Chapter 4017 — A Failed Reunion
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 3
"Indeed. Not only are they from the Middle Island, but their backing runs remarkably deep." Hong Zhong paused, then went on: "Did you notice the five-colored emblem on their cuffs, Young Hero Lin? That is the mark of the Five Luminaries Sect—that is to say, the Five Elements Apothecary Guild, the pill hall of the Middle Island."
"The Five Elements Apothecary Guild?" Wei Zhao's eyes brightened a little, and he fell into thought.
"Though it calls itself an apothecary guild, it is the top-ranked merchant guild in the entire Merchant Alliance, a guild under the jurisdiction of the Pill Hall. And I daresay you already know well enough who steers the Pill Hall, Young Hero Lin—none other than the Divine Physician and Pill Sage, Zhang Lifeng!" Hong Zhong spoke with unmistakable reverence.
At these words Wei Zhao was struck all the more dumb. If that was so, then Tian Chan was one of the Five Elements Apothecary Guild—did that not mean she had already taken Zhang Lifeng as her master? Had she truly been transported straight to the Middle Island?
That different people from the mortal realm were transported to different places was a perfectly ordinary conjecture, yet Wei Zhao had always assumed that a woman like Tian Chan would have been sent to the West Island, where the female cultivators gathered. Never had he expected this outcome.
Still, even if Tian Chan had been transported to the Middle Island and become one of the Five Elements Apothecary Guild, surely that was no reason to treat him like a total stranger. What was the meaning of this?
"Steward Hong, these people's lodgings—might you have some way of finding out where they are staying?" Wei Zhao thought for a moment, then lowered his voice and asked.
Wei Zhao refused to believe that Tian Chan had simply ceased to recognize him. How long had they been parted? Such a thing was utterly absurd! He had to find a way to get to the bottom of it. Besides, the relationship between him and Hong Zhong was now far closer than it had been before he came here; they were, so to speak, grasshoppers bound to the same rope, and there was no need to be overly guarded. He could simply ask such a question outright.
Sure enough, though Hong Zhong was somewhat surprised, he did not pry or press. He simply answered in a low voice, "This old man does not know for certain. But by long-standing custom, the Island of the Far North always lodges its important guests in the Gathering Talents Hall at its very core. Since these people are from the Five Elements Apothecary Guild, that is likely where they are staying."
"The Gathering Talents Hall. Very well, I have noted it. My thanks!" Wei Zhao nodded. Things here were more or less in hand, so he simply slipped away. He could scarcely wait to find Tian Chan and demand a clear accounting of the situation.
Watching Wei Zhao depart, Hong Zhong smiled faintly, as though he had expected no less, and murmured to himself: "This Young Hero Lin truly does seem to have some connection with the Five Elements Apothecary Guild—he is unfathomable indeed. Still, to refine over a hundred top-grade pills in less than three days—such ability, even across the whole of the Five Elements Apothecary Guild, likely has no equal save the Pill Sage Zhang Lifeng himself."
Shaking his head with a sigh, Hong Zhong did not dwell on it further. He turned to deal with Manager Hao, Wang Tong, and the rest. These men had nearly driven him to his wit's end, and he must seize this chance to slap them soundly in the face.
As for Wei Zhao, every man had his secrets. A seasoned hand like Hong Zhong knew well that knowing too much was not necessarily a good thing. The pressing task was simply to court Wei Zhao properly and find a way to draw him onto one's own side; beyond that, anything else was superfluous.