Chapter 2025 — Deaf Ears, and Youpan Hu Came Sneaking After Him
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
Wei Zhao knew Leader Bai was about to tell him some confidential matter, so he deliberately gave a wry smile to stall for a little time, then swiftly kicked the iron office door by the entrance—and so Youpan Hu met his tragedy.
The shock knocked Youpan Hu flat on his backside; clutching his ears, his eyes full of little stars twinkling and sparkling... his head spinning so he could not tell north from south.
"Xiao Yi, why did you kick my door?" Leader Bai smacked his lips. "The door is iron, but kicking it like that will break it easily enough!"
"You know why..." Wei Zhao walked back after kicking the door. "There's a big rat outside the door, always trying to eavesdrop."
"Ha! It's fine. Let him hear, it doesn't matter." Leader Bai waved a hand, for what he meant to teach Wei Zhao, Youpan Hu also knew, and there was nothing to conceal; even if Youpan Hu heard, it did not matter. As for the crucial things, of course, Leader Bai had compiled them into a volume, and Youpan Hu could not see them even if he wanted to.
"It doesn't matter?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback, puzzled inwardly—why not keep it from Youpan Hu? Could it be that Youpan Hu and Leader Bai were on very, very good terms?
"Ha ha, enough, no more beating around the bush with you. Have you ever heard of pill refining?" Leader Bai asked suddenly, his gaze sharpening.
"Huh? Pill refining?" Wei Zhao's eyes went wide, and he stared at Leader Bai in disbelief. Why was everything he had heard these past few days about pill refining? Han Jingyi refined pills, Youpan Hu refined pills, and now Leader Bai refined pills too—was pill refining the fashion of the whole populace now?
"What, you don't understand the true meaning of pill refining, do you?" Leader Bai said. "What I call pill refining here is not the ordinary mixing of several medicinal herbs and then congealing them into a pill..."
"I know. You mean a pill refiner, who tempers medicinal herbs with alchemical fire and condenses them into pills," Wei Zhao said.
"You know?" Leader Bai was somewhat surprised to hear Wei Zhao's words. "You've heard of pill refiners too?"
"Isn't that Youpan Hu a pill refiner... So that's what you meant by not keeping it from him—it was about pill refiners," Wei Zhao said in sudden realization.
"Quite so. Youpan Hu is a Yellow-Rank, First-Grade pill refiner, though he is close to Second Grade. He's a promising seed, but I don't much care for the man himself," Leader Bai said with a nod.
"That kid has some skill after all?" Wei Zhao frowned, somewhat shocked. He had not expected Leader Bai to hold Youpan Hu in such esteem. But to be fair, if Youpan Hu really was a Yellow-Rank, First-Grade pill refiner nearing Second Grade, then even if he was not the head of the You family, he would still hold a very important place in it—no wonder he had so many skilled men about him.
"But what I never expected was that you would know about pill refiners too. So when you applied for the medicine department this time, was it because you had heard of my name?" Leader Bai looked at Wei Zhao with some puzzlement...