Chapter 4269 — A Step Too Late
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Of course, even with the best of luck, one still needed the strength to seize the opportunity. Anyone else in Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao's position would have been killed by the gray-robed man long ago—that would not be good fortune, but sheer bad luck.
"Alright, let's get out of here. This place is far too dangerous." Wei Zhao tucked the pouch into his jade pendant's spatial realm. He dared not linger any longer, and paying no mind even to his own injuries, he hurried Huang Xiaotao away. He himself did not much care—so long as he held Huang Xiaotao's hand, he could simply restore her as they went.
"Mm." Huang Xiaotao nodded hurriedly. She too knew this place was no longer safe to remain in, and that they had to leave as soon as possible.
They had just caused such a commotion, and the gray-robed man's fate was a cautionary tale right before their eyes. Linger another moment, and who knew whether another meddler might burst in upon them? This was the heart of the Lu Feng Forest; apart from exceptions like Chu Bubai, those who could normally come and go here were all Nascent Soul experts—this was no idle talk.
The two fled at once, yet they dared not run blindly. Instead they followed the route map Chu Bubai had given them, retracing their path back the way they had come. This was the only way to withdraw safely; otherwise, one careless misstep and they would blunder straight into the lair of some powerful spirit beast—then the fun would truly begin.
Two hours later, Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao were already dozens of li from the spirit beast graveyard. They had met no mishaps along the way, nor been followed by any person or beast. The whole journey had been smooth and untroubled.
"Alright, we should be safe now. Let's stop and rest a while. We'll heal our injuries before moving on," Wei Zhao said.
Huang Xiaotao was more or less fine; she had dealt with the lingering injuries in her body even while dashing along. But Wei Zhao himself was still wounded. Though it was not serious, letting it drag on was never a good thing—it had to be treated as soon as possible.
"Mm." Huang Xiaotao nodded, panting. Two hours of unbroken running through such dense forest had been sustained only by the scant true qi in her body; if she did not rest soon, she would not be able to hold out much longer.
Wei Zhao glanced around, found a relatively clean boulder, and had Huang Xiaotao sit on it while he tended his wounds nearby.
Half an incense stick's time later, the last traces of injury in his body were swept away completely. Not only did he feel light all over, but his spirit and vitality had improved considerably; while healing, Wei Zhao had even taken the opportunity to channel a good deal of true qi into Huang Xiaotao.
It was the only sensible choice. Even setting aside the closeness between Wei Zhao and Huang Xiaotao, and considering it purely from the standpoint of a teammate, Wei Zhao had to ensure Huang Xiaotao was always in full fighting condition—this was the danger-ridden Lu Feng Forest, after all. Anything could happen, and none of it would be strange.
"I'm fine now. Shall we keep going?" Huang Xiaotao stretched her limbs, refreshed, and turned to ask.
"No need. From the look of things, there shouldn't be any trouble now. It's rare to come to the Lu Feng Forest, and there's still plenty of time before the miasma returns—let's look around here. With a bit of luck, we might even stumble on something good," Wei Zhao said, shaking his head.
Along the way, he had carefully confirmed the timing of the Lu Feng Forest's miasma dispersal from Guo Dengtao and the others. Judging by past years' experience, there was at least half a month before the miasma returned—time enough to spare.
The Lu Feng Forest's two most coveted natural treasures, the infant ginseng and the Wandu Golden Elixir Fruit, had both already been obtained, one after the other. Anyone else might be trembling with nerves by now, their only thought being to flee.