Chapter 3829 — It Is Impolite Not to Return a Courtesy

Though they dared not cause trouble inside the Hong Merchant Guild, shouting abuse out in the open street was something no one could stop them from doing.

"A throat-slitting salute? It seems this Yu Zhe bears you a deep grudge, Young Hero Lin!" Hong Zhong could not help but laugh at the sight. It had been many a year since this money-minded merchant of peaceful dealings had last seen such a gesture of implacable provocation.

Wei Zhao answered only with a faint smile and said nothing, yet Hong Zhong could clearly sense that this Lin Er before him did not truly take Yu Zhe to heart. The only reason he now showed any caution toward the man's throat-slitting salute was Nan Tianyong, who stood at Yu Zhe's side.

Could this young man truly be so unfathomable as that?

For all his years of reading men, Hong Zhong had never once had such an experience. Here was plainly nothing more than a peak early-stage Foundation Establishment expert of no particular distinction, yet every moment he spent in this Lin Er's company, he could not help but feel from the bottom of his heart that the man was unfathomable. In the past, such a thing would have been utterly inconceivable!

A peak early-stage Foundation Establishment expert whom one could not see through at all—by Hong Zhong's judgment, that was an utterly absurd thing, and yet he had truly encountered it. And the reason he treated Wei Zhao so generously was, apart from the wish to cast a long line to hook a big fish, very much this as well.

He wanted to see just where the limits of this young man who called himself Lin Er might lie!

A short while later, the attendants of the Hong Merchant Guild had prepared every spirit-herb material listed on the sheet Wei Zhao had given them, packed it all up, and delivered it before him.

"Young Hero Lin, three hundred spirit jades in all. Thank you for your patronage," Hong Zhong said with a chuckle as he set the whole bag of spirit-herb materials before Wei Zhao and took his spirit-jade card.

"Not at all, not at all. Steward Hong is far too kind—it is I who should be thanking you," Wei Zhao said with a nod to Hong Zhong.

The list he had given them enumerated no fewer than several dozen kinds of spirit-herb materials. Most were common spirit herbs, with nothing so exceedingly rare as the Heart-Devouring Linglong Grass; even choosing only the finest quality, the price of a single plant would not be outlandishly high. But the sheer quantity was another matter.

Several dozen kinds of spirit-herb materials, five sets of each, and if calculated strictly by the Hong Merchant Guild's marked prices, the total would come to at least three hundred and fifty spirit jades or more. Even with the ten-percent discount on Wei Zhao's spirit-jade card, it would still cost him at least three hundred and twenty spirit jades.

Yet Hong Zhong had charged him only three hundred—a price that was practically the treatment of a VIP-grade spirit-jade card. Another favor done on the side.

Still, Wei Zhao did not affect any false modesty and try to refuse the outcome. Since the man was willing to grant him such a discount, it meant he intended to draw him in.

To be valued and courted by a figure like Hong Zhong, a giant of commerce, was by no means a bad thing. If he were to refuse the man's goodwill out of a misplaced sense of propriety, then with such a preconceived impression left behind, it would be very difficult to build any deep friendship in the future.

Wei Zhao did not have three hundred spirit jades on hand, but he did have them in his card. After all, last time Hong Zhong had given him four hundred spirit jades along with the spirit-jade card. Strictly speaking, even the spirit-herb materials he was buying now had been gifts from Hong Zhong—the man had laid out no small capital to win over this promising prospect.

But it is impolite not to return a courtesy, and Wei Zhao was not the sort who liked to take advantage of others for nothing. To accept so much of Hong Zhong's kindness and never think of giving anything back was not his style at all.

As Hong Zhong took back the bag of spirit-herb materials, he assumed Wei Zhao would now take his leave. To his surprise, Wei Zhao seemed to recall something, and then drew a small wooden box from his sleeve and handed it over.

"And this is?" Hong Zhong's eyes lit up at once. He had indeed intended to cultivate a connection with this Lin Er, but at bottom he was a merchant through and through. If he could never get any return from the other man, then no matter how extraordinary he might be, his professional principles would not allow him to keep giving one-sidedly forever.

And as the steward of the Hong Merchant Guild's North Island branch, there was not much profit Hong Zhong could gain from the man—except that last time, those two top-grade Foundation Establishment Barrier-Breaking Pills had truly benefited him greatly.

After all, though Foundation Establishment Barrier-Breaking Pills were common enough, top-grade ones of the quality he had seen last time were exceedingly rare even on Central Island, where the finest alchemists gathered—scarcely seen once in a blue moon. Since being assigned to North Island decades ago, the number of top-grade Foundation Establishment Barrier-Breaking Pills that had passed through Hong Zhong's hands could be counted on one hand.

And every single top-grade Foundation Establishment Barrier-Breaking Pill was a grand feast for raising the influence of the Hong Merchant Guild's North Island branch. So those two top-grade pills Wei Zhao had given him last time were, in the truest sense, a great gift.

This time, seeing that the man had come only to purchase spirit-herb materials, Hong Zhong had never expected such good fortune again; and from Wei Zhao's behavior at the outset, he had indeed seemed to have no intention of selling any pills. Yet now, for some reason, the man had suddenly changed his mind.

Honor me a foot, and I honor you a fathom—was this Lin Er that sort of fellow?

Old age brings wisdom, and Hong Zhong quickly grasped Wei Zhao's reason for doing so. A knowing smile crept to the corner of his mouth. Only mutual benefit endures—this young man who called himself Lin Er was in truth a born merchant talent.

He had assumed it would be top-grade Foundation Establishment Barrier-Breaking Pills again, as last time. But when he lifted the lid of the wooden box, Hong Zhong could not help but start. Inside lay three pills, yet they were not Barrier-Breaking Pills but Foundation Establishment Pills—and not the sort of Foundation-Tempering Pill that the mortal world called a "Foundation Establishment Pill."

Though both bore the words "Foundation Establishment," the value of a Foundation Establishment Pill could obviously not compare with that of a Barrier-Breaking Pill. A Foundation Establishment Pill was only for those below the Foundation Establishment stage, while a Barrier-Breaking Pill was for Foundation Establishment experts—their tiers were entirely different.

And as for the selling price, an ordinary Foundation Establishment Barrier-Breaking Pill could be marked at four hundred spirit jades, but a Foundation Establishment Pill could command at most two hundred and fifty.

And even that was only because the Pill Hall insisted upon it. After all, the Pill Hall charged two hundred spirit jades for even a single refining; if the market price fell below two hundred spirit jades, no one would hire the Pill Hall to refine pills at all.