Chapter 3152 — Confessing the Truth
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Not that, no—only their friend," Ancestor Xuanzhen shook his head. "His surname is Sun, and he too is a formidable figure; he can bind cultivation and science together. I hear he has devoted himself to researching something that can store the world's spiritual qi and carry it on one's person for cultivation at any time. Whether he succeeded, I cannot say. I met them only once, and we have not crossed paths since."
"I see... Then master and disciple are truly remarkable. But when the Golden Steel Twins learned you were of the Five Luminaries Sect, did they not come looking for trouble there?" Tian Chan asked, somewhat puzzled.
"Heh heh, by then the Golden Steel Twins had already vanished, and I made their acquaintance under the name of a wandering rogue cultivator..." Here Ancestor Xuanzhen grew a little embarrassed. "Tian Chan, do you think your master is too cowardly?"
"Of course not. He who knows the times is a hero. Given how things stood then, no one could match the Golden Steel Twins, so doing as you did was also a way of protecting the Five Luminaries Sect," Tian Chan said with a shake of her head.
"Enough, let us not speak of it. That little girl from those days must surely be grown now—a little younger than you, I would guess. Who knows whether there will be a chance to meet again. But I truly wish to know: did Wei Zhao think up this medicinal cauldron himself, or did someone help him?" Ancestor Xuanzhen sighed. It was not that he had never thought of asking Chief Bai, but he could not. Ancestor Xuanchen wanted to reverse-engineer and copy this first-grade automatic medicinal cauldron; were Ancestor Xuanzhen to raise the question, Chief Bai might well take it as fishing for information. So Ancestor Xuanzhen could only hold his tongue.
As for informing Chief Bai that Ancestor Xuanchen meant to copy the cauldron—there was no point in that. Told or not, Xuanchen would do it all the same, and he did it under the grand banner of serving the Five Luminaries Sect's interests, which left Ancestor Xuanzhen no way to make that call either.
The two were speaking when suddenly they both fell silent at once, for someone was coming.
"It is Xiao Taohong," Tian Chan said, recognizing her footsteps.
Sure enough, a knock came at the door, along with Xiao Taohong's voice: "Young Sect Master, are you free? There is something I would like to discuss with you."
"Come in, Xiao Taohong," Tian Chan said at once. Ancestor Xuanzhen was no outsider, so she saw no need for discretion.
"Young Sect Master, I hope I am not disturbing you?" Xiao Taohong asked hastily as she entered and saw that Tian Chan and Ancestor Xuanzhen appeared to be in the midst of pill refining.
"Not at all, you are no disturbance," Tian Chan waved a hand. "Xiao Taohong, speak your mind."
"This..." Xiao Taohong glanced at Ancestor Xuanzhen. She had no wish to hide anything from him, but what she had come to say was too shameful to speak aloud in his presence.
"Heh heh, I shall step out for some air." Ancestor Xuanzhen rose and walked out of the room with a smile. It was not air he sought, but the chance to stand guard at Tian Chan's door, for it seemed Xiao Taohong had something important to say.
Only once Ancestor Xuanzhen had gone did Xiao Taohong breathe easy. She knew well that with his strength he could eavesdrop just as easily from outside, but so long as it was not to her face, she could bear it.
"Young Sect Master, Brother Kang came to see me today..." Xiao Taohong said, her cheeks faintly flushed.
At the name Kang Jingming, Tian Chan's brows knit at once, and she asked warily, "Kang Jingming? What did he want with you?"
"He... he said he actually still likes me..." And with that, Xiao Taohong recounted to Tian Chan, word for word, everything Kang Jingming had said to her. She held nothing back; she simply did not wish to deceive Tian Chan, and in her mind Tian Chan was worldly and far-sighted, and could help her decide what to do in such matters.