Chapter 1434 — Bidding Farewell to Ergoudan
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"Forgive me... Clan Head. I beg the Clan Head to punish me!" Yu Huoxing knew that though he had failed his task, he had neither merit nor fault to his name, and Yu Xiaochen would not do much to him. At worst his standing in the Yu family would remain as low as ever, and each month he would be allotted no great share of the rare treasures used for cultivation.
"Enough. You may go. I will think of another way about the tomb," Yu Xiaochen said, waving a hand with some impatience. He did indeed, as Yu Huoxing had guessed, impose no punishment; he was merely out of sorts. The Qi-Gathering Pill he had longed for so long; word of it had come at last, and yet it had slipped from his grasp. It was like a bundle of fresh grass tied before a horse's head: the eye can see it, but the mouth can never reach it.
"Yes..." Yu Huoxing's heart sank. Would Yu Xiaochen send someone else to rob the tomb? But then he thought of the perils within, and of that formidable tomb-guarding spirit beast, and he was reassured. Without those tomb robbers to lead the way, even a Heaven-rank master would go in and never come out again.
Watching the old man's back as he withdrew, Yu Xiaochen beckoned with a dark expression. One of his trusted men hurried over and asked in a low voice, "Clan Head, your orders?"
"Yu Liu, keep an eye on Yu Huoxing for me," Yu Xiaochen said.
"Yes, Clan Head... You suspect him...?" Yu Liu asked carefully.
"Just so. The old fellow came from the worldly Yu family, after all; his heart is not with us. I fear he may have got his hands on the thing and kept it for himself," Yu Xiaochen said. "Do not beat the grass and startle the snake. Just search quietly."
"Yes, Clan Head!" Yu Liu answered. Do not underestimate Yu Liu: servant though he was, he possessed the strength of the peak of the mid Earth-rank, far above Yu Huoxing's, so if he was set to watch the man, there was no chance of his being discovered.
......
When Yu Yuanyuan received Ergoudan's call, she hesitated not at all: she would go home with him to recover from his wounds. Though Yunhai Shuku and Yu Yuanyuan's mother were reluctant to let their daughter go, her mind was made up, and all Yunhai Shuku could do was tell her to be careful on the road, to look after Zhou Qiming, and to call home once they arrived.
"A grown daughter is a daughter you cannot keep!" Yunhai Shuku sighed with feeling.
"Dad, why don't you and Mom come out there too? Zhou Qiming says it is deep in the mountains, and the air and everything are very good," Yu Yuanyuan said.
"Heh, maybe. In a few years, when we are older, we can go as well," Yunhai Shuku said with a nod. With their daughter gone, there was little point in the two of them staying here.
Yu Yuanyuan's mother, however, had tears in her eyes, loath to see her go.
Wei Zhao had come to see them off, along with Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, and Tang Zhi. Ergoudan's wholehearted devotion over these past days had touched them all; though he was Wei Zhao's junior, in that time a friendship had grown between them.
"If anything comes up here, just come to me," Wei Zhao said to Yunhai Shuku with a smile. "Uncle Yu, Ergoudan and I are brothers. If you need anything, come straight to me, just as you would go to him."
"Of course, of course..." Yunhai Shuku said, nodding and smiling. He knew what Wei Zhao was capable of; with such a formidable figure to lend a hand, there was nothing to worry about here.