Chapter 4249 — A Ready Consent
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Huang Xiaotao, meanwhile, was watching Wei Zhao. Even if her own heart was stirred, she would only ever act in step with him; wherever Wei Zhao went, she went.
"If that's really how it is, we can go, but..." Guo Dengtao and Wang Feng exchanged a glance and nodded at the same time, though a last thread of caution remained. Looking at Chu Bubai, they asked doubtfully, "Since it's such a fine opportunity, Brother Chu, why don't you go yourselves?"
Guo Dengtao and Wang Feng could be counted as sworn brothers, but with Chu Bubai their friendship was nowhere near so close. When it came to a top-grade natural treasure like the infant ginseng, cultivators who held strength above all else would disown even their own blood brothers and masters, let alone a bond as shallow as this.
Besides, entering the Rufeng Forest had required the six of them to gather, but there was no such need for the return trip. If they were in Chu Bubai's shoes, they would have split off long ago and slipped in secretly on their own. How could anyone hand such crucial intelligence to so many people, and even go to such lengths to urge everyone to come along?
An infant ginseng was a thing to monopolize if one could; who ever complained of having too much? Would Chu Bubai really be so generous as to hand it over and share with the rest?
Stirred they might be, but as seasoned mid-stage Golden Core cultivators, Guo Dengtao and Wang Feng were no fools. They would not trust Chu Bubai so completely; the depths ahead were fraught with peril, and with their lives and fortunes at stake, they remained cautious.
"On that point, I can tell you frankly: infant ginseng is exceedingly hard to find. Even knowing the approximate location, I couldn't possibly know it precisely—after all, the spot is only marked on a map, and I've never been there myself, so it would be hard to find at short notice." Chu Bubai paused, swept his gaze over the others, and said, "With more people going, it will naturally be easier to find, and we can cut down the time spent searching. In deep mountains and old forests like those, every extra quarter-hour is another measure of danger—I wouldn't dare linger long either."
Guo Dengtao and Wang Feng nodded slightly. Chu Bubai's reasoning was quite fair and entirely understandable, and because of it they regarded him a shade more highly.
Put themselves in his place and think: if they stood where Chu Bubai stood, even knowing the danger, they would never bring out such vital intelligence to share with everyone. That took no small courage.
"You all surely know that infant ginseng needn't be a whole plant—even a small piece can be used to refine a Gestation-Forming Golden Core. So long as we can find a single plant, the six of us split it evenly, and every share will still be enough to refine one such pill. Now you understand what I mean?" Chu Bubai said, his eyes burning as he looked at them.
"Good, we trust Brother Chu. In that case, we're in!" Guo Dengtao and Wang Feng said, nodding heavily in unison.
"Excellent!" Chu Bubai was greatly delighted, then turned to Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao, who had stayed silent off to the side, and asked, "And you two? Will you come with us, or shall we part ways here?"
As he spoke, the atmosphere inside the tree hollow plunged to freezing. Killing intent flickered in Chu Bubai's eyes—clearly, if Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao refused outright, he would erupt and silence them for good.
Should it come to that, Wei Zhao was certain that everyone present, Guo Dengtao and Wang Feng included, would not stop Chu Bubai—they might even join in.
For all that Guo Dengtao seemed the easygoing sort, when a supreme treasure like infant ginseng was at stake, blood brothers could turn on each other in the face of profit, let alone a band thrown together on the spot. If Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao would not join, then they had best be prepared: this secret might leak.