Chapter 4168 — A Warning Before the Duel
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Hmph, I don't care about any of that! Su Zhaohe bullied our junior brother, and that makes him wrong! Grandfather, you're awful—you must have a way, you just don't want to help me!" Shangguan Lan'er stamped her foot and turned to leave in a huff.
Watching Shangguan Lan'er's retreating back, Shangguan Tianxia stroked his beard with a helpless sigh. If he truly wished it, halting this duel would take no more than a single word. The reason he had refused her request was not merely that he did not want to break the rules—above all, he wanted to use the occasion to take a proper measure of Wei Zhao's potential.
For Wei Zhao as he stood now, Su Zhaohe was a fine whetstone. If Wei Zhao lacked even this much assurance and rushed into battle on impulse, then he did not deserve little Lan'er.
In the teahouse of the Central Chamber of Commerce on North Island, Nan Tianxiong, Nan Tianguan, Kang Jingming, and the others had gathered in one hall to host a welcome feast for Si Haitao, newly returned from Central Island.
By seniority, the Nan Tianxiong brothers sat at the head of the table, closest to Si Haitao; next came Murong Zhen and Zhong Yongliang; while Kang Jingming could only suffer the humiliation of the very last seat, nearly squeezed out the door.
There was no help for it. However much Xu Lingchong had valued him before, that was all in the past. This was Si Haitao's circle, and everything revolved around Si Haitao—and in Si Haitao's eyes, Kang Jingming had not a shred of merit or achievement to his name.
"Oh, that's right—Kang Jingming, I hear you're Xuanchen's last disciple?" Si Haitao noticed the stiffness in Kang Jingming's expression and suddenly recalled the Xuanchen Patriarch of Central Island.
"That's right. How did you know, Steward Si?" Kang Jingming was taken aback.
Matters of the secular world were hardly secrets, and there was nothing shameful in them anyway. Zhong Yongliang here knew them inside and out. But surely this fellow would not have been so loose-tongued as to secretly report such things to Si Haitao—they were utterly worthless.
"Ha, so it really is a small world. I don't mind telling you, your master Xuanchen is on Central Island right now, and he's already joined the Center alongside my old friend Nan Tian—we're all on the same side. Before I left, he asked me to look out for you." The corner of Si Haitao's mouth lifted.
"Master is on Central Island? And he's joined the Center? That's wonderful!" Kang Jingming was overjoyed. To be honest, given his selfish nature, he would ordinarily never trouble himself over how the Xuanchen Patriarch was faring—but hearing word of him so suddenly did genuinely gladden him.
It was simple enough: if the Xuanchen Patriarch could attach himself to a figure as great as Nan Tian Liuguang, then he must be doing rather well for himself—otherwise he would never have had the standing to ask Si Haitao for a favor. To Kang Jingming, this was the rhythm of finding himself a new patron!
Though Si Haitao had yet to make any further gesture, his manner of speaking had already struck Kang Jingming as markedly different. Even if his seat had not changed, Kang Jingming's spine had visibly straightened and his confidence swelled. At least when he looked toward Murong Zhen and Zhong Yongliang, he no longer felt a head shorter than before.
"A while back on Central Island, your master and I, along with my old friend Nan Tian and a few others, laid a plan to set the Snow Sword Sect against Wei Zhao. We were on the verge of success, only to fail at the final step. What a pity to think of it." Si Haitao sighed ruefully, then promptly rallied. "Still, it's just as well—that brat Wei Zhao dug his own grave and made enemies of everyone. I thought no one could bring him to heel, but who'd have guessed Su Zhaohe would be waiting the moment I returned. With Su Zhaohe's strength, the duel five days from now will be Wei Zhao's death day. Self-made calamity cannot be escaped—hahaha!"