A Good-for-Nothing

77. Antecedents and Consequences (1)

Translator: Dragon Rider

Hearts of the three of them had been palpitating with anxiety and fear all along during the fierce fight, but when it came to an end, the sky seemed to have become a shade darker, as if it wouldn’t survive long enough to see the sun.

Getting an electric shock due to problematic performance of enchantments had been a frequent occurrence for Zu Zhichong when he had been in the Qingwei Sect. As a result, after being struck by lightning, Zu Zhichong, as if it were nothing, wiped the black substance off his face.

He turned on his searchlight. In the ghastly white light, the three of them seemed even more unpresentable. He Zheng, in particular, whose energy had been depleted during a short amount of time, buckled at the knees and couldn’t even keep standing. He sat down on the ground and panted heavily. Thinking of the thrilling experience, he felt as if he were a lucky survivor from a holocaust.

After a couple of minutes’ rest, his brain, which seemed to have been in malfunction, started working again. Jin Qianlai crouched down, scrutinized the black soot, took a pinch of it and rubbed it with his fingers.

“This is so strange. How come they were under concurrent control of ghost Qi and demonic Qi… You said that you positioned a circle, but it was sabotaged. Someone definitely did that on purpose.” Jin Qianlai seriously looked at the two of them, who were sorry sights. They held their breaths and waited for Jin Qianlai to continue.

Jin Qianlai asked, “Are you sure those Fu were not counterfeit?”

Zu Zhichong was at a loss for words.

After a few moments, with a skin-deep smile on his face, Zu Zhichong replied, “Well, I drew those Fu myself.”

Jin Qianlai gave an embarrassed grin. Knowing better than to offend someone ranking higher than him, Jin Qianlai smiled obsequiously, “I knew it. It turned out that you drew those Fu with your own hands, Elder Sect-brother. No wonder they were so much more powerful than common ones!”

Zu Zhichong wiped his face. “There’s nothing you can say that will make any difference, my friend.”

‘It seems that today’s new guys are all pretty arrogant!’

Zu Zhichong was on the verge of losing his temper, but considering his image as an elder sect-brother, he forbore from flying into a rage and instructed, “Let’s go back first. Zu Ming’s keeping something back from us.”

Jin Qianlai inclined his head. Then Zu Zhichong saw him walk to the outside and start looking around. Occasionally, he would pick something up and pocket it.

“What are you doing?” Zu Zhichong couldn’t help but pull himself out of contemplation and asked him a question.

“I’m trying to find out if there are any pieces scrap iron or reinforcing steel here. Nobody will need them anyway. I want to take some back.”

Zu Zhichong was at a loss for words.

‘There must be something really wrong with this new guy’s brain.’

The reason why Zu Ming had not gone to the Qingwei Mountain to ask for help must be that he knew this matter was not as simple as it seemed. Zu Zhichong had thought that it was because Zu Ming was afraid of being scolded by Sect Leader Zu – after all, Zu Ming had always feared Sect Leader Zu pretty much. However, after this incident, it seemed that that was not the case at all.

He Zheng was having a terrible headache, face deathly white, stooping with hands on his knees, panting heavily. He couldn’t hear a single word of the conversation between Zu Zhichong or Jin Qianlai and there was a sharp pain in his auditory meatuses, too.

Right at this moment, the sound of car horns came from outside. Several vehicles drove into the construction site and halted. Zu Ming was the first one to get out of his car. A while ago, when the supervisor of the construction site had called him saying that there had been thunder and lightning after his elder brother went up to the third floor, he had instantly come to realize that his elder brother probably had successfully handled whatever it was that had been killing builders in his construction site, so he had immediately driven here.

But Zu Ming was rather afraid of death, so he had brought a couple of bodyguards with him.

“He Zheng, what’s wrong?!” Seeing He Zheng in misery, Zu Zhichong hurriedly walked up to him. He Zheng waved his hand, suggesting that it was nothing serious, but there was a terrible constriction in his throat and he couldn’t even speak.

“My goodness, you are such a delicate flower.” Jin Qianlai, who also had not expected that He Zheng would be reduced to this, was taken aback. Zu Zhichong hurriedly fished out a pill that could help restore vital energy, and handed it to He Zheng. He Zheng managed to open his mouth and swallow it.

Jin Qianlai standing on the side, who had been staring unblinkingly at the pill, immediately lay on the ground and groaned, “Ouch… This pain is killing me. I need a pill.” Zu Zhichong rolled his eyes and tossed him one. Jin Qianlai rapidly caught the pill, pocketed it and instantly rose to his feet, brimming with energy. “Ha ha… The Hezao Sect’s reputation is well-earned. It cured me the moment I touched it!”

Zu Zhichong was at a loss for words.

It was not until after quite a while that He Zheng regained part of his sensation.

While they had been in a fluster, Zu Ming, too afraid to come upstairs, had been staying downstairs all along. At this time, his voice came from beside the bottom of the stairs. “Elder Brother! Are you up there, Elder Brother? Are you still breathing, Elder Brother?”

Originally, they had been in an emergency all along, but after hearing this, Jin Qianlai couldn’t help but burst into laugh, feeling that he had met yet another funny fellow during this day. Consumed with anger, Zu Zhichong directly jumped off the third floor. Zu Ming, at the top of his lungs, was still yelling at the pitch-dark sky, but the next second, Zu Zhichong descended from the sky and scared him into slumping to his butt.

“Elder Brother! How did you come to fly down!”

With a sullen look on his face, his bun swaying from side to side, Zu Zhichong roughly gripped Zu Ming’s collar and dragged him towards the uncompleted building. Zu Ming buckled at the knees and implored, “E–E–E–Elder Brother, we can talk about this! You are scaring me!”

Zu Zhichong heavily threw him to the ground, abruptly pushed his face towards Zu Ming’s, his facial expression so ferocious that Zu Ming felt a cold shiver of fear run through him. “Tell me, exactly what it is that’s beneath this building?! How did it come to make demonic Qi and ghost Qi blend?!”

Zu Ming’s cheeks briefly twitched. Somewhat frightened, he avoided making eye contact with his elder brother, as if having a guilty conscience. “What are you talking about, Elder Brother? I don’t quite understand.”

“You can keep pretending all you want, but let me tell you something – some of those things are still out there. If you don’t tell me the truth, I’ll make you spend the night here alone and let you find out how it feels to be eaten alive.”

This threat instantly scared Zu Ming into agreeing to tell his brother the ins and outs of the matter.

“Elder Brother, don’t be so impulsive… There’s indeed something I’ve been keeping back from you, but actually, this matter is also about Zu family…”

Zu Zhichong sneered, “What an excellent excuse. If you don’t give me a plausible explanation, I’ll castrate you right here!” Scared, Zu Ming didn’t dare to hesitate and hurriedly began telling the whole story from beginning to end.