Chapter 4764 — Why Are You Still Here?

His head was full of romantic fantasies, yet the moment he stepped through the door, Ren Zhongyuan's expression changed at once. The scene inside was identical to last time—only Liu Ziqi sat there, and there was no sign of Huo Yudie at all. Could she have hidden herself away out of shyness?

"Where is Junior Sister Yudie? I know girls are thin-skinned, but we're all old acquaintances by now—there's really no need for shyness, is there?" Ren Zhongyuan smiled with what he took to be great poise, while his eyes roamed the room, trying to spot Huo Yudie.

"You needn't bother looking. Die'er isn't here—she's gone off to play with Wei Zhao." Liu Ziqi gave him a bland glance.

"What? She's gone to play with Wei Zhao?!" Ren Zhongyuan ground his teeth at the words, fury written plainly across his face. He eyed Liu Ziqi with open hostility. "Vice Principal Liu, isn't this rather improper of you? She's about to be married, yet you actually indulge her running off to play wildly with another man—that doesn't seem quite right!"

"Married?" Liu Ziqi smiled noncommittally. "Married to whom? Wei Zhao, you mean? He'd be a fine match, but not for the time being—he's already the Western Island's consort. That really is a pity."

"Huh? What are you talking about? What does that brat Wei Zhao have to do with any of this?" Ren Zhongyuan failed to grasp her meaning for a moment, staring at Liu Ziqi blankly, at a loss how to react. Today's situation was utterly unlike what he had imagined—why was nothing following the script?!

"Nothing at all. Do you have some business here? If not, you'd best be on your way. This is a young lady's boudoir, no place for you. Consider this a warning—don't let it happen again." Liu Ziqi's tone was indifferent.

Ren Zhongyuan was now completely dumbfounded. Something was very wrong here. He had come today in the posture of a victor, to claim Huo Yudie—so how had the initiative somehow ended up in the other party's hands?

This old woman Liu Ziqi was worthy of being a power in the academy. She clearly needed something from him, yet she could seize control of the rhythm with just a few words, making it seem as though he were the one begging her. Could she be angling to raise the price again?

Collecting himself, Ren Zhongyuan decided he had seen through her intentions. The corner of his mouth curled. "Vice Principal Liu, let's not play the fool with one another—we're both sensible people. Aren't you afraid that doing this will backfire, and make me withdraw those generous terms I agreed to before?"

"What terms? Did I ever agree to anything with you?" Liu Ziqi regarded Ren Zhongyuan with a smile that was not quite a smile.

Ren Zhongyuan choked with anger. This old woman really was hard to deal with, he thought—at this rate he would be led by the nose. He could only lay his cards on the table. "Vice Principal Liu, you won't release the hawk until you see the rabbit, I see. Fine—I'm the junior here, so I'll indulge you. Hand me the Lightning Mystic Vine now, and when my father has refined it, I'll have the Lightning Mystic Pills delivered straight to you. That should settle it, shouldn't it?"

"Oh, that matter. The Lightning Mystic Vine has already been refined into Lightning Mystic Pills, so there's no need to trouble you further. Thank you." Liu Ziqi's tone was flat.

"What? Already refined into Lightning Mystic Pills? Impossible—how could it be that fast? Even my father would need at least three days and nights to form the pills. Vice Principal Liu, you can't fool me with such a tale!" Ren Zhongyuan sneered, instinctively assuming Liu Ziqi was lying—that the old woman was still trying to drive up the price.

"There is always a mountain beyond the mountain, and a man beyond the man. Nothing in this world is impossible. See for yourself—is this not it?" Liu Ziqi took out the box Huo Yudie had given her and set it on the table.

Ren Zhongyuan watched as she lifted the lid, and when he saw what lay inside, he felt as though he had been struck by lightning. There, neatly arranged, were three Lightning Mystic Pills!

"What? She actually gave you three Lightning Mystic Pills? Who refined them for you? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!" Ren Zhongyuan was on the verge of going mad. Two days ago it had been nothing but a length of Lightning Mystic Vine, and now in the blink of an eye it had become three ready-made Lightning Mystic Pills. Were his eyes deceiving him, or had the world gone mad?

"What? Are you questioning me?" Seeing that Ren Zhongyuan actually looked about to rush over and examine them closely, Liu Ziqi's ever-calm expression turned cold in an instant. An incomparably vast and surging pressure descended upon his head. This power of Morning Pride Academy was clearly angered.

Assailed so suddenly by such overwhelming pressure, even a master of Ren Zhongyuan's caliber—a Nascent Soul at great consummation—could not withstand it. He staggered, nearly disgracing himself on the spot.

A cold sweat broke out over Ren Zhongyuan, and only then did he come to his senses: he had grown far too smug and complacent. He had thought that with the sweetener of the Lightning Mystic Pills he could bend this master and disciple pair to his will, entirely forgetting that she was a power in the academy—how could such a person be so easily manipulated by the likes of him!

"Are you still not leaving? Must I see you out?" Seeing Ren Zhongyuan's face shift uncertainly as he still hesitated, Liu Ziqi gave a cold sniff. She was genuinely somewhat angered now. The boy truly did not know the height of the heavens or the depth of the earth; had she not been mindful that he had some backing, she would long since have struck him down in punishment.

"No, no—I'm going, I'm going..." Ren Zhongyuan dared not linger another moment. He hurried off in a daze, and on his way out he even collided with the door frame, the pain bringing tears to his eyes.

Watching Ren Zhongyuan's clownish retreating figure, Liu Ziqi shook her head again and again. She could not fathom why, two days ago, she had thought this boy might actually be worthy of Die'er. Compared with Wei Zhao, this sort of creature was as the earth to the heavens.

Everyone misjudges now and then, but this time Liu Ziqi had done more than misjudge—she had been utterly blind. Thank goodness no great disaster had come of it; otherwise no amount of regret would have sufficed.

Unbeknownst to herself, Wei Zhao had already become in Liu Ziqi's heart the one and only choice for a disciple's husband. True, besides Ning Xuefei and Huo Yudie, Wei Zhao also maintained rather delicate, ambiguous relations with girls like Han Jingyi and Shangguan Lan'er—but since Shangguan Tianxia and Ning Shanghe had said nothing, what grounds did she have to object?

The judgment and insight of those two old friends far surpassed that of her, a mere vice principal of the academy. Their unspoken, unanimous silence amounted to tacit approval and indulgence of Wei Zhao—and what did that signify?

No one was a fool. In the face of a genius of Wei Zhao's caliber, all so-called rules and traditions were mere passing clouds. There are always those in this world who can rise above the rules, and Wei Zhao was plainly one of them—a truth that Shangguan Tianxia and Ning Shanghe understood better than anyone!

The days passed one after another. With the conclusion of the Western Island trial, the mission of the envoy delegations from the various islands was formally at an end. After taking their leave of Ning Shanghe, the Western Island's mistress, they made ready to return home, one after another.