Chapter 4267 — Did You See That?
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
As for Huang Xiaotao at his side, she showed no inclination to speak at all; everything was left to Wei Zhao to decide. She took no part in the decision-making, only following Wei Zhao's instructions in all things.
Hearing the reluctant tone in Wei Zhao's voice, the gray-robed man did not fly into a rage—on the contrary, he was secretly delighted. From the sound of it, there was an opening here!
It was common knowledge that the higher one's cultivation, the more one treasured one's own life, and the more unwilling one was to risk it lightly in a fight to the death. This was simply human nature. Had he been facing a fellow Nascent Soul expert of his own level, the gray-robed man might well have been willing to stake everything on a fight to mutual destruction; but facing two early Golden Core experts was like a billionaire wanting to perish together with a roadside beggar—by any reckoning, that was a losing bargain.
That was why the gray-robed man was not afraid of Wei Zhao haggling with him; what he feared was a man with a one-track mind who would risk everything in a reckless fight to the death, ending in mutual ruin—which would be no good thing at all for him.
"Give me half, and from then on you go your broad highway and I'll go my single-plank bridge; I won't touch a hair on your heads. But if you refuse, then a hard fight it is. Even if you have a few tricks up your sleeves, in the end you're still only at the Golden Core stage. Just now I was careless and held back, which is how you got away unscathed. If we truly came to blows, how many chances do you think you'd have?" the gray-robed man said, laying out the pros and cons.
"This..." Wei Zhao fell into hesitation at once. But before the gray-robed man could rejoice, he promptly hardened again: "As for how many chances we'd have—how is anyone to know without trying?"
Damn it, the boy really was a blockhead! Hearing this, the gray-robed man's fury surged in an instant, and he itched to strike at once and wipe out this ungrateful brat.
"A word of well-meant advice: you'd best think this through before you speak. I'm treating you two as persons of consequence—that's why I'm giving you the chance to talk it over," the gray-robed man said. He truly did not want to gamble his life against Wei Zhao and his companion like this, so he could only keep curbing his temper and pressing on earnestly: "My patience is very limited. If you do nothing but play the fool and bluster, and it really comes to a fight, whether the two of you walk out of here alive will be very much in doubt. Surely you can see such an obvious matter of profit and loss?"
"But the two of us went through untold hardships to get this infant ginseng, and the moment you show up you want half of it—what kind of joke is that!" Wei Zhao said with a feigned stubborn curl of his lip, though there was plainly still a trace of wavering he could not quite hide in his expression.
Anyone else in this situation would have been unwilling to yield, and the gray-robed man had expected as much. Yet he was secretly pleased: so long as the boy was not so pigheaded as to be a fool, there was not much of a problem.
"So you're saying I'm asking for too much?" the gray-robed man said, his expression unchanging, his brows arched.
"Of course. And what's all this about dividing equally among those who see it—there are three people here, and you're the one who came last. By what right should you get half, while the two of us have to share what's left between us?" Wei Zhao said, dragging it out with feigned hesitation.
"Hmph, so now the fault is mine?" The gray-robed man's face turned ugly. Yet after what seemed a moment of inner struggle, he suddenly clenched his jaw and said: "Fine. Since it's come to this, I'll take a step back of my own accord. Not half—give me one third!"