Chapter 1812 — Still Not Gone
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
She was certain her sincerity would surely move the Grand Elder and the Valley Master...
"Sister Yunyun... are you all right?" Every so often, Shen Yushu would get out of the car to check on Tang Zhi—she was afraid Tang Zhi might freeze to death! In this world of ice and snow, how could any ordinary person endure it?
"I'm fine..." Tang Zhi's voice was faint, yet firm.
"Oh... it's so cold... can you really stand it?" Little Shu asked hesitantly.
"I'm fine. Like I said, I'm rather resistant to the cold... I used to live in a bungalow, and it was freezing inside in winter too, heh..." Tang Zhi gave a bitter smile. She truly was frozen half to death; her whole body had gone somewhat stiff. Kneeling here for so long in particular was more than most people could bear. Even with her tolerance for cold, in this biting, freezing weather, how could it be easy?
Though Little Shu had been half-roasted by Wei Zhao inside the car, the moment she stepped out, it was fine at first—but after a while she could hardly stand it. "Sister Yunyun, I'm going back now. Take care of yourself. If you can't hold on, we'll think of something else..."
"Mm..." Tang Zhi gritted her teeth, drew a deep breath, and said silently in her heart: Wei Zhao, I can do this! All this time, I've never been able to do anything for you. This time, I can tell you with pride—I am a strong girl...
Shen Yushu returned to the car and saw Gu Mengyao's eyes brimming with tears, so she said, "Sister Yaoyao, do you think Sister Yunyun will freeze to death if she keeps this up?"
"You jinx, don't talk nonsense." Gu Mengyao shot Little Shu a glare.
Little Shu hurriedly clapped a hand over her mouth and hastily corrected herself: "No, no, Prophet Shu needs to make a new prophecy. Sister Yunyun not only won't freeze to death—the colder it gets, the tougher she'll be..."
"..." Gu Mengyao was somewhat at a loss for words. The colder it gets, the tougher she'll be? What kind of logic was that?
In the Snow Valley, Elder Zhang heard the patrol disciples' report and gave a helpless sigh. He was the elder on duty this month, with authority over all matters great and small in the valley, so Tang Zhi's situation was well known to him.
Though Elder Zhang had not ordered the patrol disciples to drive Tang Zhi and the others away, he could not help but feel somewhat worried. After a moment's hesitation, he headed for the Grand Elder's quarters.
As it happened, Xueli was also in the Grand Elder's room, and Elder Zhang hurriedly greeted them both in turn.
"Elder Zhang, what brings you to this old one's quarters?" the Grand Elder asked with a nod. Since Elder Zhang had come here, he must naturally be looking for her, the Grand Elder, and not for Xueli.
"Grand Elder, that Tang Zhi is still kneeling at the gate of Snow Valley..." Elder Zhang paused here, then went on hesitantly: "She is, after all, the younger sister of Bingtang, the Palace Master of the Ice Palace. If something goes wrong with her in our Snow Valley, we would be hard put to escape blame, would we not?"
"Elder Zhang, you are the elder on duty. The patrols of Snow Valley are your responsibility. Since you saw her there, why did you not make her leave?" the Grand Elder countered.
"That..." Elder Zhang's face flushed. Out of kindness of heart, having seen that these children had a hard lot, he had wanted to lend them a hand—that was why he had spoken to the Grand Elder. He had not expected the Grand Elder to see through his intentions. Even so, Elder Zhang pressed on: "Grand Elder, she is kneeling outside the gate. Strictly speaking, that place cannot be counted as our Snow Valley's territory, and by Snow Valley's ancestral precepts, we may not raise a hand against ordinary people. Tang Zhi is no cultivator, so it would not be proper for me to drive her away by force..."