God Of Crafting

Chapter 251 Provocateur?

"Young master, are you alright?"

Not a moment after stepping into the clan heir's private quarters, Zuko, the clan's elder of the heir's faction, spoke with great concern both in his voice and on his face.

"Why shouldn't I be okay?" Jerome, the clan's famous heir, replied with his eyes turning wide, as if he just couldn't fathom where this question was coming from. "Now that she became used goods, what good would it be for me to still vie for her hand?" he asked, rolling his eyes before looking over his shoulder to ensure the doors to his private quarters were properly closed and...

"Fuck!"

As soon as there was no more risk of anyone outside his direct circle seeing his reaction, Jerome slammed his fist into the wall with all the strength and power his physicality and awe-inspiring cultivation allowed.

The wall, however, endured the strike as if it was nothing, a courtesy of the builders whom the heir himself instructed to make this whole place into a training ground capable of withstanding not his, but his father's—the clan patriarch's—strikes.

"So you weren't alright, after all," Zuko shook his head, unbothered by Jerome's meltdown in progress.

"This fucking bitch! Dangling the opportunity right before me, only to then take it away! And she even went ahead and dared to slap my face out in public! If not for my image within the clan, I would tear her ugly head off her neck right there and then! And don't even get me started on that son of a bitch who dared to steal her away!"

At this point, Jerome's rage halted for a bit as he recalled not only the look on that guy's face... but also a certain air he had around himself.

'Bragging and boasting is one thing, but...'

"What's wrong, young master?" Zuko asked, noticing the strange look on his ward's face.

"That fucker..." Jerome muttered as he sat down on one of the many chairs in the spacious, open-concept room before pinning his eyes to the floor for a moment, only to then raise his sight and lock it on his teacher and his faction's leader. "Did you notice anything strange about him?"

"About that Tim guy?" Zuko asked to confirm, only to lower his eyes as he took a moment to recall everything he could about the man. "Besides his claims to venture deep into the third floor of the cultivation garden?" he muttered before taking another moment to think. "I guess he was... weird?" he attempted to put his impression into words. "There was something rather uncanny about him. Despite having yet to break free of the first set of chains of mortality, his strength..."

Jerome squinted his eyes a bit before lightly shaking his head.

"No, I don't think so. I don't believe he even knew who I was, only learning of my existence as I approached him. But..." the young master hesitated a little, "but that brings me over to another question. That escalation through the cold war he threatened us with," he mentioned, "do you think it was real or just an empty threat?"

"That..." Zuko squinted his eyes before shaking his head for the nth time since this covert meeting started, "I have absolutely no idea. All I can do is guess from what I could read from his face, but he doesn't look like someone who struggles to control it. And while that alone likely means he has a background of some sort, just like the fact that peasant approved his relationship with the girl, what background it is?" Zuko shrugged his shoulders. "That, I have no clue," he stated, only to then lower his arms and put on an extremely determined look on his face. "I will be sure to find it out, though."

"Yeah, you do just that," Jerome stated before raising his elbows from the armrests of his chair, only to then rest his hands down on them before pressing hard as he pulled himself out of the chair's depths. Standing up, he quickly started pacing around the room, never moving too far to hinder his ability to speak with his teacher, though.

"You do just that. And once you have him figured all out, we will decide which way we should go with him."

Hearing this, Zuko squinted his eyes.

"And what would those paths be, Jerome?" Zuko asked, rolling back the way he referred to the young master to the manner which he only ever did while actively teaching him.

This small change didn't escape Jerome's attention. Yet, after stopping for but a moment, he summed it up with a small smile before picking up his pace.

"If he is a sleeper, we will proceed along with the story I sowed the seed of back in public. If possible, we will try to recruit him to our cause or, if that's not possible, try to sic him on my brothers. If he's just a nobody who knows how to act tough, however..."

"I'm not quite sure I'm supposed... No, I'm not quite sure I even want to hear what you are going to say next," Zuko stated while rolling his eyes.

"If he's just acting tough, however," Jerome revealed his ugly smile, the one expression he kept hidden from anyone but his closest allies and supporters, "then I will rip him to pieces right where Claire will be able to see it, but not before taking her in every way imaginable, all so he can watch it and suffer!"

"Young master!" Zuko called out with clear displeasure and a slightly displeased face.

"What?" Jerome quickly countered, even going as far as to stop his pacing and look directly at his teacher, only to then raise his hand and point at his cheek. "It's their own fucking fault for slapping me in public, isn't it?!"