Chapter 4219 — Shangguan Tianxia's Suspicion

"Still a little short?" Wei Zhao blinked in slight surprise, and then he heard Huang Xiaotao beside him, unable to hold back her laughter, say, "A little short? She's only taken off a shawl—she hasn't even undone her belt yet!"

Wei Zhao was speechless for a moment, thinking to himself that although this girl usually seemed so carefree and happy-go-lucky, her upbringing was still there after all; when it came to this sort of thing, she was even more prudish than a shy girl like Huang Xiaotao.

"Who says it was only a shawl? Senior Sister Xiaotao is lying—I've already undone half my belt!" Shangguan Lan'er retorted from behind him, her face red with embarrassment.

"All right, all right, but Lan'er, you'd better hurry up. It's getting late—if you drag this out much longer it'll be dark, and if the Shangguan Pavilion Master gets worried and comes looking for you himself, that would be trouble!" Huang Xiaotao reminded her, hiding a smile behind her hand.

"Uh..." Shangguan Lan'er gave a start. That really wasn't impossible—Shangguan Tianxia had warned her again and again that she was not to spend the night at Wei Zhao's place. She did not dare dawdle any longer; gritting her teeth, she mustered her courage and, with the valour of desperation, stripped herself completely clean in a few quick movements.

"D-done..." Shangguan Lan'er said, her voice trembling as she covered the vital parts of her body with both hands and cautiously made her way to stand behind Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao turned at the sound and saw Shangguan Lan'er standing there, bashful and utterly bare. For all that he had so many exquisite beauties about him, he could not help being completely dazzled.

Each of the women had her own incomparable charms, every one of them the finest in the world, and if one had to find a single word for Shangguan Lan'er, it could only be: a green lotus rising from the water.

It had been no short time since he had come to know Shangguan Lan'er, and Wei Zhao knew well that this girl's beauty was peerless—it was only that she was always so silly and carefree that he had subconsciously overlooked it. Now, seeing this suddenly, it would have been strange if he had not been dazzled.

In fact, it was not just Wei Zhao, the grown man—even Huang Xiaotao beside them, gazing at the flawless, jade-like Shangguan Lan'er, could not help feeling a tender pity stir in her heart. That allure, born and transformed from her natural artlessness, was simply irresistible; one could not tear one's eyes away.

"Can we start now?" Shangguan Lan'er asked weakly, her face crimson. Having Wei Zhao look at her body like this made her feel not merely shy; for some inexplicable reason, there was also a thread of strange excitement.

"Yes..." Wei Zhao swallowed hard. Forcing his gaze away from Shangguan Lan'er, he took a deep breath to steady his mind, and only then began to raise her strength.

An hour later, Shangguan Lan'er's strength had smoothly reached the realm of Foundation Establishment Great Perfection. Even after Wei Zhao withdrew the hands he had pressed to her wrist, she still stood there blushing with shyness, not daring to raise her head and look at anyone.

By now, thanks to the baptism of true qi, fine beads of sweat had seeped from every inch of Shangguan Lan'er's body, making an already smooth and alluring sight even more impossible to resist. Even Wei Zhao, whose self-control was always so strong, was finding it hard to hold himself in check; had Huang Xiaotao not been present, it was not at all impossible that he would have simply devoured the Shangguan Lan'er who was now feigning resistance while inviting him closer.

"Is it... done?" Shangguan Lan'er's long lashes quivered, and she shyly opened her eyes.

"It's done. Little Senior Sister, put your clothes on," Wei Zhao said, forcibly steadying his mind as he reluctantly drew his gaze away from her.

Barring the unexpected, it should already be dark outside by now. If this girl did not hurry back, there was no telling whether Shangguan Tianxia, Master of the Skyward Pavilion, might really grace them with his presence. And that would be more than just an honour to the household—if he learned what had happened today, it might well be a raging storm, for this was, after all, his one and only precious granddaughter.

"Oh." Shangguan Lan'er answered obediently, and could not help heaving a sigh of relief—though it came with a trace of inexplicable disappointment. Why she should feel that way, even she could not understand.

Huang Xiaotao had already thoughtfully prepared hot water and towels. After wiping Shangguan Lan'er down, she helped her dress, while Wei Zhao cautioned from the side, "Little Senior Sister, you must keep today's matter absolutely secret—you can't tell even your grandfather."

"I know, I know! Your senior sister's lips are sealed, Little Junior Brother, so don't you worry!" The moment she was dressed, Shangguan Lan'er immediately regained her spirited manner, leaving Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao struggling not to laugh.

By the time she took her leave of the two of them and returned with Little Curly Bear to Hualan Residence in the Skyward Pavilion, the sky had gone completely dark—and Shangguan Tianxia was in his study practicing his calligraphy while waiting for her to come home.

Sure enough, one look at his precious granddaughter, and Shangguan Tianxia—a top-tier figure who remained unruffled no matter what—was startled half out of his wits.

"Little Lan'er, what's happened to you?" Shangguan Tianxia could not even be bothered with his calligraphy; throwing down his brush, he hurriedly looked her up and down, his face tense with alarm.

"I just got back from Little Junior Brother's place. I didn't stay the night there, so what are you so nervous about, Grandfather?" Shangguan Lan'er said, blinking. She had wanted all along to move in with Huang Xiaotao, but Shangguan Tianxia would not allow it, so she had had to give up the idea.

"Er—that's not what your grandfather means." Shangguan Tianxia was somewhat choked off by his naïve granddaughter, and with a bitter smile he said, "I mean your strength—how did it suddenly surge to Foundation Establishment Great Perfection?"

"Oh, that. I ate lots and lots of Foundation Establishment Golden Cores at Little Junior Brother's place, so of course my strength went up, hee hee!" Shangguan Lan'er said, her eyes rolling craftily.

"Ate Foundation Establishment Golden Cores?" Shangguan Tianxia was struck dumb for a moment, then shook his head with a laugh of helpless exasperation. His precious granddaughter was trying to fool him as though he were a child! Could one casually eat a few Foundation Establishment Golden Cores and jump straight from mid-stage Foundation Establishment to Great Perfection? If such cores were that easy to come by, every cultivator in the world who toiled away in seclusion would have gone mad.

"That's right! Little Junior Brother is a fine alchemist—he can refine loads of them," Shangguan Lan'er said, still thinking she had spun her lie rather well. She put out her tongue cutely and went on patching up her story.

"Well, all right—but Little Lan'er, you must still cultivate diligently and lay a solid foundation, or else you'll end up with rank but no real strength, a thing of empty show," Shangguan Tianxia said with a resigned nod.

Though his heart was full of doubts, he had no intention of digging to the bottom of it. He trusted that Wei Zhao would not do his granddaughter any harm; besides, in that brief moment just now he had unobtrusively examined Shangguan Lan'er from head to toe, and apart from the rise in her strength there was nothing at all out of the ordinary—only then was he finally at ease. (To be continued) R466