Calls Going Unanswered

But Elder Chen could not be bothered to pay him any attention.

He was much too occupied with the girl beside him, and how she remained unfazed despite being surrounded by enemies.

Just now, when he was breaking out of the fog of unconsciousness, he had managed to catch Vice-President Tang’s conversation with Yao Tang.

“You must be Yao Tang,” Elder Chen said gently.

His face was filled with kind affection. “Do not be afraid. My strength will recover in no time. I can get us out of here easily.”

He soothed her even as he recovered his energy and tried to make sense of the situation.

He wasn’t sure why Yao Tang was with him, but he could guess that the Green Cloud Pavilion was trying to abduct her, too.

No doubt they were trying to do the same thing they had done to him.

Elder Chen thought of how Yao Tang had to endure such a dangerous predicament shortly after entering the Cabinet, and couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

After hearing his words, the men of the Green Cloud Pavilion surrounding them changed their expressions.

To them, Elder Chen was barking up the wrong tree.

Even the members of the Cabinet found it rather strange.

Unbeknownst to them, Elder Chen had his own intentions for saying what he had said.

Of course, he knew that they were in a critical situation, and that Zhang Yi’s life hung in the balance. If he revealed his worries now, they would only be used against him.

Now that he had woken up, Zhang Yi was the only trump card left in the hands of the Green Cloud Pavilion.

As long as they stalled, his disciple would not be in any real danger. At least not for the time being.

Elder Chen spoke to Yao Tang on purpose to mislead Vice-President Tang into thinking that he didn’t care about Zhang Yi as much as they had presumed.

“And you call yourself a man?” Elder Chen taunted Vice-President Tang. “The Green Cloud Pavilion is worthless without its underhanded schemes. Do you really think you would be able to turn the tables in your favor? Not in this lifetime.”

He narrowed his eyes dangerously as he continued, “You’re so spineless that you even resorted to capturing a weak girl like Tangtang. If you’re so sure of yourself, why don’t you fight me in a one-on-one battle?”

His words were meant to provoke the other man.

Sure enough, Vice-President Tang rose to the occasion. Who could blame him, though? Nothing had gone according to his plan, and now, he had to suffer his hostage’s rebuke. It was all too much.

“Hey, you!” Vice-President Tang snapped at one of his men. “Give the others a call and tell them to start torturing Elder Chen’s disciple. Let him have a taste of the Green Cloud Pavilion’s brand of power!”

The man he had addressed was 1.9 meters tall and had a bushy beard. He wore black clothes that went well with his menacing scowl.

“Yes, Sir.”

He whipped out his phone and made the call.

Elder Chen gripped the edge of the stretcher, the veins on his neck popping up.

Still, he remained composed and unbothered on the surface.

He couldn’t afford to let his real emotions slip out.

The air crackled with tension as everyone waited for the call to connect.

The seconds turned into a minute, but the other side still didn’t pick up. Instead, the call ended abruptly.

Cold sweat began to bead on the bearded man’s forehead as he tried to call again. No one picked up this time, either.

Hearing the repeated beep of the dial tone, Vice-President Tang was livid.

He wanted to punish Zhang Yi to get back at Elder Chen, but they couldn’t even go through to the people watching over the captive!

He never thought his men were this useless.

What was the use of having them in charge when they couldn’t even pick up a single call?

Once again, the call was hung up.

The bearded man glanced nervously at Vice-President Tang before attempting a third call. As expected, nobody answered.

“Vice-President Tang, they’re not picking up.”

“You piece of trash!”

The man had barely finished speaking when Vice-President Tang interrupted him with a frustrated roar.

“You’re all trash! Just a bunch of worthless idiots who can’t even accomplish one damn phone call! What’s the point of being a part of the Green Cloud Pavilion when you can’t even do this much?

“I might as well throw you to the sharks, you useless pieces of scum!”

Vice-President Tang cursed over and over, his face twisted into an ugly expression as he berated the bearded man.

The latter, who was much larger in build, only lowered his head and took all the abuse without saying anything.