Chapter 4964 — A Wretched Woman

After a long silence, Wei Zhao exhaled a heavy breath and said slowly, "All right, I understand everything about your situation now. None of this is your fault, so don't blame yourself too much."

"Thank you, Master Lin." Qin Chan gave a slight bow, though her expression hardly changed. To a woman whose heart had already died, whether Wei Zhao understood her or misunderstood her made little difference; ever since the day she had given up and let herself go, she had stopped caring about her reputation altogether.

"Still, I hope you won't go on degrading yourself like this. I'll have a word with Qing Xuanzi—from now on he'll be your backing. And if you run into trouble again, you can go to Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao as well; they won't stand by and do nothing." Wei Zhao paused, then continued, "You're already a skilled cultivator at the early Xuan Ascension stage. Once you go to the Xuan-rank seas in the future, it will be a fresh start—work hard then, and don't abandon yourself to despair again, understand?"

"This..." Qin Chan could not help staring at Wei Zhao in astonishment. She had assumed that Wei Zhao's sudden interest in her affairs was merely a passing whim, never expecting that this lofty Master Lin would take the initiative to give her a hand. For a moment she hardly knew how to react.

"As for your affairs, I'll relay them truthfully to Jiang Yuechuan when I have the chance. I don't know what decision he'll make, and of course I won't interfere," Wei Zhao said with a sigh.

One was a devoted man, the other a wretched woman; from his standpoint he naturally hoped the two of them would come to a good end, but this was plainly not something he could meddle in. Since ancient times men had set great store by a woman's chastity, especially in an old-fashioned society like Cloud-rank Island. Devoted as Jiang Yuechuan was, once he learned of Qin Chan's affairs, he might well give up on her for good.

"Thank you, Master Lin. For your great kindness, this humble woman will be grateful all her life." Qin Chan rose and bowed to Wei Zhao. Compared with a moment ago, there was a little more life in her face, along with a touch of unease and nervousness; the heart that had already died stirred faintly, as if ripples had risen on still water.

Even so, she in truth held little hope for the future. She was a withered flower and a spoiled willow now; to be able to do even a little for the man she loved was enough to satisfy her. As for anything more, she truly dared not ask.

Once hope was born, one was bound in the end to reap only greater disappointment—even despair. Her heart did not want to die one more time.

Wei Zhao said nothing further. Qin Chan's ailment was an ailment of the heart, and an ailment of the heart could only be cured by the heart's own medicine. Only when she herself came to terms with things could everything truly begin to mend.

"I know you want revenge. Work hard on your own—there will come a day when you take it with your own hands." Wei Zhao paused, then looked at her and said, "That Zheng Tianguang you mentioned—if I wanted to crush him, it would of course be as easy as turning my palm. But I can help you once, not for a lifetime. He is a knot in your heart, and only you can untie him."

"Yes." Qin Chan nodded silently.

"All right. Whether you rouse yourself anew or go on sinking from here on out is entirely your own choice. You may go back," Wei Zhao said, seeing her out.

Qin Chan looked deeply at Wei Zhao, gave a firm nod, then turned and withdrew from the room.

Yet before she had taken more than a few steps, the two male disciples who had once been on ambiguous terms with her had already closed in around her—none other than the Qi Dong and Chen Qiang she had spoken of. Though their backgrounds were not as deep as Bao Zuoliang's, these two could still be counted as second-generation cultivators.

"What's going on? Since when did he take a fancy to you?" Qi Dong leaned in, his face tense.

"Exactly. Isn't it enough that he has beauties like Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao? Don't tell me he won't spare even a withered flower like you—he's far too lecherous!" Chen Qiang chimed in with a grumble.

Qin Chan cast them a look of disgust. Recalling what Wei Zhao had said moments ago, she said coldly, "Don't come looking for me anymore. From now on we keep to our own sides of the river; otherwise don't blame me for being unkind."

"Huh?" Qi Dong and Chen Qiang were both stunned, staring at this woman in disbelief. Qin Chan had always been so obedient before them; as long as they promised her cultivation resources, there was basically nothing she would refuse to do—they could play with her however they liked. So how was it that after being summoned by Wei Zhao just once, she immediately turned her back on them?

"You little slut, what kind of nonsense are you spewing? Don't you want cultivation resources anymore? Or do you want us to find a few men and take turns on you?" Qi Dong immediately threatened viciously.

"Don't think that just because you're now a skilled cultivator at the early Xuan Ascension stage, you can escape our grasp. Let me tell you, with your meager strength, in Morning Star Academy you'll only ever be at our mercy—unless you can find yourself a powerful backing!" Chen Qiang sneered, his expression dark.

In this Giant's Path trial, like the vast majority of Morning Star disciples, these two had failed to break through to Xuan Ascension. Apart from lacking the strength and foundation, they had also been unlucky enough to run into a freak like Wei Zhao, and so before Qin Chan, now at the early Xuan Ascension stage, they were both naturally a head shorter, able to intimidate her into compliance only with their background and backing.

"From now on, I won't let you lay a single finger on me. If you don't believe it, come and try." Qin Chan gave the two of them a freezing look, then turned and walked away.

Qi Dong and Chen Qiang watched Qin Chan's retreating figure with ugly expressions, yet did not dare move a muscle—because in that instant they had truly felt something in her they had never felt before: killing intent.

Any other Morning Star disciple, even with the strength, might not truly dare to move against two second-generation cultivators like them. But Qin Chan was different—she was a woman whose heart had died. If she truly meant to do something, she would have no scruples whatsoever. In the past she had been willing to give up and sink into degradation; now that defiance had risen in her heart, she was naturally just as unrestrained. Would such a woman shrink from killing?

"Damn it! That little slut has really turned the world upside down. When we get back this time, we'll have to give her a proper lesson—just an early Xuan Ascension cultivator, what's so great about that!" Chen Qiang spat viciously, then turned to Qi Dong and said, "With our backgrounds, finding a few skilled fighters from outside the academy in Morning Star City is easy as can be. Qi Dong, are you in?"

"Hmph, not a chance," Qi Dong said, shaking his head decisively.

"Why? I remember you being pretty bold—since when did you turn so spineless, afraid of even a little slut at the early Xuan Ascension stage?" Chen Qiang said in surprise.

"I'm bold, but I'm not stupid." Qi Dong glanced at him and curled his lip. "A mere Qin Chan is of course nothing to fear. But she's got Wei Zhao behind her now—doesn't that scare you?"

"Uh..." Chen Qiang was instantly silenced. What sort of figure was Wei Zhao? He was Qing Xuanzi's master, a monster who at the early Xuan Ascension stage could take on a Mountain-Opening stage giant single-handedly. How could he possibly not fear such a heaven-defying existence? (To be continued..)