Chapter 5001 — The Island Lord's Invitation
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
These past few days Wei Zhao had been run so ragged he was dizzy with it; at times he even took his place behind the counter himself, and in doing so got a proper taste of the bitterness such work entailed. He could not help sighing inwardly: for Tian Chan and Xueli to have held things together these past two years, even with him dropping the ball time and again, was truly no small feat.
Yet just when the rush was at its height, the Island Lord's Pavilion suddenly sent over an invitation: the acting island lord, Oda Zhou, requested his presence.
Wei Zhao could hardly ignore such a thing. He had already guessed at the connection between Oda Zhou and Oda Ba, and the man was indeed unfathomable, yet also fair and honourable in his conduct. Wei Zhao had harboured some desire to cultivate his acquaintance, and upon receiving the invitation he said a word to Tian Chan and the others, then went straight to the Island Lord's Pavilion.
Arriving at the pavilion, Wei Zhao was just about to ask someone to announce him when he looked up and saw Oda Zhou himself. He was quite overwhelmed—the acting island lord had come out in person to receive him!
"Young Master Lin, from the look of you, this is hardly your first visit to the Island Lord's Pavilion?" Oda Zhou said with a smile.
"Island Lord Oda guesses rightly. I did come once before, back when Brother Di Xingdao was contending with Nan Tian Liuguang for the post of deputy island lord. Two years have passed in the blink of an eye," Wei Zhao said with some feeling.
"Di Xingdao is your brother?" Oda Zhou was slightly taken aback. At his level, scarcely anyone in the official circles of the Middle Island could catch his eye, but Di Xingdao was an exception.
The man's cultivation was not high, yet his strength and potential far exceeded his realm, and that was not to be underestimated. A figure of his kind, even after a setback, would only have a greater future once he recovered. Given enough opportunity, it was not impossible that one day he might stand shoulder to shoulder with scions of top-tier clans such as himself.
"He and I are friends despite the difference in our ages," Wei Zhao said with a smile.
"Ha, birds of a feather flock together—that saying has never rung truer. Young Master Lin and Di Xingdao are indeed the same sort of men. A pity he has gone to the Eastern Continent; otherwise we could have had a fine gathering today," Oda Zhou said with some regret.
"Since Island Lord Oda is good enough not to disdain me, there will surely be another chance in future," Wei Zhao said, nodding in agreement and letting the current carry him along.
"Well said. But today Di Xingdao is absent, so it will have to be just the two of us drinking across the table. Consider it my duty as host—how does that sound?" Oda Zhou proposed.
"Since Island Lord Oda puts it that way, how dare I disobey?" Wei Zhao said, cupping his hands with a smile.
The two of them went straight to the first island lord's hall, where Oda Zhou ordered several dishes prepared—delicate but not extravagant—and then personally brought over two jars of aged wine, and they sat facing each other and drank.
No sooner had Wei Zhao taken a single sip than he gave a startled cry of surprise. "This wine is formidable!" he exclaimed in astonishment.
He had drunk strong liquor back in the secular world, and by comparison the spirit wines of Cloud Rank Island seldom carried such fire. Yet the jar Oda Zhou had produced was extraordinarily potent—several degrees fiercer even than those of the secular world.