Chapter 3568 — Respecting Senior Brother Meng
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
"Brother Xiao, just take it. If it truly doesn't suit you, then after you've used it for half a month, we can trade back." Wei Zhao spoke with a smile, yet his words brimmed with incontrovertible finality, leaving Xiao Che not the slightest room to refuse. "It's settled, then—unless you mean to cut ties with me for good!"
To repay every wrong and every kindness—that was Wei Zhao's invariable principle. If only for Xiao Che's earlier goodwill in trying to bring him along to cultivate at Cave Dwelling Number Thirteen at the foot, he must return a peach for a plum; and besides, having both come up from the mortal realm, they were natural allies for mutual support in the days to come. That Xiao Che should grow stronger faster was no bad thing for Wei Zhao either.
Seeing Wei Zhao so resolute, and that he did not appear to be joking—and that it had even escalated to the point of severing their friendship—Xiao Che hesitated a moment, then had no choice but to agree. "Then… very well. A great kindness needs no thanks in words. From this day on, I, Xiao, shall follow wherever Brother Lin leads."
Born into a declining ancient clan like the Xiao family, Xiao Che had grown up watching the fickleness of human feeling and the scheming of men, yet a singular figure like Wei Zhao he was meeting for the first time. Though the man's strength was only at the Heaven-Tier Great Perfection, an intuition honed through years of adversity told him that this Wei Zhao before him would one day be no mere creature of the pond.
Whether it was called repaying kindness or long-term investment, Xiao Che knew that from this day on, he had been publicly branded as one of Wei Zhao's faction. Henceforth in the Welcome Pavilion he would advance and retreat with Wei Zhao—shared glory, shared ruin.
By now, the way all the newcomers looked at Wei Zhao had changed again. A moment ago their eyes had held only awe; now, along with the awe, there was a measure of mockery.
It seemed Meng Zhou had been right after all. This fellow called Wei Zhao truly did love to put on airs. He had only gotten lucky and won a single bout against Meng Zhou just now, and in the blink of an eye his tail was already up in the sky, utterly ignorant of the heights of heaven and the depths of earth. Without the aid of Cave Dwelling Number One at the foot, his strength a month from now would surely not rise as quickly as the others'; when he then bound himself in his own cocoon and lost the ranking tournament, that would be a fine show to watch.
Just a country bumpkin from the mortal realm who had somehow stumbled his way up—what was he so puffed up about? Truly, a petty man drunk on his little triumph! Even if he wanted to gather followers, need he go this far? If he lost a month from now, did he really think Xiao Che would still look up to him?
To throw in one's lot with a weakling—was that not the act of a fool?
Wei Zhao seemed utterly oblivious to the shifting expressions of those around him. Glancing at Qiao Hongcai standing beside him, he decided to see the good deed through to the end. "Brother Qiao, let us simply trade Cave Dwelling Number Thirteen at the foot back to you. I shall lodge in my Cave Dwelling Number Fourteen at the foot as before—out of respect for Senior Brother Meng's arrangements, since after all this dwelling was allotted to me by Senior Brother Meng."
"Ah? That… very well." By now Qiao Hongcai was somewhat numb. In all his years, this was the first time he had encountered a creature as eccentric as Wei Zhao. Compared to the startling move of exchanging for Cave Dwelling Number One at the foot just now, this present business hardly deserved mention. He cupped his hands toward Wei Zhao. "Brother Lin, many thanks. If ever you have need of me, just say the word."