Chapter 742: Jiang Chen Strikes
With all this decided, Jiang Chen threw himself into the anxious work of preliminary preparations.
But on this day, Wei Jie suddenly visited him and brought him an update. “I’m really sorry to bother you so urgently, Brother Jiang. My father’s talked with Elder Zhuo and Elder Feng and found no problems with their loyalty to the family, but it did seem like they’ve received some benefits from Wei Tiantong. Also, they all seem to have something to do with that pill master.”
However, Jiang Chen wasn’t too surprised by the news. He’d guessed that Wei Tiantong’s pill master was likely a pill king who had concealed his true strength. It would be easy for a pill king who could refine something like the Ninelaugh Golden Buddha Powder, and have Wei Tiantong cover things up for him, to toy with two house elders. He flashed a smile, “Let me guess: one of the elders’ direct descendants or perhaps even the elders themselves have caught some sort of sickness or poison that this pill master can cure, right?”
Wei Jie looked startled, “How do you know?”
Jiang Chen smiled faintly, “Acts of goodwill and favor aren’t really all that novel. It’s obvious at first glance that that pill master isn’t a good person, and I’m guessing that all of this is but a ploy by Wei Tiantong. In fact, this pill master may very well be an enemy spy himself.”
Wei Jie remained silent for a long time after he heard this. The possibility sounded unbelievable at first, but it somehow seemed to have a grain of truth if he took the time to think it through. Wei Tiantong was only the second-in-command of House Wei. Under normal circ.u.mstances, he would never become the house lord of House Wei. In addition, this pill master was dead set on serving Wei Tiantong for some reason instead of Wei Tianxiao!
It was obvious to an outsider like Jiang Chen that this was an abnormal choice. Even if Wei Tiantong had the ambition or even the hope of taking the position of house lord from Wei Tianxiao, it still wasn’t a reason for a pill master to serve him with such unswerving loyalty. Jiang Chen could deduce with even his toes that another force must be pulling the strings from behind the scenes. In fact, he suspected that the problems the elders were facing might very well have been orchestrated by this pill master himself.
“Young master Wei, do you know what is troubling your two family elders?” Jiang Chen needed to understand the situation before he could treat them.
Wei Jie hurriedly answered, “Elder Zhuo and Elder Feng weren’t going to say anything at first, but they finally answered after my father questioned them repeatedly. Elder Zhuo has a grandson who’s encountered a bottleneck at third level sage realm. His chances of breaking through to earth sage realm aren’t high. It seems that the pill master can solve this problem and raise Elder Zhuo’s grandson’s chances by twenty to thirty percent. As for Elder Feng, it seems that one of his direct descendants has caught some kind of poison while he was training outside, and it’s threatening his qi ocean…”
“It so happens that that pill master knows how to cure it too, correct?” Jiang Chen smiled faintly. “There’s no need to think further on it. This so-called poison must be the work of that pill master too. Ruining a patient first before saving their life... this tactic never gets old.”
Wei Jie’s eyebrows twitched, “Brother Jiang, you’re saying…”
“I’m not sure about Elder Zhuo, but I’m quite sure that Elder Feng’s descendant’s so-called poison is from this pill master, just like the Ninelaugh Golden Buddha Powder you were poisoned with.”
Wei Jie looked quite frustrated as he swore, “Where on earth did Wei Tiantong find such an evil pill master? And why use him to attack House Wei?”
“He’s most likely from a force that opposes House Wei. It seems that Wei Tiantong’s bringing his enemies into his bedroom.” Jiang Chen didn’t want to interfere with House Wei’s internal conflicts, but considering how bad the situation was already, the Wei father and son were almost certainly going to crumble under this evil plot if he didn’t act. Three of the four family elders had chosen to stand on Wei Tiantong’s side. Wei Tianxiao would be hard pressed to stand alone. After some thought, Jiang Chen said, “Let’s head to Elder Zhuo’s place first, young master Wei.
“What about Elder Feng?” Wei Jie looked curious.
“We’ll deal with Elder Feng later. Let’s handle Elder Zhuo first. This way, we can at least help your father arrive at a three versus three situation and prevent defeat.” Jiang Chen sized up the situation for a bit and felt that his chances of winning over Elder Zhuo were greater than Elder Feng’s. Still, Wei Tianxiao should be able to s.n.a.t.c.h back the initiative as long as he lured one of the elders back to his side. If he could pull both elders back to Wei Tianxiao’s side, then everything would go swimmingly.
……
“What did you say? Young master Jie is paying a visit?” Inside the House Wei elders’ residence, Elder Zhuo sounded a little surprised when he received the report from the door. As one of the four family elders of House Wei, Elder Zhuo’s status was quite high in House Wei. Even house lord Wei Tianxiao had to show him some respect. Wei Jie was Wei Tianxiao’s son, and he was a few generations below Elder Zhuo. There wasn’t any interaction between the two of them at all. So why was Wei Jie visiting at such a time?
It couldn’t be that Wei Tianxiao had sent his son to persuade him because he’d failed, could he? It wasn’t that Elder Zhuo had made up his mind to stand firmly by Wei Tiantong’s side. He just didn’t have a choice. The grandson he loved the most and thought most highly of had encountered a bit of a problem in his cultivation, and Wei Tiantong’s pill master was the only person who could solve it. Elder Zhuo might not feel any goodwill towards Wei Tiantong, but he had no choice but to ask for his help. Still, the elder had no reason to turn down Wei Jie’s visit.
“Grandnephew Wei Jie is here to visit you, Elder Zhuo,” Wei Jie respectfully gave Elder Zhuo a junior’s greeting after he entered the room.
The look in Elder Zhuo’s eyes was a bit complicated. He was also a little wary of Wei Jie and was quite worried that Wei Jie was here to cajole him. It wasn’t that the elder disliked the Wei father and son, but that he had no idea how to turn them down. Elder Zhuo was incredibly loyal to House Wei. To have him stand by Wei Tiantong’s side and curry favor with the Majestic Clan was a violation of his own principles. But he had no choice but to do so; it was the only way to ensure his grandson’s future
Elder Zhuo couldn’t help but feel a little guilty inside considering that the Wei father and son had came to visit him one after the other. “Jie’er, you rarely come to visit me. Have you come today under your father’s orders?” Elder Zhuo’s underlying meaning was very subtle. Your father has already visited me once. If you’re here to say the same thing as your father did, then I’ll go ahead and spare you the effort to do so.
Wei Jie smiled but shook his head, saying, “I was very concerned to hear that house brother Mo in our house has encountered a bit of problem in his cultivation. I’ve come to pay him a visit. I happen to have a pill master friend who’s quite versed in pill dao. It took me quite a bit of effort to persuade him to diagnose house brother Mo’s condition.”
House brother Mo was in fact Elder Zhuo’s grandson Wei Mo. He was of the same generation as Wei Jie, and since he was only two years younger, Wei Jie addressed him as clan brother Mo.
Elder Zhuo looked a little surprised when he cast a glance at Jiang Chen. He noticed that Jiang Chen wasn’t very old, and that he was a friend of Wei Jie’s. Frankly, he didn’t think highly of Jiang Chen’s abilities at all. If he was a friend of Wei Jie’s, then even if he was somewhat talented in pill dao, he wouldn’t have reached a level of great attainment yet. Wei Mo’s problem wasn’t something that could be solved by any ordinary pill master. Even the regular initial level pill king might not necessarily be able to solve this.
Wei Jie smiled upon seeing Elder Zhuo’s expression, “I can understand why you’re on guard, Elder Zhuo, but Wei Mo is my house brother and I’m only trying to help him. Are you thinking too much, Elder Zhuo? Even if I fail, I can’t possibly kidnap you and force you to obey my wishes, can I?”
Elder Zhuo looked a little embarra.s.sed. He understood that his reasons for standing on Wei Tiantong’s side was a little selfish. In fact, it completely went against his own principles. He grew even more ashamed when he heard Wei Jie’s words and answered him with a wry smile, “In that case, please wait for a moment while I summon Wei Mo.”
Wei Mo came straight away after receiving the news a moment later. “Brother Jie? Have you come to see me?”
Wei Mo had had some previous interactions with Wei Jie, and while it was inevitable for the youngsters within the family to compete with each other, Wei Mo and Wei Jie shared a friendly relations.h.i.+p.
“Brother Mo, I heard that you’ve encountered a small problem in your cultivation, so I invited a pill dao genius to diagnose your illness. This Brother Zhen of mine may not be famous, but his skills and knowledge are absolutely genuine.”
Wei Mo was both surprised and touched by the gesture, “I must thank you then, Brother Jie. My grandfather had been worrying himself sick for my problem, and I’m also feeling quite dejected to see him so cheerless everyday.”
Wei Mo’s words were innocent, but Wei Jie heard the underlying meaning behind his words. While Elder Zhuo had stood on Wei Tiantong’s side, it seems that it wasn’t where his heart truly was. Why else would he be cheerless? It was obvious that he was gloomy and discomforted because he had gone against his own heart.
Jiang Chen had only looked at Wei Mo once since the young man had showed up. He"d kept silent and remained smiling since.
“Brother Zhen, I am Wei Mo,” Wei Mo raised a cupped fist salute to Jiang Chen.
Jiang Chen smiled and nodded in response, “House Wei’s wealth is definitely plentiful to produce a third level sage realm cultivator at your age, Sir Mo. But am I right to say that you’re at the age of marriage already, aren’t you? Why have you not taken a wife? Why have you remained single?” Jiang Chen’s questions had came out of nowhere. It completely confused everyone present.
Elder Zhuo was inwardly shaking his head. Who is this that Wei Jie’s invited? What a strange thing to ask upon a first meeting. This makes no sense at all.
Wei Jie was also surprised by this question, but he knew that Jiang Chen wasn’t someone to speak carelessly. Therefore, he immediately took over the conversation and asked curiously, “Brother Zhen, I don’t remember telling you that Brother Mo hasn’t married. How do you know?”
Jiang Chen kept silent, but was quietly amused. Isn’t it obvious? Your brother Mo’s desire as a man is written all over his body. How can he possibly be a married man? “Elder Zhuo, please forgive my candor, but why have you submitted to Wei Tiantong and aided a tyrant for such a small matter? Do you really think so little of House Wei?” He abruptly changed the subject and fired his question with piercing eyes at Elder Zhuo.
Elder Zhuo was an emperor realm cultivator, but the sharp, piercing question had came so suddenly that he was dumbstruck for a moment. It was obvious that this matter was a black mark on the elder’s heart. Jiang Chen didn’t wait for an answer before he responded with a smile, “If I can solve this problem for you, would you consider changing your standing, Elder Zhuo?”
Elder Zhuo was caught off guard. Then, great surprise overwhelmed his expression, “You… can you solve his illness?”
“It’s not anything serious. It only looked that way because someone has intentionally blown it out of proportion with the goal of using you. It’s truly just a small problem,” Jiang Chen’s smile was faint, but his confidence was great. No one could doubt that his confidence was genuine.