Chapter 4098 — Seeking Refuge with Steward Cai

Wei Zhao shook his head and explained, "That is not it. I am still only at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage. It is simply that I have always been able to fight above my level. You know well enough how things work in the mundane world. Here, it is no different."

At these words, Xue Li was struck dumb with amazement. Wei Zhao had spoken of it so lightly, yet the meaning behind his words was anything but simple.

The mundane world and Cloud Terrace Island were two entirely different planes. Someone like her—a peak existence in the mundane world—became the lowliest of ants upon reaching Cloud Terrace Island. Genius, so-called, depended on where it was measured. To be an unrivaled prodigy in the mundane world meant nothing at all on Cloud Terrace Island, and such cases were everywhere.

Perhaps only a freak of nature like Wei Zhao—one who, no matter where he went, was never an exception and always towered above all—could truly be called a genius.

It was a long while before Xue Li finally came back to her senses. Even as she rejoiced sincerely for Wei Zhao, worry still lingered. Biting her lip softly, she said, "Wei Zhao, why don't you go on alone first? Your strength is great, and your appearance is different from the wanted notice, so no one will trouble you. But it is different if you take me with you—every step will be a struggle, and we will never escape..."

Before she could finish, Wei Zhao silenced her lips with two fingers and said solemnly, "You are my little, little, little, little, little, little wife. No matter where we go, no matter how great the danger, I will never leave you behind. Understand? So never say such things as letting me go on alone again. It is useless to say them—I will not listen anyway."

These words warmed Xue Li's heart, and a happiness she had not felt in a long time surged up within her. She threw herself into Wei Zhao's arms once more and wept for joy.

Wei Zhao never spoke words of love, nor did he know how. He could not even begin to court a woman's favor. And yet a man who is reliable and bears responsibility can in an instant surpass all the flowery romances and vows of eternal fidelity in the world.

Holding Xue Li in his arms, Wei Zhao said, "Come, let us first find a place to stay before anything else."

In their present situation, dreaming of escaping Central Island directly with Xue Li was pure fantasy. The only way was to find a safe, dependable place to lie low until this storm passed, and then think of a way to leave.

Having Xue Li lie on his back with her head down and face covered, Wei Zhao boldly led the way out of the alley. On the main street, all manner of passersby came and went in an endless stream. Nearly every hundred zhang stood a notice board plastered with proclamations from various sects, and the wanted notices for Wei Zhao and Xue Li were naturally among them.

Fortunately, Wei Zhao was now in his true appearance, and Xue Li had not shown her face, so for the time being no one suspected the two of them.

After passing through two streets, Wei Zhao finally found the place. Before him stood a three-story pavilion that at first glance seemed unremarkable, yet on this bustling street it carried a style and grandeur all its own. It was his destination: the Five Elements Merchant Guild.

Back on North Island, Hong Zhong had specially instructed him that if he ever chanced to end up on Central Island, he could seek help from Deputy Steward Cai of the Five Elements Merchant Guild under the Central Island Alchemy Hall. Those words had been meant only as a precaution against mishap, yet by a strange turn of fate they had proven exactly useful—indeed, they had become the only straw Wei Zhao could clutch at now.

He had never met this Deputy Steward Cai, so Wei Zhao had no way of knowing the man's character, still less whether he would be willing to help, or even able to. But beyond this, Wei Zhao had no other choice.

After all, he was a stranger on Central Island. Though Tian Chan was in the Central Island Alchemy Hall, her status and strength were far from enough to shelter the two of them. Until he had settled the trouble on his own back, Wei Zhao did not want her drawn into any of it.

As for that cheap master of his, Zhang Lifeng, whom he had never once met—if he could win the man's acknowledgment, then he could walk the world sideways as he pleased. Unfortunately, this Alchemy God was like a dragon that showed its head but never its tail. Even the people of the Central Island Alchemy Hall rarely got a glimpse of him, let alone a newcomer like Wei Zhao.

With no other recourse, Wei Zhao could only pin his hopes on this Deputy Steward Cai. Birds of a feather flock together; given Hong Zhong's honest and upright character, a friend he held in such esteem was unlikely to be the sort who forgot honor at the sight of profit.

Carrying Xue Li on his back, Wei Zhao wasted no time in hesitation. He strode into the Five Elements Merchant Guild, and when a shop assistant came up to greet him, he said, "If you please, I am looking for Deputy Steward Cai."

The assistant looked him up and down, then noted the woman on his back. He showed no particular puzzlement, only nodded and said, "Ah, you have come to see Deputy Steward Cai for treatment, I expect. I will take you there."

This Deputy Steward Cai was a nominal disciple of Zhang Lifeng and exceedingly skilled in medicine, so patients came seeking treatment in an endless stream, turning the place almost into a half clinic. The assistant was long since used to it.

Some grumbled about this in private, but never dared show it openly. Even the proper steward, who had the powerful backing of Zheng Dongjue, deputy hall master of the Central Island Alchemy Hall, never dared to do anything to this Deputy Steward Cai.

Behind the man stood a towering deity like Zhang Lifeng. Even Zheng Dongjue could only bow and scrape before him. To make trouble for Cai in the Five Elements Merchant Guild would be to court death itself.

Keeping silent, Wei Zhao followed the assistant up to a quiet private room on the second floor. The assistant told them to wait a moment, then withdrew.

After a short while, a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties or fifties came in. His true age was impossible to guess, but at first sight Wei Zhao felt that the man carried a steady air of one long weathered by the world—something laid down by the years.

"Come, please sit. This old man is Cai Zhongxuan. Are the two of you here for treatment?" A mild smile rested on the newcomer's face.

A physician's heart is that of a parent. Though his standing was that of a merchant, at heart Cai Zhongxuan remained a physician through and through, and he harbored a wish to save the world and its people. Were it otherwise, he could never have entered Zhang Lifeng's fold.

Before an honest man, no false words. With no idlers about, Wei Zhao spoke bluntly at once: "Forgive me. I have not actually come seeking medical treatment, but to ask something else of you."

"Oh? What might that be?" Cai Zhongxuan was slightly taken aback. As deputy steward of the Five Elements Merchant Guild, he seldom concerned himself with business matters personally, devoting himself more to healing the sick. Those who came to him sought treatment, and rarely anything else.

"I am Wei Zhao, and in truth I am a friend of Old Hong—Hong Zhong," Wei Zhao said, coming straight to the point.R1152