Chapter 3807 — The Blind Fool
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Watching Xu Lingchong's obvious anguish as he forced himself to put on an air of generosity, Shangguan Lan'er could not help but smile to herself. This fellow really did love to put on a show—hypocritical to the core. Compared with him, her own little junior brother Wei Zhao was far more straightforward.
After listening to Xu Lingchong ramble for a few idle moments, Shangguan Lan'er finally spoke, deliberately steering the conversation: "That Wei Zhao from the Welcome Pavilion—how is he getting on these days? Didn't you say you were going to find someone to deal with him and vent my anger for me?"
Could it be that little junior sister Lan'er had come all this way specifically to demand an accounting?
He was only too happy to see Shangguan Lan'er and Wei Zhao at daggers drawn, but if Wei Zhao's comeuppance never came, and it soured her opinion of him as a senior brother, that would be a losing bargain indeed!
Startled, Xu Lingchong hurriedly thumped his chest and pledged: "Rest easy, little junior sister Lan'er. I have already set people to watch the brat day and night. Plan first, act after—once we have probed just how much strength he really has, finding an opening to finish him off will be as easy as turning my palm."
As he said this, Xu Lingchong felt rather ashamed of himself. Here he was, a grand young master of Chongtian Pavilion, and to deal with Wei Zhao—a mere newcomer from the mortal world—he had to go to such lengths. If word of this ever got out, he would not have the face to meet anyone.
"Oh." Shangguan Lan'er nodded noncommittally. She had not come to egg Xu Lingchong on against Wei Zhao in the first place; she had brought him up only as Wei Zhao's letter instructed—to open the conversation and steer it toward Yu Jiang and Nan Tianyong.
After a brief pause, Shangguan Lan'er said: "Lately I have heard people around me say that someone in Chongtian Pavilion has been scouring the world over for news of the Welcome Pavilion's new disciple. Has Senior Brother Xu heard anything of it?"
"Is little junior sister Lan'er speaking of that master-and-disciple pair, Nan Tianyong and Yu Jiang?" As the young master of Chongtian Pavilion, Xu Lingchong had ears in every corner; no stir within the Pavilion could possibly escape him, and he was naturally well versed in such matters.
"I think those were the names. I only heard them mentioned in passing, but I couldn't help thinking that the strong newcomer they are looking for from the Welcome Pavilion might well have some connection to Wei Zhao. People often say the enemy of my enemy is my friend. If it is inconvenient for Senior Brother Xu to move against Wei Zhao directly, why not get in touch with those two? You might reap an unexpected harvest," Shangguan Lan'er suggested, feigning carelessness.
Xu Lingchong was taken aback, then his eyes lit up: "Of course! Little junior sister Lan'er, you are truly sharp as ice and bright as snow. Had you not pointed it out, your senior brother would never have thought of it!"
This was no lie. Without Shangguan Lan'er's prompting, Xu Lingchong would have let such rumors go in one ear and out the other, and would never have connected them to Wei Zhao for a good while yet—let alone thought of joining forces with the likes of Yu Jiang.
Yu Jiang was an inner disciple of Chongtian Pavilion as well, but with his ordinary background he and Xu Lingchong were not remotely on the same level. He could never catch Young Master Xu's eye; associating with him would only be beneath his dignity and a loss of face.
In truth, it was not only Yu Jiang—even his master, Nan Tianyong, for all his title of supervisory steward of Chongtian Pavilion, was not necessarily one Xu Lingchong would truly take seriously.
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