Chapter 495 — An Old Friend in a Faraway Land

Yet even that smooth, evasive manner left everyone present excited and expectant. Vague promises always set the imagination racing.

"You certainly know how to talk—which amounts to saying nothing at all," Wei Zhao said with a faint smile as he watched Fatty Lai come down from the stage.

"Heh heh, well, of course. Can I just go around shooting my mouth off? That's all commercial confidence!" Fatty Lai said with a bashful grin. "Still, Boss, tell me—are we preparing anything for the third auction?"

"Preparing what?" Wei Zhao had not prepared anything, though if he started now, there was still time enough.

"I hear Miracle Doctor Kang is putting some premium wound medicines up for auction tomorrow—the kind that heal cuts faster and better than the ordinary sort," Fatty Lai said. "Why don't we auction some premium wound medicine too? I've already offended him beyond repair, and once our products hit the market we'll be rivals anyway, so there's no point worrying about making an enemy of him now!"

"Oh?" Wei Zhao's interest was piqued at the mention of Miracle Doctor Kang entering premium wound medicine in the auction. "Let me think. Let's see what we can come up with—something that might beat his!"

"Now that's what I like to hear! Just what I'd expect from you, Boss!" Fatty Lai nodded again and again. "You're right, too—if we just copied them, there'd be no fun in it. It'd look like we were imitating them!"

The lots that followed were all ordinary enough—relatively speaking, of course. For even these items, taken to any ordinary auction, would have ranked among the finest.

It was only here, among people who had seen it all, that such things failed to cause much of a stir. None of the bids that followed came close to the Life-Extending Detox Pill—not even a tenth of it.

Wei Zhao lost interest, and Fatty Lai naturally left his seat to handle the handover formalities backstage. After deducting what had been spent on the sheepskin map, the proceeds from the three pills were all deposited into Fatty Lai's account.

Once the formalities were done, Fatty Lai retrieved the sheepskin map and handed it to Wei Zhao.

Wei Zhao opened it, gave it a glance, and put it away. This was no place to study such a thing, and he had no intention of studying it just now—at least, he had no time for it at the moment.

Counting the piece he had at home, Wei Zhao had only two fragments of the map. How large the whole was, and into how many pieces it had been divided, he had no way of knowing, so the two pieces in his possession were, for the time being, of no practical use.

The only reason he had Fatty Lai bid on it at all was a collector's curiosity. He had no expectation that the map would bring him any benefit; it had simply been a passing whim.

The auction soon ended. Apart from the Life-Extending Detox Pill, not a single lot produced any comparable effect—each was settled after a few bids and a hasty close.

In truth, there was nothing special about the lots on the first day; it was the same every year, and this was how it ought to be. The Life-Extending Detox Pill had been the sole exception.

Wei Zhao rose with Fatty Lai and Guan Xuewen, preparing to leave the auction hall, but then he saw Miracle Doctor Kang looking their way—and at the sight of Wei Zhao and Guan Xuewen, Kang's expression visibly froze.

Wei Zhao gave him a nod and a smile.

Miracle Doctor Kang had long suspected Wei Zhao of being some rich family's young master. So when he saw him in the company of Fatty Lai and Guan Xuewen, he merely frowned and thought no more of it. In his view, Guan Xuewen's turn toward commerce had been entirely the doing of Wei Zhao and Fatty Lai.

The investor was probably Fatty Lai, and this Wei Zhao likely held a share or two as well—but Miracle Doctor Kang paid him no mind. The one he feared was Fatty Lai, that old hand at business.

"Wei Zhao!" Feng Xiaoxiao could hardly believe her eyes. She rubbed them and, confirming that the person not far off was indeed Wei Zhao, hurried over and called out in delighted surprise.

"?" Wei Zhao turned, looking at Feng Xiaoxiao in some astonishment, unable to fathom why he should see her here. If she had followed him, he would not have believed it—he had seen no trace of her when boarding the plane. That left only coincidence, and he could not help but smile wryly. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, what are you doing here?" Feng Xiaoxiao asked at the very same moment.

"I just came along with a friend to have a look," Wei Zhao said with a smile. "I've got business to attend to, so I'll be going."

Instinctively, Wei Zhao did not want to get too close to Feng Xiaoxiao. The girl's way of thinking was a little peculiar, and he preferred to keep his distance.

"Then are you coming tomorrow? Shall we sit together?" Feng Xiaoxiao was inwardly irritated. Why was Wei Zhao treating her so coldly? Yet on the surface she gazed at him with eager expectation and asked pitifully.

"We'll see about tomorrow," Wei Zhao said, wanting nothing to do with her, brushing her off with a perfunctory reply.

"All right then, I'll come find you tomorrow!" Feng Xiaoxiao thought of her father waiting for her over there and felt she could not linger in conversation with Wei Zhao. But having run into him here, a strange thrill coursed through her heart—a feeling she could not quite put into words.

Meeting an old friend in unfamiliar surroundings? Or having found an opportunity to strike at Tang Zhi and make Wei Zhao fall for her? Or perhaps... she simply found herself too bored?

Just then, Wu Gonggao and Wu Chengtian were striding over in their direction. Upon learning that the Life-Extending Detox Pill had been refined by Guan Xuewen, Wu Gonggao had hatched a scheme. He intended to exchange pleasantries with the professor and see whether he might lay his hands on one more.

"Professor Guan! It has been far too long. I have missed you dearly!" Wu Gonggao wore a long robe and cut quite the figure of a martial artist. The moment he spotted Guan Xuewen, he clasped his fists in greeting and spoke with excitement.

"Hehe, Elder Wu, how is your health?" Guan Xuewen smiled and nodded toward Wu Gonggao. He had administered acupuncture to the man before, so naturally they were not strangers, yet neither did he display excessive warmth or familiarity.

Guan Xuewen had always maintained a neutral stance toward these great families, keeping close to none of them—not even the resurgent Yu family, nor the Iron Hand Wu family!

"Thanks to Professor Guan's good graces, I am still hale and hearty, though my old injuries from my youth—when the good doctor has a moment, I will trouble him for another round of acupuncture!" Wu Gonggao said with great courtesy.

Even though he was already an expert of the Xuan tier, he remained utterly deferential before Guan Xuewen. After all, as a miracle doctor of renowned repute, Guan Xuewen had long since become an existence above it all!