Chapter 1199 — Xiao Ben's Deduction

"What is it, Uncle Chu?" Wei Zhao was slightly startled by Gu Pengzhan's cry. "Has something happened to Yaoyao and the others?"

"Yaoyao?" Gu Pengzhan managed to calm himself. He had panicked because he was worried, but now that he thought about it carefully, if something had truly happened to Wei Zhao, how could he still be asking about Gu Mengyao? From his tone, he did not sound injured at all. Gu Pengzhan quickly asked, "Xiao Yi, what are you doing at the hospital?"

"Oh, a friend's mother was injured, so I came to take a look at her." Wei Zhao answered, "Uncle Chu, what exactly happened?"

"Nothing. I understand now." Hearing Wei Zhao's words, Gu Pengzhan finally let out a relieved breath. Since Wei Zhao was unharmed, the Xiao family's information had clearly been wrong. Still, the fact that they knew Wei Zhao was in the hospital meant they had their own sources.

"Well? Wasn't I right? That boy Wei Zhao went to the hospital, didn't he?" Xiao Ji said smugly.

"He did go to the hospital, but only to treat someone else. He was not admitted because he was injured." Gu Pengzhan gave a faint smile, feeling far more confident now. "I'm afraid your information was mistaken, Mr. Xiao."

"Keep pretending. Go on, keep pretending." Xiao Ji looked at Gu Pengzhan with undisguised mockery. "Gu Pengzhan, the panic on your face when you made that call gave you away. Stop putting on an act. Songshan City is only so big. How could news like this possibly be kept secret?"

"Believe whatever you like, Mr. Xiao. If you insist on seeing things that way, there is nothing I can do about it." Gu Pengzhan shrugged. "I am busy. You two gentlemen may leave whenever you please."

"Gu Pengzhan, do not mistake my courtesy for weakness!" Hearing the unmistakable dismissal in Gu Pengzhan's words, Xiao Ji exploded. "You damn well better not refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!"

"Use whatever tricks you have, Mr. Xiao. If all you intend is to attack me in business, then go ahead." Gu Pengzhan smiled. "If you want to keep threatening me here, suit yourself. I have work to do. Carry on."

"Gu Pengzhan! Just you wait! When the time comes, I will make you kneel and beg for mercy!" Xiao Ji was furious beyond words. At a time like this, how could Gu Pengzhan still be so unyielding?

"Big Brother, since Mr. Gu is so stubbornly unreasonable, there is nothing we can do." Xiao Ben spoke mildly. "Still, public safety has been rather poor lately. I hear there have been a number of disappearances. And now that Wei Zhao has been injured, your beloved daughter had better be careful not to wander off..."

"Xiao Ben, what are you implying?" Gu Pengzhan's brows drew together. Even with his usually excellent self-control, he could not help growing furious. "Are you trying to force my hand? Do not think that just because the Xiao family has two experts from the Pi family standing guard, I, Gu Pengzhan, am truly afraid of you!"

Gu Pengzhan's words were backed by genuine confidence. When the Pi family's experts had first arrived at the Xiao residence, he had already discussed the matter with Uncle Qing. The moment Gu Pengzhan learned that Uncle Qing had recovered his internal martial strength to the peak of the late Yellow Tier, he had felt completely at ease.

Uncle Qing had told him that he was now an internal martial arts expert, capable of fighting an external martial arts expert one level above him, at the early Black Tier, to a standstill. And even in the worst case, there was still Gao Gou, the Mighty General, whose strength had also reached the peak of the late Yellow Tier. With the two of them joining forces, they ought to be able to kill that early Black Tier external expert.

As for Wei Zhao, he was at the mid-Black Tier. He could just barely contend with an external martial arts expert at the peak of the late Black Tier despite the difference in rank. If the two sides truly went to war, it was still impossible to say who would emerge victorious. Thus, now that Gu Pengzhan knew Wei Zhao was unharmed, he had no reason to fear the Xiao family.

"Fine. Very fine. Gu Pengzhan, we shall see about this." Xiao Ben nodded without saying anything more. He took his elder brother, Xiao Ji, by the arm and led him out of Gu Pengzhan's office.

Although Xiao Ben too believed that Wei Zhao had been injured, the flash of panic that had crossed Gu Pengzhan's face could not have escaped his notice. But why had Gu Pengzhan suddenly become so confident afterward? What exactly had Wei Zhao said to him?

Xiao Ben was somewhat more intelligent than Xiao Ji, and he began to wonder whether they had overlooked something.

Once they were outside the entrance to Pengzhan Group, Xiao Ji continued grumbling and cursing. "Second Brother, don't you think Gu Pengzhan has no idea what's good for him? Does he really think Wei Zhao alone can save him?"

"Big Brother, there is something strange about this..." Xiao Ben pondered for a moment before speaking. "Gu Pengzhan's panic when he heard that Wei Zhao was in the hospital was genuine. Yet afterward, he became completely confident. Why?"

"Yes, Second Brother. What you are saying does make sense. Could there be something else going on?" Xiao Ji had calmed down by now, and he too found Xiao Ben's reasoning convincing. His temperament was rough and blunt, but he always listened to Xiao Ben.

"Let me think..." Xiao Ben climbed into the business car, closed his eyes, and pressed both hands against his temples. He could not shake the feeling that something about the whole matter was deeply wrong.

Xiao Ji did not dare disturb him. He sat down beside Xiao Ben and told the driver, "Get us moving."

"Head of the family, are we going home or to the hospital?" The driver had no idea where they were headed, so he asked.

"The hospital... Of course! The hospital!" Xiao Ben suddenly cried out and opened his eyes.

"Second Master, are we going to the hospital?" The driver's heart jumped at Xiao Ben's sudden shout, and he asked cautiously.

"No. Take us home!" After giving the order, Xiao Ben turned to Xiao Ji. "Big Brother, I think I have figured it out."

"Oh?" Xiao Ji immediately asked, "Second Brother, what is going on?"

"Wei Zhao is in the hospital, isn't he? And Old Pi and Mr. Pi are in the hospital too. Is it possible that Wei Zhao ran into them?" Xiao Ben analyzed the situation methodically. "If Wei Zhao learned that Old Pi and Mr. Pi had also been injured, then he would have nothing to fear, would he? And Gu Pengzhan would have no reason to worry either, because our experts had ended up in the hospital!"

"That is certainly possible!" Xiao Ji nodded emphatically after hearing Xiao Ben's explanation. "That must be it! But we booked private rooms for them. How could that boy Wei Zhao have seen them?"

"That, I cannot say. And of course, this is only one possibility." Xiao Ben continued, "There is another. Perhaps Wei Zhao's injuries can recover very quickly. In that case, even if Gu Pengzhan knows Wei Zhao was injured, he still would not fear us."

"Oh? Recover very quickly?" Xiao Ji fell silent, mulling that over.

"Yes. Do you remember last time? Wei Zhao was beaten into critical condition by that Ma Zhu. I do not think the incident was fabricated. Yet our Xiao family, the Yu family, and even the hidden Zhao family all went after the Gu family, and everything proceeded smoothly at first. We nearly drove Gu Pengzhan into a corner. But then Wei Zhao suddenly appeared out of nowhere and killed members of the Yu family and wounded Uncle Pi as though he had never been hurt at all. What does that tell us?" Xiao Ben frowned.

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