Chapter 1279 — The Illness Strikes Again - "Hiss—" Xie Yufeng Drew a Sharp Breath: "So You're Saying Wei Zhao's Background Might Be Formidable?"

"Yes, and that is precisely why I told you not to act rashly. These past few days I have been in touch with your eldest brother again, and I have learned these buried secrets — I simply hadn't had the chance to warn you yet," Yu Shuixing said. "Thank heavens you didn't do anything impulsive before!"

"Ah! So we just accept our fate?" Xie Yufeng was not willing to swallow it, but after hearing his father's words he truly felt that matters had grown serious. Conceited though he was, he was no fool; he knew his father would never frighten him with empty alarms.

"Here is what we will do. Put aside any investigation of Wei Zhao's background for now and devote yourself entirely to getting close to Qiu Lingshan. With luck, at the Clan Assembly I can announce this decision of ours — it will strengthen our Yu family's voice and our grip on the Assembly." Yu Shuixing pondered for a moment, then went on: "With the Pi family now lending them their arm, the Xiao family has already begun to endanger our Yu family's standing. Give the Xiao family any more room to grow, and our Yu family may no longer be able to control the Clan Assembly or the clan rankings. So set Wei Zhao's matter aside for now; there is no rush."

"Alright. Though Qiu Lingshan doesn't seem to think much of me — she's rather icy about it all." Xie Yufeng agreed with some disgruntlement. "As for school, I won't be going back. I haven't the face to show up there again anyway."

"Fine. Don't go to school for the time being. Once the Clan Assembly is behind us and our Yu family's standing for the new term is settled, we'll devote ourselves fully to dealing with Wei Zhao — it will be far easier then. Let him run wild for a few more days!" Yu Shuixing said.

Xie Yufeng very much wanted to go after Wei Zhao, but with Yu Shuixing forbidding it he had no choice but to let it drop — only the fury kept churning in his chest with nowhere to vent, and that left him thoroughly disgruntled.

The days slipped by unheeded, and Feng Xiaoxiao's affliction flared up once more. Though she had collapsed right before Wei Zhao's eyes, bringing her back to consciousness cost him more than half the blood in his body; had he not been a cultivator, he would scarcely have held on.

It went exactly as Old Master Wei had warned: Feng Xiaoxiao's condition grew worse with every attack, each more severe than the last, and the yin-cold qi inside her grew ever more tyrannical. Once, a single drop of blood had been enough to suppress it; now only more than half the blood in his entire body had any effect. Wei Zhao's heart was heavy. If this went on, next time it might take every drop he had. Though he possessed the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art to mend his wounds, whether his blood would go on working he could not say.

The yin-cold qi had by now built up a resistance to his treatment — and this time it was unmistakable.

Still, to put Feng Xiaoxiao's mind at ease, when she came to, Wei Zhao wore a smile on his face and carried on as though nothing at all had happened.

"Am I... alive again?" Feng Xiaoxiao opened her eyes and looked at Wei Zhao, Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu and Tang Yun, who stood around her in taut anxiety. The moment Tang Yun received word of Feng Xiaoxiao's collapse she had hurried straight to the villa and stayed at her side ever since, waiting for her to wake.

"Heh, with me at your side, of course you'd come back to life," Wei Zhao said with a laugh. "Didn't I tell you I'd never let you die?"

As he said it, Wei Zhao felt the words gnaw at his conscience, but he had no other choice — that was the only comfort he could offer her. After all, what mattered was keeping Feng Xiaoxiao in good spirits.

"I thought I wasn't going to make it this time." Feng Xiaoxiao seemed to take it remarkably well. "I've cheated death once more. Thank you, hubby Wei!"

"What's there to thank me for? Saving you is the least of what I owe you," Wei Zhao laughed. "Alright, everyone get some rest — it's getting late."

"Tang Yun, why don't you sleep here tonight? There's a guest room upstairs." Wei Zhao was badly weakened — half his blood gone, and running on nothing but willpower; right now he was impatient beyond measure to slip into the jade pendant's space and heal himself.

"Mm." Tang Yun too had caught the weariness in him, and nodded. Today was Friday, there was no school tomorrow, and the day after was Xu Shilan's concert — so staying here was perfectly acceptable. The only question was whether Gu Mengyao would mind.

"Then let's sleep together. My bed upstairs is roomy enough, Yun-yun — it isn't as if we haven't shared it before. Surely you're not shy?" Gu Mengyao asked with a smile.

"Of course not..." Tang Yun shook her head. The four of them had grown so close of late; there was nothing left to be shy about.

Tang Yun was tired as well, and getting to rest as quickly as possible was just what she wanted.

Wei Zhao paid them no mind. Worn to the bone, he went back to his own room, cycled the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, and drifted into sleep.

Feng Xiaoxiao, meanwhile, had no trouble left in her. She sat up on the sofa; her spirits looked decent enough, but her mood was plainly not good.

"What's wrong, Xiaoxiao? You look unhappy." Tang Yun had noticed something amiss and asked, puzzled.

"Alas..." Feng Xiaoxiao let out a long sigh. "Yun-yun, it's my own body — I know... This time I really thought I would never wake up. I never expected hubby Wei to drag me back from the gates of hell once again. Only next time, I'm afraid, won't be so simple... I don't know how much longer I can go on living with you all..."

"Don't talk nonsense. Didn't Wei Zhao say he has a way to cure you? Why think so much?" Outwardly Tang Yun said nothing more, but inwardly an inexplicable pang of pain struck her — today she had seen with her own eyes how Wei Zhao had treated Feng Xiaoxiao.

Because Feng Xiaoxiao had collapsed in the living room, Wei Zhao hadn't carried her back to her room; he had simply slashed his own wrist on the spot and healed her with his fresh blood. How much blood Wei Zhao had let run, Tang Yun, the young mistress and little Shu had watched every drop of — and the grief etched across Wei Zhao's face, they had seen that too.

Though Wei Zhao said little, anyone with half a brain could tell how heavy his heart must be, and that next time it would not be so easy to cure her. Even if every drop of blood in Wei Zhao's body were spent, whether it could wake Xiaoxiao up was anyone's guess.

"That's right. Didn't we agree you'd live with us forever and go to college together one day?" Over this stretch of time Gu Mengyao too had come to accept Feng Xiaoxiao — at first perhaps out of sympathy, then out of friendship, and by the time they were living under one roof, it had grown into the bond of confidantes who held nothing back.

One could say that her relationship with Feng Xiaoxiao was no worse than the one between Feng Xiaoxiao and Tang Yun. The young mistress did not want Feng Xiaoxiao to die either — but some things, not wanting them changed nothing; one was powerless to alter them.

"Yes, yes! Our mischief-making duo still has the whole universe to sweep!" Shen Yushu chimed in as well.

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