Chapter 4199 — The Tournament Begins
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
"Angry? Angry about what? Why on earth would I be angry?" Shangguan Lan'er gave him a puzzled look, then went on, bright and bubbling with excitement, "This is wonderful! I'm going to see for myself right now!"
With that, Shangguan Lan'er grabbed little Curly Bear by the paw and set off at a light, springy pace toward the Welcome Pavilion, leaving Xu Lingchong and Meng Zhou standing slack-jawed, their mouths hanging open for a long while.
"Chongchong, has that Shangguan Lan'er gone muddled with rage? Or is she just a silly girl through and through?" Meng Zhou could not help but twitch at the corner of his mouth.
From the cheerful spring in her step, she hardly looked to be putting on an act—and besides, a pampered young lady like her could not possibly harbor such depths of scheming or such skill at playacting.
"Maybe so..." Xu Lingchong was equally speechless. He stood frozen for a good while before giving his head a vigorous shake. "Forget it, never mind that silly girl! Brother Meng, the inner sect tournament is nearly upon us. The two of us had best hurry back and cultivate in tandem. The inner sect disciples are a gathering of the finest, and at our present strength, if we don't hone our rapport to perfection, shining brilliantly is going to be a tall order."
"Mm, mm, right you are, Chongchong. Let's head back and cultivate together this instant. At this inner sect tournament, we swear to stun them all with a single showing!" Meng Zhou's fighting spirit surged on the spot.
The inner sect tournament was not only the perfect stage for Xu Lingchong to declare his triumphant return—it was also the chance for Meng Zhou, or more precisely, for the Meng Zhou whose very nature had been transformed, to make his first appearance before the whole of the Tri-Layer Pavilion. There was no room for failure!
With that, the two of them departed hand in hand, leaving behind the passersby, who stared at their far-too-intimate backs and pointed, whispering among themselves.
Light of foot the whole way, Shangguan Lan'er arrived at Wei Zhao's cave dwelling, little Curly Bear in tow, and triggered the formation at its entrance.
Inside, Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao, still hard at practice with the Savage Fire Eight-Trigram Joint Strike Palm, exchanged a glance, thinking Xu Lingchong and Meng Zhou had come back, thieving hearts still unrepentant. To their surprise, the door opened on Shangguan Lan'er.
"Sister Xiaotao, so you really are here at our little junior brother's place!" Shangguan Lan'er flung her arms around Huang Xiaotao in delight.
"Really? Little senior sister, how did you know Xiaotao was here with me?" Wei Zhao asked, puzzled.
"Mmm. I ran into that insufferable pest Xu Lingchong on the way here, and he told me," Shangguan Lan'er said, wrinkling her nose adorably.
"Heh. The fellow really is a sly one—and a gossipy old woman to boot." Wei Zhao smiled faintly. Xu Lingchong's intent was plain at a glance. But judging by Shangguan Lan'er's reaction, he had picked the wrong person entirely for his sowing of discord.
"That's exactly why I call him an insufferable pest!" Shangguan Lan'er stuck out her tongue, then swept a glance around and saw traces of true qi running wild everywhere. Curious, she asked, "Sister Xiaotao, what have you and our little junior brother been doing here? Fighting?"
"No, nothing like that. He and I have been drilling together, getting ready for the inner sect tournament coming up," Huang Xiaotao explained, her face flushing.
In her eyes, Shangguan Lan'er had always been Wei Zhao's rightful girlfriend. True, it was Shangguan Lan'er herself who had been playing matchmaker between her and Wei Zhao, but even so, the present situation still gave her an odd feeling. Thank goodness she was dressed—otherwise it would have been even more awkward, and she would have had no face left to show anyone.