair theorizing, of no practical use. It was the dossier on the husband-and-wife master thieves that he read in detail, including their habits, their ways, and so on. These would be the key to success or failure.

"The husband-and-wife master thieves rarely come into contact with others? Even the other tomb robbers don't know their true faces?" Wei Zhao asked after finishing the material. "In other words, we don't need to put on too deliberate an act?"

"Exactly. The husband-and-wife master thieves are extremely cautious and cunning tomb robbers. Had it not been for a lucky coincidence, catching them making a smuggling contact at the border, I would never have been able to shoot them dead," Chen Yutian said with a nod. "And as it turns out, this spares us no small amount of trouble. They're something of an oddity in the tomb-raiding world: highly skilled, treacherous and sly, loved and hated alike by their peers. Sometimes people hate them because they demand exorbitant cuts and want a hand in every grave; but sometimes they simply can't do without them, because their experience is extraordinarily rich."

Wei Zhao nodded. "So now Lingshan and I play the husband-and-wife master thieves, and you are our foundation?"

"That's right," Chen Yutian nodded. "Among the three of us, your strength is the greatest, and among the husband-and-wife master thieves, the man is the stronger one as well."

"What's your strength now? Still early Yellow rank?" Wei Zhao glanced at Chen Yutian and asked.

"Yes. To my shame, still early Yellow rank." At this Chen Yutian felt rather embarrassed. That he had never advanced was plainly due to his own aptitude.

"Hm... then tonight I'll raise you to the peak of the late Yellow rank, the same as Lingshan, so you'll at least have the means to protect yourself," Wei Zhao said evenly.

"What?" Chen Yutian was struck dumb for a moment. Raised to the peak of the late Yellow rank? Had he heard that right? Wei Zhao was going to raise his strength? And from the tone in which Wei Zhao said it, it might have been the most commonplace thing in the world!

"You know how Lingshan's strength was raised. Enough idle talk, let's begin now." Looking at Chen Yutian's astonished expression, Wei Zhao smiled with a trace of impatience.

Wei Zhao had always harbored a plan: to raise, one by one, every person around him to the peak of the late Yellow rank, and once he himself reached the Earth rank, to raise them to the peak of the late Mystic rank... and later still, even to the peak of the late Earth rank, and even the peak of the late Heaven rank!

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