Chapter 1402 — Return to the Ancient Tomb
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Yu Xiaoke's heart leapt with joy. To return to the ancient tomb, and to the Gate of Death at that, might be perilous beyond measure; yet for some reason, with the male thief beside her, she felt filled with a sense of safety, as though with him there no danger could do her harm.
"Are we going back now?" Yu Xiaoke asked.
"Yes. I'll take you back." As he spoke, Wei Zhao scooped Yu Xiaoke up in one arm, tucked her under his armpit, and went racing back along the tunnel.
Yu Xiaoke had not expected Wei Zhao simply to carry her and run; she felt suddenly shy, and yet she did not struggle, because the feeling was really quite nice.
Wei Zhao was a Mystic-rank expert. Once he circulated his true qi, he could hold his greatest speed all the way back to the Gate of Life and the Gate of Death without rest. Yu Xiaoke was different—she had to stop and start, stop and start, to rest—so Wei Zhao simply did the running in her place.
The Majestic General was a Mystic-rank dog as well, and had no trouble keeping pace behind Wei Zhao.
And so the man and the dog went tearing through the passage of the Gate of Life without a moment's pause. Yu Xiaoke, for her part, no longer felt the tension and worry she had known earlier in the tomb, and wrapped in that sense of safety, she even slept a while along the way.
Only when they reached the place where the Gate of Life and the Gate of Death had stood did Wei Zhao set Yu Xiaoke down.
"So fast?" It seemed to Yu Xiaoke that Wei Zhao had spent almost no time at all running back, and she could not help but marvel.
"A Mystic-rank expert running full out would not need long in any case. Elder Yu is even faster." Wei Zhao said, "Enough. Let us not study that. The puzzle on the ground—is that the pattern on the Gate of Death? If I assemble the pieces according to it, the Gate of Death will open?"
"That should be it. But the puzzle on the Gate of Death follows a rule; not one piece may be moved at random, or it may bring dangers beyond anything you could foresee," Yu Xiaoke said with a nod.
"Good. You direct me in assembling it," Wei Zhao said with a nod. "You tell me which piece to move, and I'll move that piece."
"Ah... all right!" Yu Xiaoke would have liked to say how dangerous that was, but she knew his temperament. Every perilous thing along this journey he had taken upon himself; even with Old Black and Elder Yu present he had shouldered it all alone, let alone when he was with her. Judging by the way he had shielded her the whole way, he would never, ever let her move those puzzle pieces.
Wei Zhao walked over and stood before the Gate of Death, ready to begin moving the puzzle.
"Move this piece to the left first." Yu Xiaoke pointed to a piece on the Gate of Death.
"This one? All right." Wei Zhao laid his hand on the piece. The jade pendant gave no warning at all, and his heart eased; he moved the piece directly.
"Ah..." Yu Xiaoke cried out instinctively. But when she saw that no danger had appeared, she let out a breath of relief and stared at Wei Zhao with a look of doubt and wonder. Had he moved it correctly?