Chapter 3419 — Ying Ziyu's Sorrow

Wei Zhao looked at the reply and could not help but smile wryly. Ying Ziyu really was impatient—she had even skipped class. Still, Wei Zhao knew well enough what feelings for him stirred in Ying Ziyu's heart; it was only that he could give her nothing now, promise her nothing.

The eldest young lady, Xiaoxiao, Wang Xinyan, Xiaoshu, Yu Xiaoke—those few—were bound to him because their fates, their futures, their missions had already become one with his, inseparable. But Wei Zhao did not want Ying Ziyu and Chen Xi drawn in. They were too young; they had no notion how cruel the world of cultivators truly was.

If one day he was at ease, if all these matters were settled, and they still wished to follow him, Wei Zhao would take them along. But now—now he could not.

Before long he saw Ying Ziyu and Chen Xi come running out of the school hand in hand, quick-stepping, both their faces brimming with excitement and joy. But Wei Zhao wondered: once he told her about her brother Ying Zhijia, would she still be so happy?

At that thought Wei Zhao sighed faintly and decided to speak the truth plainly. Word of the Pangolin had come at last; he did not want to keep hiding it from Ying Ziyu any longer.

"Wei Zhao哥哥, you came! Why haven't you come to see me and little sister Chen Xi all this time? Do you not want us anymore?" Ying Ziyu ran up and flung herself into Wei Zhao's arms, leaving him no choice but to lift her up helplessly.

Chen Xi, by contrast, was a little bashful, not so bold as Ying Ziyu; she merely stood to one side, looking at Wei Zhao shyly.

"That's enough, Ziyu. You're a big girl now—don't you know that men and women should keep their distance? Carrying on like this, how will you ever get a boyfriend?" Wei Zhao set Ying Ziyu down and said to her.

"Little Xi and I are both Wei Zhao哥哥's little sisters. What boyfriend would we need?" Ying Ziyu looked at Wei Zhao, puzzled.

Seeing her like that, Wei Zhao found his guess all the more confirmed. He had not expected that after so long, with him scarcely coming to see them, their feelings had not faded at all—they had only grown stronger!

In the past, Ying Ziyu had used Chen Xi as a cover. Now she no longer concealed her own feelings in the least, which made Wei Zhao suspect that she and Chen Xi had reached some new agreement between them.

And in fact that was exactly so! Ying Ziyu had always teased Chen Xi and Wei Zhao together—until one night she talked in her sleep, let something slip, and spilled her own thoughts as well.

Chen Xi had suspected her before; now it was settled. Chen Xi had recorded her sleep-talk on her phone, leaving Ying Ziyu no room to argue.

But Ying Ziyu was not the shy sort that Chen Xi was. Having bared her heart, she simply set about brainwashing Chen Xi, coaxing her along: the two of them would follow Wei Zhao together in the future. Otherwise, with so many rivals like Gu Mengyao competing, they would have no advantage at all!

And Chen Xi was hardly the taking-the-initiative type; she would only lose out later, going ten days or half a month without seeing Wei Zhao once. Chen Xi thought it over—she really was that kind of person, and with Ying Ziyu helping her it would be better—so she agreed.

But Wei Zhao did not know any of this. Hence his question.

"Little sister... what has that to do with a boyfriend..." Wei Zhao blinked, taken aback.

"Wei Zhao哥哥, haven't you heard that song? Just how many good little sisters do you have..." Ying Ziyu hummed boldly.

"Pff..." Wei Zhao finally understood what Ying Ziyu meant, and could not help feeling vexed. Truthfully, he did not want Ying Ziyu and Chen Xi to lay their feelings bare just yet; it would put him in an awkward position.

For the dangerous things Wei Zhao had to do were far too many; better to keep the vague brother-and-sister relationship as before. So Wei Zhao feigned incomprehension: "What does that have to do with singing?"

"Oh, come on!" Seeing that Wei Zhao did not understand, Ying Ziyu grew anxious at once: "Little sister—that kind of little sister, not a real sister. A gan meimei... a 'gan' little sister..."

"What gan sister, not gan sister..." Wei Zhao pretended not to catch the difference between the two readings of the word.

"'Mistress'! The other woman! Do you get it now?" Ying Ziyu was frantic.

"..." Wei Zhao rather regretted lifting the stone only to drop it on his own foot. Had he steered the conversation elsewhere earlier, there would not be all this trouble; but now that Ying Ziyu had said this much, he truly did not know how to respond.

"Wei Zhao哥哥, don't listen to Ziyu's nonsense—she just likes to joke like that..." Chen Xi saw Wei Zhao's awkwardness and hurried to explain, though inside she felt a little disappointed... Does Brother Lin not like me?

"You're both still young. We'll talk when you're grown." In the end Wei Zhao did not refuse outright, for Ying Ziyu was about to face a far heavier blow; so on this subject he did not elaborate.

"See, little Xi? I told you Wei Zhao哥哥 wouldn't want to be rid of us. We two are invincible in our youth—we have far too many advantages!" Ying Ziyu nodded smugly.

"Oh..." Chen Xi lowered her head, rather embarrassed.

"Ziyu, let's set that aside for now. I came to find you about something else—but after you hear it, you must be strong..." Wei Zhao's expression turned grave.

"Ah?" Ying Ziyu was startled; she had not expected Wei Zhao to say such a thing so suddenly. After a moment she ventured cautiously: "Is it... about my brother?"

"Mm..." Wei Zhao nodded. So it seemed that however cheerful Ying Ziyu appeared on the surface, she had been thinking of her brother all along. "You must prepare yourself..."

"I know..." Ying Ziyu's eyes reddened at once. "Wei Zhao哥哥... actually, from the moment you came looking for me, I guessed. My brother asked you to look after me—even if you were comrades-in-arms, he could not have left behind nothing, no letter, no recording. He could not have relied on a single photograph alone... In the past, even when my brother was on missions, he would still contact me now and then. This time, there has been no word for so long..."

As she spoke, tears slid down Ying Ziyu's cheeks. Wei Zhao's heart ached; he reached out and gathered her into his arms, patting her softly on the back. "Ziyu, don't grieve. The truth is not as terrible as you imagine—your brother Ying Zhijia has not been sacrificed..."

"What?!" Ying Ziyu's head shot up at once, eyes wide, tears still clinging to her lashes. "Wei Zhao哥哥, then you're saying my brother he..."

"He was not sacrificed, but now he is much the same as a man in a vegetative state..." That was the only way Wei Zhao could explain it.

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