Chapter 3641 — An Unexpected Visitor: The Bitter Senior Brother Heaves a Long Sigh—the Root of Their Present Awkwardness Was Not That They Lacked a Patron, but That Their Patron Had Gone Out and Vanished Without a Trace!
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
Seeing him so dejected, Lu Bianren instead smiled and consoled him. "Truthfully, it is no great matter. Even if Elder Zhao means to move against me, the worst he can do is dislodge me from this Third Pavilion Master's seat in Welcoming Pavilion—a post that exists in name only. After all, our patron has merely gone out on a temporary mission; he is not gone forever. Zhao would not dare overreach. Besides, for me as I am now, a change of surroundings might open up a whole new world. This need not be a bad thing at all!"
Since Lu Bianren himself had put it that way, the Bitter Senior Brother and Wei Zhao and the rest naturally had nothing more to say, and could only nod.
Lu Bianren paused, then said, "In fact, if I am transferred away, I am not worried about Junior Brother Lin here. As for Junior Brothers Xiao and Qiao, though this is the first time I have met them, I can tell they are both steady and grounded men, so I am not worried about them either. The one I truly worry about is you, Junior Brother Ku!"
"Me? Worried about what?" the Bitter Senior Brother asked in surprise. In terms of ability and temperament, he might admit he could not match Wei Zhao, but compared with Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai, surely he was not so far behind? After all, he was, by any measure, a managing senior brother with early-stage Foundation Establishment strength!
Lu Bianren shook his head and said with grave earnestness, "If I am transferred away and another man is brought in from within our Azure Cloud Pavilion to serve as Third Pavilion Master, then things are all right. But what if Meng Jueming wants to fight for that seat? What will you do then?"
"That..." The Bitter Senior Brother was at once at a loss for words.
Meng Jueming was merely a managing senior brother as things stood, and already he targeted them openly and covertly in every way, with Wei Zhao suffering the worst of it. If he were allowed to take the Third Pavilion Master's seat, would he not redouble his efforts a hundredfold? Would any of them still be able to live then?
"Junior Brother Ku, you are mild in temper and generous in heart—that is what I admire most in you, but at certain times it is also your greatest weakness." Lu Bianren's expression turned stern. "If matters truly come to that pass, then even if it is only for the sake of these junior brothers here with you, you must step forward and contend with Meng Jueming. Even if you lose in the end, you must never let him look down on you. At the very least, you must not let him run wild and do as he pleases!"
Had Lu Bianren not spoken these words, then when that situation truly arose, the Bitter Senior Brother's habitual style would almost certainly have led him to shrink back—of that there was little doubt. But now he understood at least one thing: once he shrank back, Wei Zhao and the others behind him would all be dragged down with him into utter ruin!
"I understand. Rest easy, Senior Brother Lu—I will look after our junior brothers well," the Bitter Senior Brother said with a heavy nod.
"Good!" Lu Bianren clapped him on the shoulder, then turned to Wei Zhao. "Junior Brother Lin, awkward as your position is now, I am not worried about you. When Master Zhang Lifeng first came to the North Island of our Cloud Terrace Island, he too was surrounded by enemies and beset on every side. Yet in the end those very rivals made his illustrious name as the Divine Physician and Sage of Pills. So I look forward to seeing what you will do."
"Then I ask Senior Brother Lu to wait and see," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile, every inch the picture of confidence and composure.