Chapter 4602 — Preparing to Head for the Southern Isles
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"This sort of thing is unlikely to have been a passing whim. If Ma Dangfeng dares to make such a declaration in public, it means he has long been preparing for it—it is not merely a bluff to save face before Shangguan Lan'er. So we must treat this matter with the utmost seriousness and think of a countermeasure at once," Lu Bianren said gravely to the assembled group.
"That may be so. But we have no idea where Senior Brother Lin is right now. Even if we wanted to warn him, we would have no way to go about it," the long-suffering senior brother said with a frown.
Silence fell over them all. It was an insoluble problem; no matter who was asked, there was simply nothing to be done.
"Actually, I don't think everyone need worry quite so much. We don't know where Senior Brother Wei Zhao and the others have gone, and neither does Ma Dangfeng. Even if he truly picks a trial mission and goes to the Southern Isles, he will have a hard time finding Senior Brother Wei Zhao. The odds of him coming back empty-handed are at least nine in ten," Li Zhengming spoke up in analysis.
"Zhengming has a point. Even an existence like the old sect of the Western Hills cannot discover Senior Brother Wei Zhao's whereabouts—how easy could it possibly be for Ma Dangfeng to manage the same?" Xiao Che nodded in agreement.
"But Senior Brother Wei Zhao cannot go on being incommunicado forever. Since that brute Ma Dangfeng wants to go to the Southern Isles to make trouble, why don't we simply go to the Southern Isles ourselves? Whether we find him or not, it can't hurt to try, can it?" Qiao Hongcai suddenly proposed.
At his words, everyone's eyes lit up at once, and they all slapped their thighs. That was right—if Ma Dangfeng could go to the Southern Isles, then so could they!
"Well said, Hongcai! With so many of us staying here, we might well be sought out for trouble by that bastard Ma Dangfeng. Better to take on a mission and go search the Southern Isles—that's better than sitting here worrying ourselves sick," Lu Bianren said at once, his spirits roused.
With so many of them, they made too conspicuous a target, and Ma Dangfeng was plainly nursing a bellyful of rage. One day they might well find themselves in the same perilous scene as before, and it would be too great a loss if lives were lost then—after all, it was not every time that Jia Mufan or Shangguan Lan'er would be there to help them out of trouble.
"But the Southern Isles are so vast—searching for one person there is like fishing a needle out of the ocean. How are we supposed to find him?" the long-suffering senior brother said, spreading his hands in some bewilderment.
"That needn't worry us. I've been to the Southern Continent's waters after all, so I know the place more or less, and I also know an acquaintance of Senior Brother Lin's there. I believe we can get a few clues from him, so we won't be like headless flies bumping about in all directions," Lu Bianren said. The acquaintance he meant was, of course, Qi Wenmo—it was thanks to Qi Wenmo's help that he had managed to escape the Southern Continent's waters safely in the first place.
"That's wonderful! There's no time to lose—let's pick a time and set out at once!" At these words, everyone's eyes lit up, and they were all eager to try. Since they had an acquaintance and a lead, what was there to hesitate about?
Seeing how ready they all were to throw caution to the winds, Lu Bianren was somewhat moved, but he still stopped them: "There's no problem with going to the Southern Isles, but we cannot all go. For one thing, too many of us would be too conspicuous and might ruin the whole endeavor; for another, this place is our very foundation, and someone must stay behind to hold it. At the very least, if anything should happen here at the Threefold Pavilion, those of us out there can be prepared for it." (To be continued...)