Chapter 3641 — An Unexpected Visitor: The Bitter Senior Brother Heaves a Long Sigh—the Root of Their Present Awkwardness Was Not That They Lacked a Patron, but That Their Patron Had Gone Out and Vanished Without a Trace!
Seeing him so dejected, Lu Bianren instead smiled and consoled him. "Truthfully, it is no great matter. Even if Elder Zhao means to move against me, the worst he can do is dislodge me from this Third Pavilion Master's seat in Welcoming Pavilion—a post that exists in name only. After all, our patron has merely gone out on a temporary mission; he is not gone forever. Zhao would not dare overreach. Besides, for me as I am now, a change of surroundings might open up a whole new world. This need not be a bad thing at all!"
Since Lu Bianren himself had put it that way, the Bitter Senior Brother and Wei Zhao and the rest naturally had nothing more to say, and could only nod.
Lu Bianren paused, then said, "In fact, if I am transferred away, I am not worried about Junior Brother Lin here. As for Junior Brothers Xiao and Qiao, though this is the first time I have met them, I can tell they are both steady and grounded men, so I am not worried about them either. The one I truly worry about is you, Junior Brother Ku!"
"Me? Worried about what?" the Bitter Senior Brother asked in surprise. In terms of ability and temperament, he might admit he could not match Wei Zhao, but compared with Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai, surely he was not so far behind? After all, he was, by any measure, a managing senior brother with early-stage Foundation Establishment strength!
Lu Bianren shook his head and said with grave earnestness, "If I am transferred away and another man is brought in from within our Azure Cloud Pavilion to serve as Third Pavilion Master, then things are all right. But what if Meng Jueming wants to fight for that seat? What will you do then?"
"That..." The Bitter Senior Brother was at once at a loss for words.
Meng Jueming was merely a managing senior brother as things stood, and already he targeted them openly and covertly in every way, with Wei Zhao suffering the worst of it. If he were allowed to take the Third Pavilion Master's seat, would he not redouble his efforts a hundredfold? Would any of them still be able to live then?
"Junior Brother Ku, you are mild in temper and generous in heart—that is what I admire most in you, but at certain times it is also your greatest weakness." Lu Bianren's expression turned stern. "If matters truly come to that pass, then even if it is only for the sake of these junior brothers here with you, you must step forward and contend with Meng Jueming. Even if you lose in the end, you must never let him look down on you. At the very least, you must not let him run wild and do as he pleases!"
Had Lu Bianren not spoken these words, then when that situation truly arose, the Bitter Senior Brother's habitual style would almost certainly have led him to shrink back—of that there was little doubt. But now he understood at least one thing: once he shrank back, Wei Zhao and the others behind him would all be dragged down with him into utter ruin!
"I understand. Rest easy, Senior Brother Lu—I will look after our junior brothers well," the Bitter Senior Brother said with a heavy nod.
"Good!" Lu Bianren clapped him on the shoulder, then turned to Wei Zhao. "Junior Brother Lin, awkward as your position is now, I am not worried about you. When Master Zhang Lifeng first came to the North Island of our Cloud Terrace Island, he too was surrounded by enemies and beset on every side. Yet in the end those very rivals made his illustrious name as the Divine Physician and Sage of Pills. So I look forward to seeing what you will do."
"Then I ask Senior Brother Lu to wait and see," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile, every inch the picture of confidence and composure.
After that, Lu Bianren, contrary to his usual manner, went on and on, saying a great deal more to them. He had already sensed that his days in Welcoming Pavilion were numbered. At a time like this, every bit of guidance he could give might give Wei Zhao and the others one more measure of confidence when they faced Meng Jueming and his like in the days to come. That was all he could do now.
After taking their leave of Lu Bianren and the Bitter Senior Brother, Wei Zhao and the other two returned to their caves together. Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai said a word to Wei Zhao, then could hardly wait to hurry back to their own caves and begin cultivating.
Only yesterday the two of them had won fifteen spirit jades from Meng Jueming's hands, and today they had heard Elder Zhao Hongbo's guidance besides. Their zeal for cultivation was running high at this moment, and if they pressed hard for a few months while the momentum held, perhaps they might even succeed in breaking through to Foundation Establishment.
In all fairness, Zhao Hongbo might be somewhat lacking in magnanimity, but he was, after all, the Fourth Elder of Azure Cloud Pavilion. In both strength and insight he stood among the very foremost of all cultivators on the North Island. A single session of his instruction was truly worth ten years of study.
As for Wei Zhao having missed the chance to hear the others' questions and answers, the Bitter Senior Brother and Xiao Che both felt keen regret on his behalf. So all the way back, the two of them chattered on, one after another, reciting nearly everything Zhao Hongbo had said in his guidance to the Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomers.
Wei Zhao did gain something from hearing it, though he hardly felt as if a veil had been lifted from his eyes. After all, these newcomers were all below the Heaven Rank Great Perfection, and most of their questions had to do with how to break through to Foundation Establishment, whereas Wei Zhao himself was already an expert of early-stage Foundation Establishment. Such guidance was of no great practical use to him; he could only draw some experience and insight from it in principle, to serve as reference for his own cultivation in the future.
Watching Xiao Che and the other go, Wei Zhao turned to enter his own cave, only to be suddenly hailed by someone. He turned and saw that it was Li Zhengming.
What does this fellow want with me?
Wei Zhao was quietly astonished. Li Zhengming was, in his estimation, a rather strange sort. He deliberately concealed his strength, for one thing; and though he had been the first after Meng Zhou to throw in his lot with Meng Jueming of his own accord—which by all rights should have made him the most fawning of toadies—judging by his conduct thus far, the man was not fawning in the least. On the contrary, he kept a very low profile, so much so that most of the time one could hardly even remember he existed. That was truly baffling.
"Brother Wei Zhao, there is a matter I would like to discuss with you. I wonder if it is convenient?" Li Zhengming's expression shifted unpredictably, and he seemed somewhat conflicted.
"What is it?" Wei Zhao halted. On reflection, Li Zhengming had not really offended him much. Even if he had taken over his old mining spot in Mine Zone Seven last time, that must surely have been on Meng Jueming's orders; and in the end it had actually done him a great favor. There was nothing worth holding a grudge over.
Li Zhengming hesitated a moment. "Could we speak inside your cave?"
"That will do." Wei Zhao agreed readily. To a cultivator, a cave was a deeply private space, and what was stored inside might well expose some unspeakable secret—but Wei Zhao kept all his belongings piled within his jade pendant space, so he had no such worries.
Once the two had entered the cave, Li Zhengming finally spoke. "I have come this time to make a rather presumptuous request. I hope to exchange a few spirit jades with you."
"Exchange spirit jades?" Wei Zhao was briefly taken aback, and on his face he showed great astonishment, though in his heart he was secretly delighted.
Drawing on his prior experience, Wei Zhao instantly concluded that the man pulling the strings behind this must again be Meng Jueming, and that this was surely another pit dug for him—a pit of trading good jade for worthless! RP