Chapter 380: Demanding an Explanation

"Master, I have settled down again now." Xiao Zhan wore a smile on his face and said respectfully.

"Mm." Zhou Yu nodded lightly, not thinking much more of it.

After all, even he would occasionally feel restless when in closed-door cultivation.

It was just that in these past few years, as his Mental Power grew increasingly powerful, the number of times this situation occurred had become fewer and fewer, and could be counted on one's fingers.

"Master's senses are truly sharp." Xiao Zhan closed his eyes, secretly letting out a sigh of relief in his heart, while also silently reminding himself.

After kidnapping Lu Yu, although being able to consume a large amount of Superior True Qi Pill was certainly a good thing, it was also very easy to arouse Master's suspicion; he would have to be doubly cautious and careful in his future actions.

Just as he was preparing to circulate his Qi again, a slight ringtone from a mobile phone suddenly sounded in the Quiet Room.

The two opened their eyes at the same time.

Zhou Yu slowly exhaled a breath, then stood up, walked to the table with steady steps, and picked up the phone.

"Kong Ming?" Seeing the caller ID, he was slightly stunned, his pupils dilating a little involuntarily, and he speculated to himself.

Could it be that Yao Lao and the others had successfully mastered the improved True Qi Pill Alchemy so quickly? Otherwise, why would Kong Ming contact him while he was in closed-door cultivation?

He answered the call and said with a smile on his face: "Kong Ming, is there new progress with Yao Lao and the others' alchemy?"

"No, President." Kong Ming glanced at Lu Yu, who was quietly watching the scene from the screen, took a deep breath, and said with a serious expression: "President, I am going to tell you about a rather pessimistic matter next; I hope you can prepare yourself mentally first."

Zhou Yu's complexion changed slightly, and he immediately said: "Alright, go ahead."

"President, is Xiao Zhan with you right now?"

"Mm, what is it?" Zhou Yu turned his head to look at Xiao Zhan, who also had eyes full of confusion.

Is Uncle Kong calling Master? And he even mentioned me on the phone? Otherwise, Master wouldn't have suddenly turned his head to look at me.

Xiao Zhan felt a sense of unease for no reason and couldn't help but recall the incident where his right eyelid had been twitching wildly earlier, thinking to himself:

Could it be that some trouble has really come knocking? But I haven't done anything to offend anyone during this time, and I've basically been by Master's side, never leaving; how could there suddenly be trouble?

Wait, could it be... Xiao Zhan's eyes widened abruptly; could it be that something went wrong on Huo Yun's end? It wouldn't be that unlucky, would it?

"Alright, President, since Xiao Zhan is right there with you, you might as well turn on the speakerphone so that he can hear what I have to say as well."

Kong Ming said. He had to explain this matter clearly; otherwise, the trust young brother Lu had in the Headquarters would drop to freezing point, and by then, no matter what they did, it would be difficult to salvage the situation.

"Gulp." In the conference room of Yongan City, Huo Yun swallowed nervously. Xiao Zhan is there too?

Then won't I have to confront him face-to-face in a moment?

If he had a choice, he wouldn't want to escalate things to this point, but unfortunately, he had no way out now.

Song Tian was so nervous that his palms were full of sweat, soaking a patch of his clothes.

Lu Yu did not speak, just quietly waiting for the development of events.

After a moment, Zhou Yu said: "You speak first, what exactly is going on?"

Hearing this, Huo Yun immediately let out a sigh of relief. Clearly, Zhou Yu had not agreed to Kong Ming's request to turn on the speakerphone for Xiao Zhan to hear.

Although that situation was ultimately unavoidable, delaying it for a moment was better than nothing.

Kong Ming gave a helpless, bitter smile toward Lu Yu and had no choice but to say: "President, you remember what I told you on the phone yesterday about young brother Lu, right."

"Mm, what about it?"

"I previously said that young brother Lu was unwilling to join the Headquarters, and the Headquarters expressed understanding and did not force him. But just today, someone used the banner of the Headquarters to break into the Yong'an City Branch, attempting to forcibly kidnap young brother Lu to refine Superior True Qi Pill for their private use."

"What!" Zhou Yu couldn't help but let out an exclamation, the volume so loud that even the three people on the other side of the screen—Lu Yu, Song Tian, and Huo Yun—could hear it clearly.

"You... are you telling the truth?" Zhou Yu suddenly realized something was wrong and subconsciously turned his head to look at Xiao Zhan behind him.

Combined with Kong Ming's request earlier to turn on the speakerphone, it was not hard for him to guess that this matter Kong Ming spoke of likely had a great deal to do with Xiao Zhan.

"President, if I could, I would also hope this matter were false." Kong Ming sighed heavily, "But unfortunately, it is an absolute fact. The person who broke into the Yong'an City Branch has already been caught on the spot by young brother Lu."

"Who is it?" Zhou Yu's tone turned icy cold instantly, as if the temperature of the entire Quiet Room had dropped by more than ten degrees along with it.

"Huo... Yun." Kong Ming slowly uttered the two words.

In an instant, Huo Yun's complexion turned as pale as paper; even though his acupoints had been sealed, his hands and feet still trembled uncontrollably.

It's over, it's over, he thought despairingly in his heart; this matter had ultimately reached the ears of the President of the Headquarters, and he would definitely have no good days ahead of him. Cold sweat kept rolling down his face, soaking his collar.

"Huo Yun?" Zhou Yu muttered the name in a low voice, and Huo Yun's appearance immediately surfaced in his mind.

And Xiao Zhan, who was behind him, felt as if his heart had been tightly gripped by an invisible giant hand the moment he heard the name, almost jumping out of his mouth.

Could it be, could it be that Huo Yun failed? Otherwise, why would Uncle Kong mention him at this exact moment?

But this makes no sense! Xiao Zhan felt cold sweat breaking out all over his body; even if Huo Yun failed, according to his previous instructions, he shouldn't have exposed his identity.

He had repeatedly emphasized the need to keep his identity secret; after all, once this kind of thing was exposed, let alone himself, even Huo Yun would be in deep trouble.

So, even if he didn't succeed in kidnapping Lu Yu, he shouldn't have been identified by the other party, right?

The most critical thing is, how could he have failed? A mere Martial Artist at the Lian Mai Early Stage, and someone who spent most of his time on alchemy—how could Huo Yun not handle him?

"Yes, President, Huo Yun was subdued on the spot by young brother Lu and had his acupoints sealed; he is currently in the conference room of the Yong'an City Branch, video-calling me right now. Let me have him explain the sequence of events to you in detail." Kong Ming sighed helplessly.

Zhou Yu was silent for a moment, then said: "No need, I already roughly know what is going on. This fellow Huo Yun is simply daring and reckless, actually acting so wantonly.

How about this, you handle this matter. No matter what demands young brother Lu makes, the Headquarters must satisfy him as much as possible. As for Huo Yun, bring him back to me; I will deal with him personally."

Because Kong Ming had the speakerphone on, Zhou Yu's words reached the ears of everyone present without missing a single word.

Huo Yun immediately let out a sigh of relief; being able to return to the Headquarters was already the greatest stroke of luck in his misfortune.

Most importantly, listening to the President's meaning, this matter seemed to end here, and there was no need to confront Xiao Zhan face-to-face anymore.

Song Tian, however, frowned slightly; is the President of the Headquarters intending to just let the matter rest like this?

After all, he had nearly lost his life, and President Kong hadn't even mentioned that the mastermind behind the scenes was Xiao Zhan.

But with things having developed to this point, perhaps this was the best outcome for now. To appease young brother Lu's anger, the Headquarters would certainly bring out many good things to soothe him.

It's just that, based on his understanding of young brother Lu, if young brother Lu were to let it go so easily, then he wouldn't be the young brother Lu he knew.

"President Zhou, I think it would be better if you listened to Huo Yun's side of the story regarding this matter." Lu Yu's voice suddenly rose.

In an instant, people both inside and outside the screen, and on both ends of the phone, fell into silence.

Even Kong Ming had fine beads of cold sweat breaking out on his forehead at this moment.

Because he could tell that Lu Yu was determined this time to demand an explanation; even if the person opposite him was the President of the Headquarters, he would never retreat a single step.