Chapter 3761 — The Troublemaker
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
Insufficient spirit qi was a problem shared by all. If all the Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomers' spirit-herb seeds failed together, then it hardly mattered—at worst, everyone would score nothing, so long as no one fell behind the others.
Do what is within one's power and leave the rest to fate—such was the thinking of the vast majority of Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomers. Every day they scraped together every desperate measure to supply spirit qi to their seeds; if they succeeded, so much the better, and if not, there was nothing to be done—everyone would score nothing together.
Compared with the bustle of the other newcomers, Wei Zhao and Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai seemed quite the odd ones out, utterly at ease. Wei Zhao had the divine tool of the jade-pendant space to rely on, while Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai had simply given their spirit-herb seeds to Wei Zhao and need not worry about the matter at all, only quietly preparing for the fourth stage of the assessment soon to begin.
What Wei Zhao did not know was that during these three days, a minor stir had arisen in the inner streets of the market district—and its root cause was him.
That day, near noon, a cultivator who looked like a young man but was in truth well over a hundred years old came to the Hong Family Merchant Guild. He bought nothing, and upon entering demanded outright that the manager, Hong Zhong, come out to see him.
Though Hong Zhong was a manager of the Hong Family Merchant Guild and his status was by no means low, he was, at bottom, a man of business who prized harmony and the making of money. Hearing the other's imperious tone of public summons, he was somewhat displeased, but still politely invited the man into a private room.
"May I ask the honored sir's esteemed name?" Hong Zhong asked, seeing that the other's attire was fine and his bearing distinguished.
Unexpectedly, the man raised an eyebrow at the question and said with a sneer, "What? You're a guild manager and you don't even recognize me, yet you have the nerve to make a living in this North Island market? Has your master never taught you that to do business out here, one must first learn to pay one's respects?"
Hong Zhong's heart tightened. He looked the man up and down again, and could not help but wonder inwardly: could this fellow be some newly risen big shot of the Three-Tiered Pavilion?
It was true enough that doing business out here required paying one's respects, but given the power and influence of the Hong Family Merchant Guild as one of the five great Heaven-Tier island merchant guilds, it was more often the local strongmen who came to pay their respects to them. Across the whole of Cloud-Tier Island's North Island, those to whom the Hong Family Merchant Guild must take the initiative to pay respects numbered only a scant handful.
But Hong Zhong had been at this North Island branch for decades and had long since met those few North Island magnates more than once or twice. The respects owed had long been paid; he enjoyed excellent relations with the bigwigs of the Council of Elders, and even such a newly risen man of power as Gongsun Jie, Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, had taken the initiative to show him goodwill. There was no reason he could have overlooked some great deity.
This fellow before him, though his strength was passable, was far from the level of those magnates and bigwigs—at best he could throw his weight around before ordinary cultivators. To come knocking at the Hong Family Merchant Guild's door and pick a fight—where did he get the confidence, where the boldness? Could he be some clan's second-generation cultivator?
Doubtful as he was, Hong Zhong kept his face courteous. He ordered tea prepared and once more lowered himself, saying, "Pray, honored sir, favor me with your name."