Chapter 5000 — A Letter of Accusation
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
One had to understand that the sanctions Zheng Dongyang spoke of were no idle talk. They bore on the quota of disciples the Eastern Continent Academy allotted to Central Island. Even Oda Zhou, who came from a top-tier clan, had to send his family's young to the Eastern Continent for advanced study. Should sanctions truly fall, both his clan and Central Island would suffer enormous losses—a result no one could bear, and Oda Zhou was no exception.
Had he not yet seen his third brother Oda Ba, Oda Zhou might well have had to weigh Zheng Dongyang's threat a little. But now that he knew the reach and power of Wei Zhao, those words were nothing but a joke to his ears.
"Report to whom?" Oda Zhou asked blandly, without the least concern.
"To the Morning Star Academy, of course, and thence to the Eastern Continent's Yellow-rank Academy Alliance. If Central Island remains indifferent to a matter that so plainly ruins my academy's reputation, sanctions will surely be unavoidable. I hope the island lord will not ruin himself," Zheng Dongyang said, his face full of smug satisfaction.
He would not have dared speak so before, but now that he had invoked the mighty name of the Eastern Continent, he felt a natural superiority in the face of Central Island. So what if the man before him was Oda Zhou? Did he not still have to dance to the tune of the Eastern Continent Academy?
"Very well, then—go." Oda Zhou raised his cup on the spot to see them out.
"Huh?!" Zheng Dongyang was struck dumb, unable to react for a moment; he thought he had misheard. Only when he saw that Wu Che beside him wore the look of a man who had seen a ghost did he finally assure himself his ears were not deceiving him.
Oda Zhou had not bought it in the least. Had the man taken the wrong medicine? Zheng Dongyang stared at him in disbelief. Whenever he had used this threat on others from the Cloud-rank islands, it had never once failed him—so why did this fellow seem utterly unconcerned? Could a top-tier clan truly have grown so lofty that it did not even put the Eastern Continent Academy in its eyes?
"What is it? Do the two of you still wish to stay for a cup of tea?" Oda Zhou looked at them with a smile that was not quite a smile.
By now Wu Che's head was nearly hanging down into his own trousers. Had he known Zheng Dongyang would argue his case like this, he would never have dared come along for anything in the world. Now look at the mess: Oda Zhou had not only refused to budge an inch, but had put him on the blacklist as well. From now on there would be no easy days for him in the Island Lord's Pavilion.
"Island Lord Oda, I have made myself perfectly clear. You and I have never met and bear each other no grudge—why drag yourself down to such a pass for the sake of an insignificant Wei Zhao? Let me warn you plainly: do not refuse the toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" Zheng Dongyang fumed.
High-grade alchemists like him were, as a rule, exceedingly mindful of face—such was the temper of the Cloud-rank islands, after all; a man grew unaccustomed to anything but being deferred to. To have been snubbed so roundly before Oda Zhou, it was no wonder he was furious.
Had he not been acting island lord and mindful of Central Island's image, Oda Zhou would long since have slapped Zheng Dongyang dead for such insolent words. A mere seventh-grade alchemist—did the man really fancy himself somebody?
But at Oda Zhou's level, his temperament had long since been tempered to perfect composure; it was all but impossible to provoke him to his face anymore. Still wearing his bland expression, he waved a hand and said, "Do as you please."
"Fine—you said it." Zheng Dongyang was so furious he flung his sleeves and stormed out on the spot.
Wu Che awkwardly made his apologies to Oda Zhou, then hurried after him, escorting Zheng Dongyang to Hall Two, the private chamber reserved for his own office as executive deputy island lord.