Chapter 3987 — A Strange Relationship
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
If his opponent had been Gongyang Jun, there might indeed have been a real chance of him striking here without the slightest scruple; but with anyone else—even a savage character like Nantian Ba before him—the man might not have the nerve.
To start a fight here was tantamount to smashing up Shangguan Lan'er's gathering, or even to smashing up Shangguan Tianxia's. Not just anyone could boast such confidence; before a top-tier titan like Shangguan Tianxia, even a Golden Core expert was nothing but an ant.
Moreover, instinct told Wei Zhao that Nantian Ba was not as hot-headed and brainless as he appeared on the surface. To drag himself down just to teach a nobody like him a lesson—that was not a foolish thing this man would do.
Sure enough, Nantian Ba's momentum lurched at the words. Looking down at Wei Zhao from his height, he said coldly, "You've got nerve, boy. What's your name?"
Before Wei Zhao could speak, Nantian Guan and Yu Jiang behind him had already stepped forward and whispered a few words into his ear—not only Wei Zhao's identity and name, but even the tests they had earlier put him through, all of it was reported.
To be honest, seeing Wei Zhao in a place like this—and especially seeing him sitting openly across from Gongyang Jun—Nantian Guan and Yu Jiang had not reacted at first. Even having recognized him at a glance, they had scarcely dared to believe it, and only now could they finally be certain: this was indeed the newcomer of the Azure Cloud Pavilion they had once suspected.
"Ha, what is the world coming to, that even a mere newcomer of the Azure Cloud Pavilion can worm his way into a place like this? Or were you simply sneaking in through some gap in the guards?" Having heard the whole story, Nantian Ba at once eyed him sidelong with a cold sneer.
"I hear that for this birthday banquet of Miss Shangguan's, half the guards were drawn on short notice from the elite of the Law Enforcement Hall. In front of Hall Master Gongyang, is it quite proper for you to slander their competence so?" Wei Zhao's face remained as calm as a light breeze.
Nantian Ba's expression shifted despite himself. Put that way, Wei Zhao's words did carry a faint suggestion of scolding the mulberry tree while pointing at the locust—an oblique jab.
At this moment, Yu Jiang behind him suddenly spoke up. "First Senior Uncle, Second Senior Uncle, my master died without cause or clarity, and this Wei Zhao is one of the true suspects. I beg you two senior uncles to stand up for your disciple, to uncover the truth, and let my master's soul beneath the springs rest in peace."
His purpose in suddenly cutting in with these words was naturally to give Nantian Ba a way out of the corner he had backed himself into, and at the same time it was true that he had never abandoned his suspicions of Wei Zhao. Although their focus now lay on Kang Jingming, they dared not act rashly because of Xu Lingchong; and now that Wei Zhao, the second suspect, had obligingly walked right into the line of fire, they naturally could not let the chance slip by.
Somewhere in the depths of his mind, Yu Jiang had always felt that Wei Zhao's temperament was very much like Lin Er's. The powerful intuition of a cultivator was, more often than not, quite accurate.
At these words, Nantian Ba's eyes lit up at once. He shot Yu Jiang a glance of secret approval, then said with righteous solemnity, "As for the death of our third brother Nantian Yong back then, the high elders of the Threefold Pavilion all declared that the matter must be strictly investigated, yet there has never been any progress. Taking advantage of today's occasion, Hall Master Gongyang might do well to look into this Wei Zhao. With your abilities, learning whatever you wish should be simplicity itself—a single Soul Search art would settle it."