Chapter 4243 — Some Teammates

Since there was no restriction on coming back out, they had nothing to worry about. Otherwise, if the two of them got separated from the group after entering and couldn't find their way back, that would be a real mess.

There was nothing else to do here anyway, and at this rate they might well end up sleeping in the streets. With Huang Xiaotao's looks, if someone happened to notice her, it could easily stir up trouble again—and that would be no fun at all. Better to take their chances in the Rufeng Forest; that was at least solid and reliable.

At the mere thought of a treasure like the Wandu Golden Core Fruit, even Wei Zhao felt a twinge of longing. Though he was a perfect-breakthrough expert of the Golden Core stage and in theory would find future breakthroughs far easier than ordinary Golden Core cultivators, what took others several hundred years to achieve would still take even a perfect Golden Core expert several decades through normal cultivation alone.

But if he could get his hands on a Wandu Golden Core Fruit and refine a top-grade golden core, that time could be cut drastically.

"Excellent!" The man in blue was overjoyed. The miasma in the Rufeng Forest would only disperse for a limited time, and the four of them had already waited several days—they truly couldn't hold out any longer. Today they had finally scraped together enough people. He introduced himself at once: "My name is Guo Dengtao. The other three are waiting back at the inn. I'll take you to them right now—we can set off immediately."

"Very well, then we'll trouble you, Brother Guo." Wei Zhao nodded, and he and Huang Xiaotao fell in step behind the man.

Shouldering their way through the crowd, the three of them wove through two streets and arrived at a superior guest room in one of the inns, where the other three had been waiting for some time.

Wei Zhao gave them a quick once-over. The three in the room were two men and one woman—two male cultivators, one at the late Golden Core stage and one at the mid Golden Core stage, and the remaining female cultivator at the peak of the early Golden Core stage.

"Everyone, these are the experts I just found—come all the way from Beidao, and willing to join us to the Rufeng Forest." Guo Dengtao spoke up, then warmly introduced the two of them. "This is Senior Brother Chu Bubai, a great expert of the late Golden Core stage. This is Brother Wang Feng, a mid Golden Core expert. And this is Miss Feng Hongyu, at the peak of the early Golden Core stage—she is Senior Brother Chu Bubai's dao companion."

Wei Zhao studied the three of them more carefully. Chu Bubai looked to be around thirty, handsome and distinguished in bearing, dressed now in a long white robe and holding a paper fan. At first glance he gave off quite an air of scholarly refinement—but look closer, and one would notice a flicker of something dark and vicious passing through his brow from time to time. Clearly he was not as gentle and cultivated as he appeared.

Wang Feng, seated to one side, also looked to be in his early thirties, with crisp short hair and a loose gray robe—which nonetheless could not conceal the taut muscle beneath, giving him an air of lean capability.

As for the female cultivator called Feng Hongyu, she was all powder and paint, and at first glance rather striking, though her looks were at best second-rate—the kind of face one forgets the moment one looks away. Wei Zhao was long accustomed to beauties like Huang Xiaotao, and felt nothing at all; he only thought there was something showy about the woman's eyes and brows, and that she held herself far too high. Apart from Chu Bubai, she scarcely deigned to look anyone in the room straight in the eye.

"I am Ling Yi of Beidao, and this beside me is my fellow disciple, Junior Sister Huang. Greetings to you, Brother Chu, Brother Wang, and Miss Feng." Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao cupped their hands in salute.

The eyes of the three in the room fell upon the two of them at once, and they frowned almost in unison, plainly showing a measure of disdain—they rather looked down on Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao.

After all, judging purely by the strength on paper, Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao, both early Golden Core, were the weakest of the group. It was hardly surprising they wore such expressions.

"Taozi, I know you're the one organizing the recruitment, but aren't you being far too hasty and irresponsible? You're practically grabbing at anything you can get. Bringing in two such weaklings—when the time comes they won't be any help at all, we'll have to look after them instead. Aren't they just going to drag us down?" Feng Hongyu shot the two of them a glance and, in a lofty tone, mocked them to their faces without the least restraint.

Huang Xiaotao looked at Wei Zhao at that. Wei Zhao merely frowned slightly, betraying nothing, and turned his gaze to Guo Dengtao.

"Miss Feng, you're too harsh..." Guo Dengtao gave Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao an awkward, sheepish smile and explained with a bitter look, "You all know what it's like out there right now—recruiters everywhere. In times like these, just being able to put a team together is good enough. We really can't ask for more."

In his view, being able to pull in both Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao at once was already a blessing from heaven. Set any more conditions, and they'd never find anyone in the short time they had—and then there'd be no point going to the Rufeng Forest at all.

After all, truth be told, compared with other, stronger teams, theirs was merely ordinary. With only Chu Bubai as a late Golden Core expert, they fell far short of the allure of those teams led by great Golden Core perfection experts.

Wang Feng said nothing. Chu Bubai, seated at the center, gave a nod at this point and settled the matter: "Since you've already brought them here, they may as well come along. But the two of you are weak, so take the initiative and do more of the odd jobs. The luggage and such—leave all that to you."

"Fine." Wei Zhao nodded, making no objection. He could see that although Guo Dengtao was in charge of forming the team, the real one calling the shots was still Chu Bubai, the late Golden Core expert. Since they had decided to go to the Rufeng Forest, keeping a low profile for now would do no harm.

"Since Brother Chu has spoken, I'll say no more. But the two of you had best know your place—don't even think about slacking off. And when we find some rare treasure, you'll be lucky to get a sip of the broth. Don't let your imaginations run wild!" Feng Hongyu prattled on smugly from the side.

Wei Zhao couldn't be bothered with her. Lowering himself to squabble with an ignorant, arrogant woman like that would only cheapen him. Once they were teleported into the Rufeng Forest, he and Huang Xiaotao could get back on their own anyway—and then they need not pay her any mind.

"All right, now that we have enough people, everyone rest well tonight. We set out tomorrow," Chu Bubai decided at last.

Everyone murmured their agreement and returned to their rooms—except Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao, who had no room and no idea where to pass the night. Fortunately, Guo Dengtao was a decent sort; seeing their plight, he offered them his own room and went to share with Wang Feng instead. R1152