While Zuo Wentang knew that Bai Zhenkong treasured him as the City Lord Manor’s steward, his boss would never offend that powerful group behind Grace Pavilion for the sake of protecting Zuo Wentang.
And if he were to tell Bai Zhenkong the truth, Zuo Wentang knew he would be at a disadvantage.
As a man of experience, Zuo Wentang wasn’t that foolish.
But while the incident today seemed like a crisis, there was an opportunity hidden in between. It was a brilliant idea he just came up with.
They would take advantage of the situation.
They would use the abduction of Tilly and Qu Wenjin to free Qu Wenji from Grace Pavilion’s control.
The moment ideas like this arose, it was near impossible to suppress them.
To Zuo Wentang, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He knew full well that if he missed this chance, there would never be another chance for him and his dream gal to get together.
The enemy in this incident was one with status. With Grace Pavilion’s caliber, they would definitely find out that the culprit was King Yan of Grassy Continent’s Westward Country. If it was King Yan who abducted Tilly and Qu Wenji, Grace Pavilion would most probably choose to smooth things over despite their outrage.
After all, Westward Country was a premium nation. Even if King Yan was the lowest of Westward Country’s thirteen kings, he was still the king of a large nation. The group behind Grace Pavilion had great influence within the Jade Dragon Kingdom, but if the enemy were outsiders, they would probably be spooked into staying silent.
This was an opportunity.
As long as everyone else believed that Tilly and Qu Wenji were kidnapped by King Yan, no one would try to pursue the matter.
When that time comes, he could arrange a residence for Qu Wenji. He could even resign from his position as steward of the City Lord Manor, remove his armor and go home to Qu Wenji and live out the rest of their peaceful lives.
That didn’t sound like a bad ending.
Where finances were concerned, Zuo Wentang was no pauper. The wealth he had accumulated over the years was sufficient for him and Qu Wenji to live freely and comfortably for the rest of their lives.
Initially, he had wanted to discuss this with Lin Jin and ask for his help. But now, Lin Jin was meditating with a solemn expression and the weirdest part was the indescribable aura that surrounded him.
Zuo Wentang glanced over and feeling apprehensive, he dared not go over and disturb Lin Jin.
Other than Zuo Wentang, the leopard monster, Lin Bao was just as anxious.
His revenge was considered taken. King Yan was dead and his Slave Seal was broken. He had planned to express his gratitude before running away.
Lin Bao was going to find a hiding place to wait for everything to settle down. He was slightly afraid of that mighty individual who first caught him back then.
But now, before he could speak, that great immortal master went into meditation. Just like Zuo Wentang, Lin Bao dared not disturb Lin Jin. He wanted to leave but he didn’t dare to either. The only thing he could do now was to stand there and wait for Lin Jin to finish doing what he was doing.
The atmosphere was tense and awkward as no one spoke.
Immediately after, they noticed something much more peculiar. Part of Lin Jin’s back was emitting freezing chills while the other half emitted scorching heat. The two powers were clashing and at the height of their clash, the energies stretched up to ten feet before gradually disappearing.
The next instant, Lin Jin opened his eyes and frowned as he got up.
Lin Jin didn’t know what happened just now.
He had been fully focused on helping Xiao Huo resist that smothering force. It felt like a legendary event, a ‘catastrophe’. When one borrowed powers exceeding one’s own capabilities, heaven and earth would try to deny them.
Fortunately, Lin Jin succeeded in helping Xiao Huo overcome it by borrowing the museum’s aura.
It hadn’t been long either. Through the Dharma body’s vision, the change in heaven and earth, the layered skies, and that magnificent hall had all disappeared without a trace. Even that harrowing cry of a beast was silenced.
Lin Jin knew that it was himself who invoked this catastrophe but things should be alright now.
It was definitely a close shave. In fact, Lin Jin regarded this incident as the greatest challenge he had encountered so far. It was even worse than fighting monsters and dealing with the old dragon.
The slightest mistake would mean that Xiao Huo and himself would be torn apart by that divine force, the layered skies, and that scary roaring beast.
It was a good thing they overcame it.
Xiao Huo had expended too much energy. Since his Dharma body was almost torn apart by the invisible divine energy, he had yet to recover and had gone into a deep sleep to recuperate.
Lin Jin was tired too but now wasn’t the time for him to rest.
Opening his eyes, he looked around and noticed Zuo Wentang’s group. From their reactions, he could tell that the terrifying change in scenery, the layered skies, and that roaring beast were seen and heard only by him and Xiao Huo. The others were oblivious to the entire ordeal.
This helped Lin Jin further confirm that it was his Divine Mountain Amulet that was the source of the incident.
‘Looks like I can’t recklessly use that edict again. It’ll be terrible if something like this, a backlash from the heavens, happened one more time. I might not be able to endure it the next time too,’ Lin Jin mused.
He still hadn’t recovered from the shock yet. After all, he had just witnessed something so terrifying, so powerful, and so mysterious.
Unbeknownst to him, Zuo Wentang and the others shared the same feeling.
When they saw Lin Jin stop meditating and got up, be it Zuo Wentang, Tilly, or the leopard monster, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
“Chief Lin!” Unable to restrain himself any longer, Zuo Wentang went over and saluted.
Feeling great reverence for Lin Jin, he dared not address him so casually anymore. To his surprise, Lin Jin smiled and teased, “What is it, Brother Zuo? Do you not see me as a brother anymore?”
Zuo Wentang was stunned. When he regained his senses, he felt incredibly grateful. Despite being on a level higher than he was, Lin Jin was still willing to befriend Zuo Wentang. This made him a figure truly worth being acquainted with.
“Brother Lin, that was my mistake.” Zuo Wentang composed himself. Without concealing anything, he then told Lin Jin about his thoughts and plans.
“I’m not afraid of you laughing at me so I’ll just let the cat out of the bag. Wenji and I got to know each other last year and it was love at first sight. We feel for each other but because of our identities, we couldn’t let anyone else know about our little secret. Now that a great opportunity is before us, I pray for nothing else but Brother Lin’s help to keep this a secret.”
As he spoke, Zuo Wentang bowed.
No one present should breathe a word about this, even the leopard monster. Otherwise, Zuo Wentang knew he would be in grave trouble that even Bai Zhenkong wouldn’t be able to help him.
Their best option was to eliminate the leopard but Zuo Wentang wasn’t capable enough and Lin Jin definitely wouldn’t do it.
So who could restrain this monster from running his mouth?
Only Lin Jin could.
Moreover, after all the prowess Lin Jin had displayed, even if Zuo Wentang had plans, he wouldn’t decide it alone. Even if he was dealing with his private matters, he had to discuss it with Lin Jin.
Lin Jin had already figured it out as the events unfolded. His suspicion was confirmed at the point when Zuo Wentang leaped out of the window when Qu Wenji was taken away forcefully.
The aura Lin Bao unleashed back then had been so horrifying that even Grace Pavilion’s guards dared not chase after him. After all, they might accidentally lose their lives in the process. There must be some reason that compelled someone like Zuo Wentang to ignore the potential danger.
And now that Lin Jin learned his secret.
He obviously wouldn’t oppose it.
