Chapter 4999 — A Resounding Slap
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 3
"Could it be that even with your connections, Deputy Island Lord Wu, you cannot find a formidable expert to counter Wei Zhao?" Zheng Dongjue could not help but find it strange. Looking at Wu Che with a meaningful gaze, he said, "But from what I know, even if the Island Lord's Pavilion does not trouble the Central Island Elders' Council, it should not be so incapable as to fail against a single Wei Zhao, no?"
The eyes of Zheng Dongyang and the others likewise carried a measure of doubt and scrutiny. Wei Zhao was indeed unstoppable now, but to say that even the Island Lord's Pavilion was at its wit's end was absolutely impossible. Even if the Central Island's official strength on the surface was not as outstanding as that of other Cloud Step Islands, it had not grown so weak as that.
"Of course the Island Lord's Pavilion can deal with Wei Zhao. But the trouble is, who knows what wind got into that acting island lord's head. He originally went there to stand up for me, yet after a few words at Tian Pill Pavilion, he made me return the pills. He also said he would investigate personally, and then today he handed me this." With a bitter face, Wu Che passed the island lord's document to Zheng Dongyang and the others.
They glanced at it and immediately exchanged looks. Zheng Dongyang could not help but frown. "Did you not say this acting island lord comes from a top-tier great house? He should have no connection with that insignificant Tian Pill Pavilion—so why would he be so biased?"
"I do not know the specifics either. But it seems he went to see one of Wei Zhao's elder brothers, and after he returned he said nothing at all—and then this document came down." Wu Che smiled bitterly in helplessness.
"Went to see Wei Zhao's elder brother? Is that not plainly siding with them?" The brows of Zheng Dongyang and the others knit even deeper.
"That is just how it is. So I truly have no way out and can only come to consult with you all, to see whether a proper solution can be devised. I can stall this island lord's document for half a day at most. If no countermeasure can be found, then as Executive Deputy Island Lord I will have no choice but to grit my teeth and carry out the order—and then nothing can be salvaged." Wu Che sighed.
To preserve its dignity, the Island Lord's Pavilion most abhorred issuing orders that were reversed the next day. Once this document was published, that would already mark one reversal; thereafter it would stand as final. The matter would be settled beyond recall.
At these words, Zheng Dongyang and the others all fell silent, each staring at the others. Though all were men of deep scheming, for the moment they truly could devise no way to break the deadlock. In the end, they did not possess ironclad proof that Tian Pill Pavilion had smuggled pills—the absence of a divine-sense mark could only serve as inference, and once scrutinized closely it would not hold up.
After a long silence, it was Zheng Dongyang who finally spoke. "Tian Pill Pavilion is a great scourge to Famous Pills Sect. Taking a step back is a small matter, but if it seizes the chance to rise, then we strike the snake and fail to kill it, only to suffer from it in turn—the consequences would be unthinkable. This time we must pin it down dead with one blow!"
"But this is Island Lord Oda's will. Even I dare not defy it..." Wu Che shook his head helplessly.
"Since the root of the trouble lies with this Island Lord Oda, then I have no choice but to go to the Island Lord's Pavilion myself and have a word with him face to face." Zheng Dongyang's voice was grave.
Though the other man's strength and background left him far behind, he was, after all, a seventh-grade alchemist from the Eastern Continent, and wherever he went he commanded no small status. Even walking into the Central Island's Island Lord's Pavilion, by all rights he should be received as an honored guest.