Chapter 3583 — Wei Zhao Steps Forward
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
The newcomers erupted in an uproar. Even his two lackeys had steeled themselves to resist the temptation—and yet Wei Zhao, their leader, had failed to? This was just too spineless! Did this fellow have any shame at all?
"Oh?" Meng Jueming was taken aback for a moment too. Once he recovered, he sneered with a strange look on his face. "Seems the lure of spirit jade truly is not to be underestimated—even our strongest newcomer is tempted! As the managing senior brother, I can hardly play favorites. Since you've set your mind on signing up, I'll count you in."
"Then many thanks, Senior Brother Meng," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile.
"Think nothing of it, think nothing of it." Meng Jueming chuckled with a meaningful look. A public registration like this was not something he could refuse—and of course, he had no intention of refusing.
Off to the side, Meng Zhou grew anxious at the sight and leaned close to Meng Jueming's ear. "Cousin Jiu, how can we let that bastard Wei Zhao get the better of this? If he gets lucky and earns spirit jade, my ranking match next month will be in jeopardy!"
"You fool! I'm helping you, don't you understand!" Meng Jueming twisted his head around and cursed in a low voice, exasperated by his cousin's stupidity. "If he hadn't signed up, I'd have had no hold over him. But now that he has, all I have to do is toss him into a dead mining zone, and I guarantee he won't dig up a hundred pieces of spirit jade in his whole life. That way he'll have no time to cultivate, and your chances of winning will soar. You idiot—truly a piece of rotten wood that can't be carved!"
Of course, there was one thing he did not say: that Wei Zhao, that thorn in the side, had bowed and scraped before him, the managing senior brother—so would the others not be even more docile? By means of this affair, Meng Jueming had also recovered the face he had lost before!
"So that's it! Cousin Jiu, you're brilliant!" Meng Zhou finally saw the light. He had never even considered this angle, and had been afraid Wei Zhao might earn spirit jade. Now, hearing Meng Jueming's explanation, he understood—this fellow Wei Zhao was simply courting death!
"Of course. If it were left to that pig brain of yours, you couldn't even grasp an opportunity delivered to your door!" Meng Jueming curled his lip, then asked in a low voice, still uneasy, "That business I had you take care of earlier—is it all settled? No mistakes, I hope?"
"Heh, Cousin Jiu, rest easy. I did exactly as you said—absolutely no mistakes!" Meng Zhou caught on at once and vowed solemnly.
"Good. If this plan succeeds, you won't need to worry about how to deal with Wei Zhao in next month's ranking match—because he won't live that long! A mere newcomer from the secular world dares to defy me? This time I'll teach him properly just how many eyes the Horse King has!"
Meng Jueming gave a cold laugh, then turned to face the crowd and said loudly, "Some of the rules here at Welcome Pavilion are much the same as the market rules I explained to you before! Since you're going down into the mines, I must mention one thing: cultivate the self before cultivating the art; conduct yourself rightly before doing anything else. The disciples of Welcome Pavilion must be upright in character. Spirit jade may be tempting, but you had best keep your hands to yourselves. I'll say the ugly part first: if anyone is caught pilfering what he shouldn't, and brings disgrace upon the discipline of this place, then by the rules of our sect, an inner-school expert shall have the meridians of one hand and one foot crippled! An outer-school expert shall have his hands and feet broken outright! And that's if I catch you. If the Enforcement Hall catches you, you'll be beaten to death on the spot—and you'll have only your bad luck to blame!"