Chapter 3301 — Gu Mengyao's Thoughts

"Hmph! Well? Get moving!" Kang Jingming was speaking on behalf of the Xuandan Sect, a first-rate power of the Ancient Plane, and so he carried himself with the arrogance of high station, not sparing even a glance for this gate-keeping disciple of the Dark Night Palace.

Naturally, the disciple could rage in silence but dared not speak it aloud. Who had told him that his own Dark Night Palace was the weaker party? This was the order that had taken shape over centuries. The Dark Night Palace had never produced anyone of truly overwhelming power. Even though it could boast one grand master at the peak of the late Heaven Rank, that was only one, and it could not be mentioned in the same breath as the Xuandan Sect.

The disciple hurried back and reported the matter to Gu Mengyao and the Grand Elder. In the past, these disciples would never have reported anything to the Palace Mistress. Ye Rou'er's title of Palace Mistress was an empty name—everyone knew her words carried less weight than those of an ordinary elder.

But things were different now. Gu Mengyao was now the Palace Mistress of the Dark Night Palace in name and in truth, and her standing was not even below that of the Grand Elder. So when something happened, it was only natural that it be reported to her!

"Kang Jingming has come?" Gu Mengyao was in the middle of her cultivation. Hearing the disciple's report, she immediately knitted her brows. That Kang Jingming was an old acquaintance, though after he had risen to prominence, she and he had had little dealings. She wondered what his sudden visit to the Dark Night Palace could mean. Could it be because of Wei Zhao?

For some time now, the rumors about Wei Zhao circulating in the Ancient Plane had reached Gu Mengyao's ears as well. As the Palace Mistress with real authority in the Dark Night Palace, she found it even easier to learn such things than Tang Zhi and Feng Xiaoxiao did.

Her character was fundamentally different from Tang Zhi's and Feng Xiaoxiao's. She had been born a young lady of a great house. She had never run a company, but from childhood she had seen and heard enough to develop the temper of one who stood above others—and that temper had also established her authority within the Dark Night Palace.

As for Tang Zhi, part of it was simply her nature, and part of it was that she had stayed here precisely to barter for Wei Zhao's life. It was only reasonable that the Snow Valley would restrain her and keep her from contacting Wei Zhao again.

As for the Ice Palace, although Feng Xiaoxiao was also a forceful character, much like Shen Yushu, the Ice Palace had an even more forceful mistress in Bing Tang. Bing Tang had always looked down on Wei Zhao a little and would be only too glad to see him in trouble, just to watch how he would get himself out of it.

In truth, to put it plainly, Bing Tang was still tangled up over that "little, little, little wife" business from the very beginning. As Wei Zhao's strength had grown, Bing Tang had grown ever more unsure how she ought to face him. Was she really to be his little, little, little wife? To go from being Feng Xiaoxiao's senior martial sister to being her younger sister?

And so Bing Tang had simply sealed off all news of Wei Zhao within the Ice Palace. Her hold over the Ice Palace was no weaker than Gu Mengyao's, and so naturally Feng Xiaoxiao was kept in the dark about these matters.

Still, even after hearing these rumors, though Gu Mengyao felt a faint stirring of worry, deep in her heart she still believed in Wei Zhao. Perhaps that trust had been formed imperceptibly over the long years she had lived alongside him.

In Gu Mengyao's eyes, no matter how great the difficulty or how great the danger, Wei Zhao would ultimately find a way through. And no matter what trouble Gu Mengyao ran into, no matter how formidable the enemy she faced, Wei Zhao would always come to protect her at the first moment. Wei Zhao was her knight in shining armor!

Out of that unconditional trust in Wei Zhao, Gu Mengyao felt certain that he was not hiding abroad. If he wanted to hide, how much better to hide at West Star Mountain? With Ergoudan there, anyone who came would be a dead man. What need was there to leave the country?

So Wei Zhao must have other matters to attend to. The young lady remained ever convinced that Wei Zhao was the strongest and most formidable of all!

Just as she was pondering the purpose of Kang Jingming's visit, the Grand Elder walked in. Clearly she too had received the disciple's report and had come to discuss countermeasures with Gu Mengyao.

"Yaoyao, are you cultivating?" the Grand Elder asked amiably.

"No, Grand Elder. I've just had word from the gate-keeping disciple that Kang Jingming of the Xuandan Sect has arrived," Gu Mengyao said.

"Yes, that's just why I came to find you, Yaoyao. What do you suppose Kang Jingming is doing here?" the Grand Elder asked.

"I'm not sure either. He and I were never close before, though he does know Wei Zhao," Gu Mengyao said honestly.

At the name Wei Zhao, the Grand Elder could not help but frown. To be frank, the Grand Elder did not think much of Wei Zhao—especially given the rumors that had lately come out of the Ancient Plane, which only convinced her that Wei Zhao was a man who knew how to put on airs but had no real strength to speak of.

So now, hearing that this affair might have something to do with Wei Zhao, she said with some displeasure, "Could it be that Wei Zhao's true strength has been exposed and he's come looking for trouble with you? After all, you and Wei Zhao were once on very good terms! Yaoyao, why don't you tell him later that you've already cut all ties with Wei Zhao? What do you say? I said long ago that Wei Zhao was unreliable. A lone cultivator—how could he possibly possess such formidable strength? Now it's all come out, and his enemies want their revenge, don't they?"

But at this point the Grand Elder suddenly noticed that Gu Mengyao's expression had turned very grim, and she had no choice but to stop talking. It was not Wei Zhao she feared, but Gu Mengyao's displeasure!

"Grand Elder, Wei Zhao is not as the rumors say. He is very powerful. I hope you will not slander him again!" Gu Mengyao said sternly, her face solemn.

"Fine, fine. I only meant it for your good, Yaoyao. If Wei Zhao were really so powerful, why hasn't he come back now, instead of hiding abroad?" The Grand Elder was somewhat unconvinced in her heart, and she could not tell what bewitching draught Wei Zhao had given Gu Mengyao that even now she still spoke up for him.

"Wei Zhao has his own affairs. Where he goes, he need not tell anyone, need he? What others say is their own business!" Gu Mengyao explained.

"All right, let's go and see Kang Jingming together first, and find out just what business brings him here!" The Grand Elder did not want her relationship with Gu Mengyao to suffer over a lone cultivator like Wei Zhao, so she brought the subject up no more. Still, to speak honestly, she looked down on Wei Zhao.

Gu Mengyao also knew that the Grand Elder surely thought nothing of Wei Zhao, but there was nothing to be done about it. A heart dwells in another's breast, and it was not hers to command. Although the Grand Elder voiced her approval of some of Gu Mengyao's orders, that approval came only on the premise that the Dark Night Palace suffered no harm. Gu Mengyao was certain that if she ever did anything truly damaging to the Dark Night Palace, the Grand Elder would be the first to leap up in opposition!