Chapter 4793 — The Academy's Choice
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Much obliged, Captain Oda. Until we meet again." Wei Zhao nodded with a smile.
From their time together these past days, he had come to see that the man was not so bad after all. Apart from his habit of turning on a man as swiftly as flipping a page, he had no great flaws. Wei Zhao knew full well the fellow was only currying favor with him, but a friend in possession of an ancient warship might prove useful one day.
"Fair winds to you—until we meet again!" Oda Ba laughed heartily, open and cheerful. Anyone unacquainted with him would be taken in by that image; let a man truly believe him blunt and forthright, and one day he would be cheated until he bled from the face.
Once off the ship, the East Isle disciples came one after another to bid Liu Ziqi farewell, then departed in twos and threes, each going his own way, each seeking his own mother. Liu Ziqi and Wei Zhao's group, however, did not set off at once for Chenjiao Academy, but found an inn nearby and put up there for the time being.
There was no other reason: over the next few days they had to settle a very important question—which academy, after all, were they to enter?
Ning Shanghe had given no clear answer to that, saying only that Ning Xuefei should choose for herself; and as for Wei Zhao, wherever Ning Xuefei went, he would of course go.
Along the way, Liu Ziqi had asked Ning Xuefei this very question several times, but the girl had been too busy spying out the secrets of the ancient warship to give it any serious thought, and so it had been dragged out until now. Liu Ziqi could only wait with resignation; her task was to escort Ning Xuefei to enrollment in person, and she could hardly walk off now.
Liu Ziqi, Ning Xuefei, Huo Yudie, and Wei Zhao sat around a table, staring at one another wide-eyed, while on the table lay a great stack of materials covering every Yellow-Rank academy in East Isle. To read through them all, Wei Zhao roughly estimated, would take three to five days at the very least.
Ning Xuefei's head swam just looking at it. And she was not alone—even Wei Zhao would have found it unbearable. To pick the one most to her liking out of so many academies all at once was to fish a needle from the sea; how could it be easy?
"Why don't you recommend one for me?" Ning Xuefei had no choice but to turn to the others for help, eyes brimming with tears.
The others exchanged glances. Liu Ziqi and Huo Yudie both said nothing; helping Ning Xuefei choose an academy was no small matter. Should someone with ulterior motives spread word of it, and should she be branded with the label of meddling in West Isle's internal affairs, that would be a grievous wrong done her. Even if Ning Shanghe had no objection, the other East Isle academies would certainly be displeased.
To recruit Ning Xuefei, princess of West Isle, would be a great event for any East Isle academy; in a sense, it was an honor only first-rate academies could enjoy. So this matter could only be decided by Ning Xuefei herself—Liu Ziqi did not wish to leave any handle for gossip.
With no way out, Ning Xuefei turned her head to look at Wei Zhao, who had far fewer scruples in this regard. As West Isle's consort, he had every right to speak on the matter.
"How about Chenxing Academy?" Wei Zhao said after a moment's thought. It was the first East Isle academy he had ever heard of, and both Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao were there. If Ning Xuefei were to take the East Sea Divine Nun as her master, they would be able to look after one another once she was there.
Of course, there was one deeply selfish motive in this: Wei Zhao simply wanted the chance to see Wang Xinyan and Huang Xiaotao again. Since parting in the South Isle waters, two years had slipped by in the blink of an eye without a meeting. To say he did not miss the two women would be an outright lie. This was the perfect opportunity.