Chapter 4071 — Going to Make Trouble Again
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Nan Tianguan frowned and thought it over, then suddenly slapped his thigh. "There is one! In Yingxin Pavilion there's a fellow named Kang Jingming. A while back, because I suspected he might be Lin Er, I made a point of observing him. He's a nasty piece of work, full of rotten schemes—but he does have a brain. Rumor has it the man never forgets a grudge; even in the newcomers' arena bouts he specializes in dirty tricks. Plenty of people have been done in by him!"
"Oh? Now that does sound interesting!" Si Haitao's eyes lit up at the words.
Nan Tianguan laughed. "What's even better is that this one is like us—he's a sworn enemy of Wei Zhao, and the grudge between them runs deep!"
Si Haitao was instantly all the more pleased, and made up his mind on the spot. "Excellent. Then I'll trouble you to make the trip and bring this man to see me—I have great use for him!"
Nan Tianguan had no idea what he was planning, but since Si Haitao had asked, he had no reason to refuse. He set off at once for Yingxin Pavilion.
Lately, Kang Jingming's fortunes had been thoroughly miserable—in fact, this was the worst stretch of days he had known since coming to Cloud Terrace Island.
Not only had he been soundly routed by Wei Zhao last time, but now he had also lost Xu Lingchong, that great patron of his. His post as newcomers' steward had become rather awkward; the newcomers no longer took him seriously, and any hope of advancing further was all but gone.
Even Pavilion Master Hu Yunfeng had begun to keep his distance, handing recent matters great and small directly to the various newcomers' managers and giving him fewer and fewer assignments.
And in a position like his, once there were no tasks, it meant no power—he was not far from becoming a transparent nonentity on the margins.
He could only watch as Wei Zhao latched onto a top-tier backer like Shangguan Tianxia, while his own prospects slid downhill day by day. At this rate, being ground under Wei Zhao's heel was as good as certain.
Kang Jingming was now surrounded by a sense of crisis, yet he had no countermeasure at all. Just then Nan Tianguan came knocking—it was as if someone had handed him a pillow the moment he grew sleepy!
Still, though Kang Jingming believed this was a rare opportunity dropped into his lap, for safety's sake he deliberately brought Zhong Yongliang along, so that if things went wrong there would at least be someone to take the fall with him.
And Zhong Yongliang happened to be curious to see just what these people were up to, so he agreed readily and went along.
Having brought the two men to the tavern, Kang Jingming's meeting with Si Haitao could be called, to put it kindly, a case of instant kinship; to put it bluntly, it was plain old birds of a feather flocking together.
A few flattering remarks from Kang Jingming and the atmosphere at the table turned harmonious at once; the two sides chatted away most agreeably.
"I hear you've had your run-ins with Wei Zhao too?" Si Haitao finally came to the point.
"Indeed. You don't know this, Proprietor Si, but the blood feud between Wei Zhao and me—and between him and Brother Zhong here—is a tale three days and three nights couldn't tell." Kang Jingming spoke with the air of one wiping away bitter tears.
"That suits us perfectly. Our positions align—the enemy of my enemy is my natural ally. Zhaoming, if you're willing to pledge yourself to me, fine; if you want me to look after you from now on, also fine. But first you'll have to accomplish something for me. Joining a band always requires a token of allegiance, doesn't it?" Si Haitao said with a narrowed-eyed smile.