Chapter 2290 — Blending In
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
"Of course!" A Biao agreed without a moment's thought. "But first we must lay our comrade to rest before we can descend."
"Let me help you with that!" Wei Zhao was genuinely worried they might carry a corpse down the mountain, which would throw off the count. Ordinarily the families at the foot of the mountain might not search too strictly, but now the Tagan Clan was watching, and even adventuring bands sent up by other families would surely be quietly checked and tallied.
"That would be wonderful! My thanks beyond words!" A Biao said gratefully.
For Wei Zhao, digging a pit in the earth to bury a body was the work of a moment. He casually used a branch to dig out a grave in a few strokes, while A Biao and the other adventurers laid their comrade to rest within it.
Adventurers like them, wanderers of the four seas, had no notion of returning fallen leaves to their roots. Where they died was where they were buried.
When that was done, Wei Zhao took his leave of A Biao and Sun Jingyan. As for anything more, he said nothing to A Biao. The more that was said, the more likely trouble would follow; better to say nothing, lest A Biao carry some burden of worry and let something slip.
After seeing Sun Jingyan and A Biao's party off, Wei Zhao found a place to hide himself for the time being and made his plans.
Wei Zhao did not mean to descend so soon. At the very least he would wait until Sun Jingyan had safely left the Ulonghot Mountains, and better still, returned to the border town, before he himself went down. That way he would have no misgivings; even if he ran into an expert, he could fling out the Heaven-and-Earth Net and take to his heels, and things would likely come out all right.
So Wei Zhao simply sat down on the ground, set the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art in motion, and began to cultivate...
A Biao led Sun Jingyan and the rest of the band down the mountain, only to find that at the mountain's foot several families and factions had jointly set up a checkpoint, searching adventurers going up and coming down with great rigor...
A Biao was no fool. On the contrary, to become the head of an adventuring band, he had to have a quick mind. Seeing this, he instinctively turned his head toward Sun Jingyan.
The appearance of Wei Zhao and Sun Jingyan had been strange enough, and that Wei Zhao, a cultivator, should go out of his way to help a band of common adventurers was odd in itself. True, they had been in danger, but what made Wei Zhao so chivalrous as to step in? And with such a kindly manner besides?
More than that, the most important point: Wei Zhao had actually split off from Sun Jingyan, sending her down the mountain with their band while he himself did not descend.
Of course, had there been no checkpoint searching at the mountain's foot, A Biao would never have thought so deeply about it. But now, seeing those searchers, and recalling the strangeness of what had come before, A Biao began to understand.
Perhaps the ones these families and factions were searching for were none other than Wei Zhao and Sun Jingyan! And Wei Zhao had set Sun Jingyan among their number precisely because their band had lost a member, and a woman at that, so that Sun Jingyan might take the dead woman's place.