Chapter 3887 — An Unexpected Message
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
What was more, there was an old saying: spend a thousand gold on a horse's bones. So long as Wei Zhao harbored even a little ambition, he could not afford to treat Zha Wu—this pioneer and exemplar—too shabbily. In fact, he could not be shabby at all; he would have to treat him generously. Only thus could he attract more people to defect to his banner.
The trouble was that once this business came to light, Meng Jueming's side would never let him off. A creature like Zha Wu surely lacked that kind of nerve. Most likely he meant only to play the mole and pass along intelligence—with a little care, he could reap the benefits without taking much risk.
What surprised Wei Zhao, though, was this: could a marginal figure like Zha Wu really get his hands on anything of value?
Zha Wu glanced carefully left and right, and only when he saw no one about did he lean close to Wei Zhao and whisper, "Leader Wei Zhao, last night I saw Meng Jueming sneak stealthily into the little wooden hut. He did not slip away until the sky was nearly light this morning. I doubt I need to spell out what that means."
"Is this true?" Wei Zhao's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Absolutely true. I had my eye on that little hut the whole night. If there's a single word of a lie in this, may the heavens strike me down with thunder!" Zha Wu hastily swore.
At that, Wei Zhao gave him an odd look. The creature clearly had too much idle time—instead of cultivating properly, what was he doing watching someone else's little hut? His motives were plain at a glance. Most likely he had meant to take advantage of Murong Zhen, but lacked the nerve and the strength alike, and could only peep night after night to satisfy his sordid urges.
That this creature should rank dead last in strength among all the newcomers was no injustice at all—he had brought it entirely on himself.
Under Wei Zhao's gaze, Zha Wu's old face flushed red, and he shrank his neck timidly. Then he heard Wei Zhao say, "Anything else besides this? If not, I won't see you out."
"Uh—very well, Leader Wei Zhao. Then this humble one shall take his leave." Zha Wu could only turn and depart in disappointment, having fully expected some token of gratitude for volunteering this intelligence. In the end he had gained nothing—a wasted trip.
Watching Zha Wu's receding back, Wei Zhao shook his head with a smile. To think a scrap of intelligence like that would win him recognition—Zha Wu truly overestimated himself. Petty cleverness, just as expected, and nothing that could ever stand in the light.
Still, the intelligence Zha Wu had brought was, to Wei Zhao, quite valuable indeed.
Wanton woman though Murong Zhen undeniably was, since coming here she had never once kept anyone overnight. Even the so-called tea gatherings at the wooden hut were merely a feast for the eyes, with no substantive favors on offer.
Yet Meng Jueming had been able to spend a whole night in the little wooden hut. Given Murong Zhen's wanton nature, what might happen when a lone man and a lone woman shared a room needed no elaboration.
And the backdrop to this was yesterday's closing round of the newcomer challenge tournament: Murong Zhen slapped off the stage by Wei Zhao, and Meng Zhou beaten half to death by Qiao Hongcai.
Put the pieces together, and the conclusion was obvious. That woman Murong Zhen was preparing to throw in her lot with Meng Jueming so the two could huddle together for warmth.
Had the three-way division of power turned into an alliance with Wu against Wei? Wei Zhao had expected as much, though he had not anticipated the two would react so swiftly, getting together last night of all times.
So eager to fall into each other's arms and tumble into bed—truly a match of lightning and dry tinder, a fine pair of scoundrels! RS