Chapter 1315 — An Unexpected Turn

"No need — I'll do this one myself..." Feng Xiaoxiao shook her head, refusing Shen Yushu's help for the very first time. This was a gift for Wei Zhao; she didn't want anyone else's hands in it. "Ah? How stingy!" Shen Yushu, rebuffed, was none too pleased.

"Xiao Shu, stop fussing. Xiaoxiao's right — she should do it herself. Only what she knits with her own hands will mean anything! If you want one too, then knit one yourself!" Gu Mengyao said.

"Oh..." Shen Yushu nodded and let the matter drop.

Wei Zhao sat off to one side, his spirits sunk low. For the first time he knew this feeling of helplessness. In the past, whatever had happened, he would always find a way to set it right — but now he could not find a single good way out of this.

Just as Wei Zhao was at his wits' end, Old Master Wei's long-absent call finally came through.

"Old man, you've finally called!" Wei Zhao's whole body thrummed with excitement. Now the old man was his one remaining hope: "That ancient sage of medicine you mentioned last time — is there any word at all?"

"I did track him down, I'm afraid, but it's bad news," Old Master Wei sighed. "Don't take it too hard when I tell you."

"Tracked him down, and it's still bad news? Could it be that the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit simply doesn't exist?" Wei Zhao froze and pressed on in a small panic.

"Whether it exists or not I dare not say — only that I have never seen one," Old Master Wei replied. "This ancient sage of medicine was called Zhang Liju. I've confirmed that he is the man. But his medical notes never passed down into the world; they say he took them into his grave with him. And so the trail ends here..."

"What! Zhang Liju?" The moment he heard the name, Wei Zhao cried out. "You're saying his medical notes could be inside his tomb?"

"Yes. What's got you so worked up?" Old Master Wei was baffled.

"Worked up? Of course I'm worked up!" Wei Zhao burst into hearty laughter. The name Zhang Liju was no stranger to him — he had heard it more than once from both Liu Bojia and Qiu Lingshan. And was the tomb Qiu Lingshan meant to open not the tomb of that very sage of medicine, Zhang Liju?

If Old Master Wei's reasoning held — that Zhang Liju's medical notes had never circulated — then those notes very likely still lay in his tomb. In ancient times people commonly believed that fully teaching an apprentice meant starving the master; even the most large-hearted of men harbored such misgivings, and it was precisely this that caused oceans of knowledge and learning to vanish without a trace.

So if Zhang Liju had ever kept medical notes, it was entirely possible they were resting in his tomb.

"Xiao Yi — you know this Zhang Liju too?" Old Master Wei caught a note of something in Wei Zhao's wild elation.

"I do — and more than know him, I know where his tomb lies!" Wei Zhao had never imagined that the matter would veer so suddenly into a new turn; that one completely fortuitous act of stepping in to save a man had created this chance of a lifetime.

"Oh? Truly?" Even Old Master Wei could hardly bring himself to believe it.

"Truly. As it happens, the whole thing is rather a coincidence — it went like this..." Wei Zhao told Old Master Wei the full story of how he had come to rescue Liu Bojia.

"Hmm... I never thought you'd be granted such a stroke of fortune. Perhaps heaven isn't willing to let our Xiaoxiao be one of those beauties whose fate is cruelly short..." Old Master Wei sighed after listening. "Still, prepare yourself mentally. Never mind whether Zhang Liju's tomb holds those notes — even if they truly exist, you may still never find such a legendary thing as the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit..."

"Oh? Why do you say that?" Wei Zhao frowned. Old Master Wei's words fell like a basin of cold water over him, and in an instant his composure returned; the wild excitement drained out of his mood. True enough — whether the medical notes were even there remained to be seen, so what was there to celebrate?

"First, there's no telling whether the notes would mention where the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit grows," Old Master Wei explained. "Second, even if they did — how many years has it been since Zhang Liju's day? Whether such a fruit exists at all is another question altogether..."

"It's still better than nothing. Where there is hope, there is effort. No matter what, I mean to try," Wei Zhao said with iron resolve.

"Hehe — hope too great, disappointment too great. Keep an even temper about it," Old Master Wei said. "Xiao Yi, you've been gradually losing your even temper. Haven't you noticed? You're changing as a person — growing sentimental, moody..."

"Am I?" Wei Zhao blinked. "Perhaps. But I don't mind it."

"I'm not saying it's a bad thing. I'm only afraid you'll brood yourself into a grave. I'm counting on you to provide for me in my old age — don't go and die of melancholy before I do."

"Rest easy — you'll definitely die first," Wei Zhao said with a laugh.

"Back in his day, Zhang Liju also went to great lengths to track down this Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit, enduring a thousand hardships along the way. Yet according to the records that survive, he possessed a natural, uncanny sense of smell — one that could find a single high-grade herb across the boundless waste..." Old Master Wei said. "Of course, I don't entirely believe it. Perhaps he had some artifact to rely on, for all we know."

"You mean he had some divine tool for finding herbs? Something like my jade pendant?" Wei Zhao's wits were quick, and he grasped Old Master Wei's meaning at once.

"Perhaps. So if you do go into Zhang Liju's tomb, keep your eyes open for such a thing," Old Master Wei said.

"Understood." Wei Zhao nodded. For no other reason than finding the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit for Feng Xiaoxiao, he would have to watch for an artifact like that.

He ended the call with the old man, drew a deep breath, and dialed Qiu Lingshan's number.

"Wei Zhao?" Qiu Lingshan was a little surprised — Wei Zhao rarely rang her of his own accord. "You're looking for me?"

"Yes. When are you planning to go tomb-raiding?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Tomb-raiding?" Qiu Lingshan started. "You mean going after the tomb-raiding gang, don't you?"

"Right." Wei Zhao nodded.

"This very month," Qiu Lingshan said. "I've already passed myself off as one half of a husband-and-wife thief pair and made contact, in secret, with the other tomb-raiding crews."

"I'm coming too," Wei Zhao said. "I agree to your earlier proposal."

"Really? That's wonderful!" Qiu Lingshan's spirits leapt at once. If Wei Zhao joined in, her chances of success grew far greater. She was already a formidable fighter at the very peak of the late Yellow Rank, yet the other tomb-raiding gangs were nests of hidden tigers and lurking dragons — if one of them turned out to have an expert of their own, she wasn't certain she could handle it.

"Let me know the moment it's settled," Wei Zhao said. "And remember what you promised — whatever medical books are found inside, you make a copy of every one for me."

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