Chapter 4405 — Wei Zhao's Handwriting
"No, what I mean is—how did you get this letter to Cloud Terrace Island?" Wu Chengtian pressed.
In truth, he was still half-convinced he was dreaming. Cloud Terrace Island had always been a thing of legend; if Wei Zhao and the others had not truly passed through the teleportation array under his leadership, Wu Chengtian might never have believed that such an uncanny, wondrous place could exist in the world.
And now something even more uncanny had happened: this so-called Central Express could actually carry letters back and forth between Cloud Terrace Island and the mundane world. For all his wide experience, Wu Chengtian felt like giving himself two slaps to check whether he was still asleep.
But the handwriting on it was unmistakably Wei Zhao's own—of that there was no doubt. If this were an elaborate hoax by some petty schemer, one who could imitate Wei Zhao's hand so flawlessly, then it was too horrifying to contemplate.
So Wu Chengtian's state of mind at this moment could be summed up in one word: skeptical. More precisely, four parts belief, six parts doubt.
"Sorry, that I don't know either. I'm only a senior courier—I deliver parcels, nothing else. Besides, the logistics channel is a company secret; ordinary people can't know about it. All I can tell you is that these return receipts are first sent back to company headquarters, then distributed through a central hub," the courier said with a shrug.
"Is that so? Well, thank you anyway." Seeing that nothing more could be gotten out of the courier, Wu Chengtian had no choice but to give up. He signed for the delivery and let the man go.
Yet though he said so aloud, in his heart he had no intention of letting the matter rest. However he looked at it, this Central Express was far too suspicious. Carrying parcels back and forth between Cloud Terrace Island and the mundane world—to anyone's eyes, that was nothing short of an event that overturned one's entire worldview!
If travel between Cloud Terrace Island and the mundane world really were so easy and convenient, then why would Wei Zhao and all those top-tier experts have needed to mobilize such a huge force in the first place?
And it had been over a year now. If free passage were truly possible, then even if Wei Zhao's business was unfinished, he would at least have come back to look in on everyone, wouldn't he?
Wu Chengtian's sole thought now was to investigate this suddenly appeared Central Express thoroughly. But though he was a Heaven-Rank Perfection expert, he was no professional investigator. If he went himself, he might as well march up and kick the door in; to expect him to investigate without leaving a trace and uncover the whole truth—well, he could forget that notion entirely.
Still, if investigating Central Express was beyond Wu Chengtian alone, that did not mean it was beyond everyone else.
"What's wrong?" Speak of the devil—Qiu Lingshan happened to be coming down from the second floor with a cup of water just then, and seeing Wu Chengtian staring blankly at a parcel, she could not help but ask.
"Sister-in-law Lingshan, perfect timing. I just received a delivery—do you think you could look into this courier company?" Wu Chengtian said hurriedly. He had not forgotten that Qiu Lingshan belonged to the Mysterious Investigation Bureau; investigating a courier company would be child's play for her.
"Huh? You receive a delivery, so why investigate the courier company?" Qiu Lingshan looked utterly baffled, and the strange look she gave Wu Chengtian nearly rivaled the courier's from before.
What sort of logic was that? Receive a parcel and you have to investigate the courier company—then if she took a drink of water now, would she have to go investigate the water plant?
"No, no—there's something strange about this courier company. Very strange!" Wu Chengtian hastened to explain.
"Strange how? Did they cheat you out of money?" Qiu Lingshan grew all the more puzzled.
"That they didn't." As a Heaven-Rank Perfection expert, who in the mundane world would dare cheat him of money? And he was hardly short of cash. He could only raise the parcel in his hand and say with a bitter smile, "The sender of this delivery they just brought—it's Wei Zhao..."
Pfft! Qiu Lingshan spat out her mouthful of water on the spot and nearly missed a step and tumbled down the stairs. Paying no heed to the spray of tea, she flew over—how, she herself could not have said. Wu Chengtian only knew that before he had even finished speaking, the parcel had been snatched from his hands, and he had been drenched in tea besides.
"This... this really is Wei Zhao's handwriting..." Staring at the waybill, Qiu Lingshan was too shocked to speak for a long while. Her eyes rimmed faintly red, tears welling and circling but never quite spilling over.
A full year and more had passed—such a long time—and Wei Zhao had left no word at all, while she had worried over his safety every waking moment, each day dragging on like a year.
True, Wei Zhao had already been very strong before setting out, strong enough to crush every top expert in the mundane world. But Cloud Terrace Island was different—it was a place of legend through and through.
How dangerous it might be once they arrived, whether, being strangers in a strange land, they might be bullied or set upon, even whether Cloud Terrace Island truly existed at all—all of it remained unknown.
Sometimes Qiu Lingshan would startle herself awake in the middle of the night, because even in her dreams she could not help worrying: so long had passed and still no return—had something happened to Wei Zhao?
Never in her wildest dreams had she thought she would now receive a parcel sent by Wei Zhao, and from Cloud Terrace Island no less. Qiu Lingshan's reaction was exactly the same as Wu Chengtian's a moment ago: a dizzy spell, her brain starved of oxygen...
"Sister-in-law Lingshan, don't you think this Central Express ought to be thoroughly investigated?" Wu Chengtian urged from beside her.
In his mind, if they could get to the bottom of Central Express, there were only two possible outcomes. One: the parcel was fake, someone having imitated and forged Wei Zhao's handwriting—in which case, following the trail would naturally expose the fraud.
The other possibility: the parcel was genuine, truly sent by Wei Zhao's own hand from Cloud Terrace Island—and what that implied set the heart racing.
If Central Express really could travel freely between Cloud Terrace Island and the mundane world, then so long as they could see through their methods, couldn't the rest of them go to Cloud Terrace Island too, and find Wei Zhao?
This thought of Wu Chengtian's was only natural, and Qiu Lingshan of course arrived at it as well. Yet she did not act rashly, saying only, "Whatever the case, let's gather everyone first."
"Right away!" Wu Chengtian rushed off at once to make the calls, leaving Qiu Lingshan alone, staring blankly at Wei Zhao's handwriting. (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you are welcome to come to)
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