Chapter 2793 — Everyone Stunned
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
When they reached the dining hall, Wei Zhao caught sight of Feng Shihua and another cultivator from before.
Feng Shihua, seeing Wei Zhao and Zhao Qilei come into the hall, was plainly delighted. He waved them over and called out, "You two young heroes, come eat with us! My treat!"
Wei Zhao gave a wry smile. He had not expected the pair to still be waiting on their meal; he had deliberately dawdled in his room upstairs, and now that the invitation was so warmly made, he found it hard to refuse—after all, Feng Shihua and his companion were the only others in the hall.
"Very well, then I shall do as you ask rather than stand on ceremony." Wei Zhao led Zhao Qilei over and took the empty seats across from Feng Shihua and the other cultivator.
"Feng Shihua—let me introduce myself properly!" Feng Shihua extended his hand and spoke to Wei Zhao with courtesy.
"Wei Zhao. This is my younger brother, Zhao Qilei." Wei Zhao shook his hand, but kept watching for Feng Shihua's reaction. To his disappointment, nothing particular showed on the man's face—as though the name Wei Zhao meant nothing to him, as though he had never heard it at all.
In truth, Feng Shihua really had not heard it. Even the name "Ling Yi" meant nothing to him. After all, the matter of the Ice Palace trial was kept secret; what had spread abroad was only that Feng Nitian and Zhang Naipao had been crippled—of who had done it, there was no word at all.
The Ice Palace still carried its weight of dread, and the hidden families did not dare speak of it. As for the two ruined men, that much came out with a little inquiry: only those two from the ancient stratum had entered the trial, and both had come back ruined. There was no hiding it.
"My name is Ge Xian. A loose cultivator—I'm with Brother Feng these days," the loose cultivator introduced himself. "I'm a pretty fair hand, peak late Earth Rank."
"Ha, I'm only late Earth Rank myself, and a loose cultivator too," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile. "This younger brother of mine comes from the hidden Zhao family, though his strength is rather modest—only peak mid Profound Rank."
Wei Zhao's words left both Feng Shihua and Ge Xian stunned. Wei Zhao was a loose cultivator too? Then how had he taken a young man of a hidden family as his junior? The hidden stratum, though it fell short of the ancient stratum, was still something loose cultivators could only look up to. Ge Xian, being a loose cultivator, knew this better than anyone: were he to seek a place in a hidden family, the best he could hope for was a post as a gate guard or a retainer—let alone taking one of their sons as a junior, he would count himself lucky to serve as their errand-runner.
And had Wei Zhao been a Heaven Rank expert, that would have been one thing—but he was only late Earth Rank, and yet he had a junior at peak mid Profound Rank. That was truly a little hard to believe.
"Young Master Lin, very glad to meet you!" Feng Shihua showed no contempt for Wei Zhao; on the contrary, he thought loose cultivators the easiest sort to get along with—no need to worry about the feuds among the ancient families and sects, and so long as talk went smoothly, fine friends could be made. "I hail from the ancient Feng family!"
This was the first time Feng Shihua had spoken his origins aloud—even Ge Xian had not known before. It was only after Wei Zhao introduced Zhao Qilei's background that he came out with it.
"Ah!?" Ge Xian started, astonished. "Brother Feng, you really are of the ancient Feng family? Then Feng Nitian—"
"He is my cousin," Feng Shihua said. "A pity—so young, and now he lies a living corpse, not yet woken. He was outmatched; he cannot blame others. But it is a blow to our Feng family all the same. And my coming here this time was in fact to seek the Great Returning Pill for him."