Chapter 3096 — Making the Decision
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"Yaoyao, don't hold it against me for speaking plainly. This business of ancient sects seeking successors was set in motion by Ancestor Xuanchen of the Five Luminaries Sect. Never mind me—even Teacher Bai has no way to stop it. And once a sect discovers a successor who fits its tradition, it's like a starving wolf catching sight of mutton—worse, even. So refusing this is likely impossible," Wei Zhao said. "The way I see it, whether you go is merely a question of timing and benefit."
"If the Night Palace can offer Yaoyao sufficient benefit, then going is no bad thing. If it can't... frankly, against an expert at the peak of the late Heaven-Rank, I'm truly helpless..." Wei Zhao smiled bitterly. Their adversaries were growing ever stronger, and though Wei Zhao was himself a Heaven-Rank expert, the gap between him and such people remained vast.
Especially after reaching Heaven-Rank, the advantage of Wei Zhao's Frenzied Fire Eight Trigrams Palm had grown less pronounced. His true qi could not keep up, so that even with the power at his command, he could not bring it forth. That was why he longed to cultivate the third layer of the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, to recover stamina and true qi more swiftly—and why he longed for a Heaven-Rank divine weapon.
And so Wei Zhao spent every day studying these things, forgetting food and sleep, and naturally had no time for Xu Shilan. But now, at the thought that he was supposed to be Xu Shilan's close guard, his face burned with shame. As a guard, he had truly been derelict in his duty.
"I know..." Gu Mengyao nodded and gave a faint sigh. "Wei Zhao, even if you hadn't said it, I understand. Their Grand Elder—an expert at the peak of the late Heaven-Rank—has already taken the field, and I must go with her... Today I was able to put on a show of defiance only because she is so eager for talent. But if she truly loses patience, I'm afraid the consequences would be grave..."
Of course, for someone of the Grand Elder's temperament, resorting to threats and bribes was hardly unusual. In Wei Zhao's eyes, the Night Palace's people were utterly shameless—there had been trouble during the Xuandan Sect trial, and now they came to settle scores after the fact!
"So what you're saying is..." Wei Zhao asked.
"I... I don't really want to go. But when I think that once I leave, I can grow stronger, that I won't be a burden you have to worry about every time you go out on business, then I want to go again..." Gu Mengyao sighed softly. For the first time, the young miss opened her heart. "But I also don't know what my fate will be once I go. Will it be like Xiaoxiao—sent to do something dangerous?"
"That... perhaps," Wei Zhao said after a moment's thought, and nodded. He did not want to deceive the young miss. After all, by any normal reckoning, if Feng Xiaoxiao had been sent on a dangerous errand, and Xiaojiu too, and Shen Yushu as well, then there was no reason Gu Mengyao would be exempt. That was why he said so.
"Mm, it's not that I'm afraid of such things. If Xiaoxiao isn't afraid, what have I to fear?" In her heart, though, Gu Mengyao was thinking: Tang Zhi wasn't afraid either, and she made such a sacrifice for your sake, while I can do nothing at all. This time, going to the Night Palace, I bring you no benefit whatsoever...