Chapter 3808 — Could He Have Been Mistaken?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
Yu Jiang had come alone with Xu Lingchong this time. His master, Nan Tianyong, had wanted to come as well, but had been seconded by the Law Enforcement Hall to assist with a mission along the way, so the plan had had to be shelved.
"Ah, so you're Senior Brother Yu—I've long heard of you, long heard of you," said Meng Jueming, knowing no better. He took the man for one of Xu Lingchong's underlings, and seeing that his strength was above his own, he hastened to ingratiate himself.
Yu Jiang nearly rolled his eyes. After three quiet, unremarkable years buried in the Scriptural Library, hardly an inner sect disciple of Chongtian Pavilion had even heard of him—yet here was Meng Jueming, a steward of Yingxin Pavilion newcomers with no connection to him whatsoever, greeting him with "long heard of you" at the first breath. It was enough to make a man laugh and cry at once.
Still, these were mere pleasantries, and Yu Jiang naturally would not call him out on it. He replied at once, "Not at all, not at all. Brother Meng is a favorite in Young Master Xu's circle—it's I who should be saying I've long heard of you."
Meng Jueming felt a private glow of satisfaction at this. This Yu Jiang, he thought, certainly knows how to talk. A favorite in Young Master Xu's circle—now that was precisely the direction he meant to strive in hereafter. So long as he clung tightly to this thick thigh of Young Master Xu's, wealth and rank were well within his grasp!
The two exchanged a round of pleasantries, and only when the newcomers' challenge tournament was plainly about to begin did Xu Lingchong clear his throat and cut in, "All right, the two of you can stop being so courteous with each other. Get to the point."
Yu Jiang nodded and came to the matter at hand. "Brother Meng, I hear there's a newcomer named Lin in your Qingyun Pavilion whose strength is quite exceptional. I wonder if he's here today—could you point him out to me?"
"A newcomer named Lin? Exceptional strength?" Meng Jueming frowned. There was no question, surely, that this referred to Wei Zhao—but what did this Yu Jiang mean by asking after Wei Zhao?
Puzzled as he was, Meng Jueming at once pointed the man out for him. "There—that's Wei Zhao. Among the newcomers his strength is nothing much, but he's always putting on airs. His reputation is all bluster and hype. He has no friends to speak of, and his brains are a bit wanting—"
Meng Jueming assumed that some good fortune was about to descend on the head of the strongest newcomer, and so he laid into Wei Zhao without pause, intending to push Meng Zhou forward instead!
Following the direction of Meng Jueming's finger, Yu Jiang studied Wei Zhao from afar for a moment. In build, the man was quite similar to the Lin Er of his memory—but when he looked closely at Wei Zhao's features, he immediately concluded that this Wei Zhao and the Lin Er he sought were two entirely different people. They did not look alike at all.
Yu Jiang looked for a long while, then at last shook his head at Xu Lingchong and the others. "His figure is a little like the man's at first glance, but his face is completely different. This isn't the one I'm looking for," he said, disappointed.
"Are you sure? Look again—could you have been mistaken?" Xu Lingchong said with a frown.
He was desperately hoping that Wei Zhao would turn out to be the Lin Er this creature sought, for then he would have an extra hatchet man to wield against Wei Zhao, sparing himself the trouble of giving such a trifling matter too much thought.
And yet, when it came to sheer urgency, Xu Lingchong could never hope to match Yu Jiang, the man himself.