Chapter 4645 — The West Island Banquet
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
Kang Jingming was unconvinced—utterly, thoroughly unconvinced. Every time he laid eyes on Zhong Yongliang's smug, strutting air, he felt a knot of loathing tighten in the pit of his stomach.
But now, at last, a golden chance to win merit and make his name had fallen into his lap. He would make the higher-ups see exactly what he was capable of, and when that day came he would grind that whelp Zhong Yongliang back under his heel and show everyone once and for all who was truly cut out to lead.
"Mm. As for the first task—gathering the Thunder Mystic Vine—there is no rush yet; we shall see when the time comes. For now, your priority is to keep a close watch on Wei Zhao and nothing else," Xu Lingchong said, narrowing his eyes. Gathering the Thunder Mystic Vine meant entering the West Island Trials, and for the moment there was no other way but to wait.
"Yes, yes—rest assured, Young Master Xu, leave it all to me," Kang Jingming pledged again and again.
Even as the two of them spoke, a woman's voice suddenly came from outside. It was the steward of the West Island Legation House, come to inform the North Island delegation that a banquet was to be held that evening.
Once the North Island party had assembled, the steward at once led them to the banquet hall of the Island Lord's palace, where a sumptuous feast had already been laid out—prepared expressly to welcome the visitors from North Island and wash the dust of travel from their brows.
The others arrived one after another, and only then did Wei Zhao, Han Jingyi, Shangguan Lan'er, and Ning Xuefei finally make their belated appearance, still chatting and laughing the whole way there. Their banter had left both Wei Zhao and Han Jingyi somewhat flushed with embarrassment—the two girls were teasing them mercilessly about what had happened earlier.
"Feifei, what kept you all so long?" At that moment a woman rose from the seat of honor at the very center of the banquet hall and waved to Ning Xuefei from afar.
Wei Zhao looked over at the sound. The woman appeared to be in her thirties, strikingly beautiful, and possessed of a mature, gentle grace that lent her a charm altogether different from that of young girls like Ning Xuefei. Yet what truly drew Wei Zhao's attention was not her looks but the way her cultivation was utterly concealed—he could detect not the slightest trace of it. She was, clearly, unfathomably deep.
"Aunt Yan, I was just showing them around a bit," Ning Xuefei said with a mischievous grin, sticking out her tongue, then stepped forward and affectionately took the woman's arm. "This is the Vice Island Lord of our West Island—the renowned heroine Yan Xinlan, famous throughout all five great islands of the Heavenly Steps. And Aunt Yan has doted on me since I was little."
"This junior, Wei Zhao, pays his respects to Vice Island Lord Yan," Wei Zhao said, greeting her with grave formality. His present station was that of official envoy of North Island, and his every gesture reflected upon the image of the entire Threefold Pavilion of North Island.
This Yan Xinlan was the Vice Island Lord of West Island and a remarkable woman whose fame spanned the five great islands of the Heavenly Steps. That she should personally receive them already showed considerable regard for Wei Zhao and his party—after all, North Island had not sent any truly weighty figure this time, and however cordial the ties between the two islands, there was no question of the West Island Lord himself stooping to appear. The gap in rank between them was simply too great.
"Envoy Lin is young and full of promise. Do be seated, everyone," Yan Xinlan said with a composed and gracious nod, her gaze resting on Wei Zhao for a long, searching moment before shifting to Han Jingyi and Shangguan Lan'er, nestled close at his side. She noted, too, that even Ning Xuefei had unconsciously drawn rather near to Wei Zhao—and at the sight, her brows knit slightly.