Wu Chengtian shrugged awkwardly, a little puzzled himself. Shen Yushu always said right to his face that she meant to be Wei Zhao's concubine—was there ever a time she felt shy?

"I'm going to make a phone call..." Shen Yushu said no more, and went upstairs.

Gu Mengyao wanted to follow and see, but Wu Chengtian was there too. If she went up, Wu Chengtian might think she was eavesdropping on Shen Yushu's secrets, which would be bad. Though in truth the young lady did not think Little Shu had anything to hide; on any ordinary day she would have gone up and asked outright.

Only after Shen Yushu had gone upstairs did she dial Wei Zhao's number.

Wei Zhao was at home cooking for Old Man Wei when the phone rang. Seeing Little Shu's number, he picked up at once. "Little Shu, is something the matter?"

Normally, when Wei Zhao was out handling business, neither Gu Mengyao nor Shen Yushu would call him, unless something truly had happened at home.

"Arrow-Brand Bro, it's like this—some Fire Burning Cloud from Mount Flaming Flame is coming to look for you, and right now he's camped out at the gate of our villa. Whatever you do, don't come back!" Shen Yushu said urgently to Wei Zhao.

"Huh? What Mount Flaming Flame, what Fire Burning Cloud? What does he want with me? Is he coming to do me harm? Then I'd better come back all the more!" Wei Zhao was stunned, unable to make sense of what he was hearing.

"No, no, no, absolutely not, you mustn't come back—he's a peak late heaven-tier expert. If you come back, you won't be able to beat him!" Shen Yushu said. "Wait a while before you come home, and he'll leave on his own!"

"A peak late heaven-tier expert?" Wei Zhao was astonished. "If I don't go back, won't he turn on you and Yao Yao?"

"He wouldn't dare. That... that's because the ancient level isn't allowed to casually strike at ordinary people in the secular world. Arrow-Brand Bro is a cultivator, so it's different!" Shen Yushu made this up based on bits of information she had heard from Wei Zhao.

Still, what she said might actually be true, so Wei Zhao nodded and believed her. "But shouldn't I still go back and have a look? I can't exactly hide from him, can I?"

"Aiya, no need. He doesn't actually mean you any harm—he wants to ask for your help with an extremely troublesome favor. He wants you to help him kill Zhang Naipao. Isn't that just making trouble for the sake of it? So all we have to do is make him back off!" Shen Yushu was improvising again, this time spinning a reason out of Fire Burning Cloud's earlier questions about Zhang Naipao.

"Oh, so that's how it is!" This time Wei Zhao believed Shen Yushu's words even more readily. After all, during the trial at the Xuandan Sect, a disciple from a Mount Flaming Flame sect named Young Hero Yang had been beaten to death by Zhang Naipao. That the people of Mount Flaming Flame would come to him for help in taking revenge made perfect sense.

Zhang Naipao's martial skills and divine arts were, after all, utterly heaven-defying, and at present only he himself could hold Zhang Naipao in check. So it was entirely normal for the people of Mount Flaming Flame to come asking for help. But Wei Zhao truly did not want to help, for Zhang Naipao had returned to the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow sect. Wasn't going to make trouble for him tantamount to seeking his own death?

The Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow sect had more than just one Zhang Naipao; there were many other experts besides. That they did not come into the secular world to trouble Wei Zhao was already more than good enough. If Wei Zhao went knocking on their door himself, they likely would not let him off lightly. That was why Wei Zhao would never take on such an errand.

And if he refused Mount Flaming Flame, that would amount to offending an ancient sect. Wei Zhao was not afraid of offending people, but for no reason at all, it was better to avoid forming enmity if he could—just as Little Shu had said, if Fire Burning Cloud could not wait for Wei Zhao to appear, he would leave on his own, and that would be best of all.

So after a moment's thought Wei Zhao said, "All right, I'll wait a while before going back. But keep an eye on this man for me. If he really means no harm, it's fine for me to go back early—helping or not, after all, is up to me."

"Okay! But from what I can see, he's a bad man. Little Shu will report back to Arrow-Brand Bro with news from here anytime!" Shen Yushu said.

After hanging up, Wei Zhao shook his head. How had this man from Mount Flaming Flame come looking for him? Was this business a good thing or a bad thing? Still, at the thought of Mount Flaming Flame, Wei Zhao decided he would call Uncle Qing and ask about it.

After all, Uncle Qing's sect was also a fire-attribute sect, and it might well have some connection or tie to Mount Flaming Flame. That way Wei Zhao could indirectly learn more about the sect.

With that in mind, Wei Zhao dialed Uncle Qing's number directly.

"Xiao Yi?" These days Uncle Qing was busy from dawn to dusk, utterly swamped. The new company had put down roots in Donghai City, and he had earlier handed over a large sum of money to Fatty Lai, so he and Gu Pengzhan had no choice but to work even harder to earn money—he did not even have time to go see Sun Jingyan. "What is it? I'm in a meeting..."

"Is that so? I wanted to ask about some matters concerning the ancient sect Mount Flaming Flame. If you're busy, Uncle Qing, just call me back in a little while!" Wei Zhao said.

"It's fine, I'm not busy!" The moment Uncle Qing heard Wei Zhao's question, he knew Wei Zhao must have something important to ask, so he quickly stood up and walked out of the meeting room. "It's just me and Mr. Gu and a few others, it doesn't matter. Go ahead and tell me first!"

"All right, Uncle Qing. Here's the situation: do you know of the ancient sect Mount Flaming Flame?" Wei Zhao did not stand on ceremony and asked directly.

"Mount Flaming Flame, of course I know it. Why? Do you have a grudge against this sect?" Uncle Qing asked after a slight pause.

"No, here's how it is..." Wei Zhao then told Uncle Qing what Shen Yushu had said—that Fire Burning Cloud had come to ask for his help against the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow sect.

"Oh, so that's it!" Uncle Qing clearly breathed a sigh of relief. "As for Mount Flaming Flame, it actually shares a not-so-shallow origin with my own sect!"

"You're both fire-attribute sects, I roughly guessed that much..." Wei Zhao nodded.

"My sect is actually called the Fire Lion Sect. Its founder was, in fact, the younger brother of a former sect master of Mount Flaming Flame! The two brothers fell out. There was a conflict, and the younger brother left the sect to establish his own. But be that as it may, there has always been a bond of affection between the two sects, and in the years since, there has been contact between them as well," Uncle Qing said.

"Huh? So in that case... Uncle Qing and this Fire Burning Cloud ought to be relatives?" Wei Zhao could not help being a little surprised.

"Not relatives, exactly. Among the ancient sects, some pass the position of sect master to their most outstanding disciple, while others pass it from father to son. Though both Mount Flaming Flame and the Fire Lion Sect are the father-to-son kind, over a thousand years of transmission there have been no few sect masters without heirs—and such is the case with our Fire Lion Sect..." (To be continued.)

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