The others could not make sense of what that meant, but Wei Zhao, hidden in a corner in his primordial-spirit form, felt his heart lurch. The brain-eating worm was plainly referring to Leng Leng and the others—and once it set its sights on them, the trouble would be dire indeed.

"Good." The handsome man agreed with unusual readiness this time; clearly he could not wait to be rid of the brain-eating worm, for to him the creature was nothing short of a plague god.

"Much obliged. But you had best hurry, Guardian—do not keep me waiting too long, or I shall have to come and trouble you again." Leaving that parting threat, the brain-eating worm swept off.

Now at last the brain-eating worm was gone, and the handsome man let out a breath so faint it was barely perceptible. He had meant to bring out the Sacred Water Pearl and treat the spirit beasts present to a proper spectacle, but his interest had quite evaporated; he put the pearl away with a casual flick of his hand. As for the kappa, it had scrambled and crawled back to one side—brief as that moment of channeling the Sacred Water Pearl had been, it was already all but spent.

Just then, an elder spirit beast of the Golden Core stage rose and proposed before the assembly: "Guardian, the auspicious hour has arrived. Why not invite the new madam out to meet us all, so that we may know who our Guardian's lady is?"

"Yes! Bring out the new madam!" The other spirit beasts all took up the cry.

At this the handsome man's face took on a trace of a smile. Seeing the whole gathering in such high spirits, he said, "Very well. It is time she met you all, and spared us any misunderstandings hereafter. Attendants—bring out the new madam."

At his word, four gorgeously decked maidservants went straight to the sumptuous great tent at the rear to escort the new madam forth. They were, of course, all spirit beasts in transformed shape, not true humans.

There is no fixed relation between a spirit beast taking human form and its level of cultivation; it depends entirely on whether the creature has a gift for it. Some spirit beasts, even at the highest reaches of cultivation, can never assume human form, while others manage it as early as the Foundation Establishment stage—just as these four maidservants had.

Meanwhile, the wedding feast had at last regained the festive air befitting such an occasion; the spirit beasts laughed and chattered, cups and goblets crossing back and forth. Yet Wei Zhao, hidden to one side, had grown somewhat heavy of heart. It was no wonder the brain-eating worm should come after him—he was confident enough of escaping its pursuit. But now the creature had turned its designs upon Leng Leng and the others, and that was truly cause for worry.

Even so, it might have been endurable. Even if the brain-eating worm truly meant to hunt down Leng Leng's group, it could not simply find them at will; after all, the ground is hard to make out even from the air, and unless one's spiritual sense is powerful to a certain degree, a wide-ranging search from the sky is exceedingly difficult. Of this Wei Zhao had firsthand knowledge.

The trouble was that the brain-eating worm's words had just revealed something that made Wei Zhao's blood run cold: this handsome man before him, called the Guardian, had eyes and ears everywhere. Nearly every flower and tree was his informant—with his help in the search, the brain-eating worm would pin down Leng Leng's group sooner or later. And when that time came, what was to be done?

Last time, the brain-eating worm had been too sure of itself and let Leng Leng's group go without lifting a finger. This time it had already come up empty once; the very fact that it would raise the matter meant it would stop at nothing to catch Wei Zhao. And when that moment came—unable to beat it in a fight, unable to flee—Wei Zhao would truly be at his wits' end.

Urgent—Wei Zhao was deeply urgent. He had to think of a counter-measure at once, or the consequences would be unthinkable.

Fortunately, today was the handsome man's grand wedding. Given the strained relations between him and the brain-eating worm, at least for now he would hardly exert himself to find anyone on the creature's behalf. So there was still a little time left for Wei Zhao to think of something—only a little, of course.

Just as Wei Zhao was racking his brains for a way out, the new madam was at last brought forth after much calling and coaxing. When this Guardian's lady stepped onto the high platform and slowly came to the handsome man's side, the whole assembly erupted.

At the same moment, Wei Zhao looked upon her features and was struck dumb: this new madam was none other than Duanmu Yu!

The spirit beasts all raised their cups to the new madam in unison; toasts done, they at once fell to discussing the matter, until one of them rose to speak on behalf of the gathered beasts: "Guardian, how is the new madam a human?"

Even in human form, the aura of a human and that of a spirit beast are utterly distinct; any spirit beast could tell that this new madam was unquestionably, purely human.

That a lofty Guardian should take a human woman to wife—now that was a marvel indeed!

To be sure, they all knew the Guardian was fond of taking human form; even the attendants around him were chosen first and foremost by whether they could assume human shape, and in every gesture he was no different from a human. But that was at most a preference—it could not change his nature as a spirit beast.

And more to the point: what manner of offspring would spring from the union of the Guardian and a human woman? Human, spirit beast, or half-beast?

The handsome man swept his gaze over the assembly and said slowly, "Were she not a human woman, why would I hold this grand wedding feast at all?"

Generally speaking, the weddings of spirit beasts are not so elaborate; even when one of the Guardian's rank requires a ceremony, it must needs be a rite peculiar to spirit beasts, not a wedding banquet in the human fashion. Everything here had been arranged for the new madam—or, to put it precisely, for Duanmu Yu.

"Then, Guardian, might you introduce our Guardian's lady to us all?" one spirit beast asked curiously.

"Very well—then I shall indulge your curiosity." Regarding Duanmu Yu at his side with admiring eyes, the handsome man said in a tone of almost boastful pride: "She was originally a disciple of the Ye Ling Sect of the Ancient Alliance, by name Duanmu Yu. She came in this time by a stroke of chance; she was meant to be offered up as a human tribute, but it happened that I discovered her constitution and her mental cultivation to be in perfect accord with my own. It also chanced that I wished to test the legendary art of dual cultivation—and so she became my wife."

So that was it! Only now did Wei Zhao understand, and no wonder Duanmu Yu had turned up in this place. What filled him with great curiosity, however, was her present state: this remarkable woman of such manly bearing had docilely taken up the role of bride, without the slightest sign of resistance.

Surely she had not been given some drug to cloud her mind? (To be continued.)