Chapter 3590 — Mine Zone Allocation
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"Rest easy, Senior Brother Meng—none of us would dare bring shame upon the Qingyun Pavilion." The new recruits shivered and hastily swore in unison.
Meng Jueming nodded, then shot a malicious glance at Wei Zhao, who trailed behind the group. With anyone else, a mishap would have meant trouble for him too; but with Wei Zhao, he would have welcomed it. Compared to that trifling risk, ridding himself of Wei Zhao by such means would have been cause for great celebration!
Still, such things could only be entertained in his head. After yesterday's humiliation, he dared not recklessly scheme against Wei Zhao again for the time being—but if he could find a chance to give the fellow a good disgust first, that would be fine indeed!
Meng Jueming led them through a long corridor. Judging by the ever-descending slope, they must already be underground, yet every twenty feet along the walls on either side were set fluorite stones that glowed of their own accord. Though the surroundings were confined, the light was as clear and bright as it was above ground.
After a moment Meng Jueming halted. Before them stood a gate fully thirty feet tall, and the recruits could not help swallowing hard. Behind this gate, surely, lay the legendary spirit jade mine.
"Once you pass through this gate, you are in the spirit jade mine's excavation zone. But before you go in, you must first come with me over there and sign a contract." Meng Jueming pointed to the side of the gate, where a table and several cabinets had been set up. The cabinets were crammed full of countless blank paper contracts, and behind the table sat a white-bearded elder, dozing off in a drowsy haze.
Meng Jueming led the group over and patted the man's shoulder. The white-bearded elder opened his eyes, looked at Meng Jueming, and smiled. "Junior Brother Meng, it's you. What's this? All of these are our Qingyun Pavilion's new recruits this year?"
"That's right." Meng Jueming nodded, then introduced him to the group. "This is Senior Brother Dai Wuchang. He came up through our Qingyun Pavilion and now handles contract matters here at the Spirit Jade Hall. Well? Aren't you going to greet Senior Brother Dai?"
"Greetings, Senior Brother Dai!" The recruits hurried to pay their respects. Though this Senior Brother Dai Wuchang looked quite advanced in years, his cultivation stood only at the peak of the early Foundation Establishment stage. By the cultivation world's rule that the strong command respect, his seniority ranked about the same as Meng Jueming's, so a simple "Senior Brother" from the others would suffice.
Still, this Dai Wuchang was an old man who had never been taken in by the Xuanji Pavilion—which surely meant he was a sorry specimen indeed, so worthless that the Xuanji Pavilion had no use for him, driving him at last to the Qingyun Pavilion, that dumping ground for failures.
Dai Wuchang nodded and turned to Meng Jueming. "Junior Brother Meng, how many contracts do you need this time, and for which mine zones?"
Meng Jueming did a quick tally. "If you would, Senior Brother Dai: two for Mine Zone Seven, ten for Mine Zone Eight, and one for Mine Zone Ten."
"Right away, I'll get them for you—wait, Mine Zone Ten? You want one for Mine Zone Ten too?" Dai Wuchang suddenly froze, staring at Meng Jueming in astonishment. "Junior Brother Meng, did you misspeak? You mean Mine Zone Nine, surely?"
Meng Jueming shook his head and glanced at Wei Zhao in the crowd with a cold smile. "You heard correctly, Senior Brother Dai. I want one for Mine Zone Ten. It's a public zone—there shouldn't be any problem with that, should there?"