Chapter 4738 — The Judging Begins
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"That little wretch is truly despicable!" Liu Ziqi was just as incensed when she heard it. As Ning Shanghe's close friend of many years, she knew exactly what the Thunder Mystic Vine meant to Western Island, and could not help asking, "But how did this Kang Jingming find the Thunder Mystic Vine? A route map that important surely would not have leaked, would it?"
"I find it strange as well. This matter must be investigated thoroughly until the truth comes out," Ning Shanghe said, her brows tightly knit.
To be sure, the presence of the Thunder Mystic Vine in the Western Island Trials was no secret; in fact, a good many participants had come precisely for it. But the exact location where the vine grew was the most closely guarded of all secrets on Western Island.
Even among Western Island's own disciples, only the handful Ning Shanghe valued most were ever given the faintest hint; the rest had no way of knowing at all. Even Liu Ziqi, for all her deep ties with Ning Shanghe, had only been told because she had once rendered great service to Western Island—before that, the secret had never been divulged to anyone.
And whether it was Liu Ziqi or those disciples Ning Shanghe favored, they were all absolutely reliable insiders. There was no normal reason for anyone to leak such a vital secret—so how did Kang Jingming come to know it?
"Could it be that this thing wounded Die'er and wrung the answer out of her?" Liu Ziqi was suddenly startled.
Ning Shanghe nodded thoughtfully as well. The participants in this Western Island Trial were mainly outsiders; very few were native disciples of the island. To guard against any leak of the Thunder Mystic Vine's secret, Ning Shanghe had given them no hints this time—which meant that among them, only Huo Yudie knew the vine's location.
By that reasoning, Kang Jingming had most likely gotten his lead from Huo Yudie, and this dovetailed neatly with Wei Zhao's injury. Perhaps Wei Zhao had been trying to save Huo Yudie, and that was why Kang Jingming had beaten him so grievously; and it was precisely for this reason that Huo Yudie had been willing to risk her life and her reputation to stay inside and keep him company!
In but a brief moment, Ning Shanghe and Liu Ziqi had pieced together a complete chain of events in their own minds. The more they thought, the more plausible it seemed—until they had all but accepted it as fact.
"That Kang Jingming truly deserves to die!" Liu Ziqi gnashed her teeth in fury.
Ning Shanghe nodded without a word, her face grim. She was far more furious than Liu Ziqi, yet as mistress of Western Island she was utterly powerless. After all, everything in the trials was left to fate, and killing for treasure was commonplace. Nor was there any rule beforehand forbidding anyone from touching the Thunder Mystic Vine. Even if she wished to take Kang Jingming to task, on what grounds could she exact revenge after the fact?
Kang Jingming's conduct was shameless, to be sure, but if Ning Shanghe truly blamed him for it, the whole of Western Island would become a laughingstock. Where the island's reputation was at stake, she could only swallow her anger.
In the blink of an eye, half a month had slipped by, and still there was no word of Wei Zhao or Huo Yudie. In truth, everyone knew the two of them were trapped inside with no hope of coming out. A cultivator at the great perfection of the Nascent Soul stage could last a month at most, and a full month and a half had already passed. If only for the rule that cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage could not activate the teleportation array, not even an immortal could dream of emerging now.
The Western Island Trials had stirred up a great clamor; it could not be dragged on indefinitely. Eventually a final verdict had to be rendered, or they would be seen as breaking faith with the world.