Chapter 4052 — Sabotage
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
It was only a pity that he was stationed at the Mystic Mechanism Pavilion, where he had no dealings whatsoever with Wei Zhao of the Azure Cloud Pavilion and could hardly pose any threat to him; this feeling of having strength but nowhere to spend it was enough to drive a man mad.
As for Kang Jingming and his lot, because the Mystic Mechanism Pavilion had stood them up during the new deacon election, they could not even be bothered to give him the time of day; had he not lost backing figures like Xu Lingchong, they likely would not have remembered that a person by his name even existed.
Faced with Kang Jingming's visit, Dongfang Badao showed tremendous enthusiasm—especially once he heard they intended to join forces against Wei Zhao. He grew all the more eager and zealous, agreeing on the spot without a second thought.
At first, Dongfang Badao had rather fancied himself the elder statesman, assuming that once he joined he would at least be the one giving the orders. But once he witnessed the strength of Meng Zhou and Murong Zhen—Meng Zhou in particular, a fine hand at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment—he wilted at once.
Not daring to throw his weight around any longer, Dongfang Badao offered the company his counsel: "Those old codgers at the Mystic Mechanism Pavilion keep to their own circle, and they have rather wide connections. A few days ago I caught wind of some news concerning Wei Zhao—I wonder if any of you have heard it?"
"What news?" the others asked in unison.
"That thing Wei Zhao, it seems he's recently been preparing to forge a treasure," Dongfang Badao said, stroking his chin. "I heard the old codgers at the Mystic Mechanism Pavilion mention that at the auction on the Far North Island, Wei Zhao went along with Hong Zhong of the Hong Merchant Guild—seemingly to bid on forging materials. Where he gets so many spirit jades, and the confidence to throw them around, I've no idea."
"Forging?" Kang Jingming's eyes lit up at once, and he said excitedly, "Isn't that perfect? We'll go and sabotage him—even if we can't do him in, we'll make him sick to his stomach!"
Hearing this, Meng Zhou and Murong Zhen both nodded in turn. Petty as the scheme sounded, they had no better options at present; besides, if Wei Zhao were left unchecked to forge some divine weapon and thereby swell his strength, that would be no good thing for them either.
"So that's it—no wonder Wei Zhao has been so elusive of late!" Murong Zhen said in sudden understanding, then frowned with some vexation. "But if we're to sabotage him, we must first find where he forges. With only the few of us, it's a needle in a haystack—how are we to find it?"
Meng Zhou thought for a moment, then said suddenly, "Kang Jingming, when you carried out that kidnapping, didn't you use a flying spirit beast?"
"That's right. I borrowed it from an acquaintance at the Pill Hall. The Welcome Pavilion has a few flying spirit beasts of its own, but only a handful in all, and they draw attention easily," Kang Jingming nodded.
"Good. Then find a way to borrow another flying spirit beast. The next time Wei Zhao shows himself, we'll track him from the sky—however sharp his senses, he won't notice. Then we need only follow the trail to root out his hiding place!" Meng Zhou said with full confidence.
"Right! That's a brilliant plan!" Kang Jingming and the others nodded repeatedly. Tracking Wei Zhao on the ground with their own strength would be far too difficult, but from the sky it was another matter—not only would they be unlikely to lose him, but under ordinary circumstances they would be hard to spot.
Having settled on the scheme, they set to work at once. Kang Jingming was sent to borrow a flying spirit beast, while Murong Zhen stayed behind to keep watch at the wooden hut—the moment Wei Zhao appeared, she was to notify Meng Zhou and the others to move out.