Chapter 3994 — Linghua Strikes
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
Bang! Before Linghua the steward, Kang Jingming had no power to resist at all; the slap sent him flying a dozen or more zhang backward, and only then did he hit the ground in a sorry heap, unable to climb to his feet for a long while.
Faced with this sudden spectacle, everyone in the hall was struck dumb. Yet not one of them—including the many great personages present—said a word against it. Far from rebuking Linghua for his brazen strike, their gazes toward Kang Jingming instead carried a measure of irritation, as though they themselves had been made fools of in public.
This Linghua was no mere chief steward of the Dan Hall's spiritual herb gardens. Not only did he have powerful backing, he was also acknowledged throughout the Dan Hall as a prodigy of pill refinement; should he but set his mind to it, he was a strong contender for the next vice-hall master of the Dan Hall.
The reason he sat in the post of chief steward of the herb gardens—a position that to outsiders seemed less than illustrious—was first, that he himself held a particular passion for cultivating spiritual herbs, and second, that it could be counted as a rotation through different duties. After all, only once one had served in every important post could one gain a deep understanding and grasp of the Dan Hall as a whole, and thereby have all the more qualification and confidence to compete for the hall master's seat in days to come.
Had it been anyone else who so rashly struck out and questioned Kang Jingming, the great personages seated here might not necessarily have believed him. But with Linghua stepping forward, the weight of his words was naturally far beyond that of Kang Jingming, a mere novice pill refiner—who should be listened to and who believed was plain at a glance.
After sending Kang Jingming flying with that slap, Steward Linghua drew a clean handkerchief from his robes and carefully picked up the two crushed remnants on the ground—no longer resembling pills at all—gathering every last scrap without missing the slightest bit.
Then Steward Linghua called across to Wei Zhao: "Junior Brother Wei Zhao, I happen to have two Foundation Establishment golden pills right here. Their quality is a notch below your two, perhaps, but they still rank among the finest one could hope to see. What say you to a trade?"
Wei Zhao's two top-grade Foundation Establishment golden pills had merely been crushed under Kang Jingming's foot—a little dirty, a little unsightly. If one did not mind, they could still be taken as normal. It was only that continuing to use them as a birthday gift for Shangguan Lan'er would be somewhat inappropriate.
Steward Linghua's proposal was, to Wei Zhao, timely help in the snow—no small favor.
Yet Wei Zhao only smiled and said, "I have already given those two pills to Miss Shangguan. She is their owner now. I'm afraid you've asked the wrong person, Steward Linghua."
Hearing this, Steward Linghua gave a charming smile. "Quite right. I've been so angered by that blind fool Kang Jingming that my wits have gone muddled. Little Junior Sister Lan'er, what do you say?"
Shangguan Lan'er pouted. This was a birthday gift Wei Zhao had given her with his own hands; naturally she did not want to trade it away so casually. Yet even if the effects were unaffected, to make her take pills that Kang Jingming had stepped on was truly a little disgusting—too much to ask of anyone.
"All right then, I'll trade with you, Senior Brother Linghua," Shangguan Lan'er said at last, nodding in agreement.
Just then, little Juanjuan Bear came trotting over to Steward Linghua as though presenting a treasure, a box clutched in its arms. It hoisted the box up with great effort, whimpering all the while.
"What's this about?" Puzzled, Steward Linghua opened the box and found inside none other than the top-grade Foundation Establishment golden pill that Kang Jingming had refined earlier.