Chapter 2793 — Everyone Stunned

When they reached the dining hall, Wei Zhao caught sight of Feng Shipian and another cultivator from before.

Feng Shipian, seeing Wei Zhao and Zhao Qitan come into the hall, was plainly delighted. He waved them over and called out, "You two young heroes, come eat with us! My treat!"

Wei Zhao gave a wry smile. He had not expected the pair to still be waiting on their meal; he had deliberately dawdled in his room upstairs, and now that the invitation was so warmly made, he found it hard to refuse—after all, Feng Shipian and his companion were the only others in the hall.

"Very well, then I shall do as you ask rather than stand on ceremony." Wei Zhao led Zhao Qitan over and took the empty seats across from Feng Shipian and the other cultivator.

"Feng Shipian—let me introduce myself properly!" Feng Shipian extended his hand and spoke to Wei Zhao with courtesy.

"Wei Zhao. This is my younger brother, Zhao Qitan." Wei Zhao shook his hand, but kept watching for Feng Shipian's reaction. To his disappointment, nothing particular showed on the man's face—as though the name Wei Zhao meant nothing to him, as though he had never heard it at all.

In truth, Feng Shipian really had not heard it. Even the name "Ling Yi" meant nothing to him. After all, the matter of the Ice Palace trial was kept secret; what had spread abroad was only that Feng Nitian and Zhang Naipao had been crippled—of who had done it, there was no word at all.

The Ice Palace still carried its weight of dread, and the hidden families did not dare speak of it. As for the two ruined men, that much came out with a little inquiry: only those two from the ancient stratum had entered the trial, and both had come back ruined. There was no hiding it.

"My name is Ge Xian. A loose cultivator—I'm with Brother Feng these days," the loose cultivator introduced himself. "I'm a pretty fair hand, peak late Earth Rank."

"Ha, I'm only late Earth Rank myself, and a loose cultivator too," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile. "This younger brother of mine comes from the hidden Zhao family, though his strength is rather modest—only peak mid Profound Rank."

Wei Zhao's words left both Feng Shipian and Ge Xian stunned. Wei Zhao was a loose cultivator too? Then how had he taken a young man of a hidden family as his junior? The hidden stratum, though it fell short of the ancient stratum, was still something loose cultivators could only look up to. Ge Xian, being a loose cultivator, knew this better than anyone: were he to seek a place in a hidden family, the best he could hope for was a post as a gate guard or a retainer—let alone taking one of their sons as a junior, he would count himself lucky to serve as their errand-runner.

And had Wei Zhao been a Heaven Rank expert, that would have been one thing—but he was only late Earth Rank, and yet he had a junior at peak mid Profound Rank. That was truly a little hard to believe.

"Young Master Lin, very glad to meet you!" Feng Shipian showed no contempt for Wei Zhao; on the contrary, he thought loose cultivators the easiest sort to get along with—no need to worry about the feuds among the ancient families and sects, and so long as talk went smoothly, fine friends could be made. "I hail from the ancient Feng family!"

This was the first time Feng Shipian had spoken his origins aloud—even Ge Xian had not known before. It was only after Wei Zhao introduced Zhao Qitan's background that he came out with it.

"Ah!?" Ge Xian started, astonished. "Brother Feng, you really are of the ancient Feng family? Then Feng Nitian—"

"He is my cousin," Feng Shipian said. "A pity—so young, and now he lies a living corpse, not yet woken. He was outmatched; he cannot blame others. But it is a blow to our Feng family all the same. And my coming here this time was in fact to seek the Great Returning Pill for him."

Wei Zhao was startled. His guess had come true: Feng Shipian was indeed of the ancient Feng family, and cousin to Feng Nitian besides. That being so, he would have to be careful and guard himself.

"No—surely not? I'd heard Feng Nitian was arrogant and overbearing, set on contending for the position of young heir. How can you still seek medicine for him? Doesn't that threaten your own standing?" Ge Xian was plainly a man well supplied with news, and he spoke with some puzzlement. "Brother Feng, I take you for an honest man—don't nurse a tiger to your own harm. Cure him, and he'll turn round and threaten you! Don't mind my speaking out of turn, Brother Feng; I say it for your sake."

"Ge Xian, I know you mean well for me. It's all right." Feng Shipian shook his head, unconcerned. "My mother has often told me to guard against Nitian. But I keep thinking—Nitian is my cousin. I can't simply stand by and do nothing."

"Oh? Then do you hate the one who wounded Nitian?" Zhao Qitan suddenly ventured.

"Hate?" Feng Shipian was taken aback, then shook his head. "In the trial he was outmatched, and losing was losing. I know Nitian's temper: unless he meant to put another to death, no one would have struck so ruthlessly. I understand everything you say—I'm no fool; how could I not? It's only that I think, after all, he is my younger brother..."

"Ha, do you know why I came to enter the trial?" Zhao Qitan smiled and asked instead.

"Oh? Why?" Feng Shipian was rather curious too. Generally speaking, the hidden stratum rarely sent anyone to the Xuandan Sect's trial—the sons of hidden families were on the whole not very strong, and even the elite among them mostly stood at Profound Rank. Many who came never returned, and so in time the hidden families stopped sending people. The ancient sects and ancient families, by contrast, had more disciples of that caliber, and more of them eager to win merit for sect or family; thus most participants came from the ancient stratum.

"Because I have a cousin who wanted me dead. He had my grandfather send me here to die." Zhao Qitan sighed. "Luckily the leader has looked after me—otherwise I surely would not have come back this time."

Feng Shipian fell silent. In truth, when his third uncle had sent him to the trial, he had known what it meant. His third uncle had sent him either to return safely with the Great Returning Pill, or to die here. Others might not know, but he knew very well: his third uncle had a bastard son outside. Once he himself was dead and Nitian could not recover, the grandfather would have no choice but to take that bastard back into the clan and restore him to the Feng family. All this Feng Shipian knew—but his nature was what it was, and could not be changed.

"But I cannot bring myself to do such a thing..." Feng Shipian sighed and said.

"To be frank with you—Feng Nitian was crippled by me," Wei Zhao suddenly spoke up.

"What?" Feng Shipian was struck dumb, and Ge Xian too!

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