Getting Wu Chengtian to give up his feelings for Sun Jingyi was, truth be told, a little difficult. But now that the decision had been made, he had to let her go. His feelings for Sun Jingyi had never been a mere matter of a marriage alliance struck for the family's benefit — he truly was drawn to her. It was only that she did not care for him.

"Oh? You know my boss? Fine, then — when he's back, I'll ask him for you. Go home and wait for word." Only after Er Goudan had made certain that this Wu Chengtian meant him no harm did he turn to leave.

"Very good, Boss. Then I shall wait at home for good news." Wu Chengtian said hurriedly: "Boss, what's your name? How should I address you from now on?"

"My name is Er Goudan." With that, Er Goudan climbed into the car.

"All right, Brother Goudan, I'll be on my way then." Wu Chengtian said, nodding and scraping and bowing.

The Bentley glided slowly away. As for the scene here, the Xiao family would handle it themselves — Uncle Qing had no need to fret that the police would come knocking at his door.

Wu Chengtian stared at the great hole Er Goudan had smashed into the minivan with Mr. Pi, and clicked his tongue in wonder: "Truly formidable! If I could learn even half of that, I'd be a force to be reckoned with!"

As for what the Xiao family might think of it, Wu Chengtian had already stopped caring. With so formidable a boss watching over him, who gave a damn about the Xiao family or anyone else? The Pi family's experts were dead — what did the Xiao family have left to lean on now?

In truth, Xiao Wangdao and Xiao Wangba really had no time to spare for whatever had become of Wu Chengtian. Two Pi family experts dead, just like that — they had already lost their footing entirely.

These two were incompetents to begin with. Let them strut about and put on airs, and they were perfectly capable; but set them to handling an emergency, and things began to go badly wrong.

With trembling hands, Xiao Wangba pulled out his phone and dialed his father Xiao Ji's number.

"Hello? Wangba? How are things progressing? Running smoothly, I trust?" Xiao Ji was at that very moment sitting snugly in the Xiao family villa, angling for good news.

"They're dead... Dad, they're dead!" Xiao Wangba could scarcely get the words out straight.

"What's dead? Did Wei Zhao and Li Fu die?" Xiao Ji laughed heartily. "Look at you — you've never laid eyes on anything of consequence in your life. So two people died. What's the great matter? If they're dead, they're dead."

"No, Dad — it's the Pi family's experts! The Pi family's experts are dead!" Xiao Wangba said, gasping for breath.

"What? The two Pi family experts are dead?" Xiao Ji was struck dumb, then cried out in disbelief: "Wangba, what are you saying? You're not raving, are you? How could the two Pi family experts be dead? Pi Yangyang is an expert at the peak of the late Profound Rank — how could he die?"

"Dad, they were beaten to death by an expert called Er Goudan or something!" Xiao Wangba had heard Er Goudan speak just now, and that was how he had come by the name. Back when Er Goudan had felled the Pi family's experts with his fists, he had not been present, and so he still had no idea that this Er Goudan was that very great hero.

"What? Named Er Goudan?" Xiao Ji drew in a breath of cold air: "He... how did he show up? Why would he go and beat the Pi family's experts to death?"

"He was sitting right there in Gu Mengyao's car, and he claimed to be Wei Zhao's underling?" Xiao Wangba was rather baffled: "Dad, just who is this Er Goudan? Do you know him?"

"Know him? How could I not know him?" Xiao Ji said: "Back then it was he who put those two Pi family experts in the hospital. How has he become Wei Zhao's underling? My God — it's over. The Xiao family is finished, finished for good this time!"

Hearing his son's words, Xiao Ji was instantly struck senseless — Er Goudan, that great hero, was tangled up in all this! No wonder the Pi family's experts were dead; coming up against such a great hero, how could they not die? Had he known this beforehand, why would he have set his sights on the Gu family at all? Was that not simply courting death?

"What? That formidable? No wonder the two Pi family experts were killed with a single punch!" Xiao Wangba said: "Dad, what do we do now?"

"What can we do? Wait for the Pi family's wrath to fall!" Xiao Ji wilted on the spot: "Why the hell didn't you scout things out properly before? Why didn't you tell me this great hero was in Wei Zhao's house too?"

"That... I don't know him either. How was I supposed to know he was that formidable..." Xiao Wangba said, aggrieved.

The Xiao family was thrown into utter chaos this time. Xiao Ji relayed Xiao Wangba's words to Xiao Ben, and now Xiao Ben was stunned as well! The Xiao family had stirred up enormous trouble this time! Not only had they offended that great hero, but there was no telling whether the Pi family would pin the blame on the Xiao family for it.

If the Pi family could send out even more formidable experts to take the lead, then the Xiao family still had hope. If not, then the Xiao family was well and truly finished.

"Big Brother, there's no concealing this even if we tried. Better that we call the Pi family ourselves and come clean," Xiao Ben mused for a moment, then said: "The only way to dodge this calamity is to lay every bit of the blame on those two Pi family experts!"

"Mmm... you're right. That way we say the Pi family experts were the ones who coveted the Gu family's assets, and that was why they moved to abduct someone — only to be beaten to death by the other side!" Xiao Ji nodded: "Dead men tell no tales anyway. Even if they have their suspicions, it will do them no good!"

"Yes. And more than that, we must play the victim, weeping that those two experts dragged our Xiao family down with them, and that to keep the Gu family from exacting revenge later, the Pi family will have to send even more formidable experts to hold the fort." Xiao Ben went on.

"Heh heh, we two brothers really are geniuses — we've dissolved a great crisis between one joke and the next!" Xiao Ji was thoroughly pleased. Just like that, both the hatred and the crisis had been shifted onto the Pi family, and the Xiao family had become the injured party instead.

"Ha ha, brothers of one heart can cut through metal!" Xiao Ben said smugly: "Brothers as harmonious as the two of us are a rare sight even among the great families!"

"Naturally. I, the head of this family, am also exceedingly magnanimous and democratic — I don't go in for dictatorship or arbitrary rule!" Xiao Ji nodded.

With the Xiao family stepping forward to cover up the deaths of the two Pi family experts, the affair passed quietly, without so much as a ripple. The bodies of the two Pi family experts were carried to the Xiao family villa and left there, awaiting the arrival of the Pi family to claim them and discuss what was to be done next.

Over the phone, the Pi family said little upon hearing the news, only that they would send people to talk it over in detail. Clearly, the Pi family had also grown wary of Er Goudan — a man who could kill a peak late-stage Profound Rank expert with a single punch.

Hidden family though the Pi family was, with experts gathered thick as clouds, what level must a man be at to kill a peak late-stage Profound Rank expert with one punch? He must surely stand above the Earth Rank as well — and Earth Rank experts were a breed found only in hidden families and a handful of sects...