Chapter 1930 — Reaching the Destination

Wei Zhao naturally knew that Chen Yutian had probably done it on purpose—only a man of his abilities could lead someone that far, and that was why he had left the hardest route to him.

Of course, there was in fact another GPS just as difficult as Wei Zhao's, set in the opposite direction, at the far end of another mountain range, which likewise required crossing the mountains.

But that GPS had been tossed straight to the three of them—Right Coil Tiger and his companions—and for three cultivators, getting there was a trifling matter. Wei Zhao might be an Earth-Rank expert, but with Wang Xinyan in tow, he might not even move as fast as those three.

"Ha... with me around, nothing will go wrong. If it comes to it, I'll just carry you on my back," Wei Zhao said with an easy laugh, as if it were nothing at all.

"I... let me hold out a while longer..." Wang Xinyan hesitated, then gritted her teeth. Being carried by Wei Zhao would certainly be easier, but for one thing she was shy and could not quite bring herself to go through with it, and for another she was afraid of tiring him out.

Wei Zhao nodded, but seeing how much she was struggling, he still held out his hand to her.

After a moment's hesitation, Wang Xinyan reached out and took Wei Zhao's hand. It was the first time a boy had ever held her hand, but this was not romance—it was teammates helping one another. Wang Xinyan knew Wei Zhao harbored no improper thoughts; he simply wanted to help her, nothing more.

And yet, though Wang Xinyan told herself so, her hand could not help but stay a little stiff, and before long her palm had broken out in sweat.

Sensing her nervousness, Wei Zhao smiled faintly. "We're comrades-in-arms now."

Wang Xinyan was briefly taken aback, then she too smiled and nodded firmly. "That's right—we're comrades-in-arms!"

In that moment, the knot in Wang Xinyan's heart suddenly came loose, and she gripped Wei Zhao's hand even tighter, yet the nervousness was gone, replaced by a comfortable sense of security. It seemed that as long as she held this hand, there was nothing to fear, and every difficulty became a passing cloud.

Along the way, stumbling and staggering, they made it another ten kilometers or so, but the sky had darkened. In late autumn night fell early, black by a little past six. Though such terrain posed no obstacle to Wei Zhao, Wang Xinyan, a young woman, was plainly growing frightened.

When carrying out missions in primeval forests, Wei Zhao usually chose to move at night. There was a saying that fit well—a dark night and a high wind make a night for killing—and that was the principle of it.

"Let me carry you," Wei Zhao said, glancing at the coordinates on the GPS. The two of them had already crossed the peak and were now descending toward the GPS destination.

As the old saying goes, going up is easy but coming down is hard. The climb was strenuous but not dangerous; the descent saved effort but invited a misstep.

Of course, for an Earth-Rank cultivator like Wei Zhao this was no problem at all—he could slide straight down and not die from the fall. But Wang Xinyan could not. On the way down she found it even harder going than the climb, and with darkness fallen she dared not walk quickly.

That was why Wei Zhao had proposed carrying her on his back.

Now Wang Xinyan hesitated. Less than ten kilometers remained to the destination, but it was all downhill. If she kept walking like this, she would surely be at it until the small hours; the two of them would rest a night and probably not rise until noon tomorrow, and they would never make it back in time.

"Climb on, my comrade-in-arms!" Wei Zhao slung the backpack over his chest and crouched down.

Hearing him say that, Wang Xinyan no longer resisted. She wrapped her arms around Wei Zhao's neck and lay against his back.

But when the softness of her chest pressed against him, Wang Xinyan remembered that she was not wearing a bra—would it not all be pressing against Wei Zhao's back? Then again, she reflected, most people were not especially sensitive on the back, so Wei Zhao probably would not feel anything...

How was she to know that Wei Zhao was no ordinary person but a special one—an Earth-Rank cultivator, and cultivators had the most flexible control over every part of their bodies. So the moment Wang Xinyan lay against his back, Wei Zhao reacted...

Fortunately, Wang Xinyan was behind him, and with the darkness she could not see his reaction at all—otherwise Wei Zhao would have been thoroughly embarrassed.

Seeing that Wei Zhao's pack was slung over his front, Wang Xinyan wanted to carry it for him, but then it occurred to her that she was still on his back; even if she carried the pack, its weight would still be loaded onto Wei Zhao—so what difference would it make from now?

At first Wang Xinyan assumed that with her on his back, Wei Zhao would walk very, very slowly. But watching the trees recede before her eyes, she found that not only had he not slowed down, he was moving faster than before—to say he was flying on foot would not be an exaggeration in the least!

What astonished her most was that Wei Zhao had none of her own halting, uncertain steps; he walked the mountain path with perfect steadiness, never once missing his footing! Could it be that Wei Zhao had been humoring her all along, and that was why he had walked so slowly?

At that thought, Wang Xinyan felt all the more ashamed.

In truth, even with his eyes closed Wei Zhao could move as if flying, and see more clearly than he did now with them open...

Though he felt the softness against his back, Wei Zhao's attention soon shifted elsewhere. What was to be done about the eldest young lady and Xiaoshu? Given their temperaments, the two of them probably would not team up with anyone else. Neither was a cultivator, and both were young women—if they had to climb the mountain, would they be in danger?

But mobile phones were not permitted here; they had long since been locked away in the barracks lockers. Even if Wei Zhao wanted to contact the eldest young lady, he could not—he could only have a word with Chen Yutian and ask him to look after her as much as possible.

Still, he reflected, with Shen Yushu there, Chen Yutian could not possibly assign them any overly complicated task.

At last Wei Zhao reached the destination. He had to admit that he had covered this stretch quickly—in less than half an hour he had walked nearly ten kilometers, and that was with him deliberately holding back for fear of shocking Wang Xinyan out of her wits. Ordinarily, he would have needed only ten minutes at a run.

Wang Xinyan was utterly exhausted; on Wei Zhao's shoulders she had unknowingly fallen asleep. It felt so comfortable, so reassuring—as though, lying against Wei Zhao's broad shoulders, she could forget every worry. Though it was only half an hour, Wang Xinyan slept soundly.

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