Chapter 1825 — Onto the Homeward Road
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"I will do what I can..." Elder Li understood the Palace Mistress's meaning, though he too was far from certain he could obtain these elixirs...
For all that he was an elder of the sect, the elixirs of the Palace of the Dark Night were rarer than those of the hidden families—rarer even than theirs. For the Mystic Elixir Sect put a batch of its less rare elixirs up for public auction every year.
Only, the Palace of the Dark Night and the Mystic Elixir Sect were on tense terms. The Palace could not bring itself to bid at the auction, and given its standing, it would scarcely stoop to secretly directing other hidden families to bid on its behalf.
On the road back, Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu met with no further danger, and the robbers who had blocked their path did not appear again.
On the way there, they had groped their way along; on the way back, they knew the road well. After several days of hard travel, they finally returned to West Star Mountain Village. Yet though Wei Zhao's troubles were resolved, the young miss and Little Shu could not bring themselves to rejoice.
The price of Wei Zhao's recovery had been far too heavy. Four had set out; three had returned. One of them would remain in the Snow Valley, and meeting again hereafter would be difficult indeed.
Seeing Gu Mengyao and Little Shu step down from the car with no sign of Tang Zhi, Old Man Wei's heart sank. Though Mo Kongwu had long since prepared him, seeing it truly come to pass, Old Man Wei still found it hard to accept.
"Yao Yao, Little Shu, where is Yun Yun?" Old Man Wei could not keep himself from asking.
"She... she stayed in the Snow Valley..." Gu Mengyao's face was none too pleasant either. Of the good friends who had gone together, only she had not come back.
"Stayed in the Snow Valley? What does that mean?" Old Man Wei asked in a low voice, and the look he turned on Mo Kongwu grew stranger still.
"She..." No sooner had Gu Mengyao brought up Tang Zhi than tears fell from her eyes despite herself, which set Old Man Wei's heart even more on edge.
"Could it be that some misfortune has befallen her?" Old Man Wei asked, his expression grave.
"No. By my reckoning, Tang Zhi has likely remained in the Snow Valley." Mo Kongwu looked to Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu as he spoke; from their faces he had already inferred a good deal.
In truth, from the moment Tang Zhi left West Star Mountain Village, Mo Kongwu had foreseen her fate. But such things were beyond his power to change. To defy heaven and alter destiny—he had no such ability. He had already glimpsed the rough cast of Tang Zhi's fate...
"Stayed in the Snow Valley?" Old Man Wei was slightly stunned.
"Yes... Yun Yun stayed in the Snow Valley..." Choking back tears, Gu Mengyao recounted all that had happened to Old Man Wei and Mo Kongwu.
Even though Mo Kongwu had previously deduced Tang Zhi's fate, when he heard that she had actually received the inheritance in the Snow Valley, he still gaped in astonishment.