Chapter 4164 — A Pillow for a Sleepy Man

It was no secret that the Snow Sword Sect had abandoned its pursuit of the martial artist Ling Yi and turned instead to courting the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion. A few discreet inquiries were all it took to make the whole business plain, and most who knew of it merely looked on and gossiped over their tea. But when the news reached Nan Tian Liuguang and his companions, they very nearly exploded on the spot.

"What the hell is the Snow Sword Sect playing at? We stooped to offer them intelligence of our own accord, and not only do they refuse to move against Wei Zhao—they turn around and cozy up to him! A pack of petty knaves, the lot of them. Every last bit of our scheming has gone to waste!" Si Haitao fumed.

"Exactly. Dean Nan Tian, this conduct of theirs plainly means they don't hold you in the slightest regard. Di Xingdao behind Wei Zhao is not to be trifled with—but are we, then? The sheer insolence of it!" Ancestor Xuanchen was equally incensed, and even while venting his fury he did not neglect to stir the pot.

"Those damned blackguards!" Nan Tian Liuguang's face was as dark as deep water. That Di Xingdao had struck him down in a single move last time was humiliation enough to make him hang his head, though he had deliberately put it from his mind. But the Snow Sword Sect's actions now were nothing short of a slap in the face.

Had he, and not Di Xingdao, been the Vice Island Master of Central Island at this moment, the Snow Sword Sect would not have dared do any such thing even if they were lent a hundred spines!

"Old friend Nan Tian, what do we do now? Shall we go trample the Snow Sword Sect and see whether they dare look down their noses at us again?" Si Haitao suggested.

Nan Tian Liuguang was tempted. This bitter insult truly would not go down. Yet after a moment's hesitation, the last shred of his reason stilled his hand.

With both the Cultivators' Academy and the Central Merchants' Association behind him, and being himself one of the few early Xuan Ascension experts on Central Island, he had certainly enough backing to face down a mere Snow Sword Sect. But he had joined the Center under a secret identity; even if matters blew up, the Center would hardly step forward on his behalf—it might even turn around and punish him. That would be a loss not worth the gain.

"Never mind. Making an enemy of the entire Snow Sword Sect would cause too great a stir; it might even spoil our superiors' plans. We must not act rashly. What troubles me most right now is not even that—it's Wei Zhao!" Nan Tian Liuguang said, rubbing his temples in vexation.

At these words Si Haitao and Ancestor Xuanchen could not help falling silent. Wei Zhao might return to North Island at any time, and they had not yet laid hands on so much as the shadow of a blade. The scheme they had discussed of borrowing another's knife to do the killing was simply laughable.

"Since the Snow Sword Sect won't do, shall we find someone else?" Ancestor Xuanchen proposed.

"Who else? Wei Zhao has been on Central Island only a short while; few even know his name, and fewer still have quarreled with him—and behind him stands Di Xingdao. Unless it were a blood feud of life and death, who would provoke him?" Si Haitao said helplessly.

"Then what? We can't just let that brat Wei Zhao off scot-free?" Ancestor Xuanchen was equally at a loss, yet unwilling to accept it.

"It seems there's nothing for it but to seek instructions from our superiors. If they give their consent, then even if we kill Wei Zhao with our own hands, we need no longer fear Di Xingdao's threat," Nan Tian Liuguang decided.

Si Haitao and Ancestor Xuanchen exchanged a glance and nodded one after the other in agreement. After all, apart from this, no better plan could be devised at present.

The three set off at once for the Central Merchants' Association to meet the mysterious man in black, recounted the whole affair from beginning to end, and waited for his judgment. But what he said gave all three a great shock.

"Leave that Wei Zhao alone for now. I have had my eye on this man for a long time; he is among those I mean to win over," the mysterious man said coolly.

Nan Tian Liuguang and the other two looked at one another, struck dumb. Though deeply unwilling, they dared not raise the slightest objection, and could only nod and murmur their assent with heads hanging low.

For all their helplessness, the three broke out in a cold sweat together. Never in their wildest dreams could they have imagined that even the mysterious man, their own superior, set such store by Wei Zhao. It was fortunate they had not rushed to act; had they truly stopped at nothing to kill Wei Zhao and thereby spoiled the mysterious man's grand design, disaster would indeed have been upon them.

The matter of dealing with Wei Zhao had to be abandoned by Nan Tian Liuguang and his two companions, and Si Haitao could only return to North Island steeped in gloom.

His chief mission in coming to Central Island this time had been to win over Nan Tian Liuguang; the business of dealing with Wei Zhao had been a notion born only after an unexpected discovery. Now Nan Tian Liuguang had joined the Center, and the superiors forbade them to touch Wei Zhao, so there was nothing left to do on Central Island—he could only turn back home.

Even so, his heart was far from reconciled. The humiliation he had suffered at Wei Zhao's hands had been monstrous: not only had he lost all face, he had been beaten within an inch of reporting to the King of Hell. It was a hatred as deep as the sea. And now the superiors would not let him touch Wei Zhao—how was he to bear it?

Yet Si Haitao had never been a man to keep to his place. Now that he had set his mind on dealing with Wei Zhao, no one could stop him. Even if, cowed by the mysterious man's authority, he dared not act openly, a little covert instigation—getting others to do the deed for him—surely carried no risk at all.

Wei Zhao had few enemies on Central Island, but on North Island they were assuredly not few. Even the mysterious man could not stop such people from striking him down.

Fortune favors the diligent. Scarcely had Si Haitao returned to North Island when he discovered a heaven-sent opportunity: wanted notices were plastered all over North Island, and the figure sketched and sought in them was none other than the martial artist Ling Yi!

"Marvelous, truly marvelous! A pillow brought to a man just as he grows sleepy—this time Wei Zhao is digging his own grave, and he can hardly blame me for fanning the flames. Who told you to be so charmless and make enemies everywhere? Heh heh!" Si Haitao was overjoyed.

Ling Yi was a wholly new appearance; no one on North Island likely yet knew it was Wei Zhao in disguise. If the news were only slipped out quietly, then when Wei Zhao returned he would be lucky to escape with his skin, and even the mysterious man could not lay the blame at Si Haitao's door.

Laughing aloud, Si Haitao at once took up a wanted notice and read it through carefully. Once he understood the ins and outs of the matter, his laughter grew merrier still.

On North Island, only the Law Enforcement Hall had the authority to issue wanted notices, and this time the charge against the martial artist Ling Yi was the murder of a disciple of the Soaring Heavens Pavilion—Su Zhaohu!

Without a moment's hesitation, Si Haitao, having carefully kept his movements from prying eyes, went straight to the Law Enforcement Hall.

The Central Merchants' Association was by now rising to prominence across the great islands of the Heaven Tier, its momentum vast, pressing hard upon top-tier houses like the Five Elements Merchants' Association and the Hong Clan Merchants' Association. As the openly acknowledged manager of the North Island branch, Si Haitao counted for something on North Island; upon arriving at a place as strictly ranked as the Law Enforcement Hall, someone naturally came out to receive him. R1152