Chapter 5094 — Stalling
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Xue Jianming nearly went mad with rage at this. Maintaining the Primordial Passage—what kind of goddamned excuse was that? Since when did Xin Yi'an, a mere early Golden Core cultivator, know the first thing about servicing and maintaining a Primordial Passage teleportation array?!
"Senior Uncle Xin, this is an internal matter of our Snow Sword Sect. Surely you are not going to block even this? This is no small affair—are you not afraid that my Snow Sword Sect will lodge a complaint against you, and that you will never again find firm footing in the Primordial Alliance?" Xue Jianming said in an ugly tone, laced with menace.
"What internal matter? Maintaining the Primordial Passage is my duty, and now that has somehow become an internal affair of your Snow Sword Sect? What a grand tone you take!" Xin Yi'an said scornfully.
"Hmph, you know that is not what I meant. Not maintaining it earlier, not maintaining it later, but suddenly it must be maintained just when I need to use it—aren't the traces of settling a private score under public pretext a little too obvious?" Xue Jianming sneered. Xin Yi'an might be the senior uncle in charge, but the two had all but torn off all pretense, and their words were naturally thick with the smell of gunpowder.
"You overthink it. As the senior uncle in charge of this mortal-world trial, maintaining the Primordial Passage is the most important of all my duties. Everything was arranged long in advance. My capacity is not so narrow as to take revenge on a junior like you," Xin Yi'an said coolly.
"..." Xue Jianming was choked speechless for a good while, his face turning green and white by turns. In a battle of words with an old thing like Xin Yi'an, he was far outmatched in both seniority and cunning. After a long pause he could only say, "Fine. Even if it is maintenance, there must be a limit. When can I use it?"
"In two days," Xin Yi'an said offhandedly. Two days' delay was already his limit; to stall any further would truly be beyond excuse.
"Fine, I will wait two days for you!" Xue Jianming turned and left with his people, grinding his teeth. After two steps he seemed to think of something and deliberately raised his voice: "All Snow Sword Sect disciples, hear me! These next two days, keep Leng Leng under close watch. There must be at least four on guard at every moment. I want to see just who is so bold as to dare meddle in the internal affairs of my Snow Sword Sect!"
Xin Yi'an grimaced speechlessly. The fellow actually thought he was stalling in order to find a chance to set Leng Leng free—did he really look that brainless?
The two days passed in a flash, and all was calm at the Shennongjia mountain gate. Xue Jianming came again with his people to the Primordial Passage, and the first words out of his mouth upon seeing Xin Yi'an were: "What excuse do you have for stalling now?"
"Stalling? When have I ever stalled you? You deceive yourself." Xin Yi'an gave him a flat look, though inwardly he was growing anxious—if Wei Zhao did not arrive soon, he would have no grounds to keep stalling.
Xin Yi'an was anxious, but Leng Leng was more anxious still. She had no idea that Fei Yangnian had already gone to tip off Wei Zhao; at this moment a fierce final struggle was raging in her mind—should she keep enduring and be escorted back to the Snow Sword Sect, or throw caution to the winds and resist?
Thinking it over carefully, neither choice's consequences were bearable for her: either she would part from Wei Zhao forever, or she would confirm the charge of betraying her sect. It had to be one or the other!
Seeing Xin Yi'an tactfully step aside, Xue Jianming sneered in triumph and fixed his eyes on Leng Leng: "Let's go. What are you waiting for? Returning to the Snow Sword Sect to be punished is your only fate—do you think anyone can change this foregone conclusion?"