Chapter 3828 — So Confident

His mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation was hardly formidable by the standards of this place, but that instinct for life and death was something every cultivator was born with—and experience had proven time and again that if such a premonition of danger was ignored, it truly could cost a man his life.

A single sentence of deterrence forced the two, who had been about to crash together like Mars into Earth, to check themselves at the same instant; and then the aura of this guest retainer retracted once more into nothingness, as though it had never existed at all.

The onlookers, seeing this, stopped paying any mind to Wei Zhao and Yu Jiang. With a first-rate guest retainer stepping in, there was certainly to be no fight; unless the two of them had holes in their heads and hoped to die at the guest retainer's hands.

"Hmph. Count yourself lucky—you get to live a little longer. But what a pity: your luck ends here." Yu Jiang gave Wei Zhao one deep look, his eyes brimming with venomous hatred, then turned without the slightest pause and strode out of the Hong Merchant Guild, leaving a parting shot behind him: "See you outside, Lin Er."

The way that was put, it sounded as though the man meant to lie in wait at the door.

Wei Zhao's eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. He had known before coming to the market that he might run into Yu Jiang, but what had unfolded was the very worst of all possible situations, and there was nothing in it to gladden a man.

"Young Hero Lin, it seems you have a spot of trouble this time," Hong Zhong's voice sounded suddenly from behind Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao turned to look at him, and saw the old man point past him toward the window. This was the second floor of the Hong Merchant Guild; from the window, the whole of the inner street below lay spread out in plain view.

Wei Zhao walked to the window and looked down. His gaze went of itself to Yu Jiang, who had just come out of the guild, and he saw him hurry over to a man nearby who looked to be of middle age, exchange a few words with him—and then, as one, both Yu Jiang and that middle-aged man turned their eyes toward Wei Zhao, standing at the window.

Even across a distance of several dozen zhang, Wei Zhao could still feel with perfect clarity the astonishing killing intent that came surging toward him!

Nan Tianyong! The name leapt into Wei Zhao's mind. He had never met the man, but instinct told him that this middle-aged man must be Yu Jiang's master, Nan Tianyong.

At this sight, Wei Zhao's heart sank.

If he had encountered only Yu Jiang here today, the enemy he had already crossed, it would have been troublesome but no great matter. The man's mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation was a notch above his own, true, but he had left him half dead the last time, and there was certainly nothing to fear now.

But add a Nan Tianyong to the reckoning, and withdrawing unscathed today would be as hard as climbing to the heavens.

As a supervising deacon of the Soaring Heavens Pavilion, Nan Tianyong's strength was beyond all doubt. He might not match the several first-rate guest retainers who held sway here at the Hong Merchant Guild, but he was absolutely not someone a newcomer like Wei Zhao, at the very peak of early Foundation Establishment, could stand against—and to be marked by such a hand in a place like this, escape was flatly impossible!

He had planned for everything, yet never once considered being cornered in the inner street by this master and disciple pair. This time, the trouble was indeed somewhat large!

Seeing the gravity in Wei Zhao's expression, Hong Zhong could not help suggesting, "Young Hero Lin, if you have need of it, this old man can arrange for one of our first-rate guest retainers to escort you back."

The guest retainers held a position of great detachment within the Hong Merchant Guild. Under normal circumstances, apart from guarding the guild, they accepted no assigned tasks whatsoever. But Hong Zhong, branch steward though he was, was far more than his position suggested; with his strength and his connections, even those proud guest retainers were willing to do him a favor.

Having a first-rate guest retainer escort Wei Zhao home went altogether beyond the bounds of business—it was a genuine favor, plain and simple.

But Wei Zhao was quick to decline. "I thank you for your kindness, Steward Hong, but there's no need for such trouble. I have my own way of dealing with it."

"Eh?" Hong Zhong was taken aback. Even with all his wealth of experience, those words left him at something of a loss to read this Lin Er.

To handle Yu Jiang, a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, with nothing but the peak of early Foundation Establishment, and even to have beaten Yu Jiang half to death instead—that outcome had been rather beyond Hong Zhong's expectations, though it was not wholly beyond comprehension.

Challenges across cultivation tiers were uncommon, to be sure, but in Hong Zhong's eyes Lin Er was no ordinary sort to begin with, and there was nothing especially strange in his having managed such a feat.

Yet Lin Er being able to handle Yu Jiang did not mean he could handle Nan Tianyong. After all, the two were on entirely different planes.

Yu Jiang was merely a mid-Foundation Establishment expert. But his master Nan Tianyong stood at the very peak of late Foundation Establishment, a single step from the great consummation of Foundation Establishment!

For Lin Er, at the very peak of early Foundation Establishment, Yu Jiang of the mid stage still fell within the realm of the challengeable. But Nan Tianyong, at the peak of late Foundation Establishment—by any reckoning whatsoever—was absolutely not someone Lin Er could cope with. Absolutely not!

One at the peak of early Foundation Establishment, the other at the peak of late Foundation Establishment—four whole tiers between them. Nan Tianyong would not even need to use any martial technique; a casual punch or kick would utterly crush Lin Er. There was no suspense in it at all.

This was common sense. No matter how deep Lin Er's foundations or how powerful his backing, there was no chance of a reversal. And it was precisely on this consideration that Hong Zhong had taken the initiative to offer him a favor, sending a first-rate guest retainer to escort him home.

What Hong Zhong had not expected was that Lin Er would refuse without a second thought—and refuse outright.

Hong Zhong could not help but begin to wonder: could it be that this young man, whose strength reached only the very peak of early Foundation Establishment, truly had it in him to deal with a first-rate expert like Nan Tianyong at the peak of late Foundation Establishment? That was simply impossible!

What Hong Zhong did not know was that Wei Zhao's outright refusal of his offer stemmed chiefly from a reluctance to expose his identity. If a first-rate guest retainer of the Hong Merchant Guild were to escort him home, his true identity would be very hard to keep concealed.

And once it became known that this Lin Er was none other than Wei Zhao, a newcomer of the Azure Cloud Pavilion wearing a face-changing mask, the affair would truly be impossible to contain. So by comparison, Wei Zhao would sooner face a dangerous figure like Nan Tianyong alone than let his true identity come to light.

Still, for all that, when Wei Zhao said he had a way to deal with Nan Tianyong and his disciple Yu Jiang, it was not entirely an empty boast. In fact, within those few brief moments, he had already thought of a strategy. Defeating the two of them was hardly realistic, but if all he wanted was to slip away safely, he had no small confidence of it—provided he made thorough preparations in advance.

Hong Zhong had meant to do him a favor and lay the groundwork for future dealings, but seeing the other refuse so decisively, he did not press the point. "Since Young Hero Lin is so confident," he said, "this old man will not make a pointless gesture of it."