Chapter 3922 — A Debt of Gratitude
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Compared with the ten-thousand-year tree crystal now resting in Wei Zhao's jade pendant space, its value and uses were far greater—yet in appearance alone it was truly beyond praise. At first glance it was nothing but a charred, rotten stump of wood.
Only after a long while did Shangguan Lan'er finally, and most reluctantly, tuck the thousand-year tree crystal into her pouch. At the same time she turned away and furtively dabbed the drool from the corner of her mouth with a handkerchief.
Then this young miss composed herself into the dignified bearing of a senior sister and declared with solemnity: "Little Junior Brother, given the friendship between us, I won't stand on thanks with you. Your senior sister will keep it all in her heart, and there will be repayment in days to come."
"You're too kind, Senior Sister. It's only what I ought to do." Wei Zhao was choking back laughter, though his face cooperated admirably.
Unexpectedly, Shangguan Lan'er suddenly reached out and smacked him on the forehead, as if he were hopeless: "What do you mean, what you ought to do? Making your senior sister owe you a favor is the same as making my grandfather owe you one! I needn't tell you how precious the favor of the master of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion is—those great personages dream of having him owe them a favor! Little Junior Brother, you really are hopelessly dense!"
There was such a thing? Wei Zhao was struck dumb, and seeing the wink and grimace Shangguan Lan'er shot him, he was silently at a loss for words. So this girl was dead set on fleecing her own grandfather?
Still, for Wei Zhao, earning Shangguan Tianxia's favor would indeed pay endless dividends in the Tri-Stack Pavilion in days to come. Given Shangguan Tianxia's influence, a single casual word from him was enough that even the upper echelons of the Azure Cloud Pavilion would not dare ignore it.
This young miss Shangguan Lan'er had always been innocent and charming, yet here she turned out to be sly as a fox. Her reasoning left Wei Zhao torn between laughter and tears, but he was secretly grateful all the same.
This so-called favor, whether or not it was ever used, was Shangguan Lan'er's goodwill—and it must not be betrayed.
"Now that the thousand-year tree crystal is in hand, what do you plan to do next, Senior Sister?" Wei Zhao asked, turning the subject.
"Hmm..." Shangguan Lan'er furrowed her brow in thought, then smacked her own head. "It's not often I get to come to the back mountain, and with you no less—going back now would be such a waste! Don't you still have a newcomers' assessment mission? I'll tag along and have some fun here, and who knows, maybe we'll find more weapon-forging materials!"
"That works." Wei Zhao nodded. He had already planned to spend the coming days exploring the back mountain's outer reaches; as long as they avoided places as perilous as Half Moon Lake, having Shangguan Lan'er along would not be much of a problem.
One ten-thousand-year tree crystal and one thousand-year tree crystal—even if he failed to find the Heart-Devouring Linglong Grass he most wanted in the days to come, this trip to the back mountain had already been a great gain for Wei Zhao.
Yet while Wei Zhao was thus at ease, his two underlings, Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai, had been worrying themselves gray over him these past days.
Ever since being forced to part from Wei Zhao on the first day, the two had been searching for him without cease—not only because Qiao Hongcai's ghost-eyed golden eagle chick was in his keeping, but above all out of fear for his safety.
After all, they had no idea that Wei Zhao carried a heaven-defying cheat like the jade pendant space! (To be continued.)