Chapter 2862 — Returning to the Savage Wasteland of the Five Balefuls
Yang Qiqi, addled by the qi of the Five Balefuls, was already sliding into the prelude of unconsciousness. She now fancied herself back on that deserted island, with Brother A-Yi beside her, roasting a mud-caked fish for her…
"Brother A-Yi, I trust you… you'll surely bring Little Seven home…" Yang Qiqi murmured to herself.
"What!" Wei Zhao gave a violent start, as if struck by lightning, and raised his head to look at Yang Qiqi in blank astonishment! Faint as her voice was, beneath this deserted cliff it rang out with peculiar clarity; those three words, "Brother A-Yi," plucked the most sensitive chord deep in Wei Zhao's heart. It had been so long since he had heard them!
And yet… the person before him—Wei Zhao truly dared not believe it. The person before him… might well be his Master's daughter, Yang Xiaoxiao! His childhood sweetheart… But wasn't her name Yang Xiaoxiao? How had she come to be called Yang Qiqi?
"Xiaoxiao, why did you change your name?" Wei Zhao ventured.
"Xiaoxiao doesn't sound nice. Brother A-Yi, you like to call me Little Seven, so I became Qiqi…" Yang Qiqi, too, was muddled, unable to tell whether she was the little Yang Xiaoxiao of childhood or the grown Yang Qiqi…
Today was the last day of the twenty. Unless one were a cultivator like Wei Zhao, Zhang Naipao, or Tianchan, by the twentieth day one would inevitably fall unconscious.
That was it—she was Yang Xiaoxiao! Wei Zhao no longer harbored any doubt.
Wei Zhao looked at Yang Qiqi's somewhat pallid little face. That cold, fierce girl who had repaid kindness with spite had now, in Wei Zhao's eyes, become a picture of devotion to him, and the resentment he had harbored against her dissolved at this moment into nothing.
Consider: what fault was it in a girl to guard her chastity for the one she loved? He had seen her body; her fury was only natural. And yet… Wei Zhao smiled wryly. He had never imagined things could be quite so coincidental!
Indeed—Little Seven, Qiqi—they plainly meant the same thing. How had it never occurred to him before! Perhaps his preconceptions had kept him from ever connecting the two…
A girl changes beyond recognition at eighteen. The Yang Qiqi of old had been adorable enough, but never so striking and so cool as now—which was precisely why Wei Zhao had failed to recognize her. It is hard indeed to link a cute girl to a cool one.
But then, when you thought about it, Yang Qiqi had undergone assassin training, and all these years—after he had left, she had no one to lean on, and she had to look after Little Nine as well. Of course she had to harden herself! So a change in temperament and in style was only to be expected.
"Little Seven, rest easy. Brother A-Yi won't let anything happen to you. This trouble—we'll come through it safely, the both of us!" Wei Zhao looked at Yang Qiqi, clenched his fist, drew a deep breath, and spoke solemnly. This was Wei Zhao's pledge: by whatever means, he would not let harm come to Yang Qiqi!
Fortunately, Yang Qiqi was an expert of the external school. Once the qi of the Five Balefuls invaded her body, it would not drive her to cultivation deviation; it would only make her lose consciousness—unlike an expert of the internal school, whose true qi would be thrown into chaos.
Gazing at the sheer, bottomless cliff, Wei Zhao sank into thought. Every method he could conceive, he had already tried; still he was at his wit's end…
At the teleportation array outside the trial grounds, Kang Jingming was nearly nodding off. Ever since Zhao Qilei and the other three had emerged from the trial grounds earlier, no one else had come out—and small wonder: by now, anyone still inside was as good as dead.
When evening of the twentieth day came, Kang Jingming shook his head, rose, and went to report to Tian Canbian. Although no one had emerged from the array since, he ought by rights to make his report…
In truth, even without Kang Jingming's report, Tianchan was already somewhat anxious. His failure to report meant no new trial participant had stepped out of the array—plainly, Wei Zhao had not emerged—and this left Tianchan uneasy.
Why she should care so much about a single person, Tianchan herself could not say; yet she could not shake the feeling that she would not be happy until she saw Wei Zhao come out safe.
Naturally, at this moment, Patriarch Xuanchen and Patriarch Xuanzhen were anxious as well. Twenty days had passed with no word of Zhang Naipao's safe emergence, and the two of them had come once more to Tian Canbian's detached palace.
"Tianchan greets Master, and Uncle-Master!" Though Tianchan's heart was heavy, she could not neglect propriety.
"Still no word of Zhang Naipao?" Patriarch Xuanchen waved a hand to dispense with the courtesies and came straight to the point.
"In answer to Uncle-Master, no word yet." Tianchan shook her head. Her glum air drew no particular notice from Patriarch Xuanchen, who assumed she too was worried about Zhang Naipao.
"What's going on? Plenty of people far weaker than he have come out—why is he still in there?" Patriarch Xuanchen knew very well that Tianchan would never conceal news of Zhang Naipao if she had any, yet he had come to ask in person all the same—and the answer was no surprise: Zhang Naipao had not emerged.
"Could he be trapped in one of the safe zones? The spirit beasts have been running wild these past two days; it's quite possible Zhang Naipao doesn't dare move…" Patriarch Xuanzhen mused, analyzing the situation.
"Hmm, that is possible!" Patriarch Xuanchen's expression eased somewhat at this. He pondered a moment, then turned to Tianchan: "This way, then, Tianchan—make another trip into the Savage Wasteland of the Five Balefuls and search for Zhang Naipao. If he truly is inside, bring him out."
"Me? Go back to the Savage Wasteland of the Five Balefuls?" Tianchan pointed at herself and stared at Patriarch Xuanchen in astonishment! At this moment her heart pounded violently; she had nearly agreed on the spot in her joy. But reason told her she must not.
"Just so!" Patriarch Xuanchen nodded. "Go and search for Zhang Naipao. At present, you are the only one immune to the qi of the Five Balefuls."
"Isn't that rather dangerous?" Patriarch Xuanzhen objected. "Tianchan may be immune to the qi of the Five Balefuls, but the spirit beasts are in turmoil right now. If she goes, she'll likely run into danger as well, won't she?"
"Danger there will certainly be—but what if something has happened to Zhang Naipao?" Patriarch Xuanchen waved a hand and spoke bluntly. "Second Brother, this is no time for womanly softness. I know Tianchan is your disciple, but she is also my martial niece. Though you have kept this from me all along, I have always treated her as such!"
"This…" Patriarch Xuanzhen's old face flushed. He knew Xuanchen had said this deliberately, to make him understand that a disciple of the Five Luminaries Sect giving herself for the sect's plans was simply a matter of course!