Chapter 2707 — Things Lost

"So that is how it is." Wei Zhao actually felt relieved. This trip had not been in vain—at the very least, he had learned something about Inheritors. In other words, even if Feng Xiaoxiao did accept the inheritance, as long as she did not go through with that dangerous business, the only benefit she would gain was faster cultivation, with no downside at all!

Therefore, after Feng Xiaoxiao accepted the inheritance, Bingtang could still receive one as well. So long as Wei Zhao could change her constitution, she could take Feng Xiaoxiao's place. At this thought, Wei Zhao made up his mind.

He would cultivate diligently and reach the Heaven Tier as soon as possible, then continue raising the strength of White Leader, Han Jingyi, and Guan Xin. Even if he himself could not refine rank pills, he could have these three help him refine them. That way, although Wei Zhao still could not become an alchemist and could not satisfy Bingtang's condition for becoming his tiny-tiny-tiny-tiny wife, he did not much care.

His desire to make Bingtang his tiny-tiny-tiny-tiny wife was entirely to take her down a peg—he was not used to her cold arrogance and the way she looked down on him. But compared with Feng Xiaoxiao's safety, Feng Xiaoxiao mattered more.

"According to what is written in this Record of Strange Tales and Curious Matters, the treasure that can identify a cultivator's constitution is in the last stone gate. Let us go there together," said White Leader. Then he cautioned them: "Here, Patriarch Zhang Lifeng also left us a hint: in the last stone gate there is a trapped poison mist, and anyone caught by it will go blind. But there is a room here with the antidote. Any fellow traveler skilled in medicine can neutralize the poison."

"Oh?" Wei Zhao was briefly taken aback, recalling the state Yuhuoxing had been in. Zhang Lifeng had probably guessed that people would come to this ancient tomb in the future, but his traps were meant for fellow physicians or alchemists. Toward a simple tomb robber like Yuhuoxing, he had shown no mercy at all.

If a person had consulted the texts, he was surely of the same profession, and so would naturally not fall victim. Even if such a person had not consulted them, once caught he could cure himself. The tragedy was for people like Yuhuoxing.

What puzzled Wei Zhao, though, was that this book had been leafed through. Could it be that whoever had entered the tomb later knew the book hinted at the trap in the last stone gate, and that was why they had looked through it? But if he already knew about the trap, why look through the book at all? Could he have come to look up the antidote formula?

All these doubts left Wei Zhao baffled. He could not quite work it out. But if that were truly the case, then this tomb robber must have gone to the last stone gate!

"Let us go over," Wei Zhao said, drawing a deep breath. He hoped the treasure he needed had not been carried off by this later tomb robber; otherwise, the whole trip would have been for nothing.

The three of them walked toward the last stone gate, not returning to the display room. When they reached the gate, Wei Zhao placed his hand on the stone door, but did not push it open at once. Instead, he waited for a warning signal from the jade pendant.

'The Campus Belle's Close Bodyguard'—because Wei Zhao could not be sure whether this later tomb robber had reset any traps, or whether the man... was still in the ancient tomb and had not yet left!

What reassured Wei Zhao was that the jade pendant gave no warning signal at all. His heart eased slightly, and he pushed open the door of the stone chamber.

Still, a question occurred to Wei Zhao: "By the way, Zhang Lifeng's medical notes said he had no sons or daughters and no disciples. Then what is the Five Luminaries Sect about?"

"That? It is perfectly normal!" said White Leader. "In the Five Luminaries Sect today, only Xuan Chen and I have disciples; Xuan Zhen has none. But a thousand years from now, the sect's disciples will still honor him as a patriarch. That is entirely normal. Having no disciples simply means he had no inheriting disciples—it does not mean he had no fellow disciples."

"So that is how it is." Wei Zhao nodded. "Teacher White, you—which of the items here is the treasure used to test constitutions?"

White Leader looked around the room, and Yu Xiaoke carefully examined the objects inside as well. Before White Leader could speak, Yu Xiaoke spoke first: "Male Thief, someone has been here too!"

"Oh?" Wei Zhao was not especially surprised. Given the precedent of the Record of Strange Tales and Curious Matters having been taken out before, it was only natural that things here had been disturbed. What Wei Zhao worried about was whether the thing he sought had been taken.

"Here, it has been moved..." Yu Xiaoke had a good memory and a keen eye. She pointed at a shelf before Zhang Lifeng's bed and said: "Here, there seems to have been something like an incense burner, but it was taken away! You two—there are traces here of things having been taken as well!"

"Oh? An incense burner?" Wei Zhao and White Leader both looked in the direction Yu Xiaoke pointed. Sure enough, on the shelf there was a round mark with no dust on it, while all around the round shape was covered in dust—proof that something had been placed here, but had now been taken away.

"Yes. The things in this room seem not to have been touched at first. Apart from the two books you took, Male Thief, no one else took anything from in here..." Yu Xiaoke said after a moment's thought.

Wei Zhao nodded. That was indeed so. Old Black had taken quite a few things from the display room earlier, but had taken nothing here. Yuhuoxing had come with a purpose, so naturally he had taken nothing either. Yu Xiaoke could not have taken anything—otherwise she would not have said so. Qiu Lingshan and Chen Yuxuan were even less likely to have touched anything. So the thing Yu Xiaoke mentioned really had been taken by someone who came later!

Wei Zhao frowned. An incense burner... Suddenly, something struck him! There had indeed been something like an incense burner placed here, but it was not an incense burner—it was a medicinal cauldron!

Back then, Wei Zhao had not been thinking of becoming an alchemist, so he had not paid much attention to the cauldron. Otherwise, he would certainly have pocketed it rather than leaving it behind! At this thought, Wei Zhao regretted it immensely, because he had suddenly remembered something very important.

Back then, when Right Coiled Tiger had traded things with him, he had given Wei Zhao a battered old medicinal cauldron! (To be continued...)