Chapter 553 — Handling It Calmly

"You're right!" Gu Pengzhan was no fool either; at Wei Zhao's reminder he grasped the crux of the matter at once. "Exactly. That kid Zhong Yongliang is a crafty one — he's testing my attitude! Yaoyao is probably still unharmed, but the moment I give my tacit consent, Zhong Yongliang will move and force the raw rice into cooked rice. And if I refuse, fly into a rage, and want to drag him down with me, he'll drop his plan... But didn't he say earlier that even going to prison was nothing to him?"

"That was just talk." Wei Zhao curled his lip. "Even if he knows that useless Li Cihua, and some Young Master Bing as well — would Li Cihua really step forward for his sake?"

Ever since Wei Zhao had finished off two of Li Cihua's yellow-rank fighters, Li Cihua had visibly quieted down a great deal. Wei Zhao could well imagine the man's state of mind: he must hate and fear him in equal measure, yet be powerless to do anything about him.

So with him around, why would Li Cihua go looking for trouble by helping Zhong Yongliang? Zhong Yongliang was plainly fierce in appearance but weak within, spinning lies to frighten people.

Gu Pengzhan nodded. "It seems I was too close to the matter to see it clearly. In that case, the reason Zhong Yongliang hasn't met Gu Mengyao is also because I haven't given the word — there would be no point in his going to see her."

"That should be it." Wei Zhao nodded.

"Which means that no matter what choice I make now, Zhong Yongliang will go to see Gu Mengyao. And that way we can follow him, follow the vine to the melon, and find Yaoyao." Gu Pengzhan said.

"That's right. But that kid Zhong Yongliang is a menace so long as he lives. Better to take this chance and..." Wei Zhao trailed off and said no more.

"If he hasn't done anything to Yaoyao, it will be very hard to get at him through legal means." Gu Pengzhan smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"What if it were an accident?" Wei Zhao asked mildly.

"An accident..." Gu Pengzhan understood Wei Zhao's meaning well enough, and since there were only three people in the car, all of them trustworthy, he did not mince words. "Accident or not, Zhong Fabai will pin this debt on me in the end. Given the Gu Group's current situation, this is really no time to be making enemies..."

What Gu Pengzhan feared was Li Cihua. If Zhong Yongliang died, Zhong Fabai would surely go mad; and then, if he offered Li Cihua enough profit, he could very well induce Li Cihua to take revenge for him. And though Gu Pengzhan's own standing was not weak, Li Cihua was also an overlord of Songshan City; if they truly came to blows, it was hard to say how it would end.

"I understand." Wei Zhao gave a cold laugh as an idea came to him. "I'll make sure this accident has nothing to do with us."

If it were a routine assassination job, Wei Zhao would certainly not have hesitated and looked before and behind. But since he had resolved to retire here, he would not act rashly. Killing a Zhong Yongliang was easy, and he himself feared nothing, but if it dragged Gu Pengzhan into unnecessary trouble, the loss would far outweigh the gain.

"Then I'll say no more." Gu Pengzhan trusted Wei Zhao to know the proper limits. "Let's talk first about Yaoyao and Xiaoshu. Should we contact Zhong Yongliang and then follow him to find where Yaoyao and Xiaoshu are being held?"

"That won't be necessary. I've more or less guessed where they are." Wei Zhao smiled.

"Oh? Where?" Gu Pengzhan was startled; he had not expected Wei Zhao to know where Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu were imprisoned.

"Shuangyan Mountain." Wei Zhao said. "Last night Xiaoshu sent me a text saying she and Yaoyao were going to Shuangyan Mountain. I didn't take it seriously at the time, but now it looks as though that must be where something happened to them."

"Then let's go there now?" Now that he knew where his daughter was imprisoned, Gu Pengzhan sprang to his feet in excitement — so abruptly that he only realized he was inside the car when his head struck the roof. He turned to Uncle Qing. "To Shuangyan Mountain, at once!"

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu woke one after the other; Shen Yushu was startled awake by Gu Mengyao's scream.

When Shen Yushu woke, she was still muddled, rubbing her eyes blankly. "Yaoyao, what are you shouting for? Bad dream? It's the middle of the night, the sky's still dark — let me sleep a while longer!"

"Xiaoshu, wake up! We're not at home!" Gu Mengyao shook Shen Yushu's body in a panic, trying to bring her fully awake.

"Huh?" Shaken until her head spun, Shen Yushu finally came to her senses and said, dazed, "Where... is this? Why is it so dark? I can't even see you."

"I don't know either. When I woke up, we were already here." With Shen Yushu beside her, Gu Mengyao was not so frightened. "I thought we were at home too, at first, but what I felt beneath me was a stone floor! Our phones are gone as well — we've completely lost contact with the outside world."

Shen Yushu felt the ground beneath her, then felt her empty pockets. It was just as Gu Mengyao had said: a stone floor, and the phones gone. But she was bolder by nature, and even in the darkness she was not much afraid. "Yaoyao, didn't we come with Zhong Yongliang into a cave? Are we still inside the cave?"

At Shen Yushu's words, Gu Mengyao remembered what had happened before. Yes, they had come with Zhong Yongliang, but after that she knew nothing at all. Had something happened to them?

"Are Zhong Yongliang and the others here too?" Gu Mengyao asked instinctively.

"I don't know. I can't see a thing. How about we stand up and feel around?" Shen Yushu was a reckless daredevil by nature, and she was not very afraid.

"This..." Gu Mengyao wanted to agree to Shen Yushu's suggestion, but she felt timid again. The unknown in the darkness was the most terrifying thing of all to Gu Mengyao; she wanted to know what was hidden in the dark, yet feared running into something unknown.

"Then wait here, Yaoyao, and I'll get up and take a look." Though Shen Yushu spoke lightly, she was a girl too; it was impossible that she felt no fear at all. She was merely a little braver.

"Then let's go together..." Gu Mengyao was even more afraid of Shen Yushu leaving her here alone, which would be far more terrifying still.

Holding Shen Yushu's hand, Gu Mengyao groped her way around in the darkness with her, only to discover that they were trapped in a small space! Besides the stone walls on every side, there was a door — an iron door like a security door — but it was shut fast. Shen Yushu tried pushing it and turning the concealed lock, all to no effect; it looked as though it had been locked from the outside.

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