Chapter 1555 — Wei Zhao's Master

"All right, Wei Zhao, you take the lead — just follow me!" Zhao Qitan said, and drove off toward the cave. The car had a positioning system; though visibility was poor, the general direction could still be found, and this was an endless expanse of snow. Both men were driving off-road vehicles, so there was little danger to speak of.

Wei Zhao drove after him. When Wei Zhao had come here before, the wind and snow had not been so heavy, but on the third day after he arrived in Ice-Snow Spirit Town, a blizzard had risen in the area, stopping and starting without cease, right up to the present. So the two of them could only go a stretch, stop a while, and go again.

Sure enough, under Zhao Qitan's guidance, the two came to the vicinity of a cave. Zhao Qitan carried a few camping supplies down from the car, and together with Wei Zhao he entered the cave.

"There are no dead branches around here," Wei Zhao said, looking over the inside of the cave. "Otherwise it would have been nice to gather some and build a fire."

"No need, Boss Wei Zhao — I've got a quick-heat fire pile here, ready to use straight off!" Zhao Qitan said, pulling a quick-fire device out of his mountain of luggage and setting it down in front of Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao was caught between laughter and tears. This Zhao Qitan had come out carrying so much — was he here for a trial, or for a camping holiday?

"You're certainly well stocked!" Wei Zhao said.

"Of course — and there's a sleeping bag too! Boss Wei Zhao, let's spend the night in this cave tonight!" Zhao Qitan opened his luggage pack with a show of pride; sure enough, there was a sleeping bag inside.

"..." Wei Zhao was briefly speechless. "I won't need one. I'll just sit on the ground and cultivate."

"That works too! Then I won't use mine either — we're both cultivators, we don't need comforts..." Zhao Qitan was a little reluctant to give it up, but since Wei Zhao was not using a sleeping bag, he could hardly use one himself.

"It isn't about comfort. I'm afraid of a sudden turn of events — it's hard to strike out from inside a sleeping bag!" Wei Zhao shook his head with a bitter smile. "If enemies come, then in your sleeping bag all you can do is wait to be beaten."

"That's true enough, but out here in the wild, there isn't even any wildlife, so where would enemies come from?" Zhao Qitan shook his head.

"Quiet — someone's coming!" Wei Zhao said suddenly.

"Huh?" Zhao Qitan was startled. He was just about to ask whether Boss Wei Zhao was joking with him when, in the next instant, he heard it too: heavy footsteps, from far to near... someone really was coming! Zhao Qitan could not help being alarmed. "Who's coming?"

"I don't know, but this man's qi is deep and full — you can tell it from his footsteps alone!" Wei Zhao frowned, a trace of wariness rising in his heart. Whoever it was, it could only be a cultivator! Only, Wei Zhao did not understand why this man would release his qi as he walked, making such a show of naked dominance. Had he discovered Wei Zhao and Zhao Qitan, or did he have some other purpose?

"Huh? A cultivator too?" Zhao Qitan tensed instinctively. "It's not someone from the Ice Palace chasing us, is it?"

"Why would they chase us?" Wei Zhao said mildly. "Don't speak. Let's listen first — he may not be coming for us."

"All right!" Zhao Qitan nodded.

This time, however, their luck truly was rotten: the footsteps drew nearer and nearer, as though heading straight for the cave!

"He's here. Be careful." Wei Zhao was not overly worried, for the jade pendant on his body had given no warning, which meant they were not in danger for the moment; and as for that man, though his dominance leaked out, he was not necessarily looking for them.

"Boss Wei Zhao, do we make our move when the time comes...?" Zhao Qitan asked, somewhat anxiously.

"No. Let's watch and see," Wei Zhao said, shaking his head.

Even as he spoke, the footsteps had drawn close — plainly the newcomer had reached a spot not far from the cave mouth!

"Eh? There's a cave mouth here. Let this old man have a careful look!" Suddenly the man outside the cave spoke. His voice was somewhat deep and full, yet tinged with the hoarseness of age and exhaustion, as though he had not rested in a very long time.

Zhao Qitan gave a shudder. With the man close at hand, his strength could now be sensed by Zhao Qitan and Wei Zhao — he was in fact a formidable expert at the peak of the late Heaven Rank!

"Boss Wei Zhao, peak of the late Heaven Rank..." Zhao Qitan's scalp prickled. "What does he mean by exposing his strength like that?"

"Unclear. Let's watch and see." In the Ice Palace, Wei Zhao had dealt with the Ice Palace Master several times, and he no longer feared Heaven Rank experts as he once had; it was only that this man's purpose was still unknown to him.

Was he passing through, or did he have some other design? Why had he found himself a cave, and why examine it so carefully?

At last the newcomer walked to the cave entrance. Seeing the firelight within and the two men, Wei Zhao and Zhao Qitan, he was visibly taken aback, and could not help uttering a cry of surprise: "Eh?"

And Wei Zhao and Zhao Qitan, for their part, could now see the newcomer clearly. The man looked about fifty or sixty years old, his hair loose and wild, his clothes ragged and torn; but since he was a Heaven Rank expert, it was hard to judge his true age.

Judging by his dress and bearing, he looked more like a vagrant or a mad old man — nothing at all like the proud, ethereal air of a Heaven Rank expert.

The strange man entered the cave, looked at Wei Zhao, and blinked. Wei Zhao was just about to ask a question when the strange man charged at him like a madman! Wei Zhao was aghast, and hastily and silently stirred the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art, shielding his body with his qi — but how could Wei Zhao dodge the speed of a Heaven Rank expert?

In a single instant the strange man was in front of Wei Zhao, both hands seizing him by the shoulders. Just as Wei Zhao was about to fight back, the strange man suddenly cried out: "Disciple! My good disciple, your master has finally found you!"

"?" Wei Zhao was stunned, not knowing what the strange man meant; but at the same time he let out a breath of relief. Though the strange man had released his qi, he showed not the slightest intent to attack Wei Zhao — even the hands gripping Wei Zhao's shoulders exerted no strength at all.

"Good disciple, your master knew you could evade those people!" the strange man cried excitedly. "But it has been more than twenty years — why did you never come looking for your master? Your master searched for you so bitterly hard!"

Wei Zhao frowned. Hearing this, he could be entirely certain: the strange man must be a madman, and it seemed he had taken Wei Zhao for some disciple of his. Yet he had said more than twenty years — then his disciple must have been lost to him over twenty years ago, and in that case he had surely mistaken the man. Twenty years ago, Wei Zhao had not even been born; how could he possibly be his disciple?

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