Chapter 3871 — Passing the Trouble On

A peak expert at the early Foundation Establishment stage, and a beauty with an impressive background to boot - an enemy like that was exceedingly troublesome.

But that was not what Wei Zhao was thinking about at the moment. He suddenly understood why Murong Zhen had helped him this time. The reason was simple: she needed him to keep Meng Jue Ming and Meng Zhou in check.

Among the newcomers to Qingyun Pavilion, Meng Jue Ming and his people now formed one faction, while Wei Zhao and the others formed another. As for Murong Zhen, she clearly had no intention of joining either side. After failing to win Wei Zhao over, she had not turned around and thrown in her lot with Meng Jue Ming's faction. Instead, she intended to become a third force, standing on equal footing with both of them.

That was the only explanation for why she had summoned Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai to get her out of trouble. If something happened to her, then without question, Meng Jue Ming would become the sole power among the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers. Even with Murong Zhen's scheming and political skill, it would be difficult for her to stand against him, especially since she had only just arrived and had no foundation to rely on.

Dealing with a fool like Meng Zhou might still be possible, but Meng Jue Ming was the senior disciple in charge. That was a position she could never replace him in. To submit to him would be no different from surrendering, and that was not what she wanted. This woman wanted to control the entire situation.

Her wings had not yet fully grown, so she needed Wei Zhao to tie up Meng Jue Ming's attention. That was the true reason Murong Zhen had stepped in to help.

This also confirmed Wei Zhao's earlier impression of the woman. Murong Zhen clearly had grand ambitions; otherwise, she would never have weighed the situation so carefully and schemed so painstakingly.

After all, according to the instinctive desire for revenge most women would have, once she had fallen out with Wei Zhao, her first reaction - even if she did not immediately try to harm him - certainly would not have been to help him out of trouble. Simply standing by and watching would already have shown considerable magnanimity.

Balancing three rival factions was a choice only someone with truly unfathomable depths would make. Murong Zhen's scheming was indeed extraordinary.

"It looks like the days ahead are not going to be nearly so peaceful." Watching Murong Zhen's alluring back as she walked away, Wei Zhao could only shake his head helplessly.

Before this, having only Meng Jue Ming's faction to deal with, Wei Zhao had managed with ease. Especially after Meng Zhou had lain low recently, with no one going out of their way to make trouble for him, Wei Zhao had been free to focus on cultivating and increasing his strength. But now that a scheming woman like Murong Zhen had joined in to stir up the winds and clouds, living so leisurely from here on would no longer be realistic.

At his words, Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai exchanged a glance and nodded in deep agreement. They had not yet seen through Murong Zhen's true intentions, but they could already sense that things among the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers were bound to become lively.

"Come on. The challenge matches are about to begin. Let's see what this woman does first." Wei Zhao smiled faintly as he spoke to the two men.

With Murong Zhen's arrival, the situation had suddenly become much more complicated. Wei Zhao still had absolute confidence that he could deal with these people, but he could not afford to let his guard down. Otherwise, one wrong move, and he might truly end up capsized in a drainage ditch.

Meanwhile, after failing to sound out Wei Zhao, Yu Jiang immediately returned to Nan Tianguan's side and recounted everything that had happened, leaving out not a single detail.

Nan Tianguan had certainly watched the entire affair from beginning to end, but Yu Jiang was the one who had truly fought Lin Er before, whereas Nan Tianguan did not even know what Lin Er looked like. So whether Wei Zhao was the Lin Er they were searching for or not, Yu Jiang naturally had the greatest say.

After listening to Yu Jiang's detailed account, Nan Tianguan remained silent for a moment before finally saying, "Just tell me one thing. Is this Wei Zhao the Lin Er we are looking for or not?"

"Reporting to you, Martial Uncle, at first glance he does bear some resemblance, but in truth they are entirely different people. During our exchange just now, I came close to killing him several times. If he truly possessed the strength of that Lin Er, there is no way he could have continued holding back in the face of mortal danger." Yu Jiang replied in a solemn voice.

If this fellow really possessed overwhelming strength yet allowed himself to be beaten to death merely to conceal his identity, he would have to be an idiot beyond measure. No such fool could possibly exist in this world. If he had lost his life, what the hell would be the point of hiding his identity?

What Yu Jiang did not know was that most people, when faced with life or death, would probably fight back with all their might. Wei Zhao, moreover, possessed the Xuanyuan Dragon-Controlling Art, which could heal his injuries with astonishing speed. Even if he were beaten half to death, he could recover. And then Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai had suddenly appeared, coming to Wei Zhao's aid in time and getting him out of trouble.

Nan Tianguan nodded slightly at this. His view was much the same as Yu Jiang's. Although he had never truly come into contact with Lin Er, he knew very well that experts had an expert's pride. If Wei Zhao really possessed the strength to kill Nan Tianyong with a single move, then with Nan Tianguan absent, he would never have allowed a mere Yu Jiang to act so brazenly.

"After taking everything into account, this Wei Zhao is nothing more than an ordinary newcomer. He is merely a little stronger than most, but he is still nowhere near Lin Er's level. Besides, according to what Meng Jue Ming said last time, this fellow is a penniless pauper without a single spirit jade. Just think about it - how could a pauper like that possibly have caught the eye of an old fox like Hong Zhong?" Yu Jiang continued.

Since he had already investigated the matter thoroughly last time, Yu Jiang had never really believed from the outset that Wei Zhao and Lin Er were the same person. He had merely held on to one last sliver of hope after hearing Kang Jingming mention the Danfire Bomb, thinking that the move might truly resemble the devastating weapon Lin Er had used before.

"In that case, we can indeed rule out this boy as a suspect. Still, this time was not entirely fruitless. Did he not just say that he has a grudge against Kang Jingming? And has the Danfire Bomb not always been that boy Kang Jingming's own signature technique?" Nan Tianguan said, his expression darkening.

"Exactly! That fellow Kang Jingming clearly knows the Danfire Bomb himself, yet he went out of his way to curry favor with us and insisted on diverting our attention toward some unrelated person. His intentions are truly sinister!" Yu Jiang was equally displeased.

Whether Yu Jiang or Nan Tianguan, both considered themselves clever men capable of manipulating everyone else as they pleased. Now they had been treated like monkeys by a mere newcomer from Chongtian Pavilion. How could either of them possibly be in a good mood?

"When someone offers favors for no reason, there is either deceit or theft involved!" A cold glint flashed through Nan Tianguan's icy eyes. He suddenly asked, "Nephew, think carefully. Could that boy Kang Jingming himself be Lin Er?"

"That... is difficult to say. If Wei Zhao was telling the truth and that boy really does know the Danfire Bomb, then judging by his intention to divert our attention, the possibility is by no means small." Yu Jiang spoke thoughtfully.