Chapter 3830 — Waiting One Hour

Five hundred spirit jades for a single top-grade Foundation Establishment Pill—though such a purchase price could hardly be called exorbitant, it was certainly far from low. The Hong Merchant Guild might well turn a handsome profit from the deal, yet Hong Zhong had, all the same, shown Wei Zhao considerable consideration.

Wei Zhao had no objection whatsoever. He nodded at once and said, "That will do. My thanks to you, Steward Hong. However, I have one more request—an impertinent one, I fear."

"Whatever it is, Young Hero Lin, simply say the word. This old man shall do his utmost." Hong Zhong was somewhat taken aback. Twice now he had dealt with this Lin Er, and never once had he heard the man make any demand at all.

Still, out of the regard he held for Wei Zhao—and because on both occasions Wei Zhao had indeed brought him no small benefit—so long as the request was not too outrageous, Hong Zhong would do his best to grant it.

Yet the request Wei Zhao made next left Hong Zhong blinking in surprise: "I should like to linger here a while. It won't interfere with your business, will it, Steward Hong?"

"Of course, of course. As you please, Young Hero Lin. If you wished to stay the night here, I could have arrangements made." Hong Zhong chuckled. He assumed Lin Er had truly taken Yu Jiang's advice to heart and meant to lodge here!

Small wonder. To his mind, Wei Zhao must have taken fright at Nan Tianyong and his disciple Yu Jiang, and wished to hide here a while—to wear down the other's patience and make them give up of their own accord. To feel fear and want to retreat before an enemy as utterly beyond one's means as Nan Tianyong—that was only human nature.

But in Hong Zhong's eyes, Wei Zhao's notion was still a touch too wishful. Given the grudge between him and Nan Tianyong's pair of master and disciple, the other side would never let him off so easily. No matter how long he stalled here, it would do no good; they would keep their post and wait for the rabbit to come to them, and there was simply no chance they would leave.

Perhaps in a little while, this Lin Er would think better of it and turn around to beg the skilled retainers of the Hong Merchant Guild to protect him.

But Wei Zhao only smiled and shook his head. "Stay the night? No, that won't be necessary. I need only wait here one hour, and that will be enough."

"Wait one hour?" Hong Zhong could not help but start. Veteran of the jianghu though he was, he could make neither head nor tail of what Wei Zhao was plotting. He could only give a rueful laugh and nod. "Very well then, Young Hero Lin, as you please. If you have any need, speak to this old man at any time."

In the blink of an eye, the hour slipped by, and there beneath the blazing sun Nan Tianyong and his disciple Yu Jiang had kept watch across the street from the Hong Merchant Guild for a full hour.

"Disciple, do you suppose that brat is cowering inside the Hong Merchant Guild and won't dare come out? Grinding away at him like this is nothing but a waste of time!" Nan Tianyong scowled, his face full of impatience.

It was Yu Jiang who had sworn undying enmity with Wei Zhao, not Nan Tianyong himself. Apart from avenging his disciple, he had come here for another reason as well: to avenge himself. That humiliation at the Hong Merchant Guild last time he had been unable to repay, and if he wanted satisfaction, the only place to take it was out of Wei Zhao's hide.

But to stand here burning through time merely for that one breath of grievance—Nan Tianyong had no such patience.

In his view, given the gap between their strengths, if he were in Wei Zhao's present shoes, he would sooner die than step one foot outside the Hong Merchant Guild.

So long as the boy shrank inside and would not come out, there was no way to touch him. But the instant he set foot beyond the guild's doors, a peak late-stage Foundation Establishment expert would fix his eyes on him, and he would be a dead man on the spot. How to answer that multiple-choice question ought to be plain at a glance.

"He won't. When we crossed hands last time, I could tell—this brat isn't the sort to have no guts. He'll definitely come out," Yu Jiang said with a shake of his head.

After that last life-and-death clash, he might still not know Wei Zhao's true identity, but when it came to understanding the man, he likely surpassed the vast majority of those at the Welcome New Pavilion. If Wei Zhao truly were such a gutless coward, how could he possibly have bested him—a skilled mid-stage Foundation Establishment expert—last time?

To challenge above one's level demanded not only strength, but also daring and self-confidence. Not one of the three could be lacking.

"Tch. It's been a full hour already. At this rate, who knows how long we'll be waiting? Forget it—disciple, you keep watching here. Your master will go up and have a cup of tea first." Nan Tianyong shot Yu Jiang a disdainful look and turned to enter the shop behind them, where private rooms upstairs offered a place to rest.

But just as Nan Tianyong turned, Yu Jiang gave a violent start. His eyes, fixed hard on the Hong Merchant Guild, flew wide open. "Master—he's coming out!"

"What? Knowing full well this old man is sitting watch right here, that brat still dares to come out?" Nan Tianyong jolted, turning to look in disbelief. Following the direction of Yu Jiang's pointing finger, he saw a figure with a cloth sack on his back slowly emerging from the main gate of the Hong Merchant Guild.

That figure was indeed the very one they had glimpsed at the second-floor window earlier—the cause of it all, the one who had nearly cost Yu Jiang his life last time and left Nan Tianyong swallowing a bellyful of frustration at the Hong Merchant Guild. Lin Er.

"This fellow—I truly don't know whether to call him brave or to call him suicidal!" Watching Wei Zhao's figure, Yu Jiang could not help but feel the veins stand out on his brow, his face turning hideous.

Though he had believed this Lin Er would not be so craven as to hide inside the Hong Merchant Guild forever, he had never imagined that after a mere hour, the fellow would dare show himself—and alone at that, without seeking a single helper from the guild.

"Need you ask? Suicidal, of course! With your master standing here, can a mere peak early-stage Foundation Establishment brat like this hope to walk away alive?" Nan Tianyong threw back his head and laughed.

For a peak late-stage Foundation Establishment expert of his caliber to deign to strike personally—for any peak early-stage Foundation Establishment expert, that could only be called an honor. Of course, behind that honor lay death; there was no other possibility.

"Heh heh, with Master here, that brat is dead for certain this time! But the fellow is devious and slippery, so Master, whatever you do, don't give him a single moment to catch his breath or open his mouth—wipe him out with one move the moment you meet, and avenge your disciple!" Yu Jiang urged Nan Tianyong on from the side, his eyes narrowed with venomous spite.

He had said this deliberately because he feared his master might wring some question out of Lin Er that should not be asked—the Star-Ink Stone, for instance.

He had brought Nan Tianyong here solely to kill this Lin Er and take his revenge, to be sure there would be no repeat of last time's debacle. That was why he had brought along a top-tier thug!

But he had never intended to share anything with this cut-price master of his—least of all a supreme treasure like the Star-Ink Stone, one capable of changing one's very fate. (Fourth update! Lately many readers have been asking when the iOS version of the School Beauty mobile game will launch—it should be meeting everyone very soon. Android users can search "The School Beauty's Close-Range Bodyguard" in their mobile browser to download the game. Three updates of the new novel Peerless Cultivation Tyrant Young Master tonight!) RS