Chapter 4625 — A Visitor

It might not look like a lofty position, but it served as a vital springboard. Take Kang Jingming over on North Island: after a stint as steward of the Welcome Pavilion, he was now an outer-court steward of the Skypiercer Pavilion, wielding no small authority. The post had been forced on him by Xu Lingchong, true enough, but his prospects were boundless all the same.

Wei Shenjin's case was much the same. The status of an inner-court steward was nothing to boast of, yet the office commanded the inner court's purchasing power—and even a sliver of that was by no means a small business. It went without saying that the pill trade in Wei Shenjin's hands all flowed to the Heaven Pill Pavilion; by now the pavilion had built a modest reputation, fair in both quality and price, so even those who knew could find no fault with it.

That was precisely how the Heaven Pill Pavilion's business had held steady at sixty thousand spirit stones a day. The credit belonged not to any one person but to Tianchan, Xueli, Wei Shenjin, and everyone else involved—the Heaven Dao Society included.

Wei Zhao had meant to make a quick trip to Zhong Island, but now that he knew all was well there, his worry eased considerably. The pressing matter was no longer Zhong Island but replenishing the pills for Tianchan and the others. Turning to Hong Zhong, he said, "Elder Hong, I mean to devote myself to refining a batch of pills over the coming days. When they're ready, I'll trouble you to ship them over through the Hong Chamber of Commerce's channels."

"No problem at all—consider it done," Hong Zhong said cheerfully. It smacked a little of using public office for private ends, but as the chamber's vice president in substance he had every right to do it; besides, Wei Zhao was an honorary vice president of the Hong Chamber himself, and borrowing a shipping channel for a while was nothing anyone could object to.

After a few more idle words with Hong Zhong, Wei Zhao did not linger at the chamber. He had only just returned to North Island, and apart from gathering with his own people, there were still many others he had to call on in person. Shangguan Tianxia, for one.

Strictly speaking, Wei Zhao and Shangguan Tianxia, master of the Skypiercer Pavilion, had never had much dealings. Apart from that one pointedly deliberate mention of his name at the inner-court tournament long ago, their connection came down to Shangguan Lan'er—which naturally made him feel a little closer to the man than to the other grandees of the upper echelon.

Setting all that aside, Wei Zhao genuinely admired Shangguan Tianxia. What inspired awe in this peerless figure of North Island was by no means his cultivation alone; more than that, it was his bearing, the sense of vast grandeur in his every gesture. Whatever one's standpoint, standing before such a man, one could not help but submit in one's heart.

Proud as Gongyang Jun, master of the Law-Enforcement Hall, who looked down his nose at everyone with an aloof, unbridled disdain, he alone made an exception for Shangguan Tianxia—and this was likely the reason.

Most people are born ordinary; only the rarest few are born radiant. Wei Zhao was certain Shangguan Tianxia was one of the latter. The grandee might now devote himself to quiet self-cultivation, but in his youth he must have been a legendary figure forever surrounded by talk.

Early one morning, Shangguan Lan'er was practicing calligraphy under Shangguan Tianxia's eye. Calligraphy calms the mind and tempers the character—such was the task her grandfather had set her. She might skip cultivation if she liked, but every morning she must practice calligraphy for an hour, a rule not to be bent.

Lan'er did not much resist it. It was tedious, yes, but at least preferable to sitting in meditation all the time, and she seemed to have a gift for it; even Shangguan Tianxia, who seldom praised anyone, often had a good word for her brushwork.

"Little Lan'er, stop for a moment," Shangguan Tianxia said suddenly.

"What is it, Grandfather?" Lan'er asked, puzzled. Had the sun risen in the west today—was she to be excused from calligraphy as well?

"Go brew some tea. We'll have a visitor shortly," Shangguan Tianxia said with a faint smile. Apart from her outstanding gift for calligraphy, his granddaughter's talent for the tea ceremony was the finest he had seen in his life. She was good at everything, in fact—only her dislike of cultivation was a little vexing.

"Which one, Wuqing or Xingnü?" Lan'er asked. For someone of Shangguan Tianxia's standing, the spirit tea he served was naturally the finest grade, rarely seen on the market. Yet strictly speaking there were grades even among these: Wuqing was the lesser, generally reserved for the likes of elders of the Three-Tier Pavilion, while Xingnü required at least a pavilion master of that house.

"Bring out some Lujian," Shangguan Tianxia said, still writing.

"What? Who on earth is coming today?" Lan'er was startled on the spot. Lujian was her grandfather's most treasured spirit tea—he had gone to enormous trouble to collect a mere few taels, and ordinarily could not bear to drink it himself. Only when close friends and kin came by, and the talk grew merry, would he grudgingly bring out a tiny bit, wincing at even one mote too much. And today he was willing to break out the Lujian? What wind was blowing?

"This is someone you know, Lan'er," Shangguan Tianxia said, deliberately keeping her guessing.

"I know them?" Lan'er tilted her head and thought. "Could it be Grandpa Hong? No, that can't be—you've always only ever served him Xingnü. Then it must be some great personage from the outer islands?"

In Lan'er's eyes, the only person in all of North Island whose standing might make her grandfather part with something as precious as Lujian was Hong Zhong, his old friend of many years—and even he rated only half a claim. Not even the masters of the other two pavilions enjoyed that privilege. Thinking it over, it could only be some great figure from the outer islands.

Shangguan Tianxia chuckled but offered no explanation, so Lan'er went off to brew the tea, perplexed. Some half an hour later, someone outside triggered the formation's ward. When Lan'er opened the door, full of misgivings, she froze where she stood.

"Little Junior Brother, what are *you* doing here?" Lan'er's eyes went wide with astonishment, and she made no effort to hide her shock.

"Ah?" Wei Zhao was startled in turn by her strange reaction. "What is it? I've come to call on Master Shangguan—is that so odd?"

"Not odd, not odd at all. But Grandfather is very odd," Lan'er said, her expression growing stranger by the moment.

"What do you mean?" Wei Zhao was taken aback.

"Hmm, I don't know either." Lan'er blinked. It occurred to her that the Lujian might not have been meant for Wei Zhao at all—but since he had happened to arrive, she would certainly not let good water flow to an outsider's field. Waste not, want not: she would serve the Lujian to Wei Zhao first, and whatever grand personage from the outer islands showed up afterward could be dealt with when they came.

Lan'er promptly dragged the bewildered Wei Zhao into the study and announced to Shangguan Tianxia, "Grandfather, Little Junior Brother has come to see you. I'll go pour the tea for you both." (To be continued...)

...R640