Chapter 3780 — Truly a Tragedy
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
First, the fellow Zha Wu had already been gravely wounded by Wei Zhao, and for Qiao Hongcai to follow right on his heels and finish him off cost not a single shred of true qi; moreover, he was guaranteed four points, and he got to pinch this clown and vent a good breath of pent-up anger.
But more critically, secondly, he would replace Zha Wu as master of Mountain-Low No. 12 cave dwelling—that was the truly brilliant, eye-catching finishing touch that made one want to slap the table in admiration!
Do not forget: Meng Zhou had just publicly blustered and named Qiao Hongcai as his target for the next round.
Originally, Qiao Hongcai had been at Mountain-Low No. 13 cave dwelling, standing squarely in Meng Zhou's path, so Meng Zhou's bluster had been perfectly natural. But now, after this maneuver, Zha Wu stood between him and Qiao Hongcai, and things had become a little awkward for Meng Zhou.
If he challenged Qiao Hongcai as agreed, then he would inevitably have to skip over Zha Wu in between—which amounted to naturally forfeiting the three points that Zha Wu carried.
Three points might not seem like much, but this was the crucial moment for him to catch up to and overtake Wei Zhao. If things went wrong, he might lose out over those three points, and then he would truly weep without tears.
But if he did not forfeit those three points, then he would have to break his word and wait another round before challenging Qiao Hongcai. However, in front of everyone present, he had already let his words out—if he failed to deliver, would that not be plainly making a laughingstock of himself?
If the opponent had been a domineering powerhouse like Wei Zhao, that would have been one thing, but the other party was merely Qiao the Trash, a mere underling of Wei Zhao's. Could Meng Zhou really be expected to admit cowardice before him?
Where would he put his face after that? What kind of leader of the Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomers would he be then?
Watching Wei Zhao and Qiao Hongcai and the others chatting and laughing with such ease, even a fellow with as poor a brain as Meng Zhou quickly sensed the danger in it, and he ground his teeth: "Damn it, how come I never noticed before that this Qiao the Trash is so sneaky—even a dirty trick like this he can pull off. What a bastard! Ninth Cousin, you've got to help me come up with a plan!"
Hearing this, Meng Jueming turned around, nodded and bowed, and first asked Xu Lingchong for instructions: "Young Master Xu, what do you think?"
"A trifling matter like this—handle it among yourselves," Xu Lingchong said, utterly unconcerned. He cared only about how to deal with Wei Zhao; anything else was beneath the notice of a young master like him.
"Very well," Meng Jueming nodded.
He knew this well enough, but diligently reporting on matters great and small was the unerring rule for serving one's master. Some minor matters, even if one knew perfectly well the master would not care, at least allowed one to express an attitude—this subtle, imperceptible influence was the truly masterful art of flattery.
Only then did Meng Jueming turn to look at Meng Zhou and sneer with the cunning of an old schemer: "This move of theirs is indeed sneaky, but it's no great matter. Respond to all changes by remaining unchanged. You need not pay him any mind—just stick to the original plan and crush your way up one cave dwelling at a time."
"B-but... but that way, won't I lose face in a huge way?" Meng Zhou's face flushed red with pent-up frustration.
He had set his heart on becoming the leader of the Azure Cloud Pavilion newcomers. He had just publicly blustered and challenged Qiao the Trash, and now in the blink of an eye he would be challenging a weakling instead—in the eyes of the other newcomers, how would that be any different from admitting cowardice outright? He could not bear such humiliation!