Chapter 3806 — A Dead Silence

And to let the other party form a preconceived impression, the most direct and effective method was none other than to find an opportunity for Yu Jiang and Nan Tianyong to come and take a look at him.

Seeing is believing. Ordinary people trust their eyes far more than their intuition, and even highly capable cultivators find it hard to change that instinct. So before Yu Jiang and Nan Tianyong fixed their suspicions on him, he would let them see this face of his—utterly different from Lin Er's.

Once they had preemptively severed the connection between Wei Zhao and Lin Er of their own accord, the crisis would naturally dissolve with it.

Still, simple and effective as this method was, if Wei Zhao were to seek out an opportunity and thrust himself forward, it would seem too deliberate and would only invite suspicion. The best approach was to use a third party to draw them over of their own initiative.

"Little White, wait here a moment. I will write a reply to your master, and you can carry it back for me shortly." Wei Zhao thought for a moment, then soothed the little Curly Bear cub that was clinging to him and frolicking about, and fetched brush and ink to write back to Shangguan Lan'er.

That was right—the third party Wei Zhao had in mind was precisely this little senior sister of his, Shangguan Lan'er.

Though Miss Shangguan was unquestionably the number-one young lady of the Tri-Layer Pavilion, with her pure, warm-hearted nature, once Wei Zhao made the request, she would surely be glad to help.

Yet Wei Zhao had no intention of having her go to Yu Jiang and Nan Tianyong directly. Her identity was far too conspicuous, and for her to take the initiative in asking about such irrelevant gossip would be utterly implausible. So even if he wanted her help, he had to think of a reasonable justification—and go about it by a roundabout way, borrowing another's hand.

And around Shangguan Lan'er, there happened to be just such a natural candidate: Xu Lingchong, the eldest young master Xu.

In the letter, Wei Zhao explained this and that, this and that, setting out in detail exactly how Shangguan Lan'er needed to help. Only then did he fold the letter and hand it to the little Curly Bear cub. He then escorted the cub all the way back, seeing it safely into the core inner quarters of Chongtian Pavilion before quietly withdrawing.

After returning to his cave dwelling at the foot of the mountain, Wei Zhao carried on as though nothing had happened, settling back into his normal rhythm—mining at the Spirit Jade Hall by day, infusing true qi into his eighty-five spirit herb seeds by night, and otherwise sitting in meditation and cultivation.

He had previously been planning to go out these next few days to purchase some medicinal ingredients and the like, to fire up his furnace and refine pills to win Li Zhengming some favor. But now, before he dealt with the lurking threat of Yu Jiang, it was no longer convenient for Wei Zhao to go about his business in the identity of Lin Er.

Fortunately, Li Zhengming was in no particular hurry; making him wait a little longer would do no harm.

As for Shangguan Lan'er, when she received Wei Zhao's reply, a faint smile curved at the corner of her lips. Hmph—see how you owe your senior sister another favor! Yet she set about doing as Wei Zhao had said without the slightest hesitation. What she had to do was in fact very simple: find a suitable opportunity to let slip a word or two in Xu Lingchong's ear.

Such an opportunity was not hard to find. The young masters and misses of Chongtian Pavilion—these second- and third-generation cultivators—naturally formed a social circle of their own, and every few days there would be gatherings of one kind or another.

And with Shangguan Lan'er's formidable background, wherever she went she was an object of awe. To join such a gathering she did not even need to announce herself; her very appearance would make any host feel his humble abode had been graced with glory, and never would he dare take the slightest offense.

This young lady had in the past rarely attended the gatherings of the second generation. That she should deign to show her face even once was capital they would boast of and show off for days to come within their circle.

Yet although Shangguan Lan'er rarely attended, if one wanted to find Xu Lingchong, such gatherings were the surest place to do it.

Any second-generation cultivator who could enter this circle was of illustrious birth. Never mind how many elite prodigies these scions themselves might produce—their family backgrounds alone made them well worth befriending and drawing in. And for Xu Lingchong, who was single-mindedly grooming himself to one day shoulder the great beam of the Xu family, such golden opportunities laid right before his eyes were certainly not to be let slip.

On the day after receiving Wei Zhao's reply, Shangguan Lan'er appeared at Huayang Residence with the little Curly Bear cub in tow.

This was a luxury establishment that Chongtian Pavilion operated exclusively for its own people—a high-class venue where even a casual meal cost a hundred spirit jades. Its opulence rivaled any merchant guild's restaurant in the outside world, and it was the unchallenged first choice for the customary gatherings of the cultivator second generation.

Of course, cultivators generally had no need to eat, but the fare here was of considerable benefit to them all the same. The vegetarian dishes were cooked with precious spirit herbs as their vegetables, and the meat dishes came from livestock raised especially to absorb the spiritual essence of heaven and earth.

Not only did it taste exquisite—once taken into the body, it was greatly beneficial for enhancing and consolidating one's cultivation.

That said, this was hardly a place ordinary loose cultivators or disciples without backing could afford! But there was no comparing with them—these people could boost their cultivation just by eating a meal!

And exactly as Shangguan Lan'er had anticipated, Young Master Xu Lingchong was indeed present.

At the sight of Shangguan Lan'er's figure, every scion in the hall was struck dumb on the spot. A moment passed before they came to their senses and hurriedly crowded around to greet her.

For all that these second-generation scions swaggered about, mouths pursed in disdain, as though they alone held sway over heaven and earth, before a young lady like Shangguan Lan'er they were less than nothing. Who could help it, when her grandfather was the incomparably mighty Shangguan Tianxia?

Even the elders and patrons of their own houses could only bow and scrape before her grandfather; faced with Miss Shangguan herself, they naturally had no choice but to lower their heads a notch.

And among them all, the one most assiduous in currying favor with Shangguan Lan'er was none other than Xu Lingchong. After all, this fellow was bent on rising in the world by becoming Shangguan Tianxia's grandson-in-law—if at a time like this he still failed to seize the chance to ply her with attentions, he would truly be a fool beyond redemption.

Watching so many young masters of the second generation flock around Shangguan Lan'er like lapdogs, one young woman at the feast was instantly displeased. In a sour, insinuating tone she sneered, "Some women really have no sense of propriety—just because their family has a little backing, they drag a mangy spirit pet around everywhere. This is Huayang Residence! Everyone who comes and goes here is rich or noble. Is this any place for a mangy spirit pet like that?"

At these words, a dead silence fell over the whole hall. Every scion present fixed their eyes upon the woman in unison, all wearing the look of people gazing upon a corpse.

(.)RU