Chapter 496 — Swords Drawn and Bows Bent

Guan Xuemin's temperament was known to every great family and wealthy merchant alike: he would treat the sick, and he never quibbled over his fee, but he never made house calls. If you were ill, you came to Songshan City. Otherwise, no one was accommodated.

This was also because Guan Xuemin still held a teaching post at the Medical University. In his own eyes he was a professor, and instructing the young was his heaven-ordained duty; nothing, whatever it might be, was permitted to interfere with his lectures to his students.

"Very well. Then one of these days I shall certainly come and impose upon you!" Wu Gonggao said with a smiling nod.

"Grandfather! It's this man—the one I told you about! Not only did he go after Sun Jingyan, he also passes himself off as some damned miracle doctor! He's obviously a swindler! Because of him, Auntie slapped me across the face!" Wu Chengtian had suddenly caught sight of Wei Zhao standing beside Guan Xuemin, and a wave of uncontrollable humiliation surged into his skull, robbing him of reason in an instant. Pointing at Wei Zhao, he began to shout and curse.

Wu Chengtian had, of late, been lifted too high by his family, groomed as the hope of the third generation. Then again, one could hardly blame them: a youth barely past twenty who had already reached the early Yellow rank—what an achievement was that? In all the world there was perhaps no second such case. That, at least, was what the Wu family believed.

So every advantage and every halo the Wu family possessed was placed upon Wu Chengtian's head, and this bred in him an arrogant, domineering temper that could not suffer the slightest loss and repaid every slight. Thus, the moment he saw Wei Zhao, he thought nothing at all; the insult came tumbling off his tongue.

Guan Xuemin's face darkened at once. In his eyes Wei Zhao was both teacher and friend—at the very least, a senior fellow disciple. That anyone should speak of Wei Zhao in such a way naturally displeased him. He glanced at Wu Gonggao and said coolly, "Elder Wu, if there's nothing else, we'll be going."

Wu Gonggao's expression too froze. He had not expected Guan Xuemin to stand up for Wei Zhao, and for a moment he was at a loss. Wu Gonggao was notorious for shielding his own, and this grandson of his was extraordinarily gifted, a treasure pampered since childhood, given whatever he asked for, beyond anyone's right to touch or reproach. When the grandson got into trouble, he would naturally step forward for him—never mind whose fault it was, or who the other party might be.

But now Guan Xuemin was one of the very few men he dared not offend. With Guan Xuemin present, he could hardly go looking for trouble with Wei Zhao. He gave Wei Zhao a bland glance, fixed his face in memory, and resolved to find an opportunity to deal with him later.

Yet though Wu Gonggao said nothing, there were others unwilling to let it pass—and the roof fairly came down.

"Who are you calling a swindler? You're the swindler! You're not even fit to be called a dog's fart!" Feng Xiaoxiao would not stand for it when she saw this man insult Wei Zhao for no reason at all. Who was she? Right now she was playing the part of Wei Zhao's suitor; for this man to insult Wei Zhao was to insult her as well—to say that Feng Xiaoxiao had no eye and had fallen for a swindler.

So of course Feng Xiaoxiao would not take it lying down. She glared at Wu Chengtian; had there not been so many people about, she would have kicked him straight across the room. What sort of person was Feng Xiaoxiao? Hitting people was as ordinary to her as eating.

Hearing someone take Wei Zhao's part and curse him, Wu Chengtian flared up at once. He was about to retort when he saw that it was a pretty, delicate young girl, and the words died in his throat. He could only say, "Don't go sticking your nose in where it doesn't belong. This has nothing to do with you!"

"The young one has no manners, and the old one has none either?" Feng Xiaoxiao curled her lip. "Hey, old man, your grandson is this ill-bred, and you won't discipline him?"

"What did you say, you little chit?" A flicker of anger crossed Wu Gonggao's face. He looked at Feng Xiaoxiao with a cold, baleful stare, his fist already opening into a palm. As head of the Iron Hand Wu family, to have a junior speak to him so—if he did not strike to teach her a lesson, where would his face be? Where would the Wu family's face be?

"You—what are you going to do, you old man?" Feng Xiaoxiao was startled. Though she knew no martial arts, she could plainly feel the killing intent radiating from Wu Gonggao.

"An early Mystic rank expert!" Wei Zhao's heart tightened. Wu Gonggao, like Wu Chengtian, was an external-school body-tempering expert, so one could not sense the energy stored within their bodies; only when they circulated their external-school mental cultivation could one gauge their level of strength.

He had not expected this old man to be so formidable. Wei Zhao shifted unconsciously and gave a bitter smile.

In any case, Feng Xiaoxiao had just stood up for him. Whatever her motives, Wei Zhao could not simply stand by; to do so would be rather dishonorable. So the instant Wu Gonggao made his move, Wei Zhao meant to block it for Feng Xiaoxiao. Though the other was an early Mystic rank expert, Wei Zhao possessed the peak strength of the late Yellow rank and had cultivated the Xuanyuan Dragon-Slaying Art; he was confident enough of taking one blow from an early Mystic rank expert. Victory he would not claim, but self-preservation was within reach.

Yet Wei Zhao had clearly troubled himself for nothing, for in the very instant he moved, a middle-aged man appeared swiftly before Feng Xiaoxiao, fixing Wu Gonggao with a calm stare. "Elder Wu, do you mean to strike my daughter?"

Wu Gonggao was briefly taken aback, and his expression changed at once. Feng Tianlong—how could he not know him? Wu Gonggao drew a deep breath and knew there would be no fighting today. Any thought of teaching Feng Xiaoxiao a lesson was utterly impossible now.

What made Wu Gonggao wary was not Feng Tianlong's mid Yellow rank strength; in the eyes of an early Mystic rank expert, a Yellow rank expert was a floating cloud. Nor, certainly, was it Feng Tianlong's background—the Mysterious Investigation Bureau was a mysterious organ indeed, its authority enough to make one click one's tongue. But that was so for ordinary people. For a great family like the Wu, though they would not make an enemy of it, they were hardly afraid of it either.

What truly frightened Wu Gonggao was that man who had withdrawn from the martial world more than a decade ago and never emerged again—Feng Tianlong's former captain. That man had once been a member of the Mysterious Investigation Bureau's special task force, had led Feng Tianlong on missions, and shared a deep bond with him.

Had it been anyone but Feng Tianlong, Wu Gonggao might not have shown him face; but Feng Tianlong's face could not be refused. In that man's eyes, to say nothing of an early Mystic rank expert like himself, even an Earth rank expert would likely be dispatched in a single move.

Though he did not know that man's true strength, the one thing Wu Gonggao knew for certain was this: offend him, and the Wu family was finished—and it would take no more than a day.

"Hoo..." Wu Gonggao let out a long breath and laughed awkwardly. "So it's Captain Feng. How could I raise a hand against your daughter? I was only joking."

"See that it stays that way." Feng Tianlong nodded, let out a breath of relief, and took Feng Xiaoxiao's hand. "Don't go running off by yourself from now on!"

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