Chapter 3633 — A Man of His Word
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
After everything that had happened between them, he and Meng Jueming were already locked in deadly opposition, irreconcilable as fire and water. With such a golden opportunity delivered right to his door, of course he meant to make the man bleed for it.
At those words, not only Miserable Senior Brother, Xiao Che, Qiao Hongcai and the others, but everyone else as well turned their eyes on Meng Jueming, all brimming with anticipation. After all, fifteen spirit jades was no small sum. To witness such a scene with one's own eyes would make fine conversation material for days to come.
These cultivators, whose days were steeped in tedium, had always loved a good spectacle. Even without taking part themselves, as onlookers they were more excited than the parties involved.
My god! This little bastard is downright vicious!
Meng Jueming cursed inwardly. With Wei Zhao having said his piece, he was now completely caught on the horns of a dilemma. By Wei Zhao's logic, if he did not immediately pay up on the spot, then in the eyes of the crowd he would be branded a treacherous wretch whose word meant nothing.
But this was a full fifteen spirit jades! If he truly handed them over just like that, he would be bleeding from the heart for the rest of his days.
Seeing Meng Jueming still squirming and dawdling, Wei Zhao spoke again. "Surely Senior Brother Meng isn't going to say he didn't bring that many spirit jades with him? That can't be right. A man like Senior Brother Meng, whose every word is honored, would never have dared make such a bet unless he had that many spirit jades ready in his pocket. Otherwise his word would be no better than a fart. With so many eyes watching us, I figure our Senior Brother Meng would never do anything so foolish!"
The insinuation could not have been more obvious. For a moment, the way everyone looked at Meng Jueming turned mocking and knowing. If he kept stalling now, he would practically confirm his reputation as a man whose promises were worth less than a fart. And if word of that spread, forget building any authority in the future; he would be pointed at and whispered about wherever he went.
Meng Jueming was a man bent on climbing higher, so naturally he could not allow such a stain on his name. He could only stiffen his neck and say, "What's your hurry? Did I ever say I wouldn't pay on the spot? Truly, a petty man drunk on his little triumph! But this is the mining district. All my spirit jades are kept in my private workshop outside. I'll have to go out to get them for you."
At this, the crowd nodded in sudden understanding. Meng Jueming's explanation was reasonable enough. Given the Spirit Jade Hall's stringent oversight procedures, under normal circumstances no one was permitted to bring anything inside, spirit jades included. In fact, even if one wanted to bring them in, one could not, and certainly could not take them out.
For the convenience of the crowd, however, the Spirit Jade Hall maintained a temporary public storage room just outside the entrance. As for supervisors like Meng Jueming of Welcoming Pavilion, since they had to come every year to help oversee the newcomers, they were treated much like half-time staff of the Spirit Jade Hall and thus each had a private workshop of his own, where they could rest and store things as they pleased.
From Meng Jueming's perspective, even if he really had brought that many spirit jades to the Spirit Jade Hall, they would inevitably have been stored in his own private workshop.
"That works too. It's only a few steps away anyway. If any of you senior and junior brothers are interested, please come along and bear witness." Wei Zhao saw through Meng Jueming's intent at a glance and at once called out loudly to the crowd.