Chapter 3856 — Curly Bear Delivers the Message

This was no mere excuse. For a figure like Shangguan Tianxia, even the most trivial action would be subjected by interested parties to every manner of elaborate interpretation; were he to heed Nan Tianguan's words and rashly take Hong Zhong to task, it would all too easily be twisted into a sign of displeasure with the Hong Clan Chamber of Commerce.

Therefore, exactly as Shangguan Lan'er had said, unless Nan Tianguan could produce irrefutable evidence, Shangguan Tianxia would never step forward so lightly.

"Grandfather, you see? I was right again! The Threefold Pavilion is forbidden to meddle in the affairs of the market chambers—you cannot be the first to break the rules. Besides, Grandfather Hong has always been so kind to your granddaughter; it was he who gave me Little White. How could you let a few one-sided words put Grandfather Hong in such an awkward spot?" Shangguan Lan'er said, her face full of smug satisfaction.

"Yes, yes—little Lan'er sees it clearest of all," Shangguan Tianxia chuckled.

Watching the grandfather and granddaughter play off each other so smoothly—and noting especially that trace of unfathomable depth so deeply hidden in Shangguan Tianxia's eyes—Nan Tianguan finally understood with a start: this Pavilion Master had never, from first to last, had any real intention of stepping forward to intervene. He had been putting on a performance for Nan Tianguan's benefit all along!

Nan Tianguan even strongly suspected that Shangguan Tianxia must have secretly coached Shangguan Lan'er on those words right there in his presence. Otherwise, how could a naive young girl like Shangguan Lan'er, relying solely on herself, have delivered a rebuttal so watertight and so piercingly to the point?

What he did not know was that Shangguan Tianxia's acting was genuine, but he had never once coached Shangguan Lan'er to play along. To be honest, even Shangguan Tianxia himself had not expected Lan'er to step forward and say such things.

Amid his gratification, Shangguan Tianxia could not help but feel a pang of regret. At first glance his granddaughter might seem naive and sweet, but she had fine talent and quick comprehension, and her mind was remarkably nimble—by any measure a cultivation prodigy of the first order. What a pity she simply had no ambition, simply could not abide the tedium of cultivation. What was a man to do?

Now that Shangguan Tianxia had said his piece so plainly, Nan Tianguan knew that lingering here was futile—it might even earn him the Young Lady's disgust. He had no choice but to bow respectfully, kneeling and prostrating himself: "Then... this disciple takes his leave."

Shangguan Tianxia gave the faintest nod. Then he looked no more upon him, letting Nan Tianguan withdraw.

Watching Nan Tianguan's receding back, Shangguan Lan'er stuck out her tongue and said, "Grandfather, that man is truly wicked—scheming to goad you into moving against Grandfather Hong! What ill intentions!"

"Heh heh—he no doubt came off badly in some encounter with your Grandfather Hong, and so he thought to borrow my hand to give him a warning shot," Shangguan Tianxia said, shaking his head with a smile. Nan Tianguan was a man of some cunning and calculation, but to try playing mind games before a top-tier titan of Shangguan Tianxia's stature was far too callow.

"Hee hee, the man actually thought he could use you as a spear! Clever in his own conceit! If you ask me, you ought to teach him a lesson and let him remember it!" Shangguan Lan'er said, her face alight with gleeful malice.

Any other titan of slightly smaller caliber, solely on account of Nan Tianguan's petty scheming and to preserve his own dignity as a great man, would never have let him off easy. Shangguan Tianxia, however, paid it no mind whatsoever. At his level, he already possessed a grand vision all his own, and would never stir to anger over so trivial a thing.

Shangguan Tianxia smiled noncommittally. "That won't be necessary. This Nan Tianguan is not the sort to give up so easily. Since things have come to nothing here with me, he will surely think of some other way once he returns. But that is no longer my concern."

At this point Shangguan Tianxia paused abruptly, then turned to look at Shangguan Lan'er with a strange expression. "Little Lan'er, in the past you never had the slightest interest in these games of intrigue and scheming. Why are you suddenly so eager today? Could it be that you, too, have taken an interest in that loose cultivator Lin Er?"

"Not at all! I was clearly standing up for Grandfather Hong!" Shangguan Lan'er hastily denied it, waving her hands. She would never dare let Shangguan Tianxia learn the truth about Wei Zhao.

In her flustered haste, however, she failed to notice something: when Shangguan Tianxia spoke of taking an interest in the loose cultivator Lin Er, he had used the word "too"!

In all the Threefold Pavilion, the figures capable of arousing the interest of this master of the Skyward Pavilion could be counted on the fingers of one hand—and every one of them had proven to be no creature of the common pond. Take, for instance, the current Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, Gongyang Jun.

Knowing Hong Zhong's character, Shangguan Tianxia was confident he would not deliberately help that Lin Er move against Nan Tianyong. Yet the fact remained that Lin Er had slain Nan Tianyong in a single strike. A peak early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator crossing four entire tiers to annihilate his opponent in one blow—whatever method he had employed, this was nothing short of an out-and-out miracle!

No wonder Shangguan Tianxia, a top-tier titan of the Northern Isle, had taken an interest in Lin Er.

The next day, at the Young Lady's behest, Curly Bear the little bear took the intelligence and, all stealth and furtiveness, once more stole its way to the foot of Wei Zhao's mountain, to Cave Dwelling No. 1.

"Nan Tianguan, second of the Three Heroes of the Nan Clan, and the senior disciple in charge of affairs at the Skyward Pavilion?" Wei Zhao glanced over the situation described in Shangguan Lan'er's letter and could not help but start slightly, inwardly cursing that fellow Yu Jiang for his unkillable thieving heart—no sooner had one Nan Tianyong died than he had immediately dragged in a far more formidable Nan Tianguan!

Using a true-qi bomb to kill the wholly unguarded Nan Tianyong had already been the limit of Wei Zhao's abilities. Against a more powerful Nan Tianguan, one who came prepared—he would have no recourse but to hide far away; he truly had not a single trick left to play.

Yet one thing that moved Wei Zhao deeply was this: he and Hong Zhong had met only twice, yet Hong Zhong defended him so staunchly, without a second thought trampling two of the Three Heroes of the Nan Clan in succession—Nan Tianyong and Nan Tianguan both—and even bringing himself to the brink of having Shangguan Tianxia, master of the Skyward Pavilion, come down on him with pressure. Such a favor was truly stirring.

Wei Zhao well knew that Hong Zhong must have acted chiefly out of his own considerations, and that Hong Zhong certainly did not know the truth of his identity. But be that as it may, this was a debt of gratitude he must acknowledge—it seemed he would have to look after Hong Zhong's business all the more in the days to come.

To Wei Zhao, if he could establish a stable partnership with a seasoned, reliable commercial titan like Hong Zhong, that would be a mutually beneficial, win-win arrangement.

Besides Nan Tianguan's visit the night before, in her letter Shangguan Lan'er also laid out for Wei Zhao, one by one, an analysis of the reactions from the Skyward Pavilion's upper echelons and from every quarter of the Law Enforcement Hall.