Chapter 352 - Checkpoint
Yang Wei didn't know how to respond to Shan Zhilan's teasing tone.
After all, he could feel a dreadful pressure hitting him mentally as Jing Feng held a deadly gaze at him.
'Maybe I should have stayed in that dimension longer…' Yang Wei thought as he smiled awkwardly.
"S-Shouldn't we be boarding the flying treasure then?" Yang Wei asked.
"W-We'll be even more late if we were to delay any longer," he added.
At the same time, he held a pleading gaze at Jing Feng, hoping that she would help him out in this situation and not stay idle.
Alas, Jing Feng seemed to turn nervous as she avoided his gaze.
'Damn it, if it weren't for the fact that Shan Zhilan wanted to expose my weak moment to Yang Wei, I wouldn't have let her do it.' Jing Feng thought.
Although she knew she was being a bit selfish here, she wanted to remain graceful and calm-minded for Yang Wei.
Thus, without any assistance from anyone, Yang Wei was constantly teased by Shan Zhilan until she could no longer delay their journey any longer.
"Yang Wei, I'll tease you another time," Shan Zhilan whispered sweetly as she walked toward the flying treasure.
Meanwhile, Yang Wei held a bittersweet smile as he looked helplessly at Jing Feng.
"Why didn't you save me?" Yang Wei asked.
"It's not like Shan Zhilan meant you any harm. She just loves to tease people like you, and nothing else." Jing Feng shrugged her shoulders as she followed Shan Zhilan.
'Jing Feng… she's really acting weird lately,' Yang Wei wondered silently.
Sometime later, Yang Wei and the rest boarded the flying treasure.
"Hey, Yang Wei… where were you for the last month?" Meng Yan asked as she sat across Yang Wei.
Yang Wei didn't know how to respond to her question.
Her relationship with Meng Pao made it difficult for Yang Wei to reveal anything related to the Misty Forest incident.
After all, there was no telling that she wouldn't relay the information to her father.
Blood is always thicker than water and they were only friends.
Thus, Yang Wei gave a mysterious smile and answered, "Nothing much, I was just out training my martial techniques and cultivating."
What he just said wasn't really a lie since he had been training the entire time during the incident.
Meanwhile, Meng Yan simply made an O shape in her mouth as she nodded her head.
"I see…"
"Anyway Meng Yan, why are you boarding the flying treasure with us?" Yang Wei asked as he quickly changed the topic.
"Well, it's because I wanted to participate in the sect tournament." Meng Yan replied swiftly.
"I wanted to tell everyone that even without the backing of my father, I can still cultivate and become strong in another sect." She added.
Yang Wei nodded his head.
Right when he was about to speak, another person interrupted them as she sat in their conversation.
It was Lian Xinyue who held a curious expression at Yang Wei.
"What are you doing here, Lian Xinyue?" Meng Yan asked with a slightly displeased expression. "We're chatting here, so it would be best if you sit somewhere else."
Lian Xinyue ignored her comment as she glanced at Yang Wei.
"Am I not allowed to sit here?" She asked him.
Yang Wei twitched his mouth.
'There are so many seats available… why are you all wanting to sit next to me?' He cried inwardly.
If anyone was in his current position, they would be crying tears of joy and even thanked heaven for the blessing.
However, Yang Wei knew he was on the brink of meeting death.
That was because ever since he boarded the flying treasure, he had been sensed by Jing Feng's spiritual perception.
Just one mistake from him could spell the end of his life.
"Sure, I don't see why not," Yang Wei replied awkwardly. While secretly, he prayed for the flying treasure to go faster so he can keep some distance away from them.
One of them had a father that wanted him dead.
Another one had a grandfather that almost made him experience a backlash in his cultivation and injured him in the meantime with the excuse of a test.
As Yang Wei lamented on his ill fate, a few hours had quickly passed by and Shan Zhilan finally announced something.
"We have arrived at the checkpoint. Everyone, make sure to stay close with the group since there will be many people here."
The disciples quickly stood up as they nodded their heads.
Sometime later, they could feel the flying treasure slowly descending from the sky.
After a few more minutes, Shan Zhilan and Jing Feng opened the door as they warned one last time.
"Remember, we don't know what kind of people are gathered here, so don't create any trouble." Shan Zhilan warned as she walked ahead, followed by Jing Feng.
The other disciples quickly followed in a single-line procedure.
By the time it was Yang Wei's turn to leave the flying treasure, his expression turned complicated.
"L-Ling City?" Yang Wei gasped in horror as he was dumbfounded that the checkpoint was surprisingly in the Ling City.
The same city that he had came with Su Mingxia and created a huge scene.
'Please heaven, please don't make us book into the Ivory Hotel. There are so many hotels here that it shouldn't be possible.' Yang Wei prayed silently as he slowly walked toward the group.
"Is there something wrong, Yang Wei?" Lian Xinyue was the first one to notice something was amiss with Yang Wei.
As for Jing Feng and Shan Zhilan, they were too busy reporting their identities and permits to the city guards that they didn't have enough time to look after Yang Wei.
After all, the Ling City was now like a sea of people, and it was impossible to tell who's who.
The traffic is extremely long for people who came to spectate the sect tournament.
Thankfully, it was a bit quicker for those who are participating in the sect tournament as long as they showed their validation and evidence.
"Yang Wei?" Lian Xinyue called out again when Yang Wei didn't respond to her.
Yang Wei snapped out of his daze as he glanced at Lian Xinyue confusingly.
"Y-Yes?"
"Are you alright? You were absent-minded when we left the flying treasure."
"O-Oh… I was merely surprised by the number of people here."
Although still a bit doubtful, Lian Xinyue didn't enquire further as she had a feeling that he wanted to hide something.
"I see… Well, just make sure to follow the group closely. Otherwise, you can easily get lost in this kind of situation." Lian Xinyue warned as she dragged him closer to the group.
Yang Wei nodded his head.
After a few more minutes with the registration, Shan Zhilan turned around and smiled at them.
"Because this year, our sect is aiming for the top, we have decided to reward the disciples, aka you people with luxury." Shan Zhilan then glanced at Jing Feng.
Her meaning was clear, she wanted her to finish the sentence.
Jing Feng sighed softly as she took a step forward and announced, "Therefore, we will be residing in the Ivory Hotel during the preliminary round of the sect tournament."
"Woohoo, we get to stay in the luxury Ivory Hotel."
"Oh my heavens, I have read an article about how amazing the Ivory Hotel is in treating their guests."
"Sect Leader Kong is the best. I will definitely put my 100- no, 200% percent of effort when I go to the stage."
While the disciples cheered loudly as they had never gotten the chance to relax in a luxury hotel, someone was in for a shock.
'Why heaven… Why are you toying with me?' Yang Wei cried inwardly as the one thing he begged not to happen, had actually occurred instead.
Out of every hotel possible, the Swift Feather Sect decided to rent in the Ivory Hotel.
And Yang Wei was sure that as soon as he stepped foot inside, the workers there would recognize him completely.
After all, the scene he had created with Su Mingxia was explosive- if not, it was extremely scandalous.
It was at this time that Jing Feng finally noticed something weird was going on with Yang Wei.
She proceeded to send a mental transmission to ask him what's wrong.
"What's the matter, Yang Wei?" Jing Feng asked in a bit of a worried tone.
Yang Wei smiled bitterly as he shook his head.
"N-Nothing, I was merely excited to visit a luxury hotel for once…" Yang Wei said.
"Oh… I guessed it would be your first time since you came from a small village. Don't worry too much about it, Yang Wei. You have me to guide and take care of you there." Jing Feng smiled gently at him as she turned around and began leading the disciples.
Meanwhile, Yang Wei wanted to run away as fast as possible.
'Take care of me? I'll be surprised if you didn't want to kill me when you learned of my past here…'