Chapter 3925 — A Bully at Home

Just then, Li Zhengming's voice came from above: "Miss Murong, over here!"

Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai were both startled. From the dense forest to the north came a rustling that drew closer by the moment—proof that someone really was approaching fast. Li Zhengming had not been bluffing.

"What do we do?" Qiao Hongcai turned to look at Xiao Che, leaving the decision to him.

Meng Zhou had indeed been badly wounded by his palm strike, but he was not yet so spent that he could put up no resistance at all—and no one could say what strength a man might unleash once he was driven to the brink.

If the two of them stayed, they could certainly kill Meng Zhou. But even a moment's delay might bring death down upon them, for Murong Zhen had long since proven herself far stronger than either of them.

"We go!" Xiao Che decided on the spot. He too would have liked to seize this golden chance to finish Meng Zhou, but it was plainly not worth putting Qiao Hongcai and himself in mortal danger for it.

Even with Meng Zhou to cushion the blow, losing either one of them would still be a loss in the end.

Their strength was what it was; so long as another chance came along, killing Meng Zhou would be no hard task. There was no need to gamble on it now.

Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai withdrew swiftly, and moments later Murong Zhen emerged from the dense forest, wreathed in a thick aura of murderous intent.

Xiao Che's decision had been a wise and correct one. Murong Zhen had just suffered a crushing defeat at Wei Zhao's hands, nearly losing her life, and she was now seething with fury.

If she had run into them at such a moment, Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai would surely have faced near-certain death, for the woman would have vented every ounce of her rage upon them, sparing no cost and reckoning no consequence until she had wiped them both out.

Watching the two withdraw so swiftly, Li Zhengming, still up in the tree, remarked with no small admiration, "Decisive in advance and retreat—this Xiao Che is truly no ordinary man."

His warning a moment ago had seemed at first hearing to be pointing Murong Zhen in the right direction, but in truth she had no need of his voice at all—her own senses had already caught the disturbance on this side. His real purpose had been to tip off Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai.

From where Li Zhengming stood, he did not much care whether the two of them lived or died, but he did care what Wei Zhao thought of him.

If he did nothing today and simply let Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai run into Murong Zhen, then no matter the outcome, Wei Zhao would surely hold him to blame afterward.

But if he had already called out a warning in advance, and the two of them still insisted on staying to kill Meng Zhou, then it would no longer be his responsibility.

And afterward, even if he stood by and watched the two be cut down by Murong Zhen right under his nose, Wei Zhao would have nothing to say against him—because he would have already done what he ought to do.

Beneath the tree, Murong Zhen was looking at Meng Zhou with plain disgust. "You can't even deal with two worthless underlings. You really are a thoroughgoing piece of trash. I truly cannot fathom why Meng Jueming values a specimen like you!"

"What did you say!" Meng Zhou's face, already pale, flushed crimson from that single sentence.

Ever since Murong Zhen arrived at the Newcomer Pavilion, Meng Zhou had been smitten with her, and though he had never gained any real advantage over her, her constant teasing and flirtation had left him hopelessly infatuated.

And now, to have the goddess of his heart spurn him to his face so unreservedly!

At any other time, even if she thought little of Meng Zhou in this sorry state, Murong Zhen would never have said such a thing. But the business at Half-Moon Lake had left her grinding her teeth in hatred, and in her present foul mood she had no patience left for playacting with trash like Meng Zhou.

"I called you trash. What of it—do you have a problem with that?" A cold, bone-deep killing intent flashed in Murong Zhen's eyes.

Meng Zhou shuddered and came back to his senses. The woman before him was no ordinary newcomer who would bow and scrape—if he offended her, he could be killed on the spot with no one to plead his case.

"Li Zhengming, get the hell over here!" Meng Zhou did not dare meet Murong Zhen's eyes again, so he vented his anger on the one he took for a soft target.

Li Zhengming narrowed his eyes slightly. Had Murong Zhen not been present, he would already have struck down this arrogant, self-important fool.

After a pause, Li Zhengming walked over slowly and said, betraying nothing, "What is it?"

"Give me your spirit-beast talisman!" Though gravely wounded, Meng Zhou was still as swaggering as ever, carrying himself like a lord and master.

"And why should I?" A flash of killing intent passed through Li Zhengming's eyes and vanished.

It was only a low-grade spirit-beast talisman, but to any newcomer of the Azure Cloud Pavilion it was a chance that came once in a blue moon. Li Zhengming was no exception—how could he possibly hand it over to the likes of Meng Zhou!

"Because my spirit-beast talisman is ruined, and because I'm your leader—do you have a problem with that?" Meng Zhou sneered, his brows lifted in smug contempt.

Xiao Che had only peeled off the spirit-beast talisman stuck to the Blackback Staff Ape's forehead; the ape, already badly wounded by them beforehand, was still there and had not fled.

In its present condition, one more spirit-beast talisman would guarantee success a hundred percent.

Li Zhengming drew a deep breath at these words and glanced at Murong Zhen beside him. She seemed uninterested, merely folding her arms and watching coldly from the sidelines.

Damn it! If not for this woman's presence, I would kill you today!

Li Zhengming drew another deep breath, forced down the rage in his heart, and said, "There's only one spirit-beast talisman. If I give it to you, what am I supposed to do?"

"You?" Meng Zhou raised an eyebrow and said in that sneering, insinuating tone, "Have you got a brain in that head of yours? You're not the only one with a spirit-beast talisman—just take one from somebody else. These people are all cowards who fear death anyway. With your strength, that shouldn't be a problem, should it!"

"Rob the other newcomers?" Li Zhengming was almost amused in his fury. This bastard Meng Zhou never changed—whatever dirty work there was, he always wanted someone else to carry it.

True enough, with Li Zhengming's strength it would not be hard to snatch a spirit-beast talisman from another newcomer. But if he actually dared do it, Meng Jueming would come settling accounts with him afterward, a hundred percent certain.

These newcomers' loyalty was shaky at best. If he did such a thing, he would be practically shoving them into Wei Zhao's camp in broad daylight—Meng Jueming would never let him off lightly.

"Enough of your damn whining. Hand over the spirit-beast talisman, and be quick about it. If my Blackback Staff Ape gets away, I'll tell Cousin Ninth you've been secretly colluding with Wei Zhao and his lot, and I'll have him strip you of everything the moment we're back!" Meng Zhou threatened viciously.