Chapter 3638 — The Only Latecomer
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
Heh heh. Off to the side, Meng Jueming, hearing this, tilted his chin up at Wei Zhao in triumph, the mockery in his eyes plain for all to see.
Even a prickly, unyielding character like Wei Zhao had no power to resist before a Fourth Elder such as Zhao Hongbo. Relying on the vast gulf in status and strength between them, the man could ruin you with a few casual words—and leave you with no room to talk back at all!
An hour later, Lu Bianren and Wei Zhao finally arrived back at Welcoming Pavilion, dusty and travel-worn. By then, the three elders had already finished instructing the newcomers of the Three-Tiered Pavilion, and had all gathered in the main hall to exchange thoughts on cultivation.
Lu Bianren and Wei Zhao exchanged a glance, and their hearts sank at once. This scene had plainly been deliberately arranged by someone!
Just imagine: if this were back at Songshan No. 1 Middle School, and Gu Pengzhan came to inspect the school, with all the administrators, teachers, and students in attendance, and then before the eyes of the entire crowd the lone latecomer of the whole school came drifting in—worse still, a person whom the vast majority of teachers and students had already unanimously rejected—what sort of feeling would that be?
For any normal person, the only thought at such a moment would probably be to find a crack in the floor and crawl into it!
But Lu Bianren did not. His expression all but unchanged, he walked head-high straight toward the three elders at the center.
Wei Zhao, following beside him, praised him inwardly. Though this Senior Brother Lu looked as meek as Poor Bastard Senior Brother—a dignified third pavilion master of Welcoming Pavilion reduced to a marginalized, invisible man—his bearing and courage were far beyond the ordinary.
The reason Lu Bianren appeared meek was that he was constantly giving ground. When one's own strength is insufficient, choosing to yield is far wiser than choosing to resist—and it requires far more courage.
But at a critical juncture like this, there could be no more retreating; for to retreat now would no longer be yielding, but cowering.
Lu Bianren knew full well that the slightest show of cowardice would bring down utter ruin upon him. Not only would he be unable to remain at Welcoming Pavilion—even if he returned to Azure Cloud Pavilion later, he would be equally unable to stay.
So even knowing that a violent storm lay ahead, he could only go forward—head high, stride firm, forward.
"This disciple Lu Bianren greets the three elders. I have come late to receive you; I beg the three elders' forgiveness." Lu Bianren bowed and saluted, saying not a word about the reason, offering no excuse at all—simply a sincere plea for punishment.
Clever! Wei Zhao could not help praising him inwardly. Had Lu Bianren launched into a lengthy explanation of why he was late, he would have fallen into a trap. To say nothing of the fact that Hu Yunfeng and the others would surely shift all blame off themselves—these three lofty elders had no interest whatsoever in why Lu Bianren might have been late.
In their eyes, to be absent on such an important day was simply Lu Bianren's own fault; and to quibble and make excuses on top of that would be to compound the error and double the offense!
But now Lu Bianren said nothing at all, simply admitting his fault in all sincerity and begging forgiveness. That way, even if the three elders were displeased, there was little they could say. After all, the man had been late only once; to seize upon such a trifle and refuse to let it go would only make them look petty and small-minded.
Xu Yuanzheng, at the very center, glanced at Zhao Hongbo and said nothing. Lu Bianren was, after all, one of Azure Cloud Pavilion's own, and it was better to let Zhao Hongbo, the elder of that pavilion, deal with him—a courtesy to the man's face, as it were.