Chapter 1825 — Onto the Homeward Road

That was why, after Gu Mengyao's departure, she had asked the Snow Valley to send someone to bring them over. And with Tang Yun's present standing, no one would dare breathe a word against housing three idlers within the valley.

……………………

The Palace of the Dark Night.

Though the Shadow Group had turned up no word of those out-of-town travelers, they did bring back one piece of news that set Palace Mistress Wan'er's heart on edge—Gu Pengzhan had been in a car accident. His fate was still unknown; he lay in the intensive care unit of a hospital, not yet out of danger.

When Elder Li broke the news to Wan'er, her face went white in an instant. "He... how could he have a car accident..."

"A failed investment, the company bankrupt, and by all accounts, suicide..." As he spoke, Elder Li laid out for the Palace Mistress everything their people had uncovered.

"A failed investment... but a failure wouldn't drive him to suicide. Pengzhan is not the sort who cannot bear to lose. How could he kill himself?" Palace Mistress Wan'er could hardly believe it. "Besides, there is still Yao Yao. He has not even seen me yet—how could he choose to die?"

"There were witnesses who say it was suicide, that he threw himself in front of the car..." Elder Li sighed.

"That person... was he not lying?" Palace Mistress Wan'er still could not quite believe that Gu Pengzhan would take his own life.

"It is not only the witness. The dashcam of the car that struck him recorded the whole thing—that is the crux of it. Our people have seen the footage. The son-in-law's eyes were dead, filled with despair... the look of a man who has resolved to die..." Elder Li smiled bitterly. "I do not believe the son-in-law would do such a foolish thing either, but the facts are the facts..."

"Why did his company go bankrupt? Was someone out to ruin him?" To this moment, Palace Mistress Wan'er refused to believe Gu Pengzhan had killed himself.

"That... whether someone was out to ruin him is still unclear. I can set people to investigate, but it must be kept from the Supreme Elder..." Elder Li said carefully. "But that is not the crux. What matters most now is how to bring the son-in-law safely through."

"The Great Return Pill and the Meridian-Opening Pill?" Palace Mistress Wan'er was slightly taken aback.

The Great Return Pill and the Meridian-Opening Pill were both elixirs for ** practitioners to consume: the first could prolong life when injuries were grave beyond measure, while the Meridian-Opening Pill repaired damaged meridians, bones, and organs within the body.

But they were not for ** practitioners alone; ordinary people could take them to good effect as well. In Gu Pengzhan's present condition, only the Great Return Pill first, followed by the Meridian-Opening Pill, could restore him to health. Yet both were priceless. The Meridian-Opening Pill was somewhat easier to come by, but as for the Great Return Pill, even the Mystic Elixir Sect had precious few in stock.

The Great Return Pill was not only difficult to refine; the materials it required were rare treasures of heaven and earth, and its value was beyond price.

So it was that after Palace Mistress Wan'er spoke, bitterness crept across her face. The relations between the Palace of the Dark Night and the Mystic Elixir Sect were exceedingly poor. Never mind the priceless Great Return Pill—at this moment she could not beg so much as half an ordinary elixir from the Mystic Elixir Sect.

The Palace of the Dark Night had its own alchemists, yes, but they were only of the Yellow Rank, first grade. The Meridian-Opening Pill they might just manage to refine, but the Great Return Pill was not to be thought of.

And yet, even for the Meridian-Opening Pill, Palace Mistress Wan'er thought, if she sought to beg it for Gu Pengzhan to take, the Supreme Elder would likely be the first to object. At that thought, darkness fell across Wan'er's eyes.

"I will do what I can..." Elder Li understood the Palace Mistress's meaning, though he too was far from certain he could obtain these elixirs...

For all that he was an elder of the sect, the elixirs of the Palace of the Dark Night were rarer than those of the hidden families—rarer even than theirs. For the Mystic Elixir Sect put a batch of its less rare elixirs up for public auction every year.

Only, the Palace of the Dark Night and the Mystic Elixir Sect were on tense terms. The Palace could not bring itself to bid at the auction, and given its standing, it would scarcely stoop to secretly directing other hidden families to bid on its behalf.

On the road back, Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu met with no further danger, and the robbers who had blocked their path did not appear again.

On the way there, they had groped their way along; on the way back, they knew the road well. After several days of hard travel, they finally returned to West Star Mountain Village. Yet though Wei Zhao's troubles were resolved, the young miss and Little Shu could not bring themselves to rejoice.

The price of Wei Zhao's recovery had been far too heavy. Four had set out; three had returned. One of them would remain in the Snow Valley, and meeting again hereafter would be difficult indeed.

Seeing Gu Mengyao and Little Shu step down from the car with no sign of Tang Yun, Old Man Wei's heart sank. Though Mo Kongwen had long since prepared him, seeing it truly come to pass, Old Man Wei still found it hard to accept.

"Yao Yao, Little Shu, where is Yun Yun?" Old Man Wei could not keep himself from asking.

"She... she stayed in the Snow Valley..." Gu Mengyao's face was none too pleasant either. Of the good friends who had gone together, only she had not come back.

"Stayed in the Snow Valley? What does that mean?" Old Man Wei asked in a low voice, and the look he turned on Mo Kongwen grew stranger still.

"She..." No sooner had Gu Mengyao brought up Tang Yun than tears fell from her eyes despite herself, which set Old Man Wei's heart even more on edge.

"Could it be that some misfortune has befallen her?" Old Man Wei asked, his expression grave.

"No. By my reckoning, Tang Yun has likely remained in the Snow Valley." Mo Kongwen looked to Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu as he spoke; from their faces he had already inferred a good deal.

In truth, from the moment Tang Yun left West Star Mountain Village, Mo Kongwen had foreseen her fate. But such things were beyond his power to change. To defy heaven and alter destiny—he had no such ability. He had already glimpsed the rough cast of Tang Yun's fate...

"Stayed in the Snow Valley?" Old Man Wei was slightly stunned.

"Yes... Yun Yun stayed in the Snow Valley..." Choking back tears, Gu Mengyao recounted all that had happened to Old Man Wei and Mo Kongwen.

Even though Mo Kongwen had previously deduced Tang Yun's fate, when he heard that she had actually received the inheritance in the Snow Valley, he still gaped in astonishment.

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