Chapter 2183 — The Mysterious Visitor
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"So it seems we missed a fine opportunity. At the Summit of the Hidden Clans, a pill-refining contest we had in the bag—and we withdrew of our own accord..." The last shred of hope in You Panhu's heart shattered. He had been deceiving himself into believing that You Zhentian would agree with his deduction—that Wei Zhao was only pretending not to know how to refine pills. But now it appeared that Wei Zhao truly could not.
And Wei Zhao had no reason to deceive Leader Bai, either. Just as You Zhentian had said, so what if he was no pill refiner? Refiner or not, Wei Zhao's other strengths spoke for themselves. Those hidden clans with grudges against him still dared not move against him—or rather, still could not.
"Missed is missed. Our Hidden You Clan lacks neither rare treasures nor money," You Zhentian said. "The only thing you need to confirm now is this: that material in Wei Zhao's hands—is it really Leader Bai's personal notes on pill refinement?"
"It should be. Leader Bai admitted as much himself!" You Panhu said. "Unless Leader Bai and Wei Zhao are in league to deceive us—but that possibility seems very small..."
"Then good. How much do you reckon it would cost to trade that material back?" You Zhentian likewise felt that since Leader Bai had admitted it, there could be no doubt. The key point, in his view, was that a man of Leader Bai's towering prestige could not possibly conspire with Wei Zhao to deceive anyone.
"Very difficult," You Panhu said. "This time is different from last. Wei Zhao is highly guarded—there is no hint of that feigned reluctance to part with something. The crux is that we have nothing to offer that would tempt him! What we can produce, he may not even deign to look at. A cauldron is out of the question—he already has both a first-rank and a second-rank cauldron. We can hardly offer him a third-rank cauldron, can we? Even our Hidden You Clan has only a handful of those."
"Naturally that is out of the question," You Zhentian said. "A third-rank cauldron is a treasure; under no circumstances can it be traded! Still, you are right—at the Summit of the Hidden Clans this time, Wei Zhao won so many treasures that ordinary things no longer catch his eye..."
"By the way, Uncle, there is one thing I still don't understand. Since Wei Zhao cannot refine pills, what did he want our cauldron for? And why wouldn't he trade pills with us at the Summit of the Hidden Clans?" You Panhu still could not fathom Wei Zhao's intent.
"Perhaps it was simply to make us lose the pill-refining contest at the Summit on purpose. That brat Wei Zhao is quite capable of such a thing." You Zhentian thought it over, and only this explanation seemed reliable.
"Most likely," You Panhu said. "I'll go sound out Wei Zhao this afternoon and see what he says. If a trade is possible, we can then work out the terms!"
"Very well. I'll go discuss it with your grandfather," You Zhentian said with a nod.
After hanging up, just as You Zhentian was about to pay his respects to the Old Master, a most distinguished guest arrived at the Hidden You Clan—so distinguished that even the Old Master of the You family received him in person. Moreover, the guest was seated while the Old Master stood respectfully to one side!
"Young Master Tian graces us with his presence—truly our You Clan is honored beyond measure!" The Old Master was astonished and delighted, and somewhat taken aback as well. He had not expected the visitor to be none other than Tian Canbian, the young sect master of the Xuandan Sect!
"You are too kind, Old Master You. Do sit and let us talk," Tian Canbian said faintly. "The Hidden You Clan and our Xuandan Sect have always enjoyed excellent relations, and you have made no small contribution to our sect!"