Chapter 68: Scorched by Fire

"Greetings, Elder Li."

Since Senior Brother had said he was Li Ruizhong of the Li family, he must undoubtedly belong to the Li family of the Four Great Mystic Gates. Furthermore, being introduced first meant his weight and influence among this group of people was exceptionally heavy.

Senior Brother had purposely specified that I was his junior brother, rather than a mere disciple or grand-disciple. How could I miss the underlying meaning? It certainly had some connection to Li Poxiao.

"Well, well, needless to say," Li Ruizhong looked at me with intrigued eyes, acknowledging my face, yet there was not the slightest ripple in his gaze.

*An old fox,* that was my first impression of Li Ruizhong. Could he possibly be unaware of the matters between Li Poxiao and me? Even if he didn't know, since Senior Brother had put it that way, could he really have not a single shred of doubt?

"This is Zhang Yufang, from the Zhang family of the East City. You may call her Granny Zhang," Senior Brother introduced again, his gaze now carrying a trace of slyness. Since Zhang Dafai's affair was related to me, he naturally chose to introduce her first.

"Hello, Granny Zhang," I greeted Zhang Yufang with absolute composure. The old matriarch was the only female present here; could someone without formidable strength be sitting at this table?

Tomb-raiders all possessed some extraordinary skills. Look at this: just the night before, old lady Zhang had snatched Liu Fengyi away right from under Jiang Han's nose. If I expected to resolve Jiang Han's problem without involving her, I'd be fooling myself. In the end, I would have to see how Senior Brother planned to handle it.

"I've heard of you," Zhang Yufang nodded. She glared at Senior Brother and completely ignored me. It seemed she had caught wind of the incident involving Zhang Dafai, and since Senior Brother had leaked it, the situation wouldn't be easy to explain away.

I didn't feel particularly awkward, though. Besides, wasn't that old bastard Wang Cheng still sitting nearby, eyeing me like a tiger watching its prey? What could you, Zhang Yufang, possibly do to me?

Three of the Four Great Mystic Gates families were present. With Old Man Zhao of the Zhao family dead, the composition of the Four Great Mystic Gates families had now become suspenseful.

"This is Little Kong, Kong De of the North City Kong family, one of the Four Great Mystic Gates families in the county," Senior Brother introduced one of the other three men, a rosy-faced man of around fifty or sixty years old.

"Hello, Elder Kong," I was shocked. After the blow of Old Man Zhao's death, the Zhao family had actually fallen out of the Mystic Gates families? And the Kong family had directly stepped up to take their place among the Four Great Mystic Gates?

"Hello," Kong De reached out and shook my hand.

"Liu Fuyuan, a good friend of your senior brother, from the Four Little Immortals Taoist Temple outside the city," Senior Brother quickly shifted his focus, introducing his true confidant.

Liu Fuyuan possessed an eccentric and refined appearance, looking to be around fifty-something, making him the youngest among this group. Yet, bizarrely, his complexion was frighteningly pale—not with the heavy ghostly Qi of someone like Lin Feiyu, but rather like a thread of Qi on the verge of breaking. Moreover, though Senior Brother clearly stated he belonged to a Taoist temple, he was dressed in the attire of an ordinary elderly man, which was quite intriguing.

"Hello, Elder Liu," although I knew he was Senior Brother's friend, because of my relations with the other Mystic Gates families, I wasn't particularly enthusiastic toward him.

"Well, well. Since you're Senior Brother Hai's junior, you must certainly have some real skills. To be this accomplished at such a young age—there'll be no stopping you in the future. You are welcome to visit my Four Little Immortals Taoist Temple whenever you have time. Brother Hai has been talking about you so much these past two days that my ears are calloused, but you must definitely come visit my place," Liu Fuyuan said warmly.

"I certainly will, Elder Liu," I hurriedly agreed. He was likely the only one among this circle of strangers who showed me genuine warmth and insisted I visit his Four Little Immortals Taoist Temple. Could there be some deeper meaning behind this?

"And this is Boss Yao of the teahouse, Yao Long. Uh... he's not a member of the Mystic Gates," Senior Brother introduced with a smile.

***

Yao Long appeared to be around sixty, his build comparable to Wang Cheng's. He stood up and reached out a large hand to shake mine: "Back in our youth, we all hung out together often, and as we grew older, we stayed acquainted. Come visit my place often. Although my establishment isn't frequented by youngsters, since you're Brother Hai's junior, you're no ordinary youngster—you must come often."

Anyone who could name their teahouse *Xiaoxuanxuan* was bound to be extraordinary. Furthermore, sitting here with a bunch of old Mystic Gates freaks, I refuse to believe he was an ordinary person. Thus, shaking his hand, I exchanged a few very polite pleasantries with him.

In the end, Yao Long excused himself on the grounds that he was not a member of the Mystic Gates. Out of the two tables of people, only Senior Brother, Li Ruizhong, Zhang Yufang, Liu Fuyuan, Wang Cheng, Lin Feiyu, and Kong De remained.

Once seated, contrary to my expectations, the atmosphere turned deeply gloomy, nothing like the lively chatter over the phone just moments earlier. Had a different batch of people been rotated in?

That was probably it. I glanced over at the group of heavily made-up middle-aged women sitting idly in the distance; evidently, they had just been entertaining Senior Brother and his friends earlier.

Wang Cheng and the others had arrived later. Thinking along these lines, I began to understand: the matter still had some connection to me, after all.

"The usual rules. Let's start the meeting. First, turn your phones to vibration mode," Li Ruizhong broke the silence first.

A meeting? What kind of meeting? My expression turned somewhat eccentric. Could these veteran seniors possibly be talking about some sort of tea party? Seeing everyone earnestly switching their devices to silent, I had no choice but to set my phone to vibrate as well.

"Wang Cheng! Come sit over here. What business do you have directing your anger at my junior brother? He hasn't even explicitly said he's going to protect that child of the Zhao family yet!" Senior Brother frowned and said.

"Brother Hai! You said it yourself! If he dares to protect the Zhao brat, I won't care about anything else anymore!" Wang Cheng slammed the table and strode over with a ferocious look on his face.

In just the blink of an eye, sparks were flying, and my seat had barely grown warm!

I didn't dare to utter a sound; after all, it wasn't my turn to speak yet. Still, Wang Cheng's intense reaction made complete sense. The blood feud of a son's murder was irreconcilable. Right now, the Zhao family didn't even have the qualification to sit here; weren't they just ingredients waiting for the Wang family to throw into the hotpot?

Since Wang Cheng had moved over, there was no point in Lin Feiyu staying at the other table, so he walked over to greet me and sat down beside me.

"As if you could actually do anything to my junior brother anyway," Senior Brother muttered under his breath, loud enough for Wang Cheng to hear, causing veins to bulge on Wang Cheng's forehead.

Wang Cheng had locked onto me completely. Glaring at me with a fierce expression, I immediately turned my head away to speak quietly with Lin Feiyu: "Elder Lin, trust you have been well since we last met? Everything fine after that day?"

"Since your senior brother is as lively as a dragon or a tiger, what could possibly happen to me? I think *you* are the one who's about to have trouble..." Lin Feiyu whispered even more softly to me.

"Elder Lin, you're pulling my leg, aren't you?" I smiled bitterly in dissatisfaction. This was Elder Lin giving me a heads-up; it seemed Wang Cheng intended to pursue this to the bitter end. The Wang family was not to be trifled with, and whoever provided backup for the Zhao family would inevitably have to pay the price.

"Alright, let Brother Li talk about today's major event first. I only brought my junior brother here to introduce him; the rest has nothing to do with me. As for whatever grievances exist between them and my junior brother, they'll have to get past me first. Of course, if he wants to meddle in idle affairs, it's not my place to stop him—to each their own methods," Senior Brother cunningly washed his hands of the matter, having prepared both offensive and defensive stances. Saying "to each their own methods" was his way of backing me up and letting me lean on his powerful support.

I was instantly so grateful I felt like shedding tears; calling him Senior Brother was truly worth every bit!

"Brother Hai, isn't your meaning entirely obvious? You're bent on protecting your junior brother? Are you certain you want to do this?" Wang Cheng was furious, fire practically blazing in his eyes as he pointed at Senior Brother's nose and roared.

***

"Enough, enough. Put these matters aside for now. No one wished to see such a tragedy befall your Wang Heng. Could Brother Hai possibly add insult to injury for you? Besides, Brother Zhao is already dead, and the Zhao family is on the decline. If you want revenge, shouldn't you pick your targets carefully? Or does you, Wang, intend to sweep everyone down with a single stroke? Aren't you afraid people will point at your spine and accuse you of kicking a man when he's down? Besides, Zhao Xi of the Zhao family used to be your son's childhood best friend!" Although Li Ruizhong was the oldest and spoke the most leisurely, his words carried the most formidable internal vigor.

The dominance of a person in power unconsciously influenced everyone around them. Even Senior Brother, who had once been rescued by him, had to look up to him with respect. It seemed the Li family truly was a generation of mystic masters, powerful beyond measure! Since Li Poxiao was a descendant of the Li family and possessed such formidable strength, this Li Ruizhong must be terrifyingly unfathomable!

Wang Cheng furrowed his brows and didn't take up the thread, but his gaze toward Senior Brother and me turned somewhat unfriendly. It looked like as long as we dared to stick our noses into this, he truly intended to sweep away everyone in his path.

Zhang Yufang looked me up and down, trying to read something from me, yet the old woman stubbornly refused to utter a word. This felt like having thorns pricking my back, and I had no idea what she was plotting.

I circulated my Yin-Yang eyes and swept a glance across the people sitting before me, instantly giving a start. Old and frail as Li Ruizhong looked, his aura was astonishingly vigorous; that surging wave of blue Qi was undoubtedly the most formidable among everyone present.

Wang Cheng was also formidable, his entire body glowing with a crimson red, his internal Qi already darkly restrained.

The others appeared quite ordinary, seeming completely calm. However, when I glanced at Senior Brother, I swallowed hard on the spot—he didn't emit even a shred of Qi! This was what you called a true master!

Yet Senior Brother was an extraordinary entity who could conceal himself in broad daylight; how could he possibly leak even a trace of Qi? If he wanted to, even ghosts wouldn't be able to see him.

I would definitely have to learn this trick from him later. With this skill, even if I rashly barged into the Sealing Feng Death Town at night, I could likely return safely.

The old man Li Ruizhong glanced around the surroundings and said, "Because the Zhao family hasn't been able to produce a representative during this period, everyone hasn't gathered together. Until today, if Sister Zhang and I hadn't caught Brother Hai's tail, we wouldn't have had the opportunity to gather everyone for a face-to-face discussion. Who knows when we would have been able to meet otherwise? So, let me talk about the major events that have occurred over these past few days."

Senior Brother's weathered face turned awkward for a moment, and he stared at Li Ruizhong with slight displeasure. It seemed Senior Brother had originally only intended to gather a few good friends, but somehow Li Ruizhong had cornered him here at the Xiaoxuanxuan Teahouse, turning it directly into a full-scale plenary meeting.

Yao Long exchanged an embarrassed look with Senior Brother from behind the bar. Even Liu Fuyuan and Lin Feiyu, despite their pale complexions, now wore somewhat unnatural expressions—it looked like they had been caught red-handed while holding a private gathering.

Disregarding their expressions, Li Ruizhong cut straight to the point: "A while ago, everyone should be more or less aware of the incident at Little Yi Village. Senior Zhou Xian's whereabouts are currently unknown. Although that matter has been taken over by the higher-ups and we don't need to meddle, there is still one thing that happened afterward that deeply concerns me. Has everyone heard about it?"

As I was pondering what followed, Wang Cheng across from me took out his phone to take a look, a sneer blooming at the corner of his mouth as he stared at me.

I was originally wondering what was wrong with this old bastard Wang Cheng; what was the meaning of smiling at me for no reason? Then my phone in my pocket began to vibrate furiously, and before I even pulled it out, I knew disaster had struck.

"Kid Xia! If you want to fight, bring it on right now! I've already captured that pair of Zhao brats. I know you'll definitely come to save them, so let's settle our score right here! If you can beat me, I'll return them to you! But one of the two must die! If you can't beat them, both die! Today, nobody's words will make a damn difference!" Wang Cheng slammed the table, interrupting Li Ruizhong's words!

"Wang Cheng! You damn bandit!" I flew into a rage. To capture both Zhao Qian and Zhao He—I figured this old bastard had completely lost his mind!