"This is the Supreme Elder's bidding?" Wei Zhao asked, eyeing him sidelong.

"It is," Lu Ping'an said with a nod. Had he claimed the idea as his own, he was sure the man would not have deigned to waste another word on him—it would have been utterly pointless.

What came next caught him completely off guard: "If it's his bidding, why doesn't he come and discuss it himself?"

"..." Lu Ping'an was struck dumb for a moment. This fellow simply refused to play by any rules at all. At a juncture like this, any normal person would have gathered plainly enough that he was merely a mouthpiece. Was it not better to leave each side a little room to turn? Must they truly go king against king from the very first move?

And if it did come to king against king straightaway, you, Wei Zhao, would not necessarily come out the better for it. What if the Supreme Elder tore into you on the spot—what would you do then?

"Junior grand-uncle, in this disciple's humble view, there is no hurry for you to meet the Supreme Elder. Until the two of you have reached some tacit understanding, it would be more fitting for this disciple to run back and forth on your behalf, would it not?" Lu Ping'an steadied himself and spoke gravely.

If the two sides meant to sit down and talk, they had at least to confirm first that both were willing to negotiate. Otherwise they would meet, exchange a few words, and immediately overturn the table—what in hell would be the point of talking then?

Wei Zhao slanted a glance at him and smiled a smile that was not quite a smile. "You mean that I should first talk with you, that you'll relay the terms to the Supreme Elder, that he'll then decide whether to accept them, and that you'll come running back to set terms with me again—is that what you mean?"

Lu Ping'an opened his mouth to amend the wording, but in the end nodded. That was indeed what he meant; correcting a few phrases would at most make it sound less ugly, and would change nothing in substance. Besides, he had already seen it clearly: with a man like Wei Zhao, dressing things up in fine words was useless. The man simply did not play by the usual script.

"Have you all misunderstood something?" Wei Zhao suddenly laughed.

"What?" Lu Ping'an was taken aback.

"The situation now is not that I have need of you, but that you have need of me—is it not?" Wei Zhao said, grinning at his ease.

"That..." Lu Ping'an frowned and said in a low voice, "True enough. Vice Sect Master Chen's condition is deeply worrying. The Supreme Elder hopes that you, junior grand-uncle, will be magnanimous and overlook the fault of a lesser man—let Vice Sect Master Chen off. But then again, from where you stand, junior grand-uncle, it would likely be better for you too if nothing truly happened to Vice Sect Master Chen—would it not?"

"Heh. From where I stand, it's simply a matter of cleaning house. You think too much," Wei Zhao said indifferently.

"..." Were it not for the task Chen Jiu had laid upon him, Lu Ping'an truly would not have wished to remain here wasting his breath. This fellow had not the slightest notion of negotiation or sincerity—he was utterly the sort of tough old hide that neither needle nor water could pierce. What devil of an agreement could possibly be talked out of him?

"Does junior grand-uncle truly intend to tear all ties with the whole of the Cangwu Sect of North Island?" Driven to it, Lu Ping'an could only lay his cards on the table. Such words had no place in a negotiation; once they were spoken, the collapse of the talks was generally near at hand.

"You guess." Wei Zhao's answer was so irresponsible it made one want to spit blood.

Lu Ping'an was on the verge of madness, yet could only grit his teeth and go on: "I guess junior grand-uncle will not—because it would bring no benefit to you, nor to these mortal-world disciples who came here with you. Even if you will not consider yourself, you ought to consider them. Ought you not?"

"Has the Supreme Elder already set his sights on them?" Wei Zhao instead gave a startled "oh," then smiled that not-quite-smile. "The Supreme Elder is, after all, a fine hand of the Nascent Soul stage—who would have thought his ways would be so... singular?"

"Singular" was putting it politely; in plain terms, it was despicably shameless.

"That..." Lu Ping'an could not help but choke. Even if it truly was Chen Jiu's intent, such a blame could not be laid at Chen Jiu's door. He hastened to mend matters: "Junior grand-uncle, do not misunderstand. The Supreme Elder means nothing of the sort, and neither do we. It is only that in all things one must consider every angle. Is that not so?"

"If that's not what he means, then what are you dragging it up for? You gave me a needless fright—I thought the Supreme Elder was about to move against them," Wei Zhao said irritably.

"..." Lu Ping'an dearly wanted to fling a "needless fright, my foot" right in his face. The meaning had been stated plainly enough—it was obviously exactly that—and to force himself to feign ignorance was a feat beyond compare. Could they still have a pleasant negotiation or not?!

"What are you still doing here? Hurry up and relay my meaning to the Supreme Elder," Wei Zhao urged.

"Huh?" Lu Ping'an was dumbfounded once more. Nothing had even been discussed yet—from a negotiating standpoint, they had not so much as warmed the stage—and it was already over? And come to that, just what meaning had you expressed?

"'Huh' what? I've no time to waste on you. Remember it clearly next time: if there's to be any talk, let the Supreme Elder come and talk himself. Otherwise, I regret I cannot receive you," Wei Zhao said flatly.

With the conversation carried to such a pass, even a face as thick as Lu Ping'an's could not linger. He could only take his leave in embarrassment.

Back atop the mountain, after hearing Lu Ping'an's crestfallen report, Chen Jiu's already gloomy countenance turned uglier still. "I sent you to probe Wei Zhao's bottom line and his attitude—and what have you probed out?"

"This disciple is ashamed," Lu Ping'an said, his face full of shame and indignation. Truth be told, the failure could hardly be laid at his feet—the other man's ways were simply too wild, from first to last nothing but a refusal to play by any rules. How was one to deal with that?!

"Hmph. Then tell me yourself—what is to be done next? Am I truly to go in person?" Chen Jiu snorted coldly.

"That certainly will not do. Not until the very last step may you take the field, Master—otherwise we'll truly be led by the nose by him." Lu Ping'an shook his head, then mused, "Though this disciple returns in disgrace, on careful reflection it cannot be said I came away with nothing. At least this much is certain: he does not truly wish to tear all ties with us. Otherwise, when this disciple put the question to him outright, he would not have dodged it."

"That much I had long since anticipated," Chen Jiu said with a frown, thinking to himself that Wei Zhao could not afford to break with them either—for if he did, he could spend the rest of his days on the One Step to Heaven Cliff. (To be continued.)