Chapter 5070 — Somewhat Tricky
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"There's no need to rush your decision. We won't be returning to the Tai Gu Alliance for a while in any case, so you may as well wait until my next visit to give me your answer. I trust Miss Song is a sensible woman and won't disappoint me." Xue Jianming's anger vanished as suddenly as it had come, replaced by a faint, deliberate smile.
He knew better than to press too hard—too much was as bad as too little. Her refusal to his face, he reasoned, was most likely because the proposal had come too abruptly and she had not had time to prepare herself, or perhaps because she still harbored doubts about what he had said earlier. Once she had looked into these matters thoroughly, she would naturally know which choice to make.
"..." Qiu Lingshan could only remain silent. But since he had put it that way, she could hardly keep up a hard line and throw it back at him on the spot. For matters like this, delay was the best she could manage; at worst, she could refuse outright when the time came. The pressing task now was to find someone to discuss countermeasures with, so that they would not be caught flat-footed should conflict break out with these Tai Gu Alliance people.
"Then I shall take my leave. I hope Miss Song will give this matter careful consideration. Oh, and yes—don't forget the business of the primordial-spirit cultivator." With that, Xue Jianming rose and departed, Fei Yangnian at his side.
He seemed unexpectedly reasonable, but Xue Jianming was in fact retreating in order to advance. Truth be told, he did not believe the Mystery Bureau could track down that primordial-spirit cultivator. Once a few days had passed and he returned, he would have every justification to seize on the matter and make an issue of it.
By then he need only raise some petty obstacle, and Qiu Lingshan would have no choice but to comply obediently. At the same time, he could pick out a few mortal-world cultivators of decent aptitude and take them along as well. These people, he expected, would not dare cross the Tai Gu Alliance—indeed, they might well be overjoyed, for those who refused his invitation to his face, like Qiu Lingshan, were only a rare handful of oddities.
Only after Xue Jianming and his companion had left the Mystery Bureau did Qiu Lingshan finally breathe a sigh of relief. The others had lost all heart for their work; seeing this, they crowded around at once to ask what had happened.
"Get on with your work. Once I've reported to Director Feng, you'll learn what you need to know." Qiu Lingshan waved them off and immediately telephoned Feng Tianlong, recounting the whole scene in detail. Feng Tianlong was away on business and could not possibly return for some time, so a phone call was their only means of communication.
"Mm, I heard about the primordial-spirit cultivator business just now. But the fact that they actually want to recruit disciples from the mortal world—that is a little unexpected." Feng Tianlong mused after hearing her out.
"What are we to do?" Qiu Lingshan asked.
"Here's what we'll do. First, get the word out and have everyone concentrate on tracking down the primordial-spirit cultivator. They may well have invented the whole thing as a pretext, but we still have to investigate it properly. We can't leave them any opening to seize on and make trouble." Feng Tianlong instructed.
"Understood!" Qiu Lingshan answered gravely.
"As for the second matter, we certainly cannot give them the records on mortal-world cultivators. If their intentions are ill, the consequences would be unthinkable. Still, we can't simply do nothing in response. Let's find the time to go through the roster and conduct an internal screening—draw up a list of those with the highest aptitude, and we'll act according to circumstances when the time comes." Feng Tianlong thought it over as he spoke.