Chapter 4604 — Contest for the Mission
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Yet when Li Zhengming and the others arrived together at the mission collection desk, they found the person sprawled in the chair was none other than Ma Dangfeng! The guild steward stood beside him, bowing and scraping. Everyone knew Ma Dangfeng had a boundless future—especially since he was already Second Senior Brother and steward of the Azure Cloud Pavilion's inner sect. A man destined for greatness like that was naturally to be courted with all one's might.
"Steward Zhou, you should know well enough why I'm here. Any team missions to the South Island—bring them out now. Those two idiots have been searching half the day and found nothing. Don't tell me you've hidden them away?" Ma Dangfeng said carelessly, legs crossed.
"Whatever are you saying, sir? Our bounty missions here are meant for everyone—how could we hide them on purpose? Besides, with Steward Ma gracing us with a visit, you could lend us ten thousand guts and we still wouldn't dare do such a thing!" The guild steward smiled ingratiatingly. "What Steward Ma may not know is that missions to the South Island are always scarce—you might not see one for ten days or half a month. It's quite normal not to find one on short notice."
"Cut the nonsense. Just tell me if there is one or not—I've no time to waste jabbering with you," Ma Dangfeng said with an impatient curl of his lip.
"There really doesn't seem to be any…" The guild steward scratched his head awkwardly. Just then a clerk sitting nearby leaned in and whispered something, and his eyes lit up. "There is—there is one! A rare spirit herb gathering mission on the South Island. It's been sitting empty all this time because the pay isn't high enough, and that merchant guild never canceled it either, so it got pushed into a corner and forgotten. Would Senior Brother Ma be interested?"
"That one, then." Ma Dangfeng nodded. Taking a mission was just a pretext for him anyway; the reward was secondary—he couldn't care less.
"My apologies, but we've already claimed that mission." Lu Bianren stepped in just then, mission plaque in hand, a faint smile on his face.
"What?" Ma Dangfeng was stunned for a moment. He took a careful look at the plaque in Lu Bianren's hand, and his face immediately turned grim. He had never imagined these spineless cowards would also come for the South Island mission—and beat him to it, no less!
"Steward, if you would, kindly register this for us." Lu Bianren paid Ma Dangfeng no mind whatsoever, the faintest hint of a curve still playing at the corner of his mouth. He might be weaker than his opponent, but getting one step ahead of him in this matter was a small breath of vengeance all the same.
"This…" The guild steward looked at Ma Dangfeng in consternation. By the rules of the North Island Cultivators' Guild, it was first come, first served—since Lu Bianren and his people had gotten the plaque first, this South Island team mission unquestionably belonged to them. But wouldn't that mean openly offending Ma Dangfeng?
"What's this? Have the rules of the North Island Cultivators' Guild changed, that even claiming a mission is a problem now?" Lu Bianren frowned slightly. If the man showed favoritism to Ma Dangfeng here, then this would have to be blown wide open—right was on their side, after all. (To be continued)