Chapter 1470 — Xiaoning's Brother
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Just then Yu Shan happened to come up. Catching sight of Zhao Qilei, he waved to him with great warmth at once: "Cousin Qitan, so you got here first!"
"That's right. I saw Yu Bing arrive earlier, so I knew you'd be along behind him, and came out to welcome you!" Zhao Qilei was markedly warmer toward Yu Shan. Here was a man who might be won over — quite unlike Yu Bing.
"No, really? Cousin Qitan welcoming me in person? This little brother is flattered beyond measure!" Yu Shan said, false to the bone.
The next to come up were members of the hidden Pi family, the hidden You family, and some sect disciples. These people were not well acquainted with Zhao Qilei, nor Yu Shan much either; they had merely happened to meet near the little town and were traveling together. There was no hurry now to court them.
Wei Zhao opened the door and found Yu Bing at the threshold. "Here so soon? All settled in?"
"There's nothing to settle. No one's here on holiday, and none of us has luggage." Yu Bing laughed. "May I come in?"
"Of course." Wei Zhao gestured him in, and Yu Bing entered the room.
Whether or not Zhao Qilei saw this, Wei Zhao hardly cared. If they could build connections, why shouldn't he? Openness was only natural; skulking about would have been the strange thing.
"I never imagined you'd come to the trial too. Had I known, I would have spoken to my father and brought Xiaoning along to take part as well!" Yu Bing said, a little regretfully.
"She's no cultivator. What would she come here for?" Wei Zhao said flatly, without expression. "Never mind that. You're here for the trial as well?"
"That's an odd question. Isn't everyone here for the trial?" Yu Bing blinked, somewhat puzzled.
"I'm not." Wei Zhao made no secret of it to Yu Bing. "I came here by pure chance. I have other business in these parts — only it seems I've been drawn into the Ice Palace's trial..."
"By pure chance? What do you mean?" Yu Bing was rather curious. "Truly? You didn't come here for the trial?"
"I came seeking a spirit herb, to save a friend of mine..." Wei Zhao felt reasonably at ease with Yu Bing, and so he told him the purpose of his journey.
"So you've come looking for the Fire Spirit Holy Fruit! But all this region belongs to the Ice Palace's sphere, and what you seek has almost certainly long been under the Ice Palace's control." Yu Bing pondered a moment after hearing Wei Zhao out. "Everything north of this little town falls within the Ice Palace's domain. Enter without their leave, and you'll likely bring a good deal of unnecessary trouble down on your head."
"That thought had occurred to me. It's precisely why I've been staying in the inn and making no rash moves." Wei Zhao smiled bitterly. "If I take part in this trial, is there any chance I might find the Fire Spirit Holy Fruit?"
"Hard to say..." Yu Bing frowned. "If the Fire Spirit Holy Fruit truly grows on the snow mountain where the trial is held, then you may pick it. But the whole process will be recorded by the Ice Mountain Jade and used to score the trial. In the end, all such heaven-and-earth treasures must be handed over to the Ice Palace in full; they do not become personal property."
"What does that mean?" Wei Zhao blinked. From the look of it, Yu Bing knew far more about the trial than Zhao Qilei did, so he pressed him at once: "How much do you know about this trial? Tell me everything."