Chapter 3945 — Nan Tianxiong Returns

So long as this leverage could be confirmed as real, then the situation was no longer one in which he had to bow his head to Wei Zhao—it would be the other way around: Wei Zhao would have to bow his head to him of his own accord!

Meng Jueming sneered without pause. If this leverage were played just right, then no matter how powerful or formidable Wei Zhao might be, he could forget about ever leaping out of his palm!

What delighted him even more was this: the fellow Wei Zhao could turn worthless jade into fine jade, could he not? The man was nothing less than a little hen that laid golden eggs! So long as he could be kept under his thumb, then future wealth and glory—why, that was nothing worth even mentioning.

By Meng Jueming's reckoning, the secret must lie in Mine No. 10. Back in the mortal world, Wei Zhao had known nothing of what spirit jade even was! Yet after entering Mine No. 10, he had unceasingly dug out fine jade from it. Now it seemed highly likely that somewhere inside Mine No. 10 there was something akin to a spirit eye—place worthless jade within it, and it would swiftly be charged full.

That would also explain why Wei Zhao could dig up fine jade while he and Meng Zhou, try as they might, dug up none at all! That jade was not dug out—it was flushed out!

Meanwhile, over on the other side, Wei Zhao was in truth drenched in a cold sweat, and even a man of his temperament could not help but feel the chill of lingering dread.

Though by all appearances his responses just now should have betrayed no flaw whatsoever, instinct told him that a cunning old fox like Meng Jueming would not be so easily fooled.

In times of peace, think on danger; always be prepared for the worst. The one thing Wei Zhao needed to consider now was this: if Meng Jueming truly did discover his identity, what was he to do then?

If it really came to that, Wei Zhao's position would be profoundly disadvantageous. Meng Jueming could use this leverage to squeeze him at will, and yet he would have no real means of striking back.

The other man was the senior disciple in charge of affairs, and might one day be one of the three pavilion masters besides. No matter how strong Wei Zhao was, he would have no chance to face him head-on—unless he took the desperate risk of finding an opportunity to assassinate him. Even that method was not entirely unworkable; it was merely that the risk would inevitably be enormous.

"As matters stand, all I can do is take one step and watch the next," Wei Zhao murmured to himself, shaking his head at his own miscalculation. He could not now be certain whether Meng Jueming had discovered anything at all, so for the time being he could only hold still and make no move.

On today's trip to the marketplace, he had not run into Yu Jiang and the others who were scheming so hard to find him—instead, he had been caught out by Meng Jueming entirely by accident. Such a thing could not even be described as screwing over one's father; it was screwing over eighteen generations of ancestors!

Wiping the cold sweat from his brow, Wei Zhao pressed his worries down to the bottom of his heart and, following his plan, paid a visit to the Hong Merchant Guild.

At Wei Zhao's sudden arrival, even Hong Zhong—an old steward who took surprises in stride—could not help but click his tongue in wonder.

Unlike Wei Zhao, given Hong Zhong's standing and level, and added to that his close connections with many of the Three Stack Pavilion's high-ranking figures, there was not the slightest stir within the pavilion that could escape his ears and eyes.

Perhaps in Wei Zhao's understanding, the only ones currently investigating his identity as Lin Er were still Nan Tianguan and Yu Jiang—but Hong Zhong knew that some time ago, Nan Tianxiong, leader of the Three Heroes of the Nan Clan, had already returned from his mission.

This man was notorious as someone not to be trifled with, even within the Three Stack Pavilion's most elite circle of core disciples—and backed by the great house of the Nan family of Middle Island, quite a few of the pavilion's high-ranking members were considerably accommodating toward him.

Moreover, Nan Tianxiong's protectiveness of his own was known to all. Once he learned of Nan Tianyong's death, he would surely fly into a thunderous rage. Though for some reason he had as yet made no great commotion, of one thing there could be no doubt: the man would certainly not slacken in hunting down his brother's killer.

Faced with such a formidable threat, this Lin Er before him had still come to no harm to this day—not only safe and sound, but even daring to walk openly through the marketplace. Such courage and ability left even Hong Zhong gaping in astonishment.

And what shocked Hong Zhong even more was this: in a mere two or three months, this Lin Er's strength had surged by another notch. Wei Zhao's mid-Foundation Establishment cultivation could deceive others, but it could not deceive Hong Zhong.

With Hong Zhong's unfathomable strength and discernment, unless one were a master of equal rank, no one had ever been able to conceal their cultivation before him—Wei Zhao was no exception.

This Lin Er looked young, and at their last meeting one could still plainly sense that he had broken through only recently. Yet from the peak of early Foundation Establishment to mid Foundation Establishment—a threshold that ordinary people might spend a hundred years and still fail to cross—he had vaulted in a single step within a mere two or three months. Even Hong Zhong, who had seen countless people in his time, had never witnessed nor even heard of such a thing.

"Young Hero Lin, many days no see—trust you have been well!" Hong Zhong quietly suppressed his amazement and rose of his own accord to greet him.

"Steward Hong, well met." Wei Zhao smiled and cupped his hands in salute, then came straight to the point: "One does not visit the temple without a reason. I have come today to ask a favor, and I hope Steward Hong will lend what help he can."

"Of course, of course. Whatever it is, Young Hero Lin, speak freely—this old man will do his utmost," Hong Zhong said at once, readily.

Having seen countless people had honed in him a fine eye. In Hong Zhong's estimation, Wei Zhao was now a genuine blue-chip prospect, a figure very likely to achieve great things in the future. To haggle over trifles would be far too shortsighted; at a time like this, to be able to sell Wei Zhao a favor was, in his eyes, a stroke of luck he could only wish for.

Wei Zhao was overjoyed, and at once recounted to Hong Zhong everything he had previously said to Chen Heihu.

After hearing him out, Hong Zhong wasted no words: he immediately summoned the guild's steward and instructed him in detail. To put out word and purchase rare spirit herbs like the Heart-Devouring Linglong Grass was, for him, a matter of a single sentence—once the order was given, there would naturally be someone to carry it out.

To sell Wei Zhao a rare favor for something so simple—even judged purely by a businessman's eye, that was a handsome profit!

"Then I thank you, Steward Hong," Wei Zhao said gratefully. With this, he finally had some measure of confidence as to whether he could obtain the Heart-Devouring Linglong Grass.

With a merchant giant like the Hong Merchant Guild on one side and an operator of vast reach and unorthodox channels like Chen Heihu on the other, working both fronts at once—if even then he could not purchase the Heart-Devouring Linglong Grass, then it could only be said that Heaven willed it so, and that Wei Zhao and the Heart-Devouring Linglong Grass were simply not fated to meet.