Chapter 4296 — Cause and Consequence

The reason the Star-Ink Milk was so precious lay not only in its immense benefit to human cultivators but, more crucially, in its rarity. What is scarce is dear; and if the spirit beast clan were to pour Star-Ink Milk onto the market without cease, the rare would cease to be rare, and the price would collapse. The spirit beast clan was naturally not about to commit such folly.

Of course, the chief consideration was that this scheme of using Star-Ink Milk as bait not only allowed them to collect a suitable amount of it, but also gave their subordinates a chance to skim a little profit on the side—a roundabout form of reward. The higher-ups were spared the trouble, the underlings worked happily, and two birds were killed with one stone.

"And your clansmen?" Wei Zhao asked with a smile. These two were both clan chiefs; without their patronage, the great fire lion clan and the great spider clan would surely have found it hard to gain a foothold on the Southern Island, where powerful spirit beasts swarmed and prowled at every turn.

"We keep watch here, so naturally the little ones had to follow along and lend us a hand. But they're all hidden behind the ruins—we can't let you human cultivators catch sight of them, or we'd be beating the grass and startling the snake," the great fire lion said with a laugh.

"Oh, that's right—speaking of beating the grass and startling the snake, once the likes of Chang Daoping have taken their lumps and gone home to spread word that you waylay and rob people, won't your little trap be exposed? That doesn't seem like a plan for the long haul, does it?" Wei Zhao changed tack.

"Heh heh, who'd be so loose-lipped as to go around blabbing about something so shameful and unlucky? That'd be disgracing yourself for nothing. Human cultivators are notorious for their selfishness—when one of them comes to grief here, he'd sooner every soul under heaven came and trod the same path after him. Only then is his heart at ease. Why would he be so kind as to warn anyone else?" The great fire lion laughed heartily as he spoke. Were it not for that innate, deep-rooted selfishness of theirs, this little trade of theirs would never have lasted.

"That's true enough..." Wei Zhao reflected, and saw that it really did make sense. Even if it were him, unless it were a particularly close friend, he supposed he too would keep silent—let alone anyone else.

Besides, when he and Huang Xiaotao had been called to a halt earlier, the gloating looks on the faces of Chang Daoping and his lot had been proof enough. Everyone else had met with foul luck; only the two of them had come off unscathed. Anyone would have felt the unfairness of it.

"And besides, if word really did get out and fewer human cultivators came, then the two of us would probably stop working here anyway. We'd have long since thought up some way to get ourselves transferred and assigned to other duties—no one's going to rot away forever in a godforsaken place like this, after all," the great spider added with a smile.

"Right, right—wherever there's profit to be skimmed, that's where we go. We're not lone wolves, you know. We've both got big families to feed," the great fire lion said, nodding again and again. He and the great spider had always been rivals and friends both; back in the mortal world, the rival part had been the larger share. But on Cloud-Tier Island, where mighty spirit beasts were everywhere, the two of them could only huddle together for warmth, advancing and retreating as one.

"Mm, I actually think things are pretty good for you as they stand. You've just arrived and have no territory of your own—wandering all over with so many clansmen would truly be a great risk. It just so happens that no one will contest this ruin with you, so it makes a rare safe haven for the time being," Wei Zhao said with a nod.

"Exactly. All we need to do now is skim a bit more profit here and get our footing secure. As for how we develop later, that'll have to wait until the time comes," the great spider said, suddenly finding a kindred spirit. It turned to the great fire lion and pursed its lips. "See that? Our benefactor and I—great minds think alike. If we'd really listened to that half-baked idea of yours and gone roaming about outside, heaven knows how many of our two clans would have died. We'd never have had the peaceful life we have now."

"Fine, fine, you're the clever one, all right?" A rare touch of embarrassment showed on the great fire lion's face. He hastened to change the subject and asked Wei Zhao, "Benefactor, never mind the two of us—tell us about yourself. How did you come to be here? And this one beside you—could she be your..."

At this point, the great fire lion and the great spider both fixed their eyes on Huang Xiaotao, grinning with mischief, and laughed so knowingly that Huang Xiaotao lowered her head in embarrassment.

"I nearly forgot. Here, let me introduce you. Her name is Huang Xiaotao, a disciple of the Azure Cloud Pavilion on the Northern Island." Wei Zhao smiled and introduced them to one another. "Xiaotao, these two are old friends I first came to know back in the mortal world. You've seen their true forms already—they are the chiefs of the great fire lion clan and the great spider clan."

"Xiaotao pays her respects to the two seniors." Huang Xiaotao hastily removed her veil and gracefully curtsied to the great fire lion and the great spider. Since they were old friends and one of their own, there was naturally no need to keep her face hidden any longer.

"No, no, we're hardly worthy of being called seniors—you're our sister-in-law, if anything." The great fire lion and the great spider hurriedly returned the courtesy. In years and in strength they might indeed count as seniors, but Wei Zhao was their benefactor, so calling her sister-in-law was no overstatement.

That one word, "sister-in-law," made Huang Xiaotao, whose skin was thin to begin with, all the more flustered; her blush crept all the way to the roots of her ears.

"All right, no need for formalities among you—we're all family here," Wei Zhao said with a laugh from the side.

"Yes, yes. Benefactor, you were saying that sister-in-law Xiaotao is a disciple of the Azure Cloud Pavilion on the Northern Island? However did the two of you come to know each other?" the great fire lion asked, curiosity written all over his face.

"Simple—because I'm now a disciple of the Azure Cloud Pavilion on the Northern Island, just like her, so naturally we came to know each other," Wei Zhao answered with a smile.

"Benefactor, you joined the Threefold Pavilion of the Northern Island too?" the great fire lion and the great spider asked in surprise.

"That's right. After I passed through the teleportation array to Cloud-Tier Island, I was randomly sent to the Northern Island, and there I joined the Threefold Pavilion of the Northern Island. Counting the days, it's been over a year now. What I've been through in that time—well, it's more than I could ever say." Wei Zhao sighed with feeling. If he really counted them up, no small number of things had happened in that year; any single one of them, taken on its own, would be a tale of legend beyond most people's imagining.

"The Northern Island and the Southern Island are separated by a good hundred thousand li and more—so how did you come to be here, benefactor?" The great fire lion and the great spider exchanged glances. "Don't tell us you came for the Star-Ink Milk? That can't be—I remember word of it only ever spreads around these nearby waters. Has it really traveled that far now?"

"Ah... no, of course not. Out there it's still a closely guarded secret—not many people know of it at all!" Wei Zhao shook his head. (To be continued) R655