Chapter 1089 — Once You Enter the Palace Gates, the Sea Runs Deep
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Zhong Yongliang hurriedly rolled down the window and said respectfully to the newcomer, "Hello, we have come to visit Zhang Naipao!"
"Zhang Naipao? You are friends of Junior Brother Naipao?" At the name, the young man's manner turned respectful at once, and his attitude toward Zhong Yongliang became most cordial.
"Yes, the two of us are Zhang Naipao's good brothers, come to visit Brother Naipao!" Zhong Yongliang nodded, secretly startled. It seemed Zhang Naipao was doing rather well for himself here.
Zhong Yongliang had learned to read faces by now. Seeing the young man's expression, he knew the man must hold Zhang Naipao in high regard, and so had turned respectful toward him as well.
Zhong Yongliang understood the rules here well enough: the only thing that earns another's respect is one's own strength. This man called Zhang Naipao his junior brother, yet treated him with such deference. The only explanation was that Zhang Naipao was powerful, more powerful than many of his senior brothers.
At this thought, Zhong Yongliang felt a secret thrill of excitement. It seemed he truly had not misjudged the man—who would have guessed that Zhang Naipao was such a formidable cultivator too? Zhong Yongliang could scarcely wait to learn just how far Zhang Naipao had advanced in his training.
"Brother Zhang, keep watch here for a while. I'll take them up the mountain—they're friends of Brother Naipao!" the young man instructed another man not far away.
At the mention of Zhang Naipao's name, that other man's face too took on a solemn expression. He nodded and said, "Right, leave it to me!"
The road above was no longer passable by car, so Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu got out and followed the young man on foot up the mountain.
After a while, Zhong Yongliang and Gao Xiaofu were visibly flagging, yet the young man strode on as though flying, seeming not to care in the least how rugged the mountain path was. In truth, as the lowest-ranked patrol disciple, he had to run up and down the mountain several times a day—it had long since become routine.
"You've got great stamina, brother. We can't keep up at all..." Zhong Yongliang panted.
"I'm only the lowest-ranked disciple. Brother Naipao... heh, he's far more formidable than I am!" the young man said with no small envy.
Hearing this, Zhong Yongliang grew all the more astonished. He could not imagine what Zhang Naipao had done to deserve it, but the man seemed to be doing rather well for himself—this fellow had already sung his praises several times over. If he were not truly formidable, a single flattering word would have sufficed; no one would keep it up this many times.
"Naipao is very powerful now?" Gao Xiaofu could not help asking.
"Powerful beyond measure! But his success has its reasons—his strength of will is something the rest of us can only admire. For the sake of his training... he could actually... never mind, I'd better not say. You'll understand once you see him!" the young man said admiringly.