Chapter 3872 — Cutting Through the Knot

Setting aside the matter of appearance, in fact, from every angle, Kang Jingming was a far more likely suspect than Wei Zhao.

First, he was a disciple of Chongtian Pavilion, and he had a big shot like Xu Lingchong backing him. In terms of both foundation and strength, he should theoretically outclass Wei Zhao and come far closer to the image of Lin Er. Second, if he was not Lin Er, why would he rack his brains to divert the two men's attention and fling mud at the irrelevant Wei Zhao? If it was purely a private grudge and a frame-up, then why not say that he himself knew the cinnabar-fire bomb technique?

"If you want to know whether that brat Kang Jingming can use the cinnabar-fire bomb, that's easy enough. Just use the same trick you used on Wei Zhao on him, and the truth will come out naturally!" Nantian Guan said with a cold laugh.

"Ah? Martial Uncle, isn't that a bit much?" Yu Jiang was startled on the spot. To be honest, he had already taken a considerable risk when he tested Wei Zhao just now. If Xiao Che and Qiao Hongcai had caught him in the act, he might well have had to turn himself in at the Hall of Law Enforcement!

And now Nantian Guan was actually telling him to test Kang Jingming. Kang Jingming was a new steward, his status far above that of Wei Zhao, a common grassroots newcomer of Qingyun Pavilion, and he had Xu Lingchong, that young master, behind him. Once trouble broke out, it was not something Yu Jiang, a mere inner disciple of Chongtian Pavilion, could withstand!

Nantian Guan frowned in displeasure. "I'll bear all the consequences for you. What are you afraid of? Shrinking and cowering like that, you'll never amount to anything!"

"This..." Yu Jiang could not help but be caught in a dilemma.

Nantian Guan's words were domineering enough, but the other party was, after all, one of Young Master Xu's men. If he truly provoked Young Master Xu and blew the matter up, in Yu Jiang's view, not to mention Nantian Guan, even Nantian Ba, the leader of the Three Heroes of the Nan Clan, might not be able to settle it. And once Nantian Guan could not hold out, the first to suffer would inevitably be Yu Jiang himself.

Yet Yu Jiang now coveted Nantian Guan's Minor Formless Divine Art, and he was still counting on Nantian Guan to find Lin Er for him. So he could not even curry favor with Nantian Guan fast enough - how would he dare defy the man's wishes?

If he went to test Kang Jingming, he would very likely drag himself down with it. But if he defied Nantian Guan's wishes, he would only add to the man's dislike of him. And with a sensitive, clever man like Nantian Guan, once a bad impression was formed, it would be very hard to correct afterward. By then, the Minor Formless Divine Art and all the rest would probably be out of his reach.

At this point, Yu Jiang was truly caught between a rock and a hard place.

Seeing Yu Jiang cowering and shrinking, Nantian Guan was just about to open his mouth to reprimand him when a burst of noise suddenly came from the Welcome Pavilion not far away. From the sound of it, the newcomers' challenge tournament must have begun.

Yu Jiang instantly found his lifeline and hastily said, "Martial Uncle, look. Their newcomers' challenge tournament has started. Even if I wanted to test him, I'd have to wait until it's over. I can't very well make a move on Kang Jingming in front of everyone, can I? Don't you agree?"

If he really made a move on Kang Jingming without authorization at a high-profile occasion like the newcomers' challenge tournament, then forget Yu Jiang - even if it were Nantian Guan, the managing senior disciple of Chongtian Pavilion, who acted, he would absolutely not be able to withstand it. It would be a matter of minutes before the Hall of Law Enforcement struck him down into the dust.

This reason was unassailable, and Nantian Guan had no choice but to nod. "Very well. After their challenge tournament is over, find another chance to test him. You can set other things aside for now, but whether Kang Jingming can use the cinnabar-fire bomb must be settled today. Do you understand what I mean?"

Yu Jiang hastily nodded. "This disciple understands."

Nantian Guan's meaning could not have been clearer. If Kang Jingming could use the cinnabar-fire bomb, then judging from his earlier behavior of offering unsolicited attentions to divert the two men's attention, the odds that he was Lin Er were surely not small.

And as far as Nantian Guan was concerned, Lin Er could be anyone in the Welcome Pavilion. With Nantian Guan's power, he could easily crush anyone in the Welcome Pavilion. But if it was Kang Jingming, a subordinate personally acknowledged by Xu Lingchong, then once the young master behind him was truly dragged into it, the matter would become complicated.

Against the backdrop of Xu Lingchong eyeing the position of managing senior disciple of Chongtian Pavilion covetously, anything that might involve this Young Master Xu was no small matter in Nantian Guan's eyes. A single misstep might become the fuse for all-out war between him and the young master.

It was not that Nantian Guan felt guilty about this; it was simply that, up to now, he was still far from ready to deal with it.

From Yu Jiang's point of view, however, although he breathed a sigh of relief after hearing Nantian Guan's instructions, he was still somewhat worried. The newcomers' challenge tournament was only an excuse to buy him a little time. Once the tournament ended, no matter how unwilling he was to jump into this pit, Nantian Guan would certainly force him to jump.

There was no help for it. Such was the sorrow of being a lackey - there were always times when one had to serve as cannon fodder.

"Come, let's go take a look at that brat Kang Jingming." Nantian Guan strode toward the Chongtian Pavilion newcomers' arena. Even if he could not yet have Yu Jiang make a direct move to test him, it would still be good to take advantage of the newcomers' challenge tournament to observe him closely. There might even be some unexpected gain.

"Yes." Yu Jiang followed behind Nantian Guan with a tangled mind, pondering one question: once the newcomers' challenge tournament ended, what excuse could he use to keep putting it off?

He knew full well that this was a pit of enormous risk. A clever man like him, even under Nantian Guan's coercion, would never willingly jump in. Yet Yu Jiang never imagined that this problem, which he had racked his brains over and still could not solve, would be solved for him by Kang Jingming himself.

The reason was simple: during the newcomers' challenge tournament that followed, Kang Jingming was actually forced to use the cinnabar-fire bomb!

Of the many newcomers in Chongtian Pavilion, although they had all received Young Master Xu's instructions and one after another expressed their willingness to look after Kang Jingming, every one of these newcomers who could enter Chongtian Pavilion had an impressive background. Even if they were not as high and mighty as Xu Lingchong, they were at least bona fide second-generation scions, and not one of them was truly docile stock.

Even among the newcomers of Qingyun Pavilion, a freak like Wei Zhao could appear. The newcomers of Chongtian Pavilion had even more confidence, so there was naturally no shortage of stubborn newcomers dissatisfied with Young Master Xu's arrangements.

Of course, not just any newcomer with any background would dare to disregard Young Master Xu's tyrannical power. So, whatever they thought in their hearts, over the past two months or more, most of the Chongtian Pavilion newcomers had on the surface been quite cooperative with Young Master Xu's instructions.

However, once they latched onto a thick leg no less formidable than Young Master Xu's, the discontent in these people's hearts would immediately be vented without hesitation. (To be continued...)