Chapter 4761 — Just Giving It Away?

"And what about you? Doesn't that mean you won't have a single one left?" Huo Yudie could not help asking.

"It doesn't matter. I still have the Thunder Profound Vine, and all the auxiliary materials I need in sufficient supply—I can refine more whenever I want. Judging by how this batch turned out, my remaining Thunder Profound Vine should be enough to produce thirty-two Thunder Profound Pills, and that's a conservative estimate." Wei Zhao smiled faintly.

"Thank you, Brother Wei Zhao!" Han Jingyi took the Thunder Profound Pill from his hand and, copying what Huo Yudie had done moments before, gave him a hug as well. She was not the sort to blush or feel awkward over such a thing—in the mortal world, after all, this counted as no more than a greeting, with no propriety to speak of.

First Huo Yudie, then Han Jingyi—now it was Ning Xuefei's turn, and she could only blush and follow suit. Though she was a native of Cloud-Tier Island like Huo Yudie, she was at least nominally Wei Zhao's fiancee, so a mere hug was nothing to make a fuss about.

Wei Zhao had not expected things to turn out this way either. After enjoying in succession the soft warmth of three women, it was Shangguan Lan'er's turn, and everyone's eyes were fixed on her with teasing amusement.

"Little Junior Brother, don't tell me you want me to hug you too? I'm your senior sister, you know..." Shangguan Lan'er said, looking at Wei Zhao pitifully.

Wei Zhao was about to speak, but Ning Xuefei cut him off. "You're not really his senior sister from the same sect, and even if you were, so what? Plenty of senior sisters and junior brothers become cultivation partners. Besides, Lan'er, he's already seen all of you long ago—what's there to be so coy about?"

"Seen all of her?" Huo Yudie was startled and looked at Shangguan Lan'er in disbelief. She had truly never imagined that Shangguan Lan'er and Wei Zhao had already gotten that far.

"It's not like I'm the only one. Feifei, you're no different—he saw all of you the very first time you met, earlier than me even!" Shangguan Lan'er shot back triumphantly.

"Feifei, you too?" Huo Yudie felt even dizzier. So it was not just Shangguan Lan'er—Ning Xuefei as well. And she was the Princess of the Western Island...

"That was an accident, all right!" Ning Xuefei retorted, her lovely face flushing crimson. Then she turned to Han Jingyi and asked, "Jingjing, has Wei Zhao seen all of you too?"

"Of course he has." Han Jingyi was not the least bit shy and admitted it openly and gracefully.

"Pfft!" Huo Yudie nearly spat out her drink—especially when the eyes of the other three women naturally fell upon her. Her face burned red with embarrassment, and she hastily waved her hands. "I... I haven't..."

"But Sister Huo, you said so yourself—Little Junior Brother even used his mouth to draw the poison out for you, and he was lying right under your skirt!" Shangguan Lan'er was utterly unconvinced. Wei Zhao had specifically explained the truth about that photograph and had even verified it with Huo Yudie herself, so the other women all knew the story.

"But that still doesn't count as seeing all of me... my clothes weren't even off..." Huo Yudie denied it, her face full of shame.

Still, Huo Yudie was instantly reassured. So it turned out she was not the one Wei Zhao had seen the most of—compared to the others, what he had seen of her was truly modest, just her thighs. She had even worried the three women would find out and laugh at her, but it seemed she had been overthinking it entirely.

"Hehe, then Sister Huo, how did you change into that denim outfit? Brother Wei Zhao must have been able to see when you were changing, right?" Han Jingyi chimed in with great interest as well.

"No, I changed after my bath—he shouldn't have been able to see." Huo Yudie shook her head again and again. But when she saw the increasingly amused expressions on the three women's faces, she knew at once she had blundered—this was only digging herself in deeper!

Wei Zhao watched the scene, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. It was supposed to be nothing more than handing out Thunder Profound Pills—how had it inexplicably drifted onto this subject? And the way things were going, it was utterly out of control. Shangguan Lan'er and the others were already urging Huo Yudie to hurry up and find a chance to let him see all of her, saying that good sisters had to advance and retreat together. He truly did not know what to say...

Just as Huo Yudie was being egged on by the three women to take off her clothes, Liu Ziqi sat in her room at that very moment, staring at the empty hidden chest, her face full of worry.

The Thunder Profound Vine was gone! Liu Ziqi guessed at once that Huo Yudie had taken it, but she had no idea what she meant to do with it. Thinking of how Huo Yudie had not returned all night, a number of ominous thoughts rose in her heart.

Could Die'er be planning to do something foolish with the Thunder Profound Vine? Could she mean to destroy it—so that even if she gained nothing, she would not have to marry Ren Zhongyuan?

The more Liu Ziqi thought, the more anxious she became. Though Huo Yudie had always obeyed her since childhood, she knew the girl had always had a mind of her own—otherwise she would never have been called the Iceberg Snow Lotus. It was only because she did not wish to defy her master that she appeared so docile and compliant. To put it precisely, it was filial devotion, not obedience.

In the past that had been fine, but now that this filial devotion stood opposed to her lifelong happiness, it was hard to say what choice Huo Yudie would make—there was no guaranteeing she would not do something foolish!

Just as Liu Ziqi was burning with anxiety, Huo Yudie's footsteps sounded outside. She pushed the door open, humming a cheerful folk tune, and froze for a moment when she saw Liu Ziqi in the room. "Master."

Seeing that Huo Yudie's hands were empty, with no trace of that length of Thunder Profound Vine, Liu Ziqi's heart turned cold in an instant. That settled it—Die'er must have given the Thunder Profound Vine away, or simply thrown it out. She truly would rather die than marry Ren Zhongyuan!

At that moment, Liu Ziqi was so full of regret her guts turned green. Had she known this would happen, she should never have pressured her disciple in the first place. Even without the deal with Ren Zhongyuan, as long as they still held the Thunder Profound Vine, there would always be some way to think of. But now the Thunder Profound Vine was gone, and there was no point even thinking of a way—thinking would be nothing but futile.

"Die'er, where is your Thunder Profound Vine? Did you go and throw it away?" Liu Ziqi drew a deep breath and asked hastily.

"Throw it away? Why would I throw it away?" Huo Yudie shook her head, puzzled, then took Liu Ziqi's arm and said with a smile, "I gave the Thunder Profound Vine to someone."

"Gave it away? How could you give something like that away so casually? It concerns your whole future, Die'er!" Liu Ziqi's expression changed at once, and her gaze turned stern. Dote on Huo Yudie as she might, a matter of principle like this was not to be compromised!

"Oh, never mind that for now, Master—quick, look at what's in here!" As she spoke, Huo Yudie excitedly took a small box from her bosom and handed it to Liu Ziqi. (To be continued...)