Chapter 4046 — Scared Out of Their Wits

There was only one thing Shangguan Tianxia cared about: how to find his precious granddaughter. That, and nothing else, was the reason he had stooped to come see Wei Zhao in person; otherwise, as the august Pavilion Master of the Skyward Pavilion, he would never have set foot in a place like this.

"As it happens, this disciple already knows where the young junior sister is," Wei Zhao said slowly.

"Oh?" Shangguan Tianxia was taken aback. It would have been unsurprising had Wei Zhao produced any means whatsoever to prove his innocence—but that he actually knew Shangguan Lan'er's whereabouts, that was quite beyond expectation.

"If you don't mind, Pavilion Master, this disciple can lead the way—though first you'll have to get me out of here," Wei Zhao said, his eyes burning bright.

Shangguan Tianxia looked at him long and hard, then nodded. "Very well. I shall grant your wish."

Anyone else—even a heavyweight of Elder Xu Yuanzheng's stature on the Council of Elders—would never have dared claim he could simply walk Wei Zhao out of here. This was, after all, Gongyang Jun's domain; without Gongyang Jun's nod, no one could take a single soul from this place.

Shangguan Tianxia, however, was not among that number. He was not only the Pavilion Master of the Skyward Pavilion but also the man who had recognized Gongyang Jun's promise and raised him up. If anyone in the Triple Stack Pavilion could still cow Gongyang Jun, Shangguan Tianxia's name stood at the very top of the list.

Sure enough, at a single simple word from Shangguan Tianxia, Gongyang Jun raised no objection at all and nodded his assent on the spot.

From the moment he was thrown into the dungeon to the moment he saw daylight again, scarcely an hour had passed—yet Wei Zhao felt as though a lifetime had gone by.

Had Shangguan Tianxia not come, and had Gongyang Jun simply ignored him from first to last, it was far from impossible that he would have been left to rot away his whole life in that lightless dungeon, cut off from the world.

At least he was out now. Wei Zhao stretched luxuriously. Not too much time had passed yet; with any luck, Shangguan Lan'er was still alive and well.

"Which way?" Shangguan Tianxia asked from behind him. Even with the composure befitting one of the Triple Stack Pavilion's top figures, where his precious granddaughter's safety was concerned, he could not help but betray some anxiety.

Wei Zhao glanced about, then his gaze settled on a flying spirit beast belonging to the Law Enforcement Hall in the distance. He jerked his chin at it. "It's a fair distance from here. We'll need it to carry us part of the way."

"Fine." Shangguan Tianxia promptly took Wei Zhao with him, and the two of them climbed onto the flying spirit beast. Without another word they shot into the sky, leaving a crowd of Law Enforcement Hall experts staring at one another.

Wei Zhao was a prime suspect. To have him carried off just like that by Shangguan Tianxia, without any escort from the Law Enforcement Hall, was plainly improper—but the man was the Pavilion Master of the Skyward Pavilion, and when he wished to do a thing, even Hall Master Gongyang Jun had no choice but to comply. For underlings like them to point fingers, or even think of intervening, would have been nothing short of courting death.

And besides, the one in danger now was Shangguan Lan'er. This was, when you came down to it, Shangguan Tianxia's own family affair; questionable as his overstepping might be, there was no fault to be found with it.

And as the Law Enforcement Hall experts watched the two recede into the distance, that same scene fell within Murong Zhen's line of sight as well. As the all-important informant and eyewitness, she was still at the Law Enforcement Hall assisting the investigation—though she had not been strictly confined.

At the sight, Murong Zhen turned pale with fright. She had no idea what Shangguan Tianxia was taking Wei Zhao out there alone to do—but judging by the direction the flying spirit beast was heading, it was flying straight for the dilapidated training ground where she and Kang Jingming had held Shangguan Lan'er captive!

There was no time to reason out why. Murong Zhen hurriedly slipped away from the Law Enforcement Hall, ran to a quiet, deserted spot, and sent a flying-hawk message to Kang Jingming, far away at the other end of the Northern Island.

"Shangguan Tianxia appears able to sense Shangguan Lan'er's location. He has taken Wei Zhao and is coming by flying spirit beast—flee at once!" Reading the scrawled note in his hand, Kang Jingming nearly frightened himself into a heart attack, and Cha Wu beside him went pale as death.

Their kidnapping of Shangguan Lan'er had been a follow-up move to the rumors from before, meant only to frame Wei Zhao—never had they imagined that Shangguan Tianxia, Pavilion Master of the Skyward Pavilion, would come in person!

With their paltry strength, they were hard-pressed even to face Wei Zhao, let alone a top-tier figure of Shangguan Tianxia's boundless powers. If such a man fixed his eyes on them, they would not even know how they died.

"A flying-hawk message travels little faster than that flying spirit beast. Deacon Kang, we'd best run for our lives—one step late and we're done for!" Cha Wu urged in a frantic rush.

Kang Jingming's terror was no less than Cha Wu's own. Loath as he was to see his carefully laid kidnapping plot cut short, in the end his own neck came first; Shangguan Tianxia and Wei Zhao might arrive the very next moment, and then there would be truly no escape.

"Wait! Even if we run, we can't just run like this. Do exactly as I say—hurry to Shangguan Lan'er and shout something like this... then run!" Kang Jingming said suddenly.

At this point, taking Shangguan Lan'er with them was utterly beyond his nerve. What if Murong Zhen's guess was right, and the man really could sense Shangguan Lan'er's location?

Still, having clawed his way up from the mortal world, Kang Jingming had no small store of cunning. Even if he could not take Shangguan Lan'er with him, he could at least shout a few words to muddy the waters.

Reluctant as he was, Cha Wu dared not argue with Kang Jingming at such a moment—every moment's delay was another measure of deadly danger—so he had no choice but to steel himself and do it.

Rushing to the ruined training ground, Cha Wu forced down the terror in his heart and, lowering his voice, said to Shangguan Lan'er: "Miss Shangguan, the leader says he kidnapped you this time just to stage a hero saving the beauty. He's going to come rescue you himself in a moment, to put on a show in front of your grandfather. Don't let him fool you—it's all his own playacting!"

Shangguan Lan'er lifted her eyelids, her long curling lashes fluttering twice. "What's that supposed to mean? This young lady doesn't understand."

"...It means Leader Wei Zhao is coming to rescue you soon, but it's actually fake! He wants to show off a hero saving the beauty!" Cha Wu explained helplessly.

"Rescue me? Then why does he have to fake it?" Shangguan Lan'er asked, puzzled.

"..." Cha Wu was going mad. Time was short, and this young miss's head seemed none too quick—she simply could not follow. He could only roar: "Just remember that Wei Zhao is a liar! That's all!"

"Oh, all right. This young lady's got it." Only then did Shangguan Lan'er nod.

To be continued. R752