Chapter 4860 — Ghost-Speed Wings

"True enough, you brat—only because you run fast can I keep my neck safe. Last time a mere West Mountain expert had you in such a sorry state, you were laughably weak." Ghost Thing's tone had turned thoroughly into that of a native of the mortal world.

"Fine..." Wei Zhao was sweating a little with embarrassment, and he quickly asked, "Then how should these Ghost-Speed Wings be forged?"

"The Ghost-Eye Eagle King Wings are the primary material. Six other auxiliary materials are needed as well. They won't be easy to find, but with your resources, you brat, it shouldn't be too hard—only the Ghost Cicada Wings will take some luck." Ghost Thing thought for a moment before answering.

"Ghost Cicada Wings?" Wei Zhao was briefly startled. He had heard of this when he used to chat with Scrap King, and he could not help asking, "You mean the formless cicada wings that are said to be the lightest and thinnest in all the world?"

"Correct. This is the second-ranked material for the Ghost-Speed Wings. If you can't fuse the nature of this thing, then the Ghost-Eye Eagle King Wings will be nothing but a pure burden—any thought of acceleration would be a fool's dream." Ghost Thing confirmed.

Wei Zhao nodded repeatedly, silently committing these six materials to memory. He put away the Ghost-Eye Eagle King Wings and began to cultivate. It was only after dawn broke outside that he left his room. As usual, he ate breakfast with the Divine Nun of the East Sea and the two young women, then returned alone to the Hong Clan Merchant Guild.

"Vice President, you're back!" Chai Laoshi and Cui Mingshan hurried up to meet him from far off. Having gone through this narrow escape from death, they were now utterly devoted to Wei Zhao—they would almost have set up a longevity tablet for him and burned incense in worship every day.

"How are things? How's business been these past two days?" Wei Zhao asked with a smile.

Actually, the answer was obvious. The Great Auction Ceremony was not yet fully over, and a whole series of follow-up activities remained. Yet even so, the Hong Clan Merchant Guild was already nearly bursting with crowds—the scene surpassed even that of the Morning Star Number One Tower.

After this miraculous revival at the Great Auction Ceremony, there was no doubt about it: the Hong Clan Merchant Guild had become the number one merchant guild in the hearts of Morning Star City's people, and business was naturally booming beyond compare.

"It's unbelievably good. Yesterday's single day of business alone was worth at least five days in the past. And the academy has placed a huge batch of orders too—Old Cui and I will have plenty to keep us busy!" Chai Laoshi chuckled.

"Good news. If you two have things to handle, go right ahead—don't mind me." Wei Zhao nodded, then pulled out two lists and handed them to Chai Laoshi. "While you're at it, have a clerk look at these. Whatever materials listed can be gathered, gather them for me as best you can."

Of the two lists, one was for the auxiliary materials for refining the Nurturing Essence Pill, and the other was the six materials for the Ghost-Speed Wings that Ghost Thing had told him about the night before.

"Very well." Chai Laoshi took the lists and looked them over, but he did not hand them to a clerk—he went to gather the materials for Wei Zhao himself. Everything he had today he owed to Wei Zhao; serving Wei Zhao well was his first priority, and everything else had to take a back seat.

After roughly the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, Chai Laoshi returned, followed by two clerks each carrying a box.

"Vice President, all the other materials are ready—only the Ghost Cicada Wings are missing. Shall I go out and ask around some more?" Chai Laoshi asked cautiously.

"No rush on that. Go handle your own business first—if you get a chance later, just keep an eye out for me." Wei Zhao shook his head.

This was only to be expected. Ghost Thing had said before that the Ghost Cicada Wings would be hard to find, and he was in no hurry to forge the Ghost-Speed Wings anyway—after all, that sort of thing could only be done back on North Island with Scrap King's help. With his own mediocre smithing skills, he had no confidence at all.

"Oh, all right." Chai Laoshi nodded. He really was run off his feet at the moment; if he were to go around asking everywhere for Wei Zhao's sake, willing as he was, there would surely be considerable losses.

Wei Zhao took the boxes from the clerks and inspected the materials one by one. Chai Laoshi had truly put his heart into it—these were all top-quality materials. Even if they were not the primary materials, if the auxiliary materials were of too poor a quality, then whether refining pills or forging artifacts, the result would suffer; and the reverse was true as well.

Chai Laoshi had already turned and walked out the door. After a moment he suddenly came back, slapped his head, and said with an embarrassed laugh, "Vice President, look at my memory—I've been so busy I nearly forgot something so important!"

"What is it?" Wei Zhao asked, surprised.

"It's that letter you wrote to North Island last time—a reply came today." So saying, Chai Laoshi brought over a large sealed envelope, bulging inside; judging by the protruding shape, besides letter paper there seemed to be something else stuffed in it.

"Oh? So soon?" Wei Zhao was both surprised and delighted. Even using the transport guild's special flying spirit beasts, given the vast distance between East Continent and North Island, he had thought it would take at least ten days to half a month. He had not expected it to be this fast—only a few days had passed!

"Actually, that's quite normal. The flying spirit beasts the transport guild raises are all bred for extreme speed, several times faster than ordinary flying spirit beasts. And this time I specifically marked it for express priority, so this speed is well within expectations." Chai Laoshi smiled.

There was another point: the reason the reply had come so quickly, apart from the transport guild's superb efficiency, was also that Han Jingyi had written her reply on the spot after receiving the letter. Otherwise, if she had delayed a few days before replying, no matter how efficient the transport guild was, it would have been useless.

Wei Zhao took the envelope, and Chai Laoshi promptly and tactfully withdrew, closing the door behind him.

His spirits lifted, Wei Zhao opened the envelope. Inside was a small stack of letter paper—and surprisingly, something like a wireless camera and probe as well, except that its component structure was far more complex than ordinary ones.

Suppressing his puzzlement, Wei Zhao unfolded the letter paper and found that it contained not only Han Jingyi's reply but also a portion from Shangguan Lan'er. He could not help but smile.

Shangguan Lan'er had purely come along for the fun of it. Though she rambled on and on and wrote a great pile, not a single important thing was in it. And this girl's train of thought was the kind that broke through the heavens—one sentence she would be saying something nasty about her grandfather, and the next she would be comparing bust measurements with Han Jingyi. Thank goodness she had not been born in the mortal world; otherwise, with her essay-writing level, she would surely have scored a zero.

By contrast, Han Jingyi's reply was far more orderly. First she described what she had encountered after arriving at North Island. Because of Shangguan Lan'er's presence, she naturally would not run into any trouble, and she had moved straight into the Hualan Residence—Wei Zhao need not worry in the slightest that she would be harassed.