Chapter 4148 — Joining the Center
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"This junior is Nan Tianjiguang. Greetings, Senior." Nan Tianjiguang had meant to carry himself with the air of an early Profound Ascension expert, but the moment he laid eyes on this mysterious figure, he no longer dared put on any airs. He greeted him with the utmost respect.
Though he could not see the man's face, he reasoned that anyone of such formidable strength must surely be far older than himself, so addressing him as Senior cost him nothing.
"I have had my eye on you for a long time. No need for such formalities. Sit," the mysterious man replied indifferently.
Nan Tianjiguang hurriedly nodded his thanks and took the seat opposite the mysterious man, with Si Haitao sitting beside him. As for Patriarch Xuanchen, who had come with them, he had no qualification even to meet the mysterious man and had been left outside the door.
"In this contest for the position of deputy island lord of Central Island, Di Xingdao thrust in his hand and cut it short halfway. Even so, I still think highly of your strength, so I intend to invite you personally to join our Center. Are you willing?" The mysterious man came straight to the point.
"I am deeply grateful for Senior's regard. I owe my present standing entirely to the unflagging support of the Central Chamber of Commerce over the years. Since Senior has spoken, I ought not refuse. But I am now vice principal of the Cultivator Academy. If I were to join the Central Chamber of Commerce, I fear the Academy would be hard to answer to..." Nan Tianjiguang said with feigned bitterness.
Before coming here, he had already anticipated this question and had long since prepared his wording. Much as he needed the Central Chamber of Commerce's backing, he was hardly willing to simply join it outright.
These were two entirely different things. At present they were merely partners, equals dealing with one another. But if he agreed to join the Central Chamber of Commerce, he would become the man's subordinate and would inevitably be bound by all manner of constraints. Nan Tianjiguang saw this matter of interests quite clearly.
"That is no obstacle. If you join our Center, you will be given a secret identity, not made public, so the Cultivator Academy will naturally have no trouble on that account. As for your future standing and treatment here, you need not worry either—it will certainly satisfy you," the mysterious man said blandly.
At that, Nan Tianjiguang was at a loss for how to decline. He saw Si Haitao beside him repeatedly shooting him looks urging him to agree, and he knew that to keep making excuses would truly be an affront to propriety. If he actually provoked this mysterious man's anger, then in days to come the Central Chamber of Commerce would no longer be an ally but a bitter enemy—and that would be a great deal of trouble.
"Then... this junior shall obey rather than presume to decline." Nan Tianjiguang nodded and agreed at once, thinking that in any case it was only a private joining; the outside world would not know of his ties to the Central Chamber of Commerce, and if trouble arose later, he could still renege and deny it.
"Very good. Then take this pill. From now on you are one of us." As he spoke, the mysterious man placed a pill before Nan Tianjiguang.
So he had to take a pill as well! Nan Tianjiguang's eyelid gave an involuntary twitch. This was not at all what he had anticipated. Even one who has never eaten pork has seen a pig run—there was no need to look twice to know that the pill before him must be poison, and once he swallowed it, he could forget forever about escaping this mysterious man's control.
For a moment Nan Tianjiguang could not help but want to fling back his sleeves and storm out. After all, his relationship with the Central Chamber of Commerce was one of mutual exploitation; never had he imagined that from then on he would become a puppet in its grip.