Chapter 2200 — I'll Be Going Now

"Very good, sir!" The waiter took the POS machine and swiped You Panhu's card, then withdrew to prepare the dishes.

"Wei Zhao, are you ever going to quit it? If you don't want to make the trade, just say so—no need to dream up a mountain of excuses and keep dodging!" You Panhu was thoroughly out of patience. "If you've changed your mind, just say it straight out!"

"Oh, you guessed it exactly. I have indeed changed my mind," Wei Zhao said with a nod.

"What the... hell..." You Panhu nearly stamped his feet in fury. "What exactly do you want? Why have you gone back on your word again?"

"Actually, I changed my mind because of you," Wei Zhao said.

"Because of me? What's that supposed to mean?" You Panhu asked.

"Last time, I traded you some materials, and afterward you bore a grudge against me, insisting at every turn that I'd cheated you. So I got to thinking—after I trade with you this time, will you do the same thing again?" Wei Zhao said with perfect solemnity. "So after a whole morning of careful consideration, I've decided I'd rather not trade with you after all."

"Damn it, are you playing me?" You Panhu was so sullen he nearly lashed out—but then he suddenly remembered who was standing before him. Wei Zhao would not permit him to lose his temper; if he did, and got beaten for it, he wouldn't even have a place to plead his case. So he could only swallow his anger and say, "A true man, a real man—his word, once given, cannot be taken back!"

"You still don't get it? I'm thinking of you. I'm afraid you'll go back on your word later—and then you'd turn into a eunuch," Wei Zhao said.

"Me, a eunuch? How would I turn into a eunuch?" You Panhu was stunned.

"Didn't you say that a true man's word, once given, cannot be taken back? I'm afraid that if you go back on your word later, you'll no longer be a true man," Wei Zhao explained.

"Enough, Wei Zhao, cut the useless talk. You don't need to think of me—trading materials with you is my own choice, and I won't go back on it, rest assured!" You Panhu said. "Is that good enough now?"

"All right, since you're so sincere about it, I'll trade with you." Wei Zhao nodded, then said, "Open the bundle. I want to inspect the goods!"

"I let you inspect my goods—shouldn't you at least let me inspect yours?" You Panhu said, struck by a sudden inspiration.

Wei Zhao rolled his eyes. "You Panhu, are you trying to plumb the depths of stupidity? I've already shown you my materials—what value do they have left? And if you look at your things, you won't lose anything by it."

"Fine, then look." You Panhu wasted no more words. He opened the cloth wrapper and presented what lay inside to Wei Zhao—he just wanted to end this transaction as quickly as possible.

The wrapper fell open, and there before Wei Zhao appeared an antique-looking pill cauldron, exactly as it had been in the photograph. But now that he saw the real thing, Wei Zhao found that the cauldron was even more battered than he had imagined!

You Panhu's photograph had shown only the front of the cauldron, and even the front was already covered in dense cracks; the back of the cauldron, however, had a great split running from top to bottom—"too ghastly to look at" would not have been an exaggeration.

The item was genuine. With his trained eye, Wei Zhao could tell it was indeed an antique—back when he had gone tomb-robbing with Qiu Lingshan, Wei Zhao had crammed some knowledge of curios. But in its present condition, this thing could absolutely never be used to refine pills. It leaked air on all sides now; never mind refining pills—it couldn't even be used to decoct a simple herbal medicine.

"This thing is even more beat-up than I imagined!" Wei Zhao said with a sigh.

"Wei Zhao, don't talk like that. If it were a fine piece, would I be trading it to you? It's because it's this kind of useless chicken rib that our Hidden You Family would put it out for trade!" You Panhu said. "You've already agreed, so don't go back on it."

"I'm not going back on anything—look at how scared you are." Wei Zhao set the cauldron down and, after saying this lightly, began examining the materials for refining second-grade pills.

"Hmph!" You Panhu gave a soft snort, ignored Wei Zhao, and quietly waited for the results of the inspection.

"Not bad, the stuff is more or less acceptable." With that, Wei Zhao tied up the bundle and set it beside himself, then tossed a set of materials to You Panhu. "What you need is in there."

"Heh heh!" Seeing that Wei Zhao was finally willing to let it go, You Panhu was overjoyed. He took the materials and began leafing through them carefully.

You Panhu was an alchemist—low-ranked, to be sure, merely a first-grade alchemist at present—but having heard and seen such things since childhood, he knew a fair amount about alchemy. Though he had not yet delved into the profound techniques, he could tell at a glance whether materials were good or bad.

After reading only a single page, You Panhu's expression turned grave. These materials were indeed the real thing—this time Wei Zhao had not deceived him! Relieved and rejoicing, You Panhu let out a breath, and as he read on, he nodded again and again.

Some of the views and techniques set forth in these materials had been mentioned by Old Master You when he lectured to the younger generation, so there could be no doubt these materials were genuine—Wei Zhao could not possibly have fabricated them to fool him.

A few pages further in, and the contents opened You Panhu's eyes anew! What Old Master You had expounded before was merely some foundational insights into alchemy, whereas what was recorded here were the insights and essential points of a first-grade alchemist. You Panhu read on in marveling admiration—many things he had never understood, questions he had not yet had the chance to ask Old Master You, all found their corresponding explanations and answers here!

Having read this far, You Panhu harbored no further doubts. He nodded heavily and said, "Wei Zhao, you've been decent enough this time—you didn't palm off some simpleton's stuff to cheat me!"

"Oh, you've got your goods, so you can scram. Go make a copy, and return the original to Han Jingyi directly." Inwardly, however, Wei Zhao was quietly astonished. Hadn't Chief Bai said this was the notebook of an alchemist from the Xuandan Sect? By rights, the Hidden You Family should have had it already—so why did You Panhu look as though he'd stumbled on a priceless treasure?

"Scram? Weren't we going to eat?" Having obtained the good stuff, You Panhu's appetite had opened up—he really was a little hungry.

"I'm not eating with you. I called you here to pay the bill," Wei Zhao said. "Of course, you're welcome to stay. After I've eaten my fill, I may want to work out—and I'll be short a punching bag. Care to volunteer?"

"Nothing else, I'll be going now." You Panhu picked up the materials and gloomily left the private room. He couldn't beat Wei Zhao—was no match for him at all. Though they were both Chief Bai's students for the time being and his life was not in danger, a beating that didn't kill him was something Chief Bai wouldn't intervene in. So, to avoid a beating, You Panhu thought it best to leave quickly.