Chapter 2865 — Wei Zhao's Whereabouts

"Ah, Young Sect Master Tian, hello..." Zhao Qilei jumped in fright. He had never met Tiancan Bian, but he well knew what a formidable figure the Young Sect Master of the Xuandan Sect was—one of the most powerful presences among the ancient sects, comparable to the hidden Yu family among the hidden clans. So Zhao Qilei asked with the utmost respect, "May I ask, you sought me out for...?"

Naturally, Zhao Qilei did not for a moment suspect that the person before him was an impostor. To impersonate the Young Sect Master of the Xuandan Sect on the Xuandan Sect's own territory—would that not be courting death?

"I came here because there is something I wish to ask you. But will you not invite me in?" Tianchan asked, poised and at ease.

"Ah, forgive me. Please come in, Young Sect Master Tian!" Zhao Qilei hurriedly gestured for him to enter, and let Tiancan Bian into the room.

"Zhao Qilei, I came here because there is something I wish to ask you. I hope you will answer me truthfully." Though Tiancan Bian put on no airs before Zhao Qilei, she had also shed the frail gentleness that had belonged to Tianchan.

"Ask whatever you wish, Young Sect Master Tian. Anything I know, I will certainly not conceal." Zhao Qilei spoke thus, but his promise to answer truthfully extended only to what could be told; of what could not, he would not breathe a single extra word.

"Good." Tianchan did not trouble herself over whether Zhao Qilei's words were true or false, and merely asked, "What is your relationship with Wei Zhao?"

"Wei Zhao..." Zhao Qilei started. "What has happened to him?"

"Answer my question first." Tianchan's face betrayed nothing, but inwardly she breathed a sigh of relief. Since Zhao Qilei had spoken so, it meant nothing had befallen Wei Zhao—otherwise he would not have asked that.

"I am Wei Zhao's underling," Zhao Qilei answered honestly. There was no need to hide this at all.

Tianchan nodded and went on, "Then during the trial, did you encounter your leader?"

Hearing Tianchan actually call Wei Zhao "your leader," Zhao Qilei was rather surprised. He had not expected the Young Sect Master Tian to be so approachable. In truth, Tianchan herself might not have noticed this subtle change; perhaps, deep in her heart, she felt that one day she might become Zhao Qilei's sister-in-law, and so her manner of speaking had shifted considerably as well.

"I did. Our leader had a trial map of the Xuandan Sect, marked with the safe zones. It was the map your Xuandan Sect gave him—Young Sect Master Tian should know of it, yes?" After receiving the map, Zhao Qilei had heard Wei Zhao say it came from the Xuandan Sect, so he concealed nothing. "And I have a copy of that map as well."

"Oh? So you met at the safe zone?" Tianchan did not probe into the matter of the map at all, but continued her questions.

"Yes, we met at the safe zone," Zhao Qilei said with a nod.

After hearing Zhao Qilei's answer, Tianchan grew somewhat puzzled. Wei Zhao's journey to the safe zone must have come after his return from the Five Malice Mountains. Since Wei Zhao had reached the safe zone safely, why had he not later come out together with Zhao Qilei?

"The safe zone—did you encounter Zhang Naipao there?" Tianchan suddenly thought of Zhang Naipao and asked in passing. (Zhang Naipao: I weep. I was clearly the one she came to investigate, yet she forgot me. And when she finally remembered, it was only in passing... Supporting characters have no rights!)

"Zhang Naipao? Yes, we encountered him." What had happened during the trial was no secret; even if Zhao Qilei said nothing, the two disciples of the Dark Night Palace would speak of it. So Zhao Qilei told the truth: "And our leader clashed with Zhang Naipao again."

"The two of them clashed? And then?" Tianchan asked, unable to contain her urgency.

"The situation at the time was like this..." Zhao Qilei offered no further interpretation, but recounted what had happened from the standpoint of a bystander. He trusted that the disciples of the Dark Night Palace had witnessed these events as well.

Hearing Zhao Qilei's account, and learning that Wei Zhao had actually defeated Zhang Naipao, Tianchan felt her heart ease—yet she grew all the more bewildered. Zhang Naipao could use the Infernal Yin Demon Fist; how did Wei Zhao know it too? And how was Wei Zhao so powerful? To slay Mo Ba in a single strike, and then defeat Zhang Naipao as well?

Of course, what puzzled Tianchan most was this: since Zhang Naipao could no longer pose a threat to Wei Zhao, where had Wei Zhao gone? Why had he not returned together with Zhao Qilei? As for where Zhang Naipao had fled after descending into madness, and whether he was dead or alive, Tianchan did not much concern herself for the moment.

"And after that? Why did Wei Zhao not return with you?" Tianchan pressed on.

"That was because a friend of our leader went to the Five Malice Mountains, and our leader set out for the Five Malice Mountains to find her. But after our leader left, there was no word of him ever again. I waited at the safe zone until the eighteenth day, and only when our leader did not return did I leave..." Zhao Qilei sighed and said with some worry, "Young Sect Master Tian, is your Xuandan Sect compiling a unified list of trial participants who failed to emerge from the teleportation array?"

"That is so, though I am chiefly responsible for Zhang Naipao and those connected to him," Tianchan said offhandedly. In truth, even if the Xuandan Sect were compiling a list of the missing, it would not fall to the Young Sect Master Tiancan Bian to inquire in person—only Zhao Qilei did not know that.

Hearing from Zhao Qilei that Wei Zhao had actually returned to the Five Malice Mountains, Tianchan's heart gave a sudden start. Wei Zhao had gone back? Might he encounter the Five Malice Dragon again? Even if Wei Zhao could slay a mid-stage Heaven Rank expert in a single strike, he was still no match for the Five Malice Dragon—and Tianchan herself was no match for the Five Malice Dragon, let alone Wei Zhao.

At that thought, Tianchan could not help growing anxious, wanting to rush to the Five Malice Mountains at once.

"Very well. Your information is important. But I hope you will keep the questions I asked today confidential—this is a rule of our Xuandan Sect's trials!" Having obtained the answers she sought, Tianchan rose to take her leave.

"That is no problem." Zhao Qilei nodded. "Young Sect Master Tian, if I may venture to ask—will your Xuandan Sect organize a rescue team to search for those trial participants who did not emerge safely?"

"That depends on the circumstances. I cannot promise you." Tianchan answered vaguely. "Well, I must be going. There are others I still need to question."

"Very well, then I will not detain you further, Young Sect Master Tian. Please." Zhao Qilei said.