Chapter 2604 — The Troubling Outcome

"What is your name? And the person who went with you to the Wulonghaote Mountains—what is his name? Where is he now?" Xiao Yi asked.

"My name is Sun Jingyan. The person who went with me to the Wulonghaote Mountains is called Wei Zhao. He studies in the pharmaceutical program of the biology department at Donghai City Engineering University," Sun Jingyan answered woodenly.

"The pharmaceutical program of the biology department?" Xiao Yi's mouth twitched. That damned major again? It seemed this would be a bit troublesome. When he went to seize the man later, he would have to keep a low profile. So he continued: "Why did you go to the Wulonghaote Mountains? What was the great treasure you found there?"

"I went to the Wulonghaote Mountains because among the keepsakes my parents left me was a map—a treasure map to that great treasure," Sun Jingyan said truthfully. "The great treasure is the stone on the bed, the one that can be cultivated with."

Xiao Yi's brows drew tight at that. It seemed Sun Jingyan was not lying. So Little Six, Little Twelve, and Little Thirteen had died for nothing—thrown their lives away for such a useless trinket!

He had assumed this sect must be sitting on something fine—and the so-called great treasure turned out to be this?

"Did you have any other strokes of luck? Is this the only thing you brought back from the Wulonghaote Mountains?" Xiao Yi asked, unwilling to let it go.

"We also ran into the Great Fire Lions and the Spider Clan..." And with that, Sun Jingyan recounted what had happened in the Wulonghaote Mountains with the Great Fire Lions and the Spider Clan, and she also told him about the teleportation array that could open the way to the Heavenly Dao. Xiao Yi had been listening with mingled alarm and delight—but then, all at once, he heard that the array could be used only three times, that two uses were already spent, and that the Fire Lion Clan and the Spider Clan had both vanished. At that, Xiao Yi could not help but connect the dots to something deeply galling...

Had the Fire Lion Clan and the Spider Clan used up the final use of that teleportation array? If so, he was left speechless. The shortcut to the Heavenly Dao they had searched for so painstakingly—found at last, yet no longer usable. It was exactly like a starving man who spies a loaf of bread, is just rejoicing, and then discovers the bread is only a model...

As for Sun Jingyan, he no longer wished to ask her anything; even the thought of summoning Wei Zhao for questioning had faded. The matter was clear enough. That so-called great treasure was no great treasure at all in Xiao Yi's eyes. The true treasure was the Heavenly Dao teleportation array—only by now it was surely unusable.

"Draw me the map to that cave. Now—draw it!" Xiao Yi flicked out another steel bead, restoring Sun Jingyan's freedom of movement, then handed her a pen and a sheet of paper and told her to draw the map.

Sun Jingyan's memory was not that detailed, but she could still sketch the general bearings, and Xiao Yi and the others knew the map of the Wulonghaote Mountains like the backs of their hands. Rough as her drawing was, it was enough to pin down the cave's approximate location...

……………………

At Donghai City Engineering University, Wei Zhao saw off the two Zhu brothers and then came to the school.

He had come this time having actually made an important decision: he intended to show Leader Bai the notebook of pill-refining insights he had found in the ancient tomb, written by Zhang Liju the alchemist.

Leader Bai had selflessly shared his own materials with Wei Zhao—had even let him use them to trade for good things with You Panhu—and Wei Zhao was deeply grateful. If the earlier materials had been ordinary enough, what came afterward amounted to Leader Bai's own secret lore, for his master had once left it to him.

And Wei Zhao was not the sort to take and take without thought of return; he was a man who kept clear accounts of kindness and grievance. Since Leader Bai had done this much, he would naturally repay it in kind.

In truth, the simplest repayment Wei Zhao could think of was to help Leader Bai heal the damaged meridians within his body and make him a pill refiner once more—which, for Wei Zhao as much as for Han Jingyi, would be the greatest of boons.

Only, this involved too much. Leader Bai would inevitably learn Wei Zhao's secrets. Smooth as their teacher-student bond was, Wei Zhao still did not know Leader Bai's origins or the hidden matters behind them.

Which power, which sect, had he belonged to in those years? Wei Zhao had to find out. Even though he believed Leader Bai would never harm him, his abilities were simply too terrifying—and Leader Bai's injuries were plainly not the same as those of Zhu Lao-er and Pi Zhihai.

Though Leader Bai had never said so outright, Wei Zhao could hear it: there had to be something hidden about how he was injured back then. Had his wounds been dealt by enemies, or caused some other way? It was not that Wei Zhao distrusted Leader Bai—it was that he feared the chain of consequences if Leader Bai were to recover.

If Leader Bai's enemies learned he had recovered, what would they think? What level of person had Leader Bai once been? At the very least, an ancient one. So Wei Zhao feared bringing trouble on himself as well. As for showing Leader Bai Zhang Liju's pill-refining insights, that was the next-best thing.

It was just the noon break now. Wei Zhao skipped the classroom and went straight to Leader Bai's office. He knocked, and to his surprise Leader Bai was indeed in.

"Come in!" Leader Bai's voice came from within.

Wei Zhao pushed the door open at the word and said with a smile, "Teacher Bai."

"Oh? Wei Zhao? What brings you here?" Leader Bai was a little puzzled. Wei Zhao rarely showed up uninvited—unless Leader Bai had asked him, he was hard to find even during the school term, and lately he had been asking for leave constantly.

"Teacher Bai, there's something I'd like to talk to you about." Wei Zhao closed the office door behind him and spoke gravely.

"Oh? What is it? Sit down and tell me." Seeing how solemn Wei Zhao was, Leader Bai grew curious, unable to guess what could warrant such ceremony.

"It's like this. Actually... there is something I have been keeping from you all this time." Wei Zhao felt somewhat ashamed saying it. Leader Bai had given him wholehearted care, while Wei Zhao had held back.

"What is it?" Hearing this, Leader Bai was all the more baffled. "Is it about your being a pill refiner?"

"Sort of, and not quite." Wei Zhao smiled wryly, then decided to speak plainly. "Actually, I once went into Zhang Liju's tomb."

"Zhang Liju's tomb... what? You went there?" Leader Bai was startled on the spot!

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