Chapter 4173 — The Five-Day Pact

Dazed, Huang Xiaotao took the mirror from Wei Zhao's hand, and only then did she finally snap out of her wild imaginings. At the thought of what she might see, her hands began to tremble, and she held the mirror for a long while without daring to lift it to her face.

"Don't be afraid. Go on, take a good look at yourself now," Wei Zhao encouraged her with a smile.

"Mm." Huang Xiaotao nodded, drew a deep breath, and at last summoned the courage to look at herself in the mirror—and in that instant she froze, utterly disbelieving.

Skin as white as jade, soft and luminous as a newborn infant's, and a face of pure, flawless beauty—after so many years of torment, Huang Xiaotao was finally seeing her former self again, a sight that had visited her only in dreams!

Surely this was another dream? Huang Xiaotao instinctively pinched her own arm, and a real stab of pain answered her. Joy surged through her heart—it was true!

Smack! In a sudden rush of emotion Huang Xiaotao threw her arms around Wei Zhao, rose on tiptoe, and planted a kiss on his cheek, babbling in her excitement, "You knew all along you could restore my looks, is that why you liked me... you really are amazing..."

"Huh?" Wei Zhao was speechless. What he had meant was that once Huang Xiaotao had her looks back, she would naturally regain her confidence as well, and would no longer need to cling to him.

In beauty, now that her face was restored, Huang Xiaotao was in no way inferior to Shangguan Lan'er. Even a wretch like Su Zhaohe had once been infatuated with her, stooping even to despicable tricks—so now she would surely draw countless young talents to bow at her feet.

Never in his wildest dreams had he expected that Huang Xiaotao's first reaction after her joyful surprise would be this, and Wei Zhao was struck dumb for a good while, quite at a loss.

"Xiaotao, the truth is I only ever thought of you as a good friend. I truly meant nothing more..." With no other choice, Wei Zhao steeled himself and chose to speak plainly.

In any case, she had now regained both her looks and her confidence, and once she returned she would surely be the center of all attention. Wei Zhao reckoned that even if he said it outright, she would not be too heartbroken...

At these sudden words, however, Huang Xiaotao froze, her pure, lovely eyes fixed on Wei Zhao's face in astonishment. Her lips moved, but no words came.

"Xiaotao, I know you're a good girl, but I already have far too many women in my life..." Since he had said this much, Wei Zhao decided to lay everything bare at once and leave no room for misunderstanding. "And not only the ones you've heard about or seen—I have close female confidantes on the Middle Island as well, and more than one of them, so..."

"Since you already have so many, what difference does one more make?" Huang Xiaotao cut him off. There was not the slightest retreat in her eyes—instead they had grown only more resolute, more unwavering.

"Pff..." Wei Zhao nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. For a moment he had no idea what to say. How on earth was this girl's mind put together? What sort of thinking, what sort of logic was this?!

"Oh, I understand now!" Huang Xiaotao suddenly clapped a hand to her head as enlightenment struck. "You're afraid they'd find out, that's why you don't dare accept me, right? Of course—a lofty little princess like Shangguan Lan'er, how could she ever accept a lowly Qingyun Pavilion disciple like me..."

"That... you've hit the mark..." Wei Zhao was now utterly defeated by the girl's logic, and could only go along with the lie. It hardly mattered what reason he gave, so long as it made her give up—the means were unimportant; only the result counted.

"Then I understand... thank you..." Huang Xiaotao seemed to have finally worked something out. She gave Wei Zhao a sweet smile, put her veil back on, said nothing further, and simply ran off.

"Phew, she's finally given up." Watching her retreating figure, Wei Zhao let out a long breath and wiped the cold sweat from his brow. Talking with this girl was more exhausting than a full bout of fighting.

To be honest, with Huang Xiaotao's pure, lotus-like beauty, together with her strong and kindhearted nature, any man who saw her would be delighted—Wei Zhao was no exception. After all, a gentleman courts a fair maiden; such was man's nature and common failing.

The reason he went to such lengths to refuse her was simply that Wei Zhao did not wish to take on any more debts of the heart. To have so many close female confidantes was indeed a blessing every man would envy, but it was at the same time a heavy responsibility upon his shoulders.

From first to last, Wei Zhao had always felt he had failed his women far too much. That was why, ever since coming to Yunjie Island, he had deliberately avoided entangling himself in any more affairs of the heart, devoting himself single-mindedly to cultivation, hoping to awaken all of them as soon as possible.

If he now added Huang Xiaotao to the number, it would be unfair both to the many women already in his life and to Huang Xiaotao herself. Better, then, to nip her notion in the bud as early as possible.

"It's probably just gratitude for what I've done, a momentary impulse that gave her the idea of giving herself to me in return. Once she calms down and thinks it over, I'm sure she'll see reason." Wei Zhao shook his head and smiled to himself.

Little did he know that while such a momentary impulse was indeed quite plausible in other girls, with Huang Xiaotao's steadfast nature, how could she be so easily swept away by a passing whim?

The five days passed in the blink of an eye, and the day of the duel that Su Zhaohe had agreed upon with Wei Zhao arrived at last, with all eyes upon it.

That day the North Island arena was thronged with people, the surrounding stands packed so tightly that not a drop could trickle through. Nearly sixty percent of the Three-Tier Pavilion's disciples had come to watch the fight.

Of the two challengers, Su Zhaohe needed no introduction—rumor had it that he was about to take Shangguan Tianxia as his master, making him the most illustrious prodigy in the Three-Tier Pavilion of late. Wei Zhao, meanwhile, was still only a newcomer of the Welcome Pavilion, yet he was the most talked-about new disciple in years, and his name was already known to everyone from top to bottom of the Three-Tier Pavilion.

Both were figures of focus, and with the stark gap in strength between them, this duel had drawn intense attention from the very moment it was arranged, becoming the favorite topic of conversation among nearly all the Three-Tier Pavilion's disciples.

In those brief five days, the marketplace of rumor had even spun the grudge between the two into several wholly different versions.

Some said Wei Zhao had killed Su Zhaohu, and that Su Zhaohe meant to avenge his cousin, seizing the occasion to display his strength and draw the Pavilion Master Shangguan's notice. This was, indeed, the very account Su Zhaohe had given when he publicly issued the challenge.

Others said that Huang Xiaotao had once gone to the Welcome Pavilion to meet Wei Zhao in secret; that this woman had been caught up in a scandal with Su Zhaohe before, and had later been banished to the Qingyun Pavilion after her face was ruined by mishap—and that it was her stirring the pot between them that had set Su Zhaohe and Wei Zhao at each other's throats. R1152