Chapter 4098 — Seeking Refuge with Steward Cai
The Blossom Guardian · Page 2 of 2
After all, he was a stranger on Central Island. Though Tian Chan was in the Central Island Alchemy Hall, her status and strength were far from enough to shelter the two of them. Until he had settled the trouble on his own back, Wei Zhao did not want her drawn into any of it.
As for that cheap master of his, Zhang Lifeng, whom he had never once met—if he could win the man's acknowledgment, then he could walk the world sideways as he pleased. Unfortunately, this Alchemy God was like a dragon that showed its head but never its tail. Even the people of the Central Island Alchemy Hall rarely got a glimpse of him, let alone a newcomer like Wei Zhao.
With no other recourse, Wei Zhao could only pin his hopes on this Deputy Steward Cai. Birds of a feather flock together; given Hong Zhong's honest and upright character, a friend he held in such esteem was unlikely to be the sort who forgot honor at the sight of profit.
Carrying Xue Li on his back, Wei Zhao wasted no time in hesitation. He strode into the Five Elements Merchant Guild, and when a shop assistant came up to greet him, he said, "If you please, I am looking for Deputy Steward Cai."
The assistant looked him up and down, then noted the woman on his back. He showed no particular puzzlement, only nodded and said, "Ah, you have come to see Deputy Steward Cai for treatment, I expect. I will take you there."
This Deputy Steward Cai was a nominal disciple of Zhang Lifeng and exceedingly skilled in medicine, so patients came seeking treatment in an endless stream, turning the place almost into a half clinic. The assistant was long since used to it.
Some grumbled about this in private, but never dared show it openly. Even the proper steward, who had the powerful backing of Zheng Dongjue, deputy hall master of the Central Island Alchemy Hall, never dared to do anything to this Deputy Steward Cai.
Behind the man stood a towering deity like Zhang Lifeng. Even Zheng Dongjue could only bow and scrape before him. To make trouble for Cai in the Five Elements Merchant Guild would be to court death itself.
Keeping silent, Wei Zhao followed the assistant up to a quiet private room on the second floor. The assistant told them to wait a moment, then withdrew.
After a short while, a middle-aged man who appeared to be in his forties or fifties came in. His true age was impossible to guess, but at first sight Wei Zhao felt that the man carried a steady air of one long weathered by the world—something laid down by the years.
"Come, please sit. This old man is Cai Zhongxuan. Are the two of you here for treatment?" A mild smile rested on the newcomer's face.
A physician's heart is that of a parent. Though his standing was that of a merchant, at heart Cai Zhongxuan remained a physician through and through, and he harbored a wish to save the world and its people. Were it otherwise, he could never have entered Zhang Lifeng's fold.
Before an honest man, no false words. With no idlers about, Wei Zhao spoke bluntly at once: "Forgive me. I have not actually come seeking medical treatment, but to ask something else of you."
"Oh? What might that be?" Cai Zhongxuan was slightly taken aback. As deputy steward of the Five Elements Merchant Guild, he seldom concerned himself with business matters personally, devoting himself more to healing the sick. Those who came to him sought treatment, and rarely anything else.
"I am Wei Zhao, and in truth I am a friend of Old Hong—Hong Zhong," Wei Zhao said, coming straight to the point.R1152