Chapter 4616 — The Mysterious Man Summons
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
After a tense wait of some moments, a cool breeze suddenly swept through the space ahead, and the mysterious man's figure appeared before them, still shrouded head to toe in a black robe, his features and build impossible to discern. In such circumstances, of course, Zhong Yongliang did not dare look closely at all; he could only keep his head bowed with all his might, striving to hide from the other's eyes his frozen expression.
"This subordinate greets the Senior!" Xu Lingchong dropped to one knee at once. Though he enjoyed no small measure of the mysterious man's favor, to this day he still did not know the other's identity or exact position—only that the man stood at the very heart of things, wielding immense authority—and so he could only use a vague form of address like "Senior" in greeting.
Zhong Yongliang dared not be remiss; he imitated Xu Lingchong's salute, and seized the chance to bury his head even lower, terrified that the other might read something amiss in his face.
The mysterious man was silent for a moment. His gaze could be felt resting upon Zhong Yongliang, appraising him up and down with a note of doubt, and then he spoke abruptly: "Zhong Yongliang, hear the order!"
Zhong Yongliang gave a violent start, his breath catching of its own accord. Strive as he might to master himself, he could not stop his hands and feet from shaking. Damn it—whatever he feared, here it came. Surely he had not given himself away?
Beside him, Xu Lingchong was likewise taken aback. So the earlier summons had not been written in error after all—the man truly had wanted Zhong Yongliang. Since when had this fellow caught the eye of the higher-ups? How very strange!
The mysterious man glanced at Zhong Yongliang with some surprise. The creature's trembling was impossible to conceal, and his puzzlement only deepened. Try as he might, he could see nothing remarkable about the man—why would Junior Brother Pao value him so highly?
"By order of the higher-ups, Zhong Yongliang is from this day promoted to Special Envoy of the Center stationed on North Island, ranking equal with Xu Lingchong. His principal task shall be to assist me and one other exalted person in jointly administering the North Island branch," the mysterious man announced in a flat tone.
"What?!" The moment the words fell, Zhong Yongliang was struck utterly dumb. He had already braced himself to meet death with dignity—and now this? Special Envoy of the Center stationed on North Island? He had been promoted out of nowhere?
Bewildered, Zhong Yongliang rubbed his head vigorously. He had done nothing of note lately, still less won any merit for the Center—so how had such an enormous pie suddenly dropped into his lap?
Nor was Zhong Yongliang alone; even Xu Lingchong was stunned into silence for a good while, staring at the mysterious man in confusion. What was going on? How had Zhong Yongliang suddenly risen so high—without a shred of merit to his name—and become his equal in a single stroke?
"This... Senior, as the saying goes, one mountain cannot hold two tigers. Zhong Yongliang was my subordinate to begin with, and with a single word you've made him my equal. That will make him hard for me to manage, and hard for the others to accept..." Xu Lingchong could not help blurting out his complaint.
He had never harbored any particular grievance against Zhong Yongliang, but for a subordinate of his to suddenly stand on equal footing with him was a thing that would rankle anyone—especially a proud and lofty man like Xu Lingchong, who could never tolerate such an arrangement.
What was more, the post of North Island Special Envoy had originally belonged to him alone. Now Zhong Yongliang had appeared out of nowhere, and the envoys had become two—was this not plainly a grab for power out of his hands? (To be continued...)