Chapter 3633 — A Man of His Word

After everything that had happened between them, he and Meng Jueming were already locked in deadly opposition, irreconcilable as fire and water. With such a golden opportunity delivered right to his door, of course he meant to make the man bleed for it.

At those words, not only Miserable Senior Brother, Xiao Che, Qiao Hongcai and the others, but everyone else as well turned their eyes on Meng Jueming, all brimming with anticipation. After all, fifteen spirit jades was no small sum. To witness such a scene with one's own eyes would make fine conversation material for days to come.

These cultivators, whose days were steeped in tedium, had always loved a good spectacle. Even without taking part themselves, as onlookers they were more excited than the parties involved.

My god! This little bastard is downright vicious!

Meng Jueming cursed inwardly. With Wei Zhao having said his piece, he was now completely caught on the horns of a dilemma. By Wei Zhao's logic, if he did not immediately pay up on the spot, then in the eyes of the crowd he would be branded a treacherous wretch whose word meant nothing.

But this was a full fifteen spirit jades! If he truly handed them over just like that, he would be bleeding from the heart for the rest of his days.

Seeing Meng Jueming still squirming and dawdling, Wei Zhao spoke again. "Surely Senior Brother Meng isn't going to say he didn't bring that many spirit jades with him? That can't be right. A man like Senior Brother Meng, whose every word is honored, would never have dared make such a bet unless he had that many spirit jades ready in his pocket. Otherwise his word would be no better than a fart. With so many eyes watching us, I figure our Senior Brother Meng would never do anything so foolish!"

The insinuation could not have been more obvious. For a moment, the way everyone looked at Meng Jueming turned mocking and knowing. If he kept stalling now, he would practically confirm his reputation as a man whose promises were worth less than a fart. And if word of that spread, forget building any authority in the future; he would be pointed at and whispered about wherever he went.

Meng Jueming was a man bent on climbing higher, so naturally he could not allow such a stain on his name. He could only stiffen his neck and say, "What's your hurry? Did I ever say I wouldn't pay on the spot? Truly, a petty man drunk on his little triumph! But this is the mining district. All my spirit jades are kept in my private workshop outside. I'll have to go out to get them for you."

At this, the crowd nodded in sudden understanding. Meng Jueming's explanation was reasonable enough. Given the Spirit Jade Hall's stringent oversight procedures, under normal circumstances no one was permitted to bring anything inside, spirit jades included. In fact, even if one wanted to bring them in, one could not, and certainly could not take them out.

For the convenience of the crowd, however, the Spirit Jade Hall maintained a temporary public storage room just outside the entrance. As for supervisors like Meng Jueming of Welcoming Pavilion, since they had to come every year to help oversee the newcomers, they were treated much like half-time staff of the Spirit Jade Hall and thus each had a private workshop of his own, where they could rest and store things as they pleased.

From Meng Jueming's perspective, even if he really had brought that many spirit jades to the Spirit Jade Hall, they would inevitably have been stored in his own private workshop.

"That works too. It's only a few steps away anyway. If any of you senior and junior brothers are interested, please come along and bear witness." Wei Zhao saw through Meng Jueming's intent at a glance and at once called out loudly to the crowd.

Everyone present would have to leave the district anyway, and since it was on the way, they were perfectly happy to enjoy the show, answering with laughter. Those whom Meng Jueming had earlier singled out but who had not dared take the bet were especially loud in their assent. They could hardly wait to watch Meng Jueming choke and cough up blood!

You cunning bastard! Meng Jueming cursed inwardly. With so many people following to watch the fun, even if only for the sake of appearances, he could no longer think of any other trick to stall or fob them off. He had no choice but to comply honestly.

Meng Jueming's private workshop stood not far from the entrance. Under the watchful eyes of Wei Zhao and his companions and the whole crowd of onlookers, Meng Jueming soon came back out with the spirit jades tucked away. But just as he was about to hand over the fifteen spirit jades, Miserable Senior Brother beside him suddenly spoke up. "Senior Brother Meng, those must all be good jades, I hope? You wouldn't be trying to fool us with waste jade, would you?"

Meng Jueming's heart lurched. Miserable had hit the nail on the head. To avoid bleeding too heavily, he really had deliberately brought out a pouch of waste jade this time. As long as Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai did not verify it on the spot, he could slip through just as he had fooled Wei Zhao before.

And if it were discovered later to be waste jade, then he would have nothing to fear at all. He could simply claim the other party had deliberately passed off good jade as waste to frame him. Then it would be one man's word against another's, and as long as public opinion did not turn wholly against him, Meng Jueming could brush the whole thing off.

It had been a fine plan, but now that Miserable had brought it up, things had become difficult. After all, if the jade were verified on the spot before so many watching eyes and found to be waste, he would lose every shred of face. Once his reputation was ruined, he would never again hold his head up in Threefold Pavilion!

Meng Jueming could not help cursing his own miscalculation. How had he forgotten about Miserable? That fool Wei Zhao might not know how to appraise spirit jades, but Miserable was, after all, vastly experienced!

"How could you even suggest such a thing? As a supervising senior brother, would I do something so shameless? Truly, you measure a gentleman's heart with a petty man's yardstick!" Meng Jueming rebuked him righteously. Yet the hand he reached into his robes to draw out the spirit jades trembled in secret as he switched to a different pouch. Thank goodness he had planned ahead and prepared an extra pouch of good jade against mishaps; otherwise he would have lost face in a truly spectacular fashion.

At Miserable Senior Brother's signal, Xiao Che took the pouch of spirit jades from Meng Jueming's hand and had Qiao Hongcai count them with him on the spot. When they finished, they nodded. All were good jade brimming with spiritual energy, fifteen pieces, not one short.

"Senior Brother Meng truly lives up to his title as supervising senior brother. Your word is your bond, a model for us all." Wei Zhao gave Meng Jueming a look that was neither quite a smile nor quite not one.

Meng Jueming ground his teeth. To him, Wei Zhao's expression was more detestable than words could say. Had he not been worried about appearances, he would have loved nothing more than to strike out himself and teach Wei Zhao a lesson to vent the hatred in his heart!

Though in truth it was Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai who had won fifteen spirit jades from him, the vast majority of Meng Jueming's hatred landed squarely on Wei Zhao's head. If not for Wei Zhao, could those two good-for-nothings, with neither strength nor backing, have won so many spirit jades from him? Never mind these two nobodies of newcomers; even Miserable, a supervising senior brother, could hardly stir up any waves when Wei Zhao was not around. (To be continued)