Chapter 214: Chapter 214: A Common Enemy
Seeing Yang Fei gazing at him with an inquiring look, Zhu Tianshou laughed heartily and said, "Since I promised you, not only would I not go back on my word if it’s to kill Luo Yong, even if you ask me to kill Zhang Wenfeng, I would still honour my promise."
Zhang Wenfeng was indeed that National Guardian Level elder from the Imperial Capital Zhang Family.
This was the first time Yang Fei had heard this name, but he immediately understood that this was the person from the Imperial Capital Zhang Family. He committed it to memory and smiled, "Senior indeed has a reputation that holds weight like nine cauldrons."
Zhu Tianshou looked at him with a face full of gratitude and said, "To me, and to the entire Zhu Family, you have granted us a favour as great as rebirth. I am much older than you, so I won’t stand on ceremony. In short, if you, Yang Fei, ever encounter any trouble, it will be my, Zhu Tianshou’s, trouble too. You don’t need to say anything; as long as I’m aware, I will go through fire and boiling water for you."
Yang Fei quickly stood up and said, "You are being too serious, senior."
Zhu Tianshou solemnly said, "I don’t like to give lip service, but I absolutely keep my word and repay kindness with gratitude."
Seeing his earnestness, Yang Fei didn’t act pretentiously and said, "The Zhu Family treats me as a friend, and I, Yang Fei, do the same."
Zhu Tianshou was overjoyed upon hearing this.
He had personally experienced Yang Fei’s medical skills, which were nothing short of magical. Moreover, after he had been cured, although he could break through to the Innate Realm, if not for the magical formations that the young man activated to help him, he wouldn’t have made his breakthrough so quickly.
The capabilities of this young man were simply divine assistance for any martial artist.
It was absolutely more beneficial than harmful for the Zhu Family to maintain a good relationship with him.
Besides, Zhu Tianshou himself was a man who repaid kindness with gratitude. Even if Yang Fei had no utilitarian value, he would be grateful for a lifetime.
Qin Yanyang, who stood by listening to their conversation, kept a poker face but was secretly shocked.
Her husband was truly formidable. With his divine medical skills, he had cured Zhu Tianshou, earning his deep gratitude. This meant that he effectively had an Innate Realm strong man at his beck and call.
Considering his own strength, along with the fact that his master was the Fatty Taoist, how many in the Divine Continent Martial World could boast a stronger background than him?
With this realization, Qin Yanyang finally understood that her grandfather had indeed possessed farsightedness, arranging everything for her in advance.
It was lucky that the other members of the Qin Family were still in the dark; even her parents and older brother wanted her to marry into the Zhang Family, looking down on Yang Fei.
If they knew Yang Fei was a disciple of the Fatty Taoist and that even Zhu Tianshou was led by Yang Fei’s whims, who knows what they would think?
"Senior, if I may be so bold to ask, how did you suddenly become paralyzed all those years ago? As far as I know, although it’s difficult to break through to the Innate Realm, I have never heard that attempting to breakthrough from the Peak of the Energy Transformation Realm Ninth Rank to the Innate Realm could be so dangerous. Yours was an extraordinary case," Qin Yanyang suddenly asked Zhu Tianshou.
Yang Fei also looked at Zhu Tianshou, having long suspected that someone had interfered, and now, with Qin Yanyang asking, he too was filled with curiosity.
A flicker of resentment passed through Zhu Tianshou’s profound eyes.
He glanced at them and said in a deep voice, "I’ve kept this matter to myself for more than seventeen years, and I haven’t mentioned it to anyone, not even to the members of the Zhu Family. I’ve been concealing it."
Qin Yanyang was slightly touched when she heard this and asked, "Is it because you were afraid of implicating them?"
Zhu Tianshou nodded, "Yes, because once this matter gets out, the Zhu Family will undoubtedly face a devastating calamity."
Yang Fei’s interest deepened and he asked, "Who injured you back then, why did he do it, did you offend him, senior?"
Zhu Tianshou said indignantly, "I, Zhu Tianshou, have always conducted myself openly and made friends easily. I believe I have never wronged anyone. The reason that person attacked me was not to suppress me, but to snatch something that was in my hands."
"Oh?"
Qin Yanyang and Yang Fei looked at him with puzzlement at the same time.
Zhu Tianshou said, "It was that I happened upon two elixirs by chance. It is said that these kind of elixirs could help one break through to the Innate Realm, with very potent effects. At that time, I had already surpassed the peak of the Energy Transformation Realm Ninth Rank, belonging to the half-step Innate Realm. So, after getting the elixirs, I wanted to make the breakthrough. However, on the day of the breakthrough, someone appeared out of nowhere and struck at me. Not only did he steal the elixirs, but he also destroyed my martial meridians, leaving me paralyzed for seventeen long years."
By the end, his face was full of indignation, and his eyes flickered with uncontrollable hatred.
Qin Yanyang and Yang Fei nodded in understanding, full of sympathy and understanding for his feelings at the moment.
Anyone who suffered such an ordeal would be filled with hatred, unable to remain calm.
"Who was the person?" Yang Fei asked, "Since he could easily injure you back then, and even destroy your martial meridians, he must have been in the Innate Realm already, right?"
Zhu Tianshou replied gravely, "Zhang Wenfeng!"
Qin Yanyang was shocked, "It was him?"
Yang Fei was also secretly surprised, but he thought about Zhu Tianshou’s earlier statement that even if he were to ask him to go kill Zhang Wenfeng, he would do it, and then he felt relieved.
In the Divine Continent Martial World, there were only a few publicly known figures in the Innate Realm, and Zhu Tianshou, who mentioned no one else but Zhang Wenfeng, clearly had not forgotten this man in his heart.
"How can you be sure it was him? Did he injure you and take your things openly?" Qin Yanyang could not help but ask, suppressing the shock within.
Zhu Tianshou shook his head and said, "Just like Luo Yong dealing with you, Zhang Wenfeng did not reveal his true face. Moreover, he wore a Rakshasa mask at that time. However, I had seen him fight before and had some impression of his technique. What’s more, some things that happened later further confirmed my conjecture."
Qin Yanyang’s eyes flickered, and she blurted out, "Zhang Yunlong and Zhang Yunqing?"
Zhu Tianshou nodded and said, "Correct. Five years after my incident, Zhang Yunlong entered the Innate Realm, becoming the second Innate Realm powerhouse in the Zhang Family. A few years later, it was rumored that the second young master of the Zhang Family, Zhang Yunqing, was also exceptionally talented with rapid cultivation progress. I speculated that this pair of brothers must have taken the elixirs I got that year."
Qin Yanyang frowned slightly, nodding thoughtfully, yet she still said, "But all of this is just your speculation."
Zhu Tianshou said, "Yes, it’s my speculation, but not without basis. Over the years, the Divine Continent Martial World has indeed seen many martial arts geniuses emerge. You two are among the best of them. You should know, it’s considered demon-level talent just to step into the Energy Transformation Realm before thirty based purely on talent. And to enter the Innate Realm around thirty—if not with the help of elixirs, how would it be possible?"
Qin Yanyang nodded silently.
She was a martial artist of inherent talent, but throughout her growth, she had not lacked investment in resources.
Her grandfather had tried every means for her, and the myriad medicinal baths she took as a child were countless; if converted into cash, it would likely bankrupt many self-proclaimed rich folks.
Likewise, she had consumed a large amount of spiritual elixirs that helped enhance her cultivation. Without them, how could she have entered the half-step Innate Realm at the age of twenty-four?
Yang Fei thought about his first few years with his master, who had also made him take medicinal baths for several years and had him swallow many elixirs, saying it was to lay a solid foundation for him, and he nodded silently as well.
Although in his later cultivation, he had comprehended the two books his master had passed onto him, he could not deny the resources his master had poured into him when he first started his cultivation journey.
"One could say that the good fortune of Zhang Yunlong and Zhang Yunqing was violently snatched from me by Zhang Wenfeng. This grudge, this hatred... If I were still paralyzed in bed, so be it; but now that I have stood up again, I cannot let it go unavenged," Zhu Tianshou proclaimed resolutely.
Upon hearing this, Yang Fei laughed and said, "Hahaha, it seems I really am fated with you, Senior. I don’t care about the others in the Zhang Family, but Zhang Yunqing is someone I must kill. It turns out we have a common enemy."
Zhu Tianshou nodded, smiling, "Indeed, we have a common enemy."