Chapter 53: Don't You Have a Sister-in-law?

“Dad…” Cai Hu called softly as he stepped into the house. The rooms echoed back emptily, devoid of any response. He found it odd, but just then, his phone rang in his pocket.

“Xiao Hu, I’m taking your mother on a trip to Nanye City for a few days. Take good care of yourself at home,” his father explained.

After hearing his father’s instructions, Cai Hu couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. Both father and son were the silent type, often going half a day without uttering a word. Now, on the occasion of his parents’ twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, his father was actually taking his mother on a trip—something Cai Hu had never imagined. But thinking back to their recent phone call, his father had hinted at this plan.

“Dad, you and Mom have a great time. Don’t worry about me,” he reassured him.

After a few more words, they hung up. At that moment, Cai Hu could never have guessed that what seemed a simple trip would, in less than half a month, bring about unimaginable changes.

…

Meanwhile, with Zhang Ze.

After half an hour, the group had trekked four miles and were already closing in on Xie Village. As they neared, their pace slowed considerably.

“Brother Ze, just tell us how we’re doing this,” a young man sidled up to Zhang Ze, gripping a hoe, his face fierce.

Zhang Ze smiled faintly, replying with a question, “How are we doing this?”

“Do you think Jia Yao would ever imagine we’d dare come and take back the elixirs?”

Without hesitation, Li Tian jumped in, “Of course he wouldn’t! Jia Yao’s sure we wouldn’t dare fight back, let alone try to take back the pills.”

“Exactly.” Zhang Ze spoke plainly. “We get as close to Jia Yao’s compound as we can, then we charge in. If we find the elixirs, great. If not, we cripple him and make them bring the pills to ransom him.”

Though Zhang Ze’s plan sounded reckless, it was exactly what Li Tian and the others wanted to hear.

“Alright!” they shouted in unison, ready to move forward.

“Buzz—”

Suddenly, a low, muffled boom sounded in the distance, making the ground tremble beneath their feet.

“What’s going on?” The abrupt disturbance left Zhang Ze bewildered.

Everyone exchanged glances, but no one had a reasonable explanation.

“Could it be an earthquake over in Nanhe Province?”

“I saw on the news, Fengkai City had an earthquake warning more than ten days ago,” the young man muttered beside Zhang Ze.

Zhang Ze told everyone to wait and see, holding back from storming Xie Village immediately.

…

Nanhe Province, Xiangcheng County.

“Has it started?” In the midst of a martial force of several hundred, someone’s eyes were fixed with grave intensity on the rift above.

Within that terrifying fissure, energy surged more violently with every moment. Some martial artists who’d been stuck at the second tier for years felt an almost irresistible urge to cultivate right there. Training under the energy spewing from this Star Gate was more effective than any elixir.

“Everyone, prepare. In one hour, we charge into the Star Gate!” the leading middle-tier warrior barked, snapping everyone to attention.

At his command, the eyes of countless second-tier fighters burned with killing intent, locked onto the Star Gate.

Among them, Wang Chao seemed utterly unremarkable. He’d actually retired from service, and this kind of cannon-fodder legion was no good posting for anyone. As the first wave rushing into the Star Gate to build fortifications amid the crossfire of true powerhouses, the death toll among these men would be horrific.

Yet when Nanhe Province’s fourth Star Gate opened, Wang Chao returned to his old unit without hesitation. Surrounded by unfamiliar faces, he was awash in conflicting emotions.

…

“Forget it. Let’s go!” After waiting five or six minutes with no further tremors, Zhang Ze grew impatient.

He spoke to Li Tian and the others, and led the charge into Xie Village himself.

Jia Yao, for his part, had some inkling about the Star Gate incident in Nanhe Province. Sensing the unusual tremor, he stepped into his courtyard, glancing at the pitch-black night sky.

“Boom—”

“Where’s that old fox Jia Yao?” someone shouted.

Just as Jia Yao was lamenting how many martial elites would die far from home, the commotion outside reached his ears.

“Where’s Jia Qing?”

“What’s going on out there?”

Jia Qing, the “Jia Qing” in question, was his own nephew—the same young man tasked earlier with gathering information about Huang Ming and Fatty.

But before Jia Yao could finish his sentence, someone dragged Jia Qing in and threw him at Jia Yao’s feet.

Immediately after, Zhang Ze and Li Tian strode into the courtyard.

At the sight of them, Jia Yao was first stunned, then let out a cold laugh.

“I underestimated you after all,” he sneered. “No wonder—you dared break into the Investigation Bureau itself, so what’s my little compound to you?”

His eyes fixed on Zhang Ze, his words dripped with mockery.

“Heh…” He snorted, then kicked the prostrate Jia Qing a few times.

Only then did Zhang Ze speak in a cold voice, “I just can’t figure it out. Stealing my elixirs and beating my brothers—surely that wasn’t an order from the Qian family?”

Jia Yao made no attempt to hide it. “You’re right. The Qian family doesn’t care about those two villages’ markets at all. To them, the annual demand for elixirs from Changping Village and the Chen Clan Hamlet is just a few million—less than a drop in the bucket.”

“Then why did you steal my pills? Too proud to let it go?” Zhang Ze pressed.

Jia Yao didn’t bother to explain, instead he sneered, “What’s the point of you all becoming martial artists anyway?” He pointed at Zhang Ze, his tone steady, even serene.

“Sometimes I think the Lin family has the right idea. You people—it’s just turning petty parasites into big ones. Do you even know why there’s an earthquake over there, or how many will die?”

“Heh. I suppose all you care about is your own profit. How much cash do you pocket by giving pills to Erlong and the others?”

With those words, Jia Yao hoisted himself onto the moral high ground.

“Ha!” Zhang Ze laughed in exasperation. “So tell me, what use is it for people like you to become martial artists?”

With that, he stomped hard on Jia Qing’s chest, blood pouring from the young man’s mouth and nose.

“You, pretending to be above it all, not even a martial artist—what good are you?” Zhang Ze growled, his voice almost a roar. “You control a multimillion elixir business for the Qian family—if I wanted to become a martial artist, it would be child’s play!”

Jia Qing’s misery and Zhang Ze’s aggression shattered Jia Yao’s composure.

“The only reason I haven’t taken those pills is because I know how precious they are—”

“Shut the hell up! You’re just a coward!” Zhang Ze cut him off, unwilling to waste another word.

He turned to Li Tian. “Do it!”

…

At the same time.

Heyue City, First Hospital.

Mo Qing took an apple from the fruit basket by the bed and bit into it with a crunch.

“Damn—you’re the patient or am I?” Ma Cheng grumbled. “My guys bring me some fruit, you show up and eat half of it, never bring anything yourself…”

Mo Qing ignored the complaints, glancing at Ma Cheng’s empty pant leg, then grinned, “When you heal up, you should get out and about. Don’t you have a sister-in-law? I hear she’s not married yet—wouldn’t hurt to let her take care of her brother-in-law for a while, right?”