Chapter 3221 — A Deeply Familiar Person
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
The injuries she had suffered in her youth had been far too severe, and after being hurt she had forced herself to keep cultivating; her meridians had remained in a damaged state, yet she continued to train. As a result, though her strength had recovered somewhat, the strain on her meridians had exceeded what they could bear, hastening the old director's aging and pushing her bodily functions prematurely into their twilight years.
So the old director had not really been lying.
And when Wei Zhao saw the old director now, his heart gave a slight start. For this time, compared with the last time he had seen her, she had indeed aged a great deal. Before, she had been old, yes, but still hale and vigorous; now, however, she had about her something of the flickering candle guttering in the wind.
At this sight, Wei Zhao knitted his brows slightly and asked at once, "Old Director, I heard you've fallen ill? What happened? You don't look well."
"It's nothing—an old complaint." The old director smiled, plainly unwilling to say much to Wei Zhao and wanting only to send him and the others on their way. "A little rest and it'll pass..."
Her meaning was plain enough: she wished to rest, and unless Wei Zhao and the others were fools, they could hardly fail to catch the note of dismissal in her words.
But hearing it was one thing and acting on it another. Wei Zhao had no intention of leaving at all. He stepped into the old director's room instead, brooded for a moment, and said, "Old Director, let me take a look for you."
In fact, back when he had treated White Leader's wounds, Yu Xiaoke had raised a similar request—asking him to heal her master. But at the time Wei Zhao had had far too many misgivings. His own strength had been modest then, and he feared that if he cured Yu Xiaoke's master, he would draw down the vengeance of that master's enemy.
After all, Wei Zhao had vaguely heard that Yu Xiaoke's master had once been a Mystic-rank or even Earth-rank expert, which meant whoever had wounded her must have been at least Earth-rank, perhaps even Heaven-rank. In those days Wei Zhao would have been no match for such an enemy at all.
But things were different now. Wei Zhao's fame resounded far and wide; it was even said among the ancient sects that he could kill a peak late Heaven-rank expert in a single blow. With such means at his command, who would dare provoke him? Only a man bent on death would seek him out.
So now, in theory, healing the old director of the orphanage would not only fail to bring down that enemy's revenge—indeed, once he learned that Wei Zhao had been the one to cure her, he would not dare trouble the old director again.
Even the Tomorrow Upon Tomorrow Sect and the Eastern Clan had vanished without a trace. Would anyone else imagine themselves mightier than those two? Plainly not.
Yu Xiaoke was slightly taken aback. She had once begged Wei Zhao to heal the old director, only to have him put her off. What had come over him today? Had he turned over a new leaf? Why was he suddenly treating the old director's wounds?
Ah! Could it be that because she had just agreed to accept his clothes, Wei Zhao had mistaken it for her consent to be his girlfriend? Yes, that had to be it—otherwise why would Wei Zhao be so eager and so forward?
At this thought Yu Xiaoke felt a wave of gloom. She wanted to explain, but then she reflected that if the old director's injuries could be healed, what did her own trifling concerns matter? Never mind—at worst she would just give in to Wei Zhao. The old director was her master, who had raised her from a child; she owed her a debt of gratitude.
For more than ten years Yu Xiaoke had lived for others, never once thinking of herself. At long last she had met the Male Thief, yet even then she could not choose her own love. Still, Yu Xiaoke did not regret it. That was simply the kind of person she was.