Chapter 2761 — Dissuasion

"That won't be a problem. My strength may not be enough to intimidate an ancient sect, but I have at least earned the right to speak with them. Besides, I hold a trump card: the heaven-ranked weapon of Snow Valley's founding patriarch. They will have no choice but to trade with me." This time, Wei Zhao felt none of the pressure he had felt before visiting Ice Palace. Back then, he had been far too insignificant. But in the blink of an eye, Wei Zhao had grown. He was no longer as weak as he had been then.

Gu Mengyao wanted to tell Wei Zhao that he did not need to go to Snow Valley to make the exchange at all. All she had to do was mention it to Tang Zhi or her mother, and he could obtain the spirit herb directly. But she had no way to say that. She could not say it.

If they claimed that all of Wang Xuben's spirit herbs had come from Snow Valley, that would be utterly implausible. How could an ordinary merchant like Wang Xuben ever have had contact with an ancient sect? But saying that he had a friend in Snow Valley would be even more absurd. Wei Zhao knew nearly everything about the relationships between the two of them. For a friend from Snow Valley to suddenly appear would be far too jarring.

So Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, and Wang Xinyan had no idea how to explain things to Wei Zhao. Of course, what worried them most was not that Wei Zhao intended to trade away a heaven-ranked weapon, but that he might run into Tang Zhi.

"Then... when are you planning to leave?" Gu Mengyao had no choice but to ask. There was simply no way to stop him.

"The sooner the better, of course!" Wei Zhao said. "If nothing important comes up, I'll prepare to leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow...? That soon...?" Gu Mengyao had no reason at all to stop him, so she could only cast Shen Yushu a meaningful glance.

"Ah, um... that Arrow-Protecting Bro, Xiaoshu's been missing you a little. Could you leave a few days later?" Shen Yushu usually had more excuses than anyone, but at that moment she was completely at a loss, unable to think of a reason to keep Wei Zhao there.

"?" Wei Zhao looked at Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu in puzzlement. "Yaoyao, Xiaoshu, what's wrong? If I leave a day earlier, I can treat Xinyan a day earlier. Isn't that a good thing? Why do you want me to go later?"

"That..." Shen Yushu had no choice but to turn to Wang Xinyan for help.

"Well... it's like this. Yaoyao and Xiaoshu are only thinking of my welfare..." Wang Xinyan was the last to speak, which gave her time to come up with a fairly plausible excuse. "Kang Jingming has come back, hasn't he? He hasn't left yet. Xiaoshu is worried that if you go, he'll come looking for trouble again. So she means that you should wait until Kang Jingming has gone back before leaving for Snow Valley."

"Oh, I see!" Wei Zhao thought it over. What Wang Xinyan said did make sense, so he nodded. "All right, then. I'll wait a few days."

Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu both let out sighs of relief, secretly admiring Wang Xinyan. Shen Yushu wanted to say, Sister Xinyan, you are truly brilliant...

That night, Wei Zhao slept by himself as usual, while Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, and Wang Xinyan went upstairs to rest. Wei Zhao could not cultivate for the time being, and it would no longer have been appropriate for Wang Xinyan to sleep beside him. She had not officially agreed to become his girlfriend, after all, and sharing a bed would only make things awkward for him.

Once upstairs, the three women breathed a sigh of relief, yet they were also deeply worried. Tang Zhi was in Snow Valley. They had originally believed that Wei Zhao and Snow Valley would never cross paths in this lifetime, but they had never expected him to make another accidental trip there.

"What are we going to do? Why hasn't Tang Zhi called back yet?" Gu Mengyao frowned, her worry deepening. Back when Kang Xiaofeng was in Snow Valley, he had not had a chance to ask Tang Zhi how the matter concerning Tang Yuqi should be handled. She had said that Tang Zhi would call, but no call had come.

"But that could actually be a good thing. If Sister Yun Yun calls in the next couple of days, we can tell her that Arrow-Protecting Bro is going to Snow Valley and have her prepare. That way, she won't give herself away." Shen Yushu said.

"That's true. Hopefully, she'll call as soon as possible over the next few days." Gu Mengyao sighed, helpless as well. "If nothing else, we'll just have to leave it to fate."

"I'm really sorry. It's all because of me that Wei Zhao has to go to Snow Valley..." Wang Xinyan said guiltily.

"What does that have to do with you? If Wei Zhao hadn't absorbed all your energy, you wouldn't be in this condition in the first place!" Gu Mengyao shook her head. "I'm only worried that he'll remember Tang Zhi. Then things will become troublesome. With his current strength, he is nowhere near capable of standing against Snow Valley! Feng Xiaoxiao went to Ice Palace to save her life, but Tang Zhi went to Snow Valley entirely because of Wei Zhao. Those are two completely different situations. I'm afraid Wei Zhao might cause an uproar in Snow Valley!"

"He probably won't. Even if Sister Yunyun sees Arrow-Protecting Bro, she won't acknowledge him, so we don't need to worry too much." Shen Yushu was the first to calm down. "Sister Yaoyao, we're just letting our concern cloud our judgment!"

"Xiaoshu is right. We're worrying too much." Wang Xinyan also relaxed after hearing that. "Even if Wei Zhao goes to Snow Valley, what can it matter? Tang Zhi would never acknowledge him, and the others certainly won't say anything."

"That's true." Gu Mengyao nodded. The three of them decided not to dwell on it any longer and prepared to bathe and go to sleep.

After returning to his room, Wei Zhao did not rest right away. Instead, he entered the space within the jade pendant. Even without Wang Xinyan's assistance, he still had to continue cultivating on his own.

"Elder Jiao, were you created by someone else?" Wei Zhao glanced at Jiao Yazi in the distance and could not help asking.

"What?" Jiao Yazi froze. "What do you mean, created by someone else? I am a soul clone to begin with. Of course I was created by someone else!"

"I mean, were you created only within the past few decades?" Wei Zhao had always assumed that Jiao Yazi and this jade pendant came from ancient times, or perhaps an even more distant era. But after hearing Old Man Wei's words today, it seemed that was not the case. The pendant appeared to have been made sometime within the past few decades, because the person who made it was someone Old Man Wei knew as well.

"I have no idea. I've told you before: my memories are sealed. They will awaken only as your strength increases. If your strength does not improve, there is nothing I can do either." Jiao Yazi said.

"Just as I thought..." Wei Zhao gave a bitter smile, then continued, "By the way, there's something else. I've been so busy dealing with Wang Xinyan's situation lately that I never got around to asking you. Is the void attribute within my body derived from the Xuanyuan Yulong Formula?"

"Yes, exactly!" This time, Jiao Yazi answered with unusual briskness.