Chapter 3902 — Off You Go, Safe and Sound

Shangguan Lan'er nodded. "Not just negligible—if we moved by daylight, there would be no chance of success at all. But at night, we do have a slim opening."

"At night? What do you mean?" Wei Zhao asked, puzzled.

"Wait until nightfall, little junior brother, and you'll see for yourself." Shangguan Lan'er giggled and left him hanging.

"It seems you really have prepared thoroughly, little senior sister." Wei Zhao did not press further, but said with genuine admiration.

Until now, Shangguan Lan'er had been, in his eyes, nothing but a pure-bred young miss—a naive, pampered third-generation cultivator. But now he suddenly realized that if this young miss ever truly put her mind to something, she was in fact quite dependable.

"But of course! Otherwise how could I be your little senior sister?" Shangguan Lan'er looked thoroughly pleased with herself.

The two of them, with Little Circle Bear in tow, promptly settled into a tree by the shore of Half-Moon Lake to recover their condition. Since no other spirit beasts roamed nearby, Half-Moon Lake was a rare quiet spot in the outer reaches of the rear mountain.

And according to Shangguan Lan'er, though Half-Moon Lake was extraordinarily dangerous, so long as one did not touch the surface of the lake, it was relatively safe. In other words, the true danger of Half-Moon Lake lurked within the water itself.

As they waited, the sky gradually darkened, and Half-Moon Lake—which by day had shown little that was remarkable—finally began to reveal its true face before the two of them.

Just as Shangguan Lan'er had said, once night fell, the lake water began to glow, thanks to the bioluminescent creatures within it.

Hiss! Wei Zhao could not help drawing a sharp breath. Once Half-Moon Lake began to shine, the scene turned breathtakingly beautiful, as if a fairy realm had descended upon the mortal world—yet beneath that beauty, its ferocious true face was laid bare before the two of them, without reserve.

"No wonder you said we had to wait for night to find our opening. If we'd made our move by day, there really wouldn't have been a scrap of us left," Wei Zhao said, secretly appalled.

Thanks to the glow, standing atop the treetops as they were, the two could now see with perfect clarity the scene beneath the lake's surface—a depth that daylight could never penetrate or perceive.

And there, deep in the lake water, a massive, ferocious black shadow coiled and circled. Its exact form was impossible to make out, but judging by the silhouette, it was not only enormous in size but brimming with killing intent.

To Wei Zhao's senses, this thing's strength far surpassed even that of the Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle. It was a veritable fierce beast, ready at any moment to choose its prey and devour it. Had they blundered in by daylight, ignorant of what lay below, their bones would by now have been long since picked clean.

But now, because they could clearly see its position, it was still extremely dangerous—yet at last there was a sliver of opportunity.

"I'm not much good at fighting and such, so how to cross the lake and reach that giant cedar in the middle—that'll be up to your skills, little junior brother." Shangguan Lan'er shrugged at Wei Zhao.

"All right." Wei Zhao had been prepared for this. Though with his current strength, carrying Shangguan Lan'er and Little Circle Bear straight across the lake would be extremely difficult, he reckoned it was a good thing that Shangguan Lan'er could face reality so calmly. Otherwise, if this young miss insisted on forcing her way through, she truly wouldn't know how she'd died.

At its narrowest, the lake spanned only a dozen or so meters to the giant cedar in the middle. And if one aimed directly for its jutting branches, leaping from the lakeside canopy would shorten the distance even further.

Wei Zhao observed carefully for a while, then fixed his gaze on a nearby tree. Compared with the other trees around it—which were often dozens of meters tall—it was not much to look at, its crown only ten meters or so above the ground. But it was the closest tree on the shore to the cedar in the lake: the gap between its outermost trunk and the cedar's trunk was only seven or eight meters. For a cultivator at the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage like Wei Zhao, that was a simple step away.

Having chosen his position, all that remained was to wait patiently for the right moment. By day, the lake bottom was utterly invisible, the danger impossible to foresee, and so no opportunity could even be discussed. But now, at night, the lake's glow let him pinpoint the creature's location.

Down at the lake bottom was a terrifying existence capable of killing even Golden Core experts. Wei Zhao had not the slightest intention of trading blows with it, for if they truly met face to face, the outcome was already decided. So he must stay as far from it as possible, and only when it swam to the farthest end of Half-Moon Lake would it be time to act.

"Then you and Little Circle Bear stay here. From what we saw today, so long as you don't do anything unnecessary, this place should be safe. Wait here for me to come back—and remember to hide well. There may be some commotion in a bit." Wei Zhao rose to his feet.

"Don't worry, don't worry. With Little White protecting me, I won't be in any danger. Off you go, little junior brother, safe and sound!" Shangguan Lan'er waved cheerfully.

Off he goes, safe and sound? Wei Zhao's face darkened. He glanced at Little Circle Bear, that adorable, dopey lump of a creature—this thing was supposed to protect her? If he actually believed that, a few lives wouldn't be enough to throw away.

Watching Little Circle Bear puff itself up and flex its muscles in a show of might, Wei Zhao rolled his eyes in exasperation and turned to climb the tree.

Holding his breath and focusing his mind, he carefully watched the movements of the black shadow at the lake bottom. He needed not only to make sure it swam to the farthest end, but also to grasp the pattern of its movements—the bare minimum of preparation before acting. Slack off even slightly, and the result might well be a death with no place to bury the body.

This process went on for a full hour. Even Shangguan Lan'er had begun yawning from the wait before Wei Zhao finally made his move.

Now! Wei Zhao's eyes flew wide, and his Butterfly Microstep burst forth at full power, his figure streaking across the lake surface like a phantom.

Eight meters—a distance that, in Wei Zhao's eyes, he could once cross in a flash without the aid of anything at all. Yet now he had to scheme so painstakingly for it, and even then, whether he could succeed remained unknown.

Closer! The cedar's trunk was already within reach. Just as Wei Zhao thought he might succeed, the once-placid surface of Half-Moon Lake suddenly convulsed violently!

And then, a blood-red tentacle, thick as a washbasin, came shooting up from the depths of the lake with horrific speed too fast for the eye to follow, aimed straight at Wei Zhao.

Leaping eight meters—the span of that moment was, needless to say, brief. Moreover, Wei Zhao had already figured out the movement pattern of that nameless, powerful spirit beast below, and had deliberately chosen the moment it swam to the farthest point, where it could least afford to pay attention. The straight-line distance between them at this instant was at least a thousand meters. RS