Chapter 3762 — The Bully
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
This calculating Yu Jiang had clearly had his eye on the Star-Ink Stone in Lin Er's hands. And he was a mid-stage Foundation Establishment expert, while Lin Er was only at the peak of the early stage—a full grade apart. Add to that his feigned shallowness to lull his opponent, and in theory Lin Er should have had almost no chance of escaping his pursuit.
Even though Hong Zhong had deliberately let drop a hint at the time, in his view that Lin Er had, for some unknown reason, not taken it much to heart, and the way things were going he was all but bound to come off the worse. But he was only a merchant; he could not speak too plainly, or he would be courting offense of his own making—a cardinal sin in the world of business.
Yet from Nan Tianyong's few short words, it appeared that Yu Jiang had not only failed to take advantage of Lin Er, but had been beaten half dead himself and suffered a heavy loss!
So it seemed that though he had already rated this mysterious Lin Er highly, he had in fact still underestimated him—a man who could casually produce two top-grade Foundation-Breaking Pills as if it were nothing, and who could even kill a powerful, cunning enemy of a higher stage in return.
This unremarkable-looking Lin Er was the one truly harboring his depths—a formidable man indeed!
Having reasoned this out, Hong Zhong could not help feeling somewhat relieved. Clearly that spirit-jade card had not been given to the wrong man. Lin Er was unquestionably a top-tier prospect worth investing in and courting!
After all, every spirit-jade card issued by the Merchant Alliance was, across all five islands of the Heaven Tier, a symbol of status and standing. Even someone of Hong Zhong's rank as a Hong Clan Trading Company manager received few of them; their preciousness was beyond doubt.
To Hong Zhong, every spirit-jade card handed out was a major investment. Some vanished like a stone dropped into the sea, never to be heard from again—a loss. Others became key clients who brought enormous profit ever after—a gain.
Applied to this so-called Lin Er, though the man could casually produce two top-grade Foundation-Breaking Pills, which in Hong Zhong's eyes made him a key client without question, if he were to walk out the door and be casually killed by Yu Jiang, then for Hong Zhong it would still be a thoroughly failed investment.
A dead man, after all, no matter how formidable in life, could bring him no profit after death.
But now it appeared this Lin Er was no creature of the common pond. To have seized the moment and placed his bet on him—looking back, it was a stroke of rare good judgment.
Seeing Hong Zhong silent, Nan Tianyong said angrily, "You're the manager here. Tell me, how does this stand? What—afraid to speak? Or struck dumb?"
As he spoke, Nan Tianyong looked about to fly into a rage. Only then did Hong Zhong answer in a low voice, "My apologies. My shop is here simply to do business. The one who had a grievance with your disciple was not my shop, but someone else entirely. So I do not believe I owe you any explanation."
"What? Nothing to do with you?" Nan Tianyong laughed in a fury. "Nothing to do with you? Then who is it to do with? My disciple came to grief because he came here to buy something—and you say it's nothing to do with you?"
With that, Nan Tianyong shot to his feet and slammed the table, sneering, "I've seen plenty of crooked merchants like you. Hah—you dare play the big shop bullying the customer with me? Blind, the lot of you! That trick may work on ordinary folk, but against me—heh heh—did you never bother to ask around about who I am? An inspector of the Soaring Heaven Pavilion—do you think I'd fear the likes of you?"