Chapter 4955 — A Swift Escape
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Correct—the docks. And I have had Li Jijiu put out word that we sail at first light tomorrow for Morning Star Academy. That leaves our man only tonight." Wei Zhao paused, his eyes glinting darkly. "Time and place both fixed beyond doubt. Is there any easier fishing in all the world?"
A silence fell over the group. Every one of them was stunned by Wei Zhao's plan. Who was Chang Minghui? A titan of the late Kaishan stage, a figure of enormous power—and Wei Zhao proposed to use him as a fish. Such audacity left them staring open-mouthed; even Liu Ziqi was somewhat taken aback by it.
"But even to fish, you need the strength to haul the catch ashore," Liu Ziqi warned, his expression grave. "Chang Minghui is no small matter. Give him one chance to take the hook, and you may find yourself dragged out to sea instead. Wei Zhao, you had best think this through."
"Quite so. Which is why I cannot do this alone—I will need help." Wei Zhao gave a light laugh.
In the darkness, Chang Minghui stood upon the back of the Ghost-Eye Golden Eagle, gazing down at the earth below. Nearly a hundred zhang above the ground, he was utterly beyond the notice of those beneath him, yet through his vast divine sense he could monitor every movement on the ground.
Suddenly his eyelid twitched. A commotion had arisen aboard the Morning Star Academy treasure ship below; listening closely, he caught word that they meant to depart for the academy first thing the next morning!
"The Lin boy means to run?" Chang Minghui grasped their intent in an instant. Because he feared Zhuang Yifan, he had not wished to act at this moment. The docks, after all, lay at some distance from the League branch—but not so very far—and nominally they were still League territory, which was to say Zhuang Yifan's territory.
He had not dared touch Wei Zhao in the banquet hall just now. On Zhuang Yifan's ground—even if it was not the League branch proper—he would have to weigh his options carefully.
Of course, he also knew that the only suitable place for him to launch an attack was the docks—but not now. He meant to find some pretext to lure the tiger from its mountain. Once he had tricked Zhuang Yifan out of Leidong Plain Island, he could act at the docks without the slightest scruple.
Unfortunately for him, Wei Zhao gave him no such chance.
At this moment, on the deck of the Morning Star Academy treasure ship, Wei Zhao and Wang Xinyan and the other girls stood openly enjoying the breeze and chatting. No one else was near, and they seemed not in the least to regard Chang Minghui, that monstrous threat, as anything worth worrying over.
"Is this really all right?" Wang Xinyan looked at Wei Zhao with some concern, and Huo Yudie and Huang Xiaotao were the same. For all their calm exteriors, ever since hearing Wei Zhao's plan their hearts had hung suspended in midair, and they had broken out in cold sweats on his behalf.
If they could have been of help to Wei Zhao, that would have been one thing—but their opponent was a titan of the late Kaishan stage. These early Xuansheng cultivators were not even qualified to serve as cannon fodder. Beyond worrying, they truly did not know what else they could do.
"I don't know," Wei Zhao admitted. "But we have to try. This is the best chance we will get—miss this village and there's no telling when we'll find another inn. " In his heart he too was uncertain, but try he must, whatever came of it. He could not leave such a monstrous hidden danger in place; if a late-stage Kaishan expert truly fixated on him like this, he would never know a peaceful day again.
"But..." Huo Yudie wanted to urge him again. She was not by nature a timid person, and in the past she had taken plenty of risks on her own—otherwise, during the West Island trials, she would never have rashly teamed up with a total stranger like Wei Zhao, which had itself been a most perilous choice. But she truly did not want to see Wei Zhao take this risk—not in the least.