Chapter 3966 — Telling the Truth
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"What's this? Does Miss Murong have some hidden complication she'd rather not speak of?" Kang Jingming was a perceptive man himself; one look at Murong Zhen's expression told him there was more to the story. Anyone else might not have grasped at once who this "Eldest Miss Shangguan" was, but Murong Zhen came from Chongtian Pavilion—there was no way she could be ignorant of the name.
Murong Zhen started at his words and hurriedly forced a smile, covering for herself. "Steward Kang misunderstands. This humble girl was merely trying to recall whether she had ever come across such a matter before."
"Oh? And has Miss Murong managed to recall anything?" Kang Jingming continued to run his greedy eyes up and down her alluring figure while asking, as though nothing were amiss.
"I won't conceal it from Steward Kang—something did indeed come back to me. Back when the spirit beast trial was held in the rear mountains, it happened that I discovered Eldest Miss Shangguan had for some reason appeared there as well, and all alone. She came under attack from a spirit beast, and in the end Wei Zhao stepped forward and saved her." Murong Zhen spoke in half-truths.
Such an account served her purposes best. Not only could she remove herself from the affair and stand safely apart, but once she made plain the ambiguous **relationship** between Wei Zhao and Shangguan Lan'er, she could use it to stoke the fire between Xu Lingchong and Wei Zhao. Whichever of the two came off the worse, it was no bad thing for her.
Beyond that, airing the matter also counted as currying favor with Kang Jingming. Now that Meng Jueming was dead and she faced the ever-strengthening—indeed, ascendant—Wei Zhao, she was isolated and hard-pressed, with no means to contend against him. She had to find outside support quickly, and this Kang Jingming before her was a perfect candidate.
For one thing, though Kang Jingming's own strength was not great, he had Xu Lingchong as a mighty patron at his back, and he was himself an alchemist. His value did not lie in charging into battle, so there was no need to set much store by his fighting prowess.
For another, he and Wei Zhao had shared a blood feud since their days in the mortal world. The enemy of one's enemy is a natural ally.
In Murong Zhen's eyes, if this ally Kang Jingming were put to good use, his value would be no less than Meng Jueming's had been. Not only could he be used to check and counter Wei Zhao, but given the right opportunity, she might even ride this connection to climb once more toward Xu Lingchong's lofty branch—and that would be the day Murong Zhen truly rose to prominence!
"Wei Zhao stepped in and saved Eldest Miss Shangguan's life? Ha, the wretch actually has luck like that?" Kang Jingming was startled, and could not help but feel a pang of envy.
To be owed a life-saving debt by Eldest Miss Shangguan—that was a blessing no amount of lifetimes could earn. If such a tremendous favor were played well, soaring to wealth and glory afterward would be a trifling matter. Why was it that he, Kang Jingming, never stumbled upon such an opportunity?
"Exactly what I was thinking. I've even heard people say Eldest Miss Shangguan used to rather dislike Wei Zhao—yet along comes a chance like this, and it lets the dead fish flip over, so to speak. From then on, who knows, he might sprout wings and turn into a phoenix." Murong Zhen piled on the embellishments.
"Him? Sprout wings and turn into a phoenix? In his dreams!" Kang Jingming ground his teeth with hatred, yet he was not so easily fobbed off. A doubt rose at once, and he asked: "Since Miss Murong happened to be present at the time, why didn't you step in as well? Currying favor with Eldest Miss Shangguan would surely be better than letting Wei Zhao hog all the glory, no?"
Murong Zhen faltered, then put on a frail air. "This humble girl was no match for Wei Zhao. Had I shown myself then, I feared he might strike me down."