Chapter 2166 — Still a Failure

After Wei Zhao put on the jade bracelet, he once again began to attempt the refinement, only to have hope turn to disappointment every single time. The pill fire he had already refined was by now very stable and very pure, so the spirit-calming jade bracelet was of almost no use at all—when converting fire-element pill fire into water-, wood-, metal-, or earth-element pill fire, so long as the temperature and the force of the flame were not changed, the conversion could proceed smoothly; but the moment either was altered, the pill fire would inevitably be snuffed out.

In other words, whether Wei Zhao wore the thing or not made hardly any difference at all.

He shook his head. He had originally intended to give this thing to Han Jingyi. It seemed he could not do everything after all—possessing the Xuanyuan Dragon-Taming Art had already given Wei Zhao an advantage over others in many respects, and to want to master pill refining as well was a little too greedy.

He was just about to resume his cultivation when a phone rang. Wei Zhao picked it up and found that it was Pi Zhishan calling! It seemed that after Wei Zhao had sent him a single text message earlier, he had saved the number.

"Leader Wei Zhao, you've arrived safely, I take it?" Pi Zhishan's voice came through.

"I've arrived. But it seems those people's plans have changed?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Yes, leader, I never expected you to pull out such a devastating move—setting the hidden Yu family and the hidden Zhao family at each other's throats just like that. Once those two families were fighting, they naturally had no mind to intercept you, leader!" Pi Zhishan said. "After that, the hidden You family and the hidden Tang family began to waver, and this is what my grandfather said at that point..."

Pi Zhishan recounted to Wei Zhao everything that had happened after Wei Zhao left—in truth, he had come to claim credit as well, for after all, the hidden Tang family and the hidden You family backing down owed a great deal to Old Master Pi.

"Then I have you to thank for that. I was wondering why those two never showed up—so it was Old Master Pi's doing!" Wei Zhao said in sudden understanding.

"Heh heh, you're the leader of me and Pi Zhihai now, so there's no need for such courtesy!" Pi Zhishan laughed. "All right, leader. I won't disturb your rest. I'll hang up now—if there's any news, I'll contact you at once!"

"Very well," Wei Zhao said mildly. He knew what Pi Zhishan was after, but he was in no hurry to agree to treat Pi Zhihai. The hidden Pi family and the hidden Han family were not the same, and there had been some bad blood between Wei Zhao and them before, so even if Wei Zhao were to heal Pi Zhihai, he would have to play it carefully. He could not simply agree outright.

Pi Zhishan was somewhat disappointed, but it was within his expectations, and he was not discouraged. He resolved to keep in close contact with Wei Zhao—so long as Wei Zhao accepted him, then the day Pi Zhihai was cured would not be far off.

After hanging up, Wei Zhao began to cultivate, and the night passed without a word. Early the next morning, Wei Zhao walked out of the bedroom fresh and clear-headed, intending to go to the kitchen to make breakfast, when he caught sight of Granny Sun. Only then did he remember that he no longer needed to make breakfast.

He had come back too late the night before; Granny Sun had probably already gone to bed, and Wei Zhao had quite forgotten she was there.

"Granny Sun, do you need a hand?" Wei Zhao asked.

"No need, it's almost ready!" Granny Sun said with a smile. "Mr. Lin, you're back!"

"Yes, I'm back. Then you go ahead and cook. I'll go next door and call Han Jingyi and the others over to eat with us." Wei Zhao reflected that Han Jingyi and her brother ate instant noodles every day, and now that he was back, it would do no harm to invite them over for a proper breakfast.

"No need for that—Han Jingyi has been coming over for breakfast every day these past two days..." Granny Sun had barely finished speaking when the doorbell rang.

Wei Zhao had meant to ask how it was that Han Jingyi came to eat breakfast here, but he went to open the door first. Sure enough, there was Han Jingyi, yawning as she walked along, still half asleep, and with a thud she bumped right into Wei Zhao. She collided with him full on, her full, high breasts pressing against his body...

"Ah? Brother Wei Zhao?" Han Jingyi snapped fully awake in an instant. She stared wide-eyed at Wei Zhao and said in delighted surprise, "You're back?"

"Yes... I'm back..." Wei Zhao swallowed hard with an audible gulp. Han Jingyi was wearing only her pajamas, with no bra underneath. Bumping into him had already been quite pleasant enough for Wei Zhao, but from the angle he was at, he could also see a sliver of springtime pressed and reshaped within the collar of her pajamas!

Wei Zhao hastily and somewhat awkwardly stepped back two paces—though after retreating, he felt a faint pang of regret.

Han Jingyi seemed, in her drowsy state, not to have noticed at all that she had been taken advantage of and that she had exposed herself. She looked at Wei Zhao joyfully and said, "Brother Wei Zhao, I can refine Spirit-Gathering Pills now! I made several of them—look... oh, I forgot to bring them. Wait here, I'll go get them!"

Han Jingyi patted her clothes and only then realized she was still in her pajamas, so she made to go home and fetch them.

"No need—let's eat first and talk later." Wei Zhao was delighted to hear that Han Jingyi had successfully refined the first-grade Spirit-Gathering Pills. Although such pills were of little use to Wei Zhao himself, they could be used as favors: for anyone whose strength he did not wish to raise with his own hands, he could simply send over Spirit-Gathering Pills, and they could also be used to trade for rare and precious treasures.

"Oh... all right," Han Jingyi nodded.

"By the way, Jingjing, why are you having breakfast here?" Wei Zhao only now remembered to ask.

"I didn't see you when I came to school in the mornings before, so the next day I came looking for you, and Sister Yaoyao told me to eat breakfast with them," Han Jingyi said with a nod.

Gu Mengyao? Wei Zhao was a little surprised. He was about to say something more when Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu had already come downstairs. Seeing Han Jingyi at the door, they said, "Jingjing, you're here!"

"Yes, Sister Yaoyao, Xiaoshu!" Han Jingyi greeted them politely.

Han Xiaochao, who had followed behind Han Jingyi, only now set down the textbook in his hands and greeted Gu Mengyao, Shen Yushu, and Wei Zhao: "Sister Yaoyao, Sister Xiaoshu, Brother Wei Zhao!"

Granny Sun now brought the food to the table as well, and everyone sat down together to eat breakfast.

"Brother Wei Zhao, how come you were gone so many days and didn't even tell Jingjing? It's a good thing Sister Yaoyao told me you'd gone on a long trip, or Jingjing would have worried herself sick!" Han Jingyi said.

"Yes, I went out to do someone a favor," Wei Zhao said. "But I did get some good things out of it. As it happens, this is for you."

As he spoke, Wei Zhao took out the spirit-calming jade bracelet and handed it to Han Jingyi.

"Ah, is this a present from Brother Wei Zhao? It's so pretty!" Han Jingyi reached out to take it, then suddenly stopped and looked rather embarrassed at Gu Mengyao and Shen Yushu. "Brother Wei Zhao, did you bring nice things for Sister Yaoyao and Xiaoshu too?"

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