Chapter 4982 — A Familiar Face After All
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"There's not a single decent soul in the Famous Elixir Sect. Not only do they harbor sneaks like Diao Huanshan, but even that steward Tong Yangxi is a sanctimonious hypocrite. For the past two years they've been pulling every low, dirty trick in the book, openly and in the shadows, to squeeze us out of the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion. Before, with Brother Tian around, they didn't dare go too far—but the moment he leaves, they're right in our faces. This is beyond bearing!" Xueli's fury had yet to cool.
"These people truly have no shame. None of us is a match for Diao Huanshan. Thank goodness you arrived in time, Wei Zhao—otherwise there's no telling how today would have ended." Tian Chan could not help frowning as she spoke.
"Heh. That, you needn't worry about. From what I saw just now, Diao Huanshan is actually a man who knows the score. He came to stir up trouble, yes, but he didn't dare lift a hand—only his tongue. I'd wager he's afraid that one day Brother Tian will come back and settle accounts with him." Wei Zhao smiled faintly.
The monk may flee, but the temple stays. Even if they brought the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion down while the Heavenly Dao Walker was away, he would return one day.
If this were purely a matter of business competition, the Heavenly Dao Walker might not necessarily move against them—after all, as vice-island lord of the Central Isle, he had to mind public opinion. But if Diao Huanshan dared lay a hand on Tian Chan and the others, that would be walking the road to his own destruction. And when that time came, even if the Heavenly Dao Walker killed him to vent his wrath, the Famous Elixir Sect would never dare step forward to stop him—they would instead hand him over with both hands.
This calculus of gain and loss was a matter of life and death, and Diao Huanshan had weighed it out very clearly. Otherwise he never could have risen to the post of deputy steward of the Famous Elixir Sect.
"Even so, it's still despicable—swaggering right up to our door to poach our customers, bullying us beyond all endurance!" Xueli said hotly. That foul breath she simply could not swallow.
Though she and Tian Chan had built the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion together, Tian Chan attended only to the crafting of elixirs; every matter of the shop and its business Xueli handled herself, one by one. How much sweat and toil had gone into it, only she knew. She cared more for the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion's reputation than anyone present—more even than Tian Chan, to say nothing of Wei Zhao, that hands-off proprietor.
This time, thanks to Wei Zhao's sudden appearance, Diao Huanshan had indeed gotten the punishment he deserved, and judging from the crowd's reaction, it seemed they had not lost too many customers—but an impression had still been left, and the Heavenly Elixir Pavilion had taken a loss in the end.
"True enough. Soft-hearted men get bullied, and gentle horses get ridden. This matter cannot be let go. If the Famous Elixir Sect doesn't taste enough bitterness to learn its lesson, then in the future not only they, but every other merchant guild, great and small, will follow suit—and then we may as well shut down for good." Wei Zhao nodded.
"Then what do we do now? Go to their door and demand satisfaction, or simply pay them back in their own coin—think up some scheme to poach their customers in turn?" Xueli asked at once.
"No need for that. It's not that we couldn't go make a scene at their door, but that would be rather beneath us." Wei Zhao shook his head. With the formidable strength he now possessed—enough to rival an early Mountain-Opening cultivator—he could face the whole Famous Elixir Sect alone without fear. And if they could not produce a single expert of sufficient weight, there was no harm in throwing his weight around a little.