Chapter 2476 — One Less Meal with Every Meal Eaten

Since Wang Xinyan was out of the question, Shen Yushu's only choice for her *** was Han Jingyi. And from her observation, Han Jingyi seemed to hold nothing back from Wei Zhao—she would even share matters like scientific alchemy with him. Clearly, Han Jingyi had no intention of keeping her guard up around Wei Zhao.

As long as Han Jingyi's feelings for Wei Zhao were genuine, then with Wei Zhao around, Gu Mengyao would surely not suffer any loss. This, too, was Shen Yushu's choice, made in her helplessness.

Once she was gone, someone had to stay by Gu Mengyao's side; otherwise Gu Mengyao would surely be overcome with grief.

After Wei Zhao finished cooking, he discovered that Han Jingyi and Shen Yushu were deep in conversation, discussing Grey Wolf and Red Wolf. A flicker of surprise passed through Wei Zhao's eyes. Han Jingyi had watched Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf?

Every time Wei Zhao went to see her, she was studying or calculating something; he had never once seen her watching television. Yet now she was debating animated wolves with Shen Yushu in such high spirits—it really was rather strange.

Gu Mengyao, by contrast, did not join the discussion much. She had never been one for talking, only chiming in with a sentence or two now and then.

"Time to eat," Wei Zhao said.

"Yay, yay! Xiao Shu loves Arrow-Brand Bro's cooking the most—one less meal with every meal eaten." Shen Yushu was the first to rise and dash toward the dining room.

Everyone, with every meal they ate, had one less meal left to eat. But hearing Shen Yushu say it, Wei Zhao's heart sank. He could not shake a bad premonition, one that made him think, involuntarily, of that night and Xiao Shu's strange behavior.

Although Xiao Shu said she had already dealt with it, had settled these matters, Wei Zhao still felt uneasy.

"Jingjing, don't mind her. Xiao Shu is always like this—silly and wild from morning to night." Gu Mengyao shrugged helplessly and spoke to Han Jingyi.

"It's all right..." Han Jingyi shook her head, yet a trace of puzzlement and incomprehension flickered through her lovely eyes as well. She gazed at Shen Yushu thoughtfully, then pulled over a chair and sat down beside her.

How could Han Jingyi fail to notice Shen Yushu's friendly overtures? But she was puzzled as to why Shen Yushu would do such a thing. Shen Yushu's attitude toward her had always been kind enough before, but she had never actively tried to win her over—theirs had simply been the bond of good friends built on being classmates and neighbors.

Today, though, Shen Yushu's tone and manner were noticeably different. How could Han Jingyi not find it strange?

Wei Zhao had been in the kitchen cooking the whole time, and he had no habit of eavesdropping, so naturally he did not know what the three of them had discussed.

"Wei Zhao-gege, how is your cooking so good? Jingjing can't make food this delicious." Every word Han Jingyi spoke seemed, without her meaning it to, to lift Wei Zhao up.

"Hehe, Jingjing, do you want to be able to eat it from now on? Actually, you could move in here too..." Shen Yushu said with a grin. "This villa is plenty big anyway; one more person won't make a difference."

Wei Zhao frowned but said nothing. It was Gu Mengyao who gave Shen Yushu a rather odd look. Shen Yushu rarely invited her romantic rivals to move into the villa; though she had accepted Tang Yun, Feng Xiaoxiao, and Wang Xinyan one after another, now she seemed suddenly to have accepted Han Jingyi as well, which took her somewhat by surprise.

"Thank you, but my little brother is at home, and I can't very well leave him alone..." Han Jingyi did not agree right away.

This outcome caught Shen Yushu a little off guard. Wang Xinyan presumably had reasons she could not help, but Han Jingyi should have had no such concerns. Then what was it?

The meal passed with a pleasant enough atmosphere, but everyone harbored their own thoughts. Han Jingyi went back to rest, Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu went upstairs, and Wei Zhao returned to his room to continue **cultivating the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art**.

The days went on as usual. Although Xiao Shu showed no other strange behavior, Wei Zhao detected a hint of something in her tireless efforts to win Han Jingyi over. Still, he made no move to stop it.

Han Jingyi had long since been listed among those Wei Zhao could trust. She knew many of his secrets, and he knew some of hers. The two of them worked together on alchemy in seamless harmony, so naturally Wei Zhao hoped Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu would get along well with her.

You Panhu and Kang Zhaolong seemed to have grown much more subdued. Ever since the winter trip, the two of them no longer hovered around Wei Zhao, Wang Xinyan, and Han Jingyi; every day they went dutifully to class, left when it ended, ate, and went on their way.

You Panhu still wanted to keep in contact with Han Jingyi, but he was cowed by Wei Zhao's methods. A man's name casts a tree's shadow: when You Panhu went home, he saw with his own eyes the peak late-Earth-rank expert Wei Zhao had slapped to death, and the early Heaven-rank expert Wei Zhao had wounded. After that, You Panhu fell silent.

For Wei Zhao to kill him would be all too easy; the only reason he had not was likely out of regard for their bond as classmates. You Panhu did not believe Wei Zhao feared him. Until the You family openly hoisted the banner of the Xuandan Sect, You Panhu was certain Wei Zhao did not fear the hidden You family.

This was evident from how Wei Zhao struck without the slightest mercy. But though the hidden You family had the Xuandan Sect as its backer, a backer was only a backer. A backer is there to overawe your opponents, not to serve as your hired thug. If you suffered a loss, the Xuandan Sect would intervene only if that loss affected its interests; otherwise, the deaths or injuries of a few disciples and retainers would never move the Xuandan Sect to come running into the secular world at will.

Never mind the constraints imposed by the other ancient sects—even the place behind the Xuandan Sect would not permit the Xuandan Sect to go out and stir up trouble at such a critical moment.

The opportunities on Cloud-Step Island were plainly a case of too many monks and too little gruel. At a time like this, everyone wanted a piece of the action. Which peak late-Heaven-rank expert would not want to advance another step? And not just them—even ordinary late-Heaven-rank experts were unwilling to let such a good chance slip by.

Though the ancient sects had agreed long ago to decide the final roster for Cloud-Step Island at the Heaven-Rank Assembly, for the sake of fairness and justice they would also, according to the old agreement, give the hidden families, the minor sects, and the unaffiliated cultivators some opportunities—though those opportunities came with special conditions.

Even so, even with certain conditions attached, the competition remained fierce as a blazing fire. Not a single ancient sect wanted to miss this chance. After all, which peak late-Heaven-rank expert would lightly give it up?

So at a time like this, whichever sect ran into trouble became the target of everyone's arrows. The Xuandan Sect, powerful and domineering as it was, still dared not violate the hard-and-fast rules of that agreement.

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