Chapter 4631 — Departure for West Island
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
"That's right—Ning Xuefei's birthday is coming up soon!" Shangguan Lan'er said excitedly, then complained, "Last year I didn't even go to her birthday because you had vanished without a trace, Little Junior Brother. But this year I absolutely have to be there! And now you're back, Little Junior Brother—hee hee, heaven is helping me!"
"So that's what this is about. Well then, I don't have much to get ready. When do we leave?" Wei Zhao nodded in immediate agreement.
His relationship with Ning Xuefei was quite good, and since Shangguan Lan'er had brought it up, there was no harm in agreeing. There was nothing urgent on Zhong Island for the moment anyway; he could go after returning from West Island. Attending a birthday banquet alone should not take much time.
"Today!" As soon as Shangguan Lan'er said it, she pulled Wei Zhao toward Hualan Residence. He had nothing to pack, but she was another matter—there was a whole pile of birthday gifts prepared for Ning Xuefei alone, to say nothing of all her own bits and pieces. Naturally, all of that fell to Wei Zhao, her capable flower-guard, to carry.
Arriving at Hualan Residence, Wei Zhao could only take up the role of a beast of burden with a look of helpless resignation.
When Shangguan Tianxia learned that Wei Zhao was willing to serve as her personal guard, he naturally had no objection. He merely chuckled, gave a few instructions, and then went off to his study to practice calligraphy, seemingly not worried in the least about his granddaughter going to West Island.
Wei Zhao could not help but wonder privately: was this a hundred percent trust in him, or had other protective measures been arranged? Shangguan Lan'er was the little princess of North Island. If he were the only one accompanying and protecting her on a trip to West Island, that seemed a little far-fetched, did it not?
It was not until the very moment before Shangguan Lan'er bade Shangguan Tianxia farewell that the old man cleared up Wei Zhao's doubts. Though on the surface Wei Zhao alone was the capable hand accompanying her this time, two figures of formidable strength and status would be following in secret.
One was Shangguan Tianxia's trusted subordinate, Lan Tieshan, the senior inner sect steward of the Chongtian Pavilion. The other was someone Wei Zhao knew rather well: Gongyang Jun, the head of the Law Enforcement Hall!
Openly and secretly combined, there were only three of them, which looked rather thin. But any one of them, sent out alone, was a powerful figure who could make the entire North Island Sandie Pavilion tremble—especially Gongyang Jun, who was widely acknowledged as destined one day to stand at the very summit of North Island.
No wonder Shangguan Tianxia was so at ease. With these three protecting her together, if anything still happened to Shangguan Lan'er, it could only mean one thing: some power had declared full-scale war on North Island!
Of course, such a thing was impossible. Though the North Island Sandie Pavilion had never been especially aggressive, it did hold sole dominion over an entire island. No matter how powerful a force might be, anyone wanting to challenge it would first have to weigh the matter very carefully.
After bidding farewell to Shangguan Tianxia, the party set out at once from Hualan Residence for the North Island docks.
At the front walked Shangguan Lan'er, light of step and high of spirits. Next came Little Curly Bear, huffing and puffing as it dragged along a giant pair of scissors, casting the occasional unfriendly glance around—every inch the loyal canine defending its mistress. Last of all came Wei Zhao, wearing a look of utter resignation, buried under bundles and parcels piled into a small mountain. What kind of dashing flower-guard was this? He was nothing but ready-made free labor.