Chapter 4902 — Barely Trusting You

Though she had come from the mortal world, after all this time she had long since grown used to Wei Zhao's bevy of beauties. After all, if one really thought about it, she herself was not Wei Zhao's first woman, and she would never bind him with the narrow notions of ordinary folk from the mortal realm. Had she lacked even this much magnanimity, she would never have become the Xuan Ascension cultivator she was today.

"I've never seen anyone do good deeds with that particular method..." Wei Zhao gave her a look that was half laugh, half tears, when his expression suddenly shifted, and he said rather oddly, "Whether we meet again in the future, I can't say. But we're about to meet again right now."

As the others were puzzling over this, they caught sight of Ni Caiyue from the corner of their eyes, doubling back, and she came up to Wei Zhao and said pitifully, "Young hero, could you take me out of here? I think I'm lost..."

"Gah?!" Wei Zhao and the others were instantly dumbstruck, staring at Ni Caiyue in disbelief. "Lost? Visibility here may be poor, but you're at least an early Xuan Ascension cultivator, aren't you? How do you get lost?"

This place was not, after all, one that fully severed divine sense, and unlike the vast open sea where not a single landmark could be found—normally, so long as one paid the slightest attention, the odds of getting lost were truly negligible. No matter how you looked at it, she was an early Xuan Ascension cultivator.

"I've just never been any good at finding my way!" Ni Caiyue said with perfect self-righteousness, pouting. "And before, I was too busy shaking off those pests to bother memorizing the route. By the time I came to my senses, Chang Laiting had caught up again, so I could only flee even more wildly, and I have no idea where I've ended up."

Wei Zhao and the others exchanged glances. It sounded forgivable enough—but on second thought, they could not help feeling that this girl was a complete counterfeit. Never mind an early Xuan Ascension cultivator; even an ordinary person ought to be able to memorize a route while fleeing. Was that not a common enough ability...

"We met by chance, and I've already helped you plenty." Wei Zhao shook his head, speechless. He had wanted to use this chance to wander the Road of Giants a while longer. He had no intention of going back now; after all, this place could only be entered once, and he would never have another chance.

"But... but I really can't get out! My master said the Road of Giants is very dangerous, that I mustn't wander about, and that once I broke through to Xuan Ascension I should hurry back. What am I supposed to do now..." Ni Caiyue was once again spinning in frantic circles.

The others felt their heads swim once more. Only when this girl spun did one catch a glimpse of an early Xuan Ascension cultivator's true strength—she was nearly a blurred ring of afterimages.

"Why don't we just help her?" Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao both found it hard to bear. They turned to Wei Zhao.

Seeing Ni Caiyue look so pitiful, Wei Zhao honestly could not bring himself to just abandon her—but neither could he simply agree. After thinking it over, he said, "Then first tell me—what exactly does Chang Laiting want to snatch from you? Tell me that, and I'll take you out."

"That..." Ni Caiyue eyed Wei Zhao warily and abruptly took a step back, on her guard. "You want to rob me too?"

"If I wanted to rob you, I'd have made my move long ago. Do I look like I need to waste words on you?" Wei Zhao rolled his eyes.

"Maybe you're deliberately trying to lull me and make me drop my guard? My master said the world outside is full of treacherous, cunning villains. You can't trust bad people—and you can't trust good people even more!" Ni Caiyue declared with great conviction.

"Heh, now that's a curious thing. Not trusting bad people, I understand—but what do you mean, you can't trust good people even more?" Lu Xiaozhong clicked his tongue in wonder, while Wei Zhao and the others exchanged looks as well.

"Because good people are all faking it with ulterior motives. My master said there are no truly good people in this world at all!" Ni Caiyue put on a show of deep solemnity, except that such an expression suited her cute temperament not at all—like a child dead set on pretending to be an adult. It was enough to make anyone stifle a laugh.

"Heh, your master sounds like he speaks from bitter experience. Seems he's been burned by good people before?" Wei Zhao could not help laughing.

"I don't know about that. Anyway, whatever my master says, I do." Ni Caiyue spoke with perfect seriousness.

"So when your master betrothed you to a piece of scum like Chang Laiting as his dao companion, you obediently went along with it—and then got robbed by your own dao companion?" Wang Xinyan suddenly cut in.

"Uh..." Ni Caiyue's composure collapsed at once, and she said with a bitter little face, "I haven't married him yet! I don't want to be his dao companion at all—he's so fierce and so wicked!"

"There, you see. You can't take everything your master says to heart. When you meet people and face things, you have to feel them out for yourself. Now look at him again—does he look like the sort with ulterior motives?" Wang Xinyan said with a smile, pointing at Wei Zhao.

At that, Ni Caiyue looked Wei Zhao up and down all over again, which only made Wei Zhao thoroughly uncomfortable, and he coughed awkwardly twice.

"Not really..." Ni Caiyue finally reached a conclusion—only, before Wei Zhao could feel pleased, she immediately added, "But what if he's a villain hiding very deep?"

The others were caught between laughter and tears. Lu Xiaozhong laughed heartily. "If Master Lin here is a villain hiding very deep, then are you trying to say that dao companion of yours who fell head over heels is actually a good man hiding very deep?"

"No way! He's so fierce—how could he be a good man!" Ni Caiyue pouted.

"But Wei Zhao isn't fierce to you at all, and he just helped you out of a tight spot. And you still call him a villain?" Huang Xiaotao spoke up in Wei Zhao's defense.

"That..." Ni Caiyue tilted her head and thought for a long while, then looked Wei Zhao over once more, and finally concluded, "I suppose he doesn't really seem like a villain either. Then I'll barely count him as a good man."

Wei Zhao felt like weeping but had no tears. For no reason at all, he had been branded a villain hiding very deep, and now his name still was not cleared—and he was merely "barely" counted as a good man? Was it really that much of a stretch?

Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao both smothered their laughter and gave Wei Zhao looks of helpless sympathy, their eyes conveying the same message: This is as far as I can help you.

"All right, can you believe now that I won't rob you?" Wei Zhao could only spread his hands in resignation.

"Mm-hm, I suppose I can barely trust you." Only then did Ni Caiyue say, "Fine then, I'll tell you what it is. It's this."

With that, Ni Caiyue took a long, narrow wooden box from the bundle on her back. She opened it, and inside lay a spirit herb.

Wei Zhao and the others immediately gathered around. At first glance the spirit herb had nothing remarkable about it—it looked like an ordinary weed by the roadside. But on closer inspection, one would find a faint fluorescence glimmering between its leaf veins, lending the whole network of veins and textures an arcane mystery, giving one a sense of exquisite profundity. (To be continued.)