Chapter 3866 — Returning to the Welcome Pavilion
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
He knew perfectly well that Xu Lingchong was merely giving him a warning today; if he read the situation and yielded of his own accord, he might still come away with some small benefit. But if he refused to take the hint, what awaited him next would hardly be anything good.
Suppressing his displeasure, Nantian Guan recounted the matter to Xu Lingchong with an unchanged expression. His account differed in no way from what he had told Shangguan Tianxia before—only the tone was different.
"Pressure Hong Zhong of the Hong Clan Merchant Guild? Fine. This young master will relay that word to my grandfather without altering a single character. Whether the old man agrees to help, though, is not for you or me to decide. You understand that too, don't you, Senior Brother?" Xu Lingchong said with a sardonic curl of his lips.
"Naturally. This matter rests entirely with the Third Elder." Nantian Guan nodded with a blank face. For the sake of the position of managing senior disciple of the Chongtian Pavilion, this Young Master Xu had already begun using the opportunity to squeeze him.
He was now fully awake to the truth: no feast came without a price, and Young Master Xu had laid out a Hongmen Banquet for him today.
"Then, apart from this matter, is there anything else the Senior Brother needs help with? This young master would be delighted," Xu Lingchong said with feigned eagerness.
The more things Nantian Guan asked of him, the more leverage would fall into his hands, and the greater his chances of eventually forcing the man to bow his head.
Nantian Guan shot Yu Jiang a glance, and Yu Jiang nodded at once. "Young Master Xu, there is another matter we would like your help with—the same one as last time. We would like to know whether that Lin Er is hiding in the Welcome Pavilion."
"Lin Er? Didn't I take you over there to have a look last time?" Xu Lingchong frowned. Last time he had thought the Lin Er this fellow was after might be Wei Zhao, and had even imagined he could borrow another's blade to save himself some trouble—but it had turned out to be nothing of the sort, a complete waste of effort.
"Young Master Xu, the Qingyun Pavilion newcomer Wei Zhao you showed me last time is indeed not Lin Er, but that does not rule out the others. Especially the newcomers of the Chongtian Pavilion and the Xuanji Pavilion," Yu Jiang answered.
When he had gone to identify Wei Zhao last time, he had also taken the opportunity to observe the other newcomers of the Qingyun Pavilion, and none of them matched Lin Er. He had originally meant to carefully observe the newcomers of the Chongtian Pavilion and the Xuanji Pavilion as well, but before he could, Hu Yunfeng had led him away and then swiftly turned hostile and driven him out.
Looking back on it now, it was probably because the wasted trip had soured Young Master Xu's mood; Hu Yunfeng, ever quick to read a face, would naturally have refused to show him any courtesy in order to curry favor with the young master.
With the Qingyun Pavilion newcomers cleared of suspicion, the suspicions attached to the newcomers of the Chongtian Pavilion and the Xuanji Pavilion had accordingly grown much greater. Those old fellows seemed unlikely candidates, but exceptions could not be ruled out.
"You mean you want to go back to the Welcome Pavilion and investigate again?" A hint of impatience showed on Xu Lingchong's face. Since Wei Zhao was not the Lin Er this fellow spoke of, the whole affair held no benefit for him, and he had no patience left to waste on a minor figure like Yu Jiang.
"Exactly. This matter is of the utmost importance to us. I beg Young Master Xu to grant it!" Yu Jiang pleaded, his expression earnest and his voice loud.