Chapter 3845 — The Tale of the Spirit Jade Card
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
With so many eyes fixed on him, unless there was something wrong with his head, this Lin Er could not possibly continue to flaunt himself about the marketplace. And if he did not willingly show his face, digging him out would be no easy matter at all!
Seeing this, Yu Jiang ventured cautiously, "Martial Uncle, this disciple does not know the particulars of this Lin Er's background, but from what this disciple has learned, he seems to be acquainted with Hong Zhong, the manager of the Hong Merchant Guild in the marketplace's inner street. We ought to be able to pry something useful out of that man's mouth."
"Oh? Are you certain, Martial Nephew? This lone cultivator actually knows the manager of the Hong Merchant Guild? Then he is indeed no simple figure!" Nan Tianguan was slightly taken aback.
Unlike that hotheaded fool Nan Tianyong, who had been in seclusion these past years, Nan Tianguan knew perfectly well just what weight the words "Hong Merchant Guild" carried. That was a true behemoth; even a mere branch manager on North Island was no ordinary personage.
That a petty lone cultivator like Lin Er could actually be acquainted with the manager of the Hong Merchant Guild—in the eyes of a connoisseur like Nan Tianguan, this news was even more astonishing than the fact that the man had slain Nan Tianyong with a single great killing move!
Yu Jiang nodded in confirmation. "This disciple does not know how deep the friendship between the two runs, but by this disciple's reckoning, Hong Zhong seems to have recently given this Lin Er a Spirit Jade Card."
This conjecture was the conclusion Yu Jiang had reached after turning the matter over and over in his mind. Though it was somewhat grasping at shadows, the man had a nimble brain, and he had indeed guessed the truth of the matter.
And the basis for this deduction lay in the timing of his three successive encounters with Wei Zhao on the inner street.
On days when the inner street was not open to the public, only two kinds of people could come and go there freely: first, disciples of the Tri-Pagoda Pavilion whose status and strength met with the marketplace's approval; and second, honored guests bearing Spirit Jade Cards.
Though Yu Jiang had buried himself in the Library Pavilion for these three years, he had always kept a thorough mental register of the notable personages of the Tri-Pagoda Pavilion. At least, by his recollection, there had never been a fresh face named Lin Er among them—otherwise, with his photographic memory, he would surely have recognized the man on the very first occasion.
Since it was not the first possibility, only the second remained. This Lin Er had originally had no Spirit Jade Card—but for some reason, after buying the Star Ink Stone from the Hong Merchant Guild last time, he had suddenly come to possess one.
And so, quite naturally, Yu Jiang had arrived at this conjecture: Hong Zhong had given Lin Er a Spirit Jade Card!
Strange as the notion seemed, he knew that Lin Er possessed such things as top-grade Foundation Establishment Barrier-Breaking Pills, and merchants have always delighted in hoarding rare goods to drive up their price. That Hong Zhong, thinking highly of Lin Er, should give him a Spirit Jade Card was hardly difficult to understand.
"A Spirit Jade Card? How interesting. Even a figure of the Third Brother's caliber was not qualified to obtain one. If this seat recalls correctly, some days ago the fellow even went out of his way to borrow the leader's Spirit Jade Card?" Nan Tianguan asked with a cold laugh.
"Indeed. A Spirit Jade Card permits one to bring an additional person into the inner street. Without this card, we would not have run into Lin Er this time either," Yu Jiang said with a nod.