Chapter 3638 — The Only Latecomer
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
All the scheming he had done to trade for that little spirit jade with Wei Zhao had been for the sake of currying favor with Zhao Yu—and Zhao Yu was none other than the direct grandson of this Elder Zhao Hongbo. Now it seemed his efforts had not been wasted after all; to have his name lodged in the mind of a Fourth Elder like Zhao Hongbo would spare him decades of struggling in the years to come.
Having received the praise with relish, Meng Jueming turned and glared at Wei Zhao. "Junior Brother Wei Zhao, what are you still standing there for? Hurry and fetch Pavilion Master Lu—are you really trying to make the Fourth Elder angry?"
Wei Zhao glanced at him and was about to speak when Poor Bastard Senior Brother at his side gritted his teeth and stepped in to rescue him. "Fourth Elder, Senior Brother Meng—Junior Brother Lin here does not wish to avoid fetching Pavilion Master Lu. It is only that today's open instruction day is a rare opportunity indeed, and as a newcomer he truly cannot afford to miss it. I beg the Fourth Elder's understanding! Would it be acceptable for this disciple to go and call Pavilion Master Lu instead?"
Wei Zhao cast him a grateful look. To step forward and speak for him at a moment like this was to take a considerable risk—Zhao Hongbo might well vent his anger on him instead, and for a lowly steward like Poor Bastard, that was no joking matter.
"And who might you be?" Zhao Hongbo glanced at Poor Bastard Senior Brother. He had only ever heard Meng Jueming's name from his grandson Zhao Yu's mouth; under ordinary circumstances he would never pay the slightest attention to a petty steward of Welcoming Pavilion, much less know any of their names.
Poor Bastard Senior Brother drew a deep breath and said, "In reply to the Fourth Elder, this disciple is called Kuzhong Le, and I am likewise a steward senior brother in charge of the newcomers of Azure Cloud Pavilion."
"Kuzhong Le? Finding joy in bitterness? Ha, now there is an interesting name for you!" Zhao Hongbo gave a noncommittal laugh, then straightened his face and declared righteously, "Since you know you are a steward senior brother, you should understand that your task right now is to keep order among the newcomers. What sense is there in abandoning your post to go and fetch someone? Better to let this Wei Zhao go!"
Zhao Hongbo thought it over and decided that even having agreed to Xu Lingchong's request, simply stripping Wei Zhao of the right to ask questions would be hard to justify and would damage his own image as Fourth Elder of Azure Cloud Pavilion. So he added, "Rest assured, I will preserve your right to ask questions. Even if you come back late, I can make an exception and answer three questions for you alone."
Fair and magnanimous as these words sounded—much like the man's own name—one had to understand what the open instruction day meant to a newcomer. It was not merely about having one's own three questions answered; the key was that one could also hear the elders answer the questions of others. Only through comparison does one gain insight, and for a newcomer this was a profoundly important lesson—one that might even be worth ten years of solitary bitter cultivation.
And once Wei Zhao agreed, it would mean that although he could still ask his questions, he would no longer be able to hear the questions and answers of the other newcomers. Such a loss was, in a sense, even greater than the fifteen spirit jades Meng Jueming had lost earlier.
Poor Bastard Senior Brother wanted to keep pressing the point, but Wei Zhao reached out and held him back. For Wei Zhao, there was no longer any need; so long as the right to ask three questions was preserved, nothing else mattered.
"Thank you for your understanding, Fourth Elder. This disciple will set out at once." Wei Zhao cupped his hands toward Zhao Hongbo, turned, and walked out.