Chapter 4765 — Passing the Cup

Though this place stood on dry land, it lay so close to the sea that any random swell might flood the cave whole, and at times even ravenous sea beasts came prowling out—a spot of the utmost peril.

The Western Island authorities had declared outright that death here was all but certain and survival a matter of chance; ordinary cultivators did not dare set foot in it. Yet these two seemed entirely at ease, paying the warnings no mind at all. Small wonder—their strength was enough to disregard such danger, for one of them was the mysterious man in black, and the other a peerless champion of the spirit beast race, the newly appointed Azure Dragon.

Apart from Miss Luan, his direct superior at the Center, the mysterious man in black carried himself with absolute arrogance and dominance wherever he went, and had never once bowed his head to anyone. Yet this time he was willing to sit below the Azure Dragon, and his tone even carried an indefinable note of humility.

That the mysterious man in black should treat him so spoke volumes about how fearsome this new Azure Dragon's strength must be—a peerless champion of the spirit beast race after all, in name an equal of the Vermilion Bird herself.

One a member of the Center, the other a top elder of the spirit beast race—that these two should meet in such a place would surely set tongues wagging the world over if it were known. But having chosen such a spot, they could hardly be discovered easily; even the reclusive old monsters of the Western Island would not catch the faintest trace of them.

What the two of them discussed, no one knew. Yet judging by the cordial atmosphere of cups passed back and forth, both parties seemed well pleased with this first meeting. Whether some cooperation had been struck, or some alliance forged, was impossible to say.

All of it remained unknowable; apart from the two of them, no third party would ever learn of it. Should anyone happen to overhear even a stray word or two, needless to say, their fate would be to be flung into the sea to feed the beasts—not a chance of living to see the next day.

The next day, the Western Island docks bustled with noise and excitement. The enormous treasure ship bearing the emblem of the Northern Island's Threefold Pavilion lay steady at the water's edge, and after lingering a full two months on the Western Island, the Northern Island delegation was at last ready to set sail for home.

The ship's hold was already packed with return gifts from the Western Island, and the Northern Island disciples had boarded one after another. Lan Tieshan and Gongsun Jie still kept a very low profile, quietly mingling among the crowd.

The happiest of all just then were surely Xu Lingchong and Kang Jingming. From the moment they stepped onto the treasure ship, nerves strung taut for so long finally began to relax. Day after day of late they had shut themselves indoors, hearts in their throats—no one could endure such savage mental strain. They had been pressed until they could scarcely breathe; that they had not been driven to madness was itself a tribute to remarkable fortitude.

Little did they know their fears had been sheer waste of feeling. Ning Shanghe had long since ordered the Western Island disciples to refrain from acting on their own—a host, after all, must bear herself like a host. Had that order never been given, the indignant disciples of the Western Island would have torn the two of them to shreds long ago, and hiding in the embassy residence would have done them no good. When your time is up, it is up.

On the dock's landing, Wei Zhao was taking his leave of Shangguan Lan'er and the others. Though he had been appointed Northern Island envoy by Shangguan Tianxia himself, he now bore another identity besides—that of the Western Island's prospective consort. Before carrying out Ning Shanghe's instructions to escort Ning Xuefei to the Eastern Continent Academy, he could not simply take his leave and return to the Northern Island alone.

"Don't you worry, Junior Brother—I'll take good care of Jingjing and wait for your return. You just keep Feifei company and set your mind at ease!" Shangguan Lan'er pledged, patting her chest. Though Wei Zhao would not be returning to the Northern Island this time, she would have Han Jingyi at her side.

After all, before long Wei Zhao would be accompanying Ning Xuefei to the Eastern Continent Academy, which would leave Han Jingyi here all by herself. With her reclusive researcher's temperament, Wei Zhao could not rest easy leaving her alone, so he had simply proposed that she go to the Northern Island with Shangguan Lan'er first—the two of them could keep each other company.

Han Jingyi had no objection to this. Staying on the Western Island by herself really was rather pointless, and her research and experiments could be done just as well on the Northern Island. Anything Ning Xuefei could have custom-made here, Shangguan Lan'er could likewise arrange there.

Even though Si Haitao had once been publicly beaten into a fool by Shangguan Tianxia's men, so long as Shangguan Lan'er gave the word, this branch manager of the Central Chamber of Commerce would not dare defy her in the slightest. Unless the Central Chamber meant to abandon the Northern Island for good, they had no choice but to curry favor with Shangguan Tianxia by any means—such was the lot of those dwelling under another's roof.

"That part doesn't worry me. But Lan'er, once you're back, you'll have your hands full—if you don't get a research room set up in a hurry, Jingjing certainly won't sit still," Wei Zhao said with a smile.

"How many times have I told you—call me Senior Sister!" Shangguan Lan'er gave Wei Zhao a solemn thump on the head, then turned to look at Han Jingyi. Her eyes darted. "As for the research room, how about I have a word with Grandfather and just convert his study? It's plenty big anyway!"

"Pfft!" Wei Zhao burst out laughing, staring at her speechlessly. "If you really go through with that, I expect Lord Shangguan will forget all about his dignity and challenge you to a real fight!"

"That's not my problem. If he wants me to leave his study alone, then he'd better be responsible for getting us a nice big research room. Isn't that right, Jingjing?" Shangguan Lan'er laughed smugly, and beside her the little curly-furred bear postured and swaggered along, looking for all the world as though it had Shangguan Tianxia cornered—leaving Wei Zhao quite speechless.

Han Jingyi smiled with pursed lips and came over to give Wei Zhao a sweet hug, breathing softly at his ear, "Brother Wei Zhao, you have to come back soon, all right? Jingjing will be waiting for you on the Northern Island. Hee hee."

"Don't worry, once I've delivered Feifei I'll come back to find you all." Wei Zhao smiled and hugged her. Truth be told, the girl seemed to have grown a little plumper of late—soft and round, quite comfortable to hold.

At this, Han Jingyi thought nothing of it—it was Shangguan Lan'er whose face went red. Drawing Han Jingyi aside, she grumbled in a low voice, "Jingjing, you're awful! If you hug Junior Brother like that, what am I supposed to do? Am I supposed to hug him too? With all these people watching, how awkward!"

"It's just a hug, what does it matter?" Han Jingyi giggled.

"I... I wouldn't dare..." Shangguan Lan'er was not, after all, from the mortal world. For all her usual carefree bluster, at a moment like this she was still quite shy. With no one around it would hardly matter, but with so many eyes upon them...

After hesitating a long while, Shangguan Lan'er's eyes suddenly lit up. She stepped forward and threw her arms around Ning Xuefei, laughing triumphantly, "One each—now you can't say a word against it, heh heh!"