Chapter 2431 — An Liwen Falls for It

Watching Leader Bai's earnest gaze, Wei Zhao was suddenly overcome with shame. I wasn't worrying at all, he thought. I may not be able to refine pills myself, but Han Jingyi and I can refine them together, so the question of pill refining isn't so urgent. What matters most right now is raising my strength!

"Thank you, Teacher Bai..." Wei Zhao was deeply moved. "By the way, Teacher Bai, if I may ask—at your peak, before your injury, were you able to refine third-grade pills?"

"Third-grade?" Leader Bai laughed proudly. "In my prime, third-grade pills were child's play. I could even attempt fourth-grade pills; I'd always succeed in refining one a year."

"Fourth-grade..." Wei Zhao clicked his tongue. Leader Bai really was a formidable figure! Privately, Wei Zhao turned it over in his mind: could he repair Leader Bai's meridians? Leader Bai had lost all his strength because his meridians were damaged and blocked. If his meridians were healed, then might Leader Bai refine third-grade pills on his behalf?

The only question was whether Leader Bai, once his injuries were repaired, could recover his former strength. If Leader Bai could refine third-grade pills with ease and even manage fourth-grade ones, his strength must have peaked at the late Heaven rank. Yet even if Wei Zhao completed his treatment, he could only restore him to the early Earth rank—and that would depend on the Small Qi Gathering Pill. The rest of the road of cultivation would still be up to Leader Bai himself; Wei Zhao could not possibly restore all his strength for him.

Pill refiners did recover true qi and stamina quickly, but Wei Zhao still did not know the specifics of Leader Bai's condition.

Moreover, Wei Zhao had always remained somewhat hesitant about Leader Bai's identity and background. A pill refiner who had once shaken the world could hardly have been a simple figure in his youth, and he seemed to have some connection to the Mystic Pill Sect—which made it all the harder for Wei Zhao to make a decision on the spot.

"Heh, I'm old now; that's all in the past," Leader Bai said with a faint smile. "The future of pill refining rests with you young people. Who knows, perhaps you'll refine fifth-grade or even sixth-grade pills?"

"You flatter me, Teacher Bai. How could I?" Wei Zhao shook his head with a bitter smile.

"Heh, I have high hopes for you!" Leader Bai patted Wei Zhao on the shoulder, then said, "I'll be off. I have a few other matters today, so I won't say more. If you have any questions, just come to my office or give me a call."

"Of course, Teacher Bai." Wei Zhao nodded and watched as Leader Bai got into an old-model Passat and drove out of the campus.

Wei Zhao could not help shaking his head. Leader Bai's car wasn't even as good as Bai Weituo's—and Bai Weituo drove a Q7.

He waited only a short while in the parking lot before Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, and Han Xiaochao walked over and got in. Wei Zhao drove them straight home. On the way, he said to Gu Mengyao, "By the way, our biology department is holding a winter outing this weekend, and the whole class is expected to go..."

"Oh, then go ahead. It's a good chance to get closer to Xinyan," Gu Mengyao said readily. "Don't worry about me and Xiaoshu. The two of us will stay home and won't go out and cause you any trouble."

"Thank you..." Wei Zhao nodded, touched. When he was not home, Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu did not dare go out casually. Although the enemies he had faced before had all been Gu Mengyao's, later on they had all become his own.

Rather than saying he protected Gu Mengyao and Xiaoshu, it would be more accurate to say the two of them had been dragged into his troubles. He was no bodyguard—at most, a guard close at hand.

"Thank me for what?" Gu Mengyao smiled faintly. "Why have you become so polite?"

"Then I won't stand on ceremony," Wei Zhao said.

The week passed quickly. Every day that week, Wei Zhao found time to practice unleashing the seventh stance of the Raging Fire Fist, and at last he had gone from clumsiness to relative proficiency. The seventh stance of the Raging Fire Eight Trigrams Palm, however, was not so polished—he could only just manage to unleash it.

But Wei Zhao was in no hurry. After all, progress every day was better than none. In truth, he knew he had been a little too impatient this time. If he had slowed down before unleashing the seventh stance, it would have come naturally, as easily as reaching out his hand. But he had only just broken through to the peak of the mid Earth rank and had only just unleashed the sixth stance when he began working on the seventh—clearly a bit rash. That he had come this far at all was thanks to that all-purpose martial technique.

And ever since the incident in the cafeteria, when You Panhu and Kang Jinglong had set a little street girl to trap Wei Zhao, failed, and nearly exposed themselves, the two of them had been much more subdued over the past week. After class they no longer hovered around Wei Zhao, and during lessons they kept quiet and gave him no trouble.

But Wei Zhao did not let down his guard. He knew exactly what these two were like. Their forbearance at this moment might well be brewing a larger scheme—who knew what they were preparing to pull now.

Wei Zhao guessed that if they were going to make a move, they would likely choose this winter outing. Discipline would be looser on an outing, and Leader Bai would not interfere much... And as for An Liwen, sure enough, just as Wei Zhao had predicted, after Qiu Lingshan left, he sought out Big Mule and Little Pure.

"The casino business is quite profitable. There's one right here in Donghai City, and I intend to take it over." An Liwen had indeed been tempted. "Little Pure, you've had about enough experience. I'll leave the casino business to you to run on your own this time. Any problem with that?"

"None at all. Thank you, Young Master Wen!" Little Pure was overjoyed. Running a casino might not be as easy as following An Liwen around all day, but the profits were enormous. The casino raked in a great deal every month; as long as Little Pure skimmed a little for himself, it would be more than enough to live on. And from what An Liwen said, he did not seem opposed to his doing so—so of course Little Pure was delighted.

"Mm. In the next few days, I'll go see Brother Gambler and take the casino off his hands," An Liwen said.

"Young Master Wen, if we go and buy the casino just like that, will Brother Gambler agree?" Big Mule asked after a moment's hesitation.