Chapter 3606 — Almost Catching Up to Me
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Uh... Young Master Xu, take care, you two junior brothers as well!" Dai Wuchang hesitated a moment, then in the end could only respectfully see the group off.
He had meant to warn Xu Lingchong not to celebrate so soon. After all, he knew that yesterday Wei Zhao had dug up eight fine jade stones and left Meng Jueming and his lot, who had come to gloat, with a thorough humiliation—and there was every chance this Young Master Xu would repeat the same folly. But on second thought, in a dead mining zone like Number Ten, Wei Zhao's eight fine stones yesterday had already been a stroke of heaven-sent luck; surely the boy could not be so lucky again today. He was not some legendary child of fortune!
So in the end Dai Wuchang swallowed his words. If the warning failed to come true, he would only seem to have deliberately spoiled the man's fun and would leave a black mark in Young Master Xu's mind.
Before anyone knew it, darkness fell, and the melodious chime rang out across the mining zones. It was time to hand in the day's work again.
From the various mine shafts the miners emerged one after another in an orderly stream—first the weighing, then the quality inspection. Once this unchanging, age-old hand-in procedure was done, the great majority dispersed. After all, they had been digging all day; even if their bodies could hold up, their minds were more or less weary. Back in their cave dwellings, even a session of seated meditation for cultivation would be a rare chance to recover.
Yet the group of Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomers headed by Meng Jueming and Meng Zhou stayed by the inspection station as they had the day before—naturally to watch Wei Zhao make a fool of himself. Though yesterday Wei Zhao's miraculous eight fine stones had left them covered in dust and shame, Meng Jueming absolutely refused to believe the boy could enjoy such dog-luck again today. Otherwise it would be downright uncanny!
But to his surprise, before Wei Zhao appeared, who should arrive but Xu Lingchong and his companions. He lost no time in hurrying over to curry favor and ingratiate himself.
Yet once he had asked their business, and especially once he was questioned about the previous day's events, Meng Jueming's expression turned distinctly odd. He could only smirk shamelessly and say with a dry laugh: "That brat had a stroke of dog-luck yesterday and picked up a few fine stones. But who ever heard of luck lasting every day? Today is when his true colors show. Just wait, Young Master Xu—you will have the pleasure of savoring his woebegone face!"
That brat actually dug up a few fine stones yesterday? Xu Lingchong was briefly taken aback, though he did not much concern himself with it. Even in a dead zone like Number Ten, fine stones did occasionally turn up—but fine stones every single day was utterly impossible. Otherwise it would not be called a dead zone.
The whole party craned their necks and waited a good quarter-hour, until nearly everyone else had gone, before Wei Zhao's figure finally appeared on the empty Number Ten mining road. Every mouth curled into a mocking arc. Brat, let us see whether you can keep gloating today!
"Oh? Quite the crowd today. Don't tell me you are all eagerly awaiting the extra jade I dug up today?" Wei Zhao looked up and saw the whole lot—and notably the rare familiar faces of Xu Lingchong and Kang Jingming among them. He was briefly startled, and once he understood, he found it secretly hilarious.
So many people rushing to spectate at his hand-in—Wei Zhao truly did not know whether to feel honored or to feel sorrow. Though, of course, any sorrow would be on their behalf.
Meng Jueming and the others were one thing—they were close by in the mining zone to begin with. But for a "great personage" like Xu Lingchong to come all this way to watch him make a fool of himself, only to get a nose full of dust instead—if that was not sorrowful, what was?