Chapter 1753 — Awakening

Guan Xuemin's words left Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu feeling somewhat embarrassed as well. Gu Mengyao added, "That's right. Wei Zhao has always been fiercely loyal to his friends. When Xiaoshu and I were kidnapped, he risked his life to protect us too..."

The misunderstandings and awkwardness between them vanished in an instant. Thinking it over carefully, Wei Zhao had been injured both when he stood up for Tang Yun and when he rescued Gu Mengyao and Xiaoshu. That was simply the sort of person he was. It would hardly be worth damaging their harmony over it.

For now, the only thing they could do was wait patiently for Wei Zhao to regain consciousness.

Although Wei Zhao lay in bed, he knew everything happening around him with perfect clarity. When he heard that the others had stopped arguing over him, he could not help letting out a sigh of relief.

This time had truly been perilous. If anything like it happened again, Wei Zhao would have to think twice before acting. A battle between Earth-level experts was completely different from the fights he had faced at the Profound level. Once martial techniques came into play, everything changed. If Wei Zhao remained as rash as he had been before, he would surely pay dearly for it.

Once the thought of opening the second stone gate had taken root, Wei Zhao became desperate to return home. He worked tirelessly to repair his injuries, but the wounds he had suffered this time were simply too severe. Even as an Earth-level expert, with a rate of recovery far beyond what it had been at the Profound level, it still took him an entire day and night to heal completely.

By the time Wei Zhao emerged from the jade pendant's space, it was already the evening of the following day...

Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, and Tang Yun, along with Guan Xuemin and Guan Xin, had gone without sleep for the entire night. During the day, they had ordered takeout, but Wei Zhao had not woken up, and no one had the appetite to eat. The boxed meals had simply piled up on the coffee table in the living room.

Yet after a sleepless night, everyone was utterly exhausted. They were all sitting with their eyes closed now, resting, though none of them had actually fallen asleep.

Wei Zhao stepped into the living room. Seeing everyone there, he felt a surge of warmth in his heart. "Would you look at all this food! You haven't eaten any of it? Were you all waiting for me? I'm starving. If you won't eat, I will!"

"Wei Zhao? You're awake?" Guan Xin was the most remorseful of them all, and the one who understood Wei Zhao least. Although Tang Yun and Gu Mengyao had both said that Wei Zhao would be able to recover on his own, Guan Xin had not been certain. Even while resting, her heart had remained suspended in anxiety. So when she heard Wei Zhao's voice, she was the first to leap to her feet, staring at him in delighted disbelief. "You... you're all healed..."

"Mm, all healed..." Wei Zhao glanced down at his clothes, caked with blood and grime, and gave a wry smile. "Let me eat something first, then I'll take a shower and change. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not..." Guan Xin shook her head excitedly as she gazed at Wei Zhao, who looked full of vitality.

"See? I told you Arrow Brand Bro was fine. He's the strongest!" Shen Yushu had been the calmest of them from beginning to end. She possessed an inexplicable confidence in Wei Zhao. "So, are we going after Kang Zhaoming for revenge now?"

"Revenge... of course we'll have it. Just not now." A cold glint flashed through Wei Zhao's eyes. For some unknown reason, the Kang family had managed to bring in an Earth-level expert this time, and he still had no idea what that man's connection to the Kang family was. Even if Wei Zhao wanted revenge, he would have to think twice before making a move.

He had escaped by sheer luck this time. If two or more Earth-level experts surrounded him next time, he would not be nearly so fortunate.

"Xiaoshu, stop egging him on. Wei Zhao knows what he's doing." Gu Mengyao was afraid that Shen Yushu's reckless suggestions would land them in trouble.

"It's all right." Wei Zhao smiled, picked up a chicken leg from one of the meal boxes, and began gnawing on it. Between bites, he said, "By the way, Xin Xin, what do you know about that Earth-level expert? Did Kang Zhaoming ever say where he came from?"

"Not that I remember..." Guan Xin thought carefully, then shook her head. "That expert seemed like a man of few words. He hardly spoke at all. He would answer only when Kang Zhaoming spoke to him, and even then, Kang Zhaoming never addressed him by name or title..."

Wei Zhao nodded. It seemed there was no useful information to be had from Guan Xin. He would have to probe for clues indirectly. Turning to Guan Xuemin, he said, "Elder Guan, keep the company's business dealings low-profile for the time being. I'll give Fatty Lai a heads-up too. We should avoid any further clashes with the Kang family for now. We'll deal with everything after I return."

Officially, Wei Zhao was returning to his old home to take Tang Yun, Gu Mengyao, and the others on a trip. In reality, however, he was going there to open the second stone gate. He could not afford the slightest mishap. Once they reached Xixing Mountain Village, he would have no way to keep an eye on the situation in Songshan City.

As for the pharmaceutical company, keeping a low profile for the time being should be enough. So long as they did not provoke another confrontation with the Kang family, there should be no major trouble. After all, now that the Kang family had obtained the formula for the Life-Prolonging Detoxification Pill, developing the pill themselves would be exceedingly difficult. If they devoted all their energy to it, they should have no time to cause trouble for Guan's Medical Pharmaceuticals. That would give Wei Zhao a precious chance to catch his breath.

As long as he had even a brief respite, Wei Zhao was confident he could turn defeat into victory and wipe away every humiliation he had suffered. After all, he had tremendous faith in the second level of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Driving Formula beyond the stone gate. The first level was already astonishingly powerful. Just how formidable would the second level be?

"I understand, Xiao Yi. Don't worry. We won't act rashly while you're away," Guan Xuemin said.

"All right, then. Enough of that. Let's eat. This was a close call, but we made it through. Yun Yun, Yao Yao, Xiaoshu, why are you all sitting there with such long faces?" Wei Zhao said as he continued eating.

Once they saw that Wei Zhao truly was all right, everyone finally relaxed. Only then did they realize how hungry they were, and they joined Wei Zhao in eating their fill.

Inside the Kang family's villa.

You Zhentian had arrived and was seated in the place of honor in the reception room. You Shisan stood behind him. Sitting opposite them was the Kang family's patriarch, Divine Doctor Kang, with Kang Zhaoming standing behind him.

The cooperation between the You family and the Kang family had gone fairly smoothly. Although You Shisan had ultimately been injured, they had already obtained the formula for the Life-Prolonging Detoxification Pill.

"I thought it was something wonderful! So it turns out to be nothing more than formulas for a wound treatment and a painkiller. Was all this really necessary?" When You Zhentian learned that the items Kang Zhaoming had demanded were those two formulas, he was at once amused and exasperated.

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