Chapter 4032 — Zhang Lifeng Appears
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
At that, Zheng Dongjue himself had nothing left to say, and he slumped to the ground, utterly despondent.
If Zheng Tianjie had been murdered, then no matter how violently he raged or how far he pressed the matter, it would not have been excessive. But the man had died from a furnace explosion while refining pills—and apart from blaming his own stupidity, just who the hell else was there to blame?
Tianchan breathed a quiet sigh of relief at the sight. So long as it had nothing to do with Wei Zhao, it made no difference how Zheng Tianjie had died—this was Heaven's own retribution, and he had deserved it.
Yet Zheng Dongjue fell silent for a moment, then suddenly rose from the ground and said, "No alchemist—unless driven to the very end of his rope—would ever refine pills in an unfamiliar place. The fear is precisely that kind of accident, a furnace explosion. What this Hall Master wishes to know now is this: for what reason, with no cause at all, did Tianjie suddenly take it into his head to open a furnace and refine pills on the Far North Island?"
"That—" Every one of those who had traveled with him to the Far North Island found their gaze drawn, as if by some unseen force, to Tianchan.
Tianchan's heart lurched. A moment ago she had been worrying on Wei Zhao's behalf; now, in the blink of an eye, she was the one plunged into danger. Zheng Dongjue had never been a good man to begin with, and now he was drowning in the grief of losing his grandson. Once his wrath turned on her, there was no telling what he might do.
"Could it be because of you, you wretched woman?" Zheng Dongjue's eyes went cold in an instant.
What sort of character his own grandson had, he knew perfectly well. Back then, for the sake of this woman who had come up from the mortal realm, the boy had pestered her shamelessly, heedless of all propriety. He had even wanted his grandfather to swallow his pride and arrange the marriage for him—and to curry favor with this wretched woman, he had opened a furnace and refined pills on the Far North Island. Only Zheng Tianjie could have done something so foolish.
His face dark with menace, Zheng Dongjue advanced on Tianchan step by step. He had always found this lowborn woman, spawned from the mortal realm, an eyesore. And now she had brought about the death of the grandson he valued most. How could such a plague be allowed to remain in the Alchemy Hall?
"Deputy Hall Master, Zheng Tianjie plainly died from a furnace explosion brought on by his own carelessness in refining pills. If the blame is to be laid at Chan'er's feet merely because she is a woman, that is not a tale that will be pleasant to hear once it gets out, is it?" Seeing how badly things were turning, Lianxin hurriedly stepped forward and planted herself in front of Tianchan.
"Hmph! You fail to teach your disciple properly, and this Hall Master has not yet settled accounts with you—yet you dare to step forward and shield this insolent pupil of yours? My fine grandson lies dead at the hands of you two wretched women. Truly, Heaven has no eyes! Men! Seize the both of them for this Hall Master, and let them taste the Hall's justice!"
Lianxin and Tianchan exchanged a glance, and both their hearts sank to the bottom of a well. With Hall Master Zhang Lifeng absent and the several nominal disciples of transcendent standing all standing aloof from the affair, the whole Alchemy Hall had become Zheng Dongjue's personal court. If they were truly seized like this and subjected to the Hall's justice—their cultivation crippled, perhaps even their very spirit-sense destroyed—the consequences did not bear thinking about.
Yet if they dared resist him openly now, the charge against them would only grow more grave. They could be struck down on the spot, and not a soul would dare utter a word against it.