Chapter 3808 — Could He Have Been Mistaken?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
Given the way this master and disciple had been scouring the world for the man, the only possibility was that he was their sworn, irreconcilable enemy. If it really did turn out to be Wei Zhao, then Xu Lingchong would not have to lift a finger—the two of them would rush to deal with Wei Zhao themselves. Killing with a borrowed blade, without the slightest effort on his part. Why wouldn't he?
More to the point, this was a rare instance of Shangguan Lan'er making the request in person. Quite apart from the fact that it stood to benefit Xu Lingchong, even if it did not, he would surely have agreed just to please his little junior sister Lan'er—there was no question of refusing her to her face.
Having worked out the ins and outs of it, Xu Lingchong said at once to Shangguan Lan'er, "I'll speak to them in the next day or two, and we'll go to Yingxin Pavilion together and see whether the man they're looking for is really Wei Zhao. If you've nothing else on, little junior sister Lan'er, why not come along and enjoy the show?"
"All right," Shangguan Lan'er agreed without a moment's hesitation.
The letter Wei Zhao had sent back to her gave no account of causes or consequences, nor any mention of his other identity as Lin Er; it merely asked her to do him a favor as set out in the letter. And so Shangguan Lan'er was rather curious to see just what trick Wei Zhao was playing this time.
Another chance to cultivate his bond with little junior sister Lan'er! Xu Lingchong was overjoyed at the sight—but the moment he turned his head and saw what the little Curly Bear beside him had been up to, his face fell in an instant, and he looked fit to weep without a single tear to show for it.
For while the two of them had been talking, the little Curly Bear at his side had been anything but idle: it had secretly drained both pots of spirit tea set out on the table—and those two pots were priced at a full five hundred spirit jade!
In other words, in that brief little span of time, the creature had briskly squandered five hundred spirit jade for this young master Xu. No matter how lofty one's family background, it could not long withstand such ruinous extravagance.
"Well then… this young lady will be off," said Shangguan Lan'er, caught between laughter and tears at the sight. She had no choice but to drag the little Curly Bear away and make herself scarce—for if she stayed any longer, she feared Xu Lingchong would lose his reason entirely and fly into a rage at the little creature.
Time slipped by in a flash, and the fifth round of the Yingxin Pavilion newcomers' challenge tournament opened on schedule. As always, all the newcomers had gathered early beside their respective arenas, waiting for the contest to begin.
This time, however, there was one difference from the previous four rounds: several uninvited guests had appeared on the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers' side. It was Xu Lingchong and his party.
The newcomers immediately fell to whispering among themselves, for apart from Xu Lingchong and Shangguan Lan'er, there was another unfamiliar face in the group—and by his attire, unquestionably an inner sect disciple of Chongtian Pavilion.
So it really was this one!
The very first instant Wei Zhao saw Yu Jiang appear behind Xu Lingchong, his eyelid could not help twitching. This time he owed a debt to Shangguan Lan'er for passing on the warning—and to his own quick reflexes. Otherwise, had he let this creature go on poking about, the danger would have been very real indeed.
"Young Master Xu! We've been waiting for you," Meng Jueming said, hurrying over the moment he saw Hu Yunfeng escorting Xu Lingchong's party in, greeting each of them in turn with an obsequious smile.
Xu Lingchong nodded to him, then made the introductions. "This is Yu Jiang of our Chongtian Pavilion. And this is Meng Jueming, steward of the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers, whom I told you about on the way. Get acquainted, you two."