Chapter 2296 — Luring the Tiger Down the Mountain

"Yes, Mr. Zhang!" Lazi hurried over, climbed into the car, started the engine, and drove off toward the Tagan clan estate.

"When we get there, go straight to the Library Pavilion—first we find the method for forging the spirit-essence necklace, and we'll go from there," Wei Zhao instructed Lazi.

"Understood, Mr. Zhang," Lazi said, nodding quickly.

In his eyes, a man like Wei Zhao was best left alone—a thorn you did not want to brush against. Cross him, and there was no one he would not kill. Had the Fifth and Eighth Protectors not both become wandering ghosts already?

Even the First Protector's death was tied to him, and now not even the Twelfth Elder and the Second and Third Protectors could catch him—they had lost his trail outright. To slip through such a tight encirclement and still turn up here to waylay him—that was a kind of prowess Lazi simply could not contend with.

So Lazi had sold out the Tagan clan without a shred of shame. He planned to finish this job today and then make his run. Ruileida Town, after all, was one of those minor forces drifting outside the small kingdoms; wherever he fled among the nearby kingdoms, the Tagan clan's reach could not extend that far. If worst came to worst, he would head for the border town.

Over the years, as the de facto head of the Adventurers' Guild controlled by the Tagan clan, Lazi had skimmed no small amount of profit for himself. Finding some quiet corner to live out his days in peace as a wealthy gentleman was not such a bad prospect.

As for the martial path, he knew in his heart he had no great talent and could never advance further—so beating a retreat was only natural.

Wei Zhao, for his part, gave it little thought. He was merely making use of Lazi's familiarity with the Tagan clan for now; whether the man stayed or fled afterward was no concern of his.

"There's no problem with me sitting in the car, is there?" Wei Zhao asked.

"None at all. The Tagan clan is tight on the outside and loose within right now—their best fighters have all been sent out. At this hour, the only ones left in the estate are an old ancestor who's been in seclusion for years, the clan head Tagan Hao, and the young master Tagan Long." Lazi knew the Tagan clan fairly well.

Wei Zhao nodded. He reckoned that even if the Twelfth Elder and the others broke free of that net of heaven and earth, they would never imagine he would not flee, but instead double back and strike again. Such reckless audacity—the Twelfth Elder would never guess it in a thousand years!

The Twelfth Elder had triggered his Heaven-Rank martial technique ten times in succession, pushing himself to the brink of collapse, before he barely managed to tear apart that net of heaven and earth. That alone showed just how tenacious the thing was!

The first thing the Twelfth Elder did upon escaping was not to pursue Wei Zhao—he knew pursuit would be futile. A citywide search was the only option, and there was no need to rush it. He had to inform the Sixth Elder first: Wei Zhao had come down the mountain, but he was alone; one other person must still be up there, and the Sixth Elder should search for that one at once!

By now the Twelfth Elder had "guessed" Wei Zhao's scheme—they were coming down the mountain one at a time. He had no idea what good that did, but for the moment that was how it appeared.

Having released the avian spirit beast, the Twelfth Elder waved to the Second and Third Protectors. "Come, follow me and search for that junior Zhang Nai Pao! Today we bring him back, no matter what!"

A Heaven-Rank expert's spiritual perception was formidable. Once his divine sense spread out, every cultivator in the vicinity could be sensed. In the Twelfth Elder's view, if Wei Zhao meant to flee, he would have to use true qi—and since he would be on guard against attack at all times, he would surely be circulating his internal cultivation method!

Wei Zhao might hide in the darkness, but that could only last so long. Once day broke and the full strength of the Tagan clan turned out for a citywide search, there would be nowhere for him to hide.

At that moment, Wei Zhao and Lazi had already arrived at the gates of the Tagan clan estate. The guards glanced at Lazi's car and at Lazi in the driver's seat, offered no obstruction at all, and let them straight through—as for Wei Zhao in the passenger seat, they simply turned a blind eye.

That told him one of two things: either the Tagan clan's management was deeply flawed, or they were so arrogant they could not be bothered to question Wei Zhao, certain that one man could stir up no trouble.

In fact, both of Wei Zhao's guesses proved correct. For years, the Tagan clan had stood as the foremost power among the great houses and gangs of Ruileida Town—who would dare come to their estate to make trouble? At least this guard, in all his years of service, had never once encountered an enemy breaking into the Tagan estate, let alone one escorted in by a member of the Tagan clan himself.

"See? I told you there'd be no trouble," Lazi said with a smug smile.

Wei Zhao nodded. "No dawdling—straight to the Library Pavilion."

"Yes..." Thinking of Wei Zhao's purpose, Lazi suddenly seemed to hesitate, words catching in his throat.

"What is it?" Wei Zhao turned to look at him.

"This time I've betrayed the Tagan clan. If I stay here, sooner or later I'll be suspected. So, Mr. Zhang, after you enter the Library Pavilion, could you let me go—let me leave this place?" Lazi said after a moment's hesitation.

"Whether you leave or not is no business of mine. How could I stop you?" Wei Zhao said flatly. Truthfully, he had no intention of doing away with Lazi. The man was a nobody; in the Tagan clan he had only been trying to survive, and betraying the clan to help Wei Zhao was likewise for survival. There was no need for Wei Zhao to make things hard for such a man.

"But the acupoints on my body haven't been unsealed..." Lazi smiled bitterly. "Without my strength, I can't get far. And the moment I run, I'm afraid I'll alert the Tagan clan. Without true qi I can't run fast—they'd likely catch me and drag me back..."

"So that's it!" Wei Zhao nodded. "In that case, I'll tell you a trick—I guarantee you'll escape smoothly."

"What trick? I beg Mr. Zhang to enlighten me!" Lazi asked eagerly.

"After I enter the Library Pavilion, find a dark corner below it and wait for me. I'll give a long, shrill whistle as a signal. Once you hear it, that means I've succeeded. You drive out at once and notify those Protectors who are chasing me—tell them I've slipped into the heart of the Tagan clan to stir up chaos, and that they'd better hurry back to reinforce it..." Wei Zhao said.

"Luring the tiger down the mountain?" Lazi was no fool; he grasped Wei Zhao's intent at once. "Draw those formidable figures of the Tagan clan back, and then I can slip away in the confusion? But what if they make me come back with them? And what about you, Mr. Zhang?"

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