Chapter 388: Revealing the Secret! Qi Refiners

The status of Martial Artists in this world was built on the premise that the Martial Dao was the only source of power.

If another power emerged—one that was stronger, more mysterious, and more elusive—the very foundation of the Martial Artist class would be shaken.

But Zhai Yu didn’t dwell on the issue.

His way of thinking was different from Zhai Jia’s. Zhai Jia liked to extrapolate about the future, always wondering ‘what if…’ Zhai Yu’s habit was to solve the problem at hand and let the future deal with itself.

“Ah Ze, you have to be careful over there.” Zhai Yu’s voice was low. He then asked, “Should I run a background check on the person you’ve been in contact with?”

Wan Ze waved his hands dismissively and smiled. “I know who he is. For now, he doesn’t know you two exist. I’ll find an opportunity later… He’s a very cautious person. I brought it up with him once, and he said to wait until the time is right. I don’t want to rush him. Pushing too hard would backfire. He’s trustworthy.”

Zhai Yu looked at Wan Ze and fell silent for a moment.

He knew what Wan Ze was trying to do.

Wan Ze wanted them to join the other person’s Sect. That way, they could avoid ending up as low-level Loose Cultivators like he had.

The intention was born from deep, brotherly affection.

But when interests were involved, he didn’t know what that person Wan Ze was in contact with would really think.

“Ah Ze, don’t force it. Our situation isn’t urgent; yours is what matters. If you have to sacrifice your own interests over there for our sake, then we’d rather not join.”

Hearing this, Wan Ze turned his head to look at Zhai Yu in the back seat. His eyes crinkled into a smile. “Don’t worry, Brother Yu. I know what I’m doing.”

‘Whether it was Brother Jia, Brother Yu, or Brother Feng, they were all solid people.’

‘He wouldn’t mistreat his own, and he wouldn’t let them be taken advantage of.’

Wan Ze was being so open right now because he hoped to start building his own faction in the real world.

To gain a firm foothold in Huangliang, he needed massive attribute values and the Stealing Celestial Secret ability.

And none of that was possible without support from the real world.

‘Brother Yu and Brother Jia were the best choices.’

‘They knew each other inside and out and had been through hell and back together. They were completely trustworthy.’

Zhai Yu looked at Wan Ze, silent for two seconds before nodding.

He didn’t repeat platitudes like “be careful,” because he knew that Wan Ze already knew to be careful.

Saying it wouldn’t make Wan Ze any more careful.

Not saying it wouldn’t make him lower his guard.

Some things were best left unsaid. He trusted Ah Ze’s judgment.

After they’d covered all that, Wan Ze brought up the coordinates Xiao Ya had given him.

Zhai Jia’s interest was immediately piqued. “Let’s go. We should check it out.”

Zhai Yu, ever the cautious one, mulled it over. “It could be a trap. Let’s park nearby, approach on foot to check it out, and wear our masks.”

Wan Ze nodded.

Zhai Jia froze. “Fuck, I gave you my mask! What about me? I don’t have one.”

“You’ll drive and be the lookout,” Zhai Yu said calmly.

“But that’s no fun,” Zhai Jia grumbled.

Zhai Yu looked like he wanted to throttle him. “Are you really that eager for something to go wrong?”

Zhai Jia just grinned sheepishly.

‘For now, he had to sort out the situation with Xiao Ya and Zhao Henian. Only by having his two brothers, Zhai Yu and Zhai Jia, watch his back could he make any real progress in Huangliang.’

Zhai Yu leaned back in the rear seat and closed his eyes. With his arms crossed over his chest and his breathing even, he looked like he was asleep. But Wan Ze knew he wasn’t. They had a lot to process from tonight.

Wan Ze leaned back in his own seat, turning his head to watch the night scenery rushing past the window.

Streetlight after streetlight flashed by. He, too, had a lot on his mind.

‘Is Zhao Henian dead or alive? How sincere is Xiao Ya, really? Who gets ownership of the manuscript? How do we split the shares in the new company? How long can I keep up this Old Tan persona? Zhai Yu wore a mask today, but what about tomorrow?’

Then there was the issue of the new company’s shares.

Xiao Ya had said Wan Ze’s side could take eighty percent, while she would only take twenty.

The ratio was too good to be true, so good it made him suspect she had some other trick up her sleeve.

A woman who had clawed her way through the eastern region of the Secret Palace for so many years wasn’t going to lay all her cards on the table in the first round of negotiations.

The eighty percent she offered was likely just an opening bid. The real contest would come later.

And then there was how long he could maintain his disguise as Old Tan.

Xiao Ya currently thought he was just “Wan Ze’s subordinate”; she had no idea he was Wan Ze himself.

This information asymmetry was his greatest advantage in the negotiations. Xiao Ya thought she was just talking to a messenger, so she’d be more relaxed and speak more freely.

But the moment she discovered that “Old Tan” was Wan Ze, that advantage would vanish.

How long he could keep it up depended on his acting skills and his luck.

All these issues were tangled together, each one affecting the others. It was a delicate web where pulling a single thread could make the whole thing unravel.

But Wan Ze wasn’t in a hurry to untangle these threads.

He knew some things couldn’t be rushed.

News about Zhao Henian might arrive tomorrow, or it might never arrive at all.

He’d see how sincere Xiao Ya was soon enough.

‘I just don’t know if there will be any problems with the safe at No. 17 Anping Road, basement level two.’

Wan Ze reclined his seat slightly, leaned back, and closed his eyes.

The mask was still on, pressing uncomfortably against his cheekbones, but he didn’t remove it.

The car sped onward, racing down the empty roads.

…

“We’re here.”