Chapter 4849 — Still One Short
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
Against the East Sea Divine Nun, Bao Zuoliang was helpless even if he hauled out his own father, Bao Fala. A city lord nominally on par with Ling Yuanqing, perhaps—but he had no authority over the East Sea Divine Nun. At most he could rein in the deputy city lord. As for the nun, vice chancellor of the Academy, she had no need to give him the slightest regard.
Had that been all, it would have been nothing much. Bao Zuoliang had time enough to wear her down, drop by drop, stone worn through by water—given long enough, he would find his opening. So long as Wang Xinyan remained a day at Morning Star Academy, she could never escape his grasp.
But now everything had changed. Out of nowhere had appeared this Wei Zhao, a fellow of startling origins, and at the sight of him so intimate, so inseparable from Wang Xinyan, Bao Zuoliang's rage exploded on the instant. In his eyes Wang Xinyan was already his woman—how could he suffer an outsider to lay a finger on her!
Fortunately his henchman Su Kesheng was at his side, pleading and reasoning with him until he was calmed. Otherwise Bao Zuoliang in his fury would truly have struck at Wei Zhao, and the consequences were unthinkable.
"Young Master Bao, you mustn't be rash! Only wait till this fellow surnamed Lin is gone—won't Wang Xinyan still be yours to hold in the palm of your hand? You mustn't bring disaster on yourself in a moment of rage." Su Kesheng dragged Bao Zuoliang with all his might into a deserted corner and urged him in a low voice: "This fellow surnamed Lin is a disciple of North Island, and from the look of him he won't be joining our Academy. He can't stay here long. Young Master Bao, endure a while and the storm will pass."
"Hmph! What do you know! That boy has always been in Wang Xinyan's heart—that's why she refused me so stubbornly before. One way or another, this boy must be disposed of, or I'll never have Wang Xinyan in this life!" Bao Zuoliang raged.
"Ah? So that's how it is. Then how are we to dispose of him? Even Qing Xuanzi is his disciple now. One careless move and we bring calamity down on ourselves—and when that happens, not even City Lord Bao may be able to smooth it over." Su Kesheng frowned.
"That's a question for you! You're the chief strategist I rely on most, and you must think me up a flawless plan—one that deals with this fellow surnamed Lin and leaves no aftermath." Bao Zuoliang fixed him with a look. In the past, dirty work of this sort had always been left to Su Kesheng, and every time he had handled it cleanly, hence the deep trust.
"This... I'll have to think it over carefully..." Su Kesheng rolled his eyes, pondering aloud: "The main difficulty is that this fellow surnamed Lin is a cut above us in rank. The tricks we've used before against Academy disciples would hardly work on him. He's Qing Xuanzi's master and honorary vice president of the Hong Merchant Guild—his connections run deep on every side..."
"Indeed." Bao Zuoliang was somewhat cowed by this himself. He was no brainless dandy of a son; he knew well how to weigh relative strength. Those he could bully he bullied to death, and those too tough to crack he simply kept his distance from—and Wei Zhao plainly belonged to the latter sort.
"Still, when you come down to it, this fellow surnamed Lin may have formidable backing and be a top-tier alchemist such as one rarely sees, but his actual strength is truly nothing to speak of—only the late Nascent Soul stage. If we could but fight him fair and square, Young Master Bao, you'd finish him in a single move. Tsk tsk." Su Kesheng analyzed.
"True, that's the only angle we can exploit. But I can't very well go running off to challenge him, can I? For me, a fine Nascent Soul perfection expert, to challenge a late Nascent Soul—wouldn't that make me a laughingstock? And Wang Xinyan might well look down on me for it!" Bao Zuoliang frowned.