Chapter 615 — Old Master Chu

In truth, Gu Mengyao had General Weiwu crouching at the head of the stairs to guard against thieves, not against Wei Zhao — though at first it had been for Wei Zhao, that was no longer necessary.

Gu Mengyao had seen through Wei Zhao thoroughly; he would not even come upstairs when invited. She had even hoped he might sneak up to peep, which would at least prove how irresistible she and Xiaoshu were! Yet Wei Zhao simply refused to come up!

The thought was a little twisted, perhaps, but that was how the young mistress was when she dug in her heels. Why should she lose out to Tang Yun? Her proud self-esteem had taken a severe blow!

It was not the first time Wei Zhao had carried Shen Yushu in his arms, and he felt no burden about it. He hoisted her up and headed for the stairs. As he passed General Weiwu, the dog indeed slipped aside without so much as a bark, head lowered, not even daring to look at Wei Zhao.

Gu Mengyao gave a humph and shot Wei Zhao a glare. She simply could not understand why Wei Zhao was not afraid of General Weiwu.

In fact, once before, when she had sent Wei Zhao upstairs to hook up a network cable, Gu Mengyao had already grown suspicious — suspicious that General Weiwu held no terror for Wei Zhao. Otherwise, how had he gotten to the second floor?

Then, a few days ago, Wei Zhao had brought General Weiwu along and made the dog go find her, which deepened her suspicion further. Apart from Uncle Qing, General Weiwu would not take orders from anyone in the household — not even Daddy. So how had Wei Zhao gotten him up the mountain?

Uncle Qing had not come up with them that day; Wei Zhao had arrived at the cave alone. And General Weiwu had clearly been so frightened by Wei Zhao that his fur stood on end, sending him running to his mistress for protection. That much Gu Mengyao could see plainly.

Wei Zhao gave a dry laugh, offered no answer, and quickly went upstairs.

"Once we're on the second floor, no looking around. Follow me!" Gu Mengyao led the way, bringing Wei Zhao to the door of a room. She opened it and had him carry Shen Yushu inside.

A pink bedroom, very cozy, with pretty little flowers pasted on the walls and a few plush toys by the head of the bed.

Wei Zhao laid Shen Yushu on the bed, and before he had time to look his fill, Gu Mengyao shooed him out of the room.

Wei Zhao shrugged, a little regretful. But few people, surely, ever got to set foot in the young mistress's boudoir. He counted himself among those she trusted.

Since Gu Mengyao had told him not to look around, Wei Zhao naturally would not go peeping on his own. After leaving her room he went downstairs, cleaned up the pile of vomit Shen Yushu had left beside the sofa, and returned to his own room.

Wei Zhao first called Old Man Wei to report on his doings in Songshan City — and, of course, to share a piece of good news: he had advanced a rank, rising to the early stage of the Profound Rank.

The old man kept to his usual lukewarm manner. No congratulations, no extra remarks — only the instruction to stay on at the Gu household. Yet at the very end he said something to Wei Zhao, heavy with meaning: "If the chance comes, go and make contact with the old master of the Gu family."

"The old master of the Gu family? Uncle Chu? Or Uncle Chu's father?" Wei Zhao asked, slightly startled.

"His father." Old Man Wei did not play riddles with him. "Make contact if the chance comes. If it doesn't, don't go out of your way to create one. A chance will come."

"Huh?" Wei Zhao found the old man's words strangely awkward. Was this Zen talk? Was there a hidden barb in it? Still, he committed it to memory.

"Heh, it's nothing." Old Man Wei smiled faintly. "Boy, you didn't call me out of the blue just to report in, did you? As I recall, you don't make a habit of reporting unless something important comes up."

"There is something, as it happens," Wei Zhao said. "Old man, that nerve-stimulating medicinal liquid I used when I trained — do you still have any?"

"I think there's some left. Why, do you need it?" Old Man Wei asked.

"Yes, I have a use for it. I've got two friends with something wrong with their nerves," Wei Zhao said. "Or you could give me the formula and I'll mix up a batch myself."

Wei Zhao had never studied that nerve-stimulating liquid; it was of no use to him, and it was rather difficult to prepare.

"If you mix it yourself, a few of the herbs will be hard to come by — I grow them myself," Old Man Wei said. "I have some finished liquid here. If you need it, come and fetch it."

"I'll have Ergoudan bring it over," Wei Zhao said. "I'll call him in a bit."

"That works too." Old Man Wei was not stingy with such things; they were trivial stuff to begin with. Back when Wei Zhao was training, he had brewed it by the vat.

Wei Zhao had thought of mailing the liquid by courier, but the matter was too important, and he feared something might go wrong along the way. Better to have Ergoudan deliver it — and besides, Wei Zhao missed his childhood playmate.

All these years Wei Zhao had drifted from place to place, doing one mission after another, never settling anywhere. And every time he went back, Ergoudan would listen with eager eyes to his tales of the dazzling world outside. He longed to go out and see it himself, but Wei Zhao had never had the chance to bring him along.

Ergoudan's family was very poor — in truth, the whole village where Wei Zhao lived was far from well-off. The only ones who could be called wealthy were the village chief's family, who owned a fish pond, and Widow Wang at the head of the village, who ran a snack stall and a general store. And then there was Wei Zhao's family.

The Wei household's income, of course, came from the money Wei Zhao earned weaving straw hats and straw sandals. His hands were quick and nimble, and he worked fast. Many in the village did the same work, but Wei Zhao's daily output was four or five times theirs — how could he not be well-off?

And in fact, "well-off" meant being able to afford a laptop and to go to Widow Wang's snack stall for a treat now and then.

Wei Zhao had no idea where the money from all those years of missions had gone. But the old man never mentioned it, and Wei Zhao never asked. Their bond was not that of father and son, yet closer than father and son; he would not quibble over such things.

By comparison, Ergoudan's family was truly poor, living off the land, without even a telephone in the house. Ergoudan had always wanted to leave the mountains and see the world beyond, and Wei Zhao had promised him that when the chance came, he would take him out to see it.

Now that Wei Zhao had settled in Songshan City and had a respectable, stable identity to his name, he naturally remembered that promise.

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