Chapter 3902 — Off You Go, Safe and Sound
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Shangguan Lan'er nodded. "Not just negligible—if we moved by daylight, there would be no chance of success at all. But at night, we do have a slim opening."
"At night? What do you mean?" Wei Zhao asked, puzzled.
"Wait until nightfall, little junior brother, and you'll see for yourself." Shangguan Lan'er giggled and left him hanging.
"It seems you really have prepared thoroughly, little senior sister." Wei Zhao did not press further, but said with genuine admiration.
Until now, Shangguan Lan'er had been, in his eyes, nothing but a pure-bred young miss—a naive, pampered third-generation cultivator. But now he suddenly realized that if this young miss ever truly put her mind to something, she was in fact quite dependable.
"But of course! Otherwise how could I be your little senior sister?" Shangguan Lan'er looked thoroughly pleased with herself.
The two of them, with Little Circle Bear in tow, promptly settled into a tree by the shore of Half-Moon Lake to recover their condition. Since no other spirit beasts roamed nearby, Half-Moon Lake was a rare quiet spot in the outer reaches of the rear mountain.
And according to Shangguan Lan'er, though Half-Moon Lake was extraordinarily dangerous, so long as one did not touch the surface of the lake, it was relatively safe. In other words, the true danger of Half-Moon Lake lurked within the water itself.
As they waited, the sky gradually darkened, and Half-Moon Lake—which by day had shown little that was remarkable—finally began to reveal its true face before the two of them.
Just as Shangguan Lan'er had said, once night fell, the lake water began to glow, thanks to the bioluminescent creatures within it.
Hiss! Wei Zhao could not help drawing a sharp breath. Once Half-Moon Lake began to shine, the scene turned breathtakingly beautiful, as if a fairy realm had descended upon the mortal world—yet beneath that beauty, its ferocious true face was laid bare before the two of them, without reserve.
"No wonder you said we had to wait for night to find our opening. If we'd made our move by day, there really wouldn't have been a scrap of us left," Wei Zhao said, secretly appalled.
Thanks to the glow, standing atop the treetops as they were, the two could now see with perfect clarity the scene beneath the lake's surface—a depth that daylight could never penetrate or perceive.
And there, deep in the lake water, a massive, ferocious black shadow coiled and circled. Its exact form was impossible to make out, but judging by the silhouette, it was not only enormous in size but brimming with killing intent.
To Wei Zhao's senses, this thing's strength far surpassed even that of the Ghost-Eyed Golden Eagle. It was a veritable fierce beast, ready at any moment to choose its prey and devour it. Had they blundered in by daylight, ignorant of what lay below, their bones would by now have been long since picked clean.
But now, because they could clearly see its position, it was still extremely dangerous—yet at last there was a sliver of opportunity.
"I'm not much good at fighting and such, so how to cross the lake and reach that giant cedar in the middle—that'll be up to your skills, little junior brother." Shangguan Lan'er shrugged at Wei Zhao.
"All right." Wei Zhao had been prepared for this. Though with his current strength, carrying Shangguan Lan'er and Little Circle Bear straight across the lake would be extremely difficult, he reckoned it was a good thing that Shangguan Lan'er could face reality so calmly. Otherwise, if this young miss insisted on forcing her way through, she truly wouldn't know how she'd died.
At its narrowest, the lake spanned only a dozen or so meters to the giant cedar in the middle. And if one aimed directly for its jutting branches, leaping from the lakeside canopy would shorten the distance even further.