Chapter 518 — Strength Restored

Wei Zhao knew well enough what Feng Tianlong's work entailed—not much different from what his own had once been. More often than not, a man in that line had no say over his own hours. If he had not come back by now, it meant he was not coming back at all, and so there was no reason for Wei Zhao to keep waiting.

"You... you're leaving?" Seeing that Wei Zhao was about to go, Feng Xiaoxiao was suddenly nettled. This guy had seen every inch of her, and now he was turning on his heel and walking off—what exactly was that supposed to mean?

Wei Zhao nodded, pushed the door open, and stepped out of Feng Xiaoxiao's room, leaving her with nothing but the sight of his retreating back.

"Hmph!" Feng Xiaoxiao stamped her foot in vexation. "Just you wait, Wei Zhao—I'll gouge your eyeballs out and use them as bubble wrap to stomp on!"

Her anger spent, she recalled how Wei Zhao had just praised her figure, and a little glow of pleasure crept back into her. Her body, it seemed, was not half bad—and it was clear Wei Zhao was not indifferent to her! Give it time, and perhaps she could capture his heart as well?

At that thought, Feng Xiaoxiao cheered up again—especially at the photos she had just taken on her phone. Those could serve as her secret weapon! If Tang Zhi ever saw them, heh heh, Wei Zhao would be finished!

Wei Zhao had no idea what Feng Xiaoxiao was thinking, nor any time to wonder. Only after leaving the Songjiang International Hotel where she was staying did he begin to examine his own strength.

Early Yellow Rank? A smile spread across Wei Zhao's face. He remembered how it had taken him nearly five years to climb from an ordinary man to the early Yellow Rank—and now it had taken him only a few hours!

It seemed Jiao Yazi had been right. His rank had never been lost; only the energy had been drained away. With the energy restored, his strength had naturally returned as well.

The early Yellow Rank was not especially formidable, but it was enough to keep himself safe. Wei Zhao flagged down a taxi and headed back to his hotel.

Fatty Lai and Guan Xuewen had not yet gone to bed. The two of them were sitting in the room drinking together—one old, one young. There was not much they could talk about, but they had a subject in common: Wei Zhao and the pharmaceutical company. So the conversation never flagged.

Seeing Wei Zhao push the door open and walk in, Fatty Lai said, "Boss, you're back? Join us for a couple of drinks?"

"All right, a couple of drinks then." Wei Zhao did not refuse. One of them was his elder, and the other, though his junior, was someone the pharmaceutical company would have to rely on in the days to come.

Fatty Lai had only spoken offhandedly and had not expected Wei Zhao to agree. Hearing him accept, he was momentarily taken aback.

But Wei Zhao had already come over and sat down. Earlier at the hotel, Wei Zhao had watched Feng Xiaoxiao eat while he himself had eaten hardly anything, and now he was genuinely hungry.

"Let me get something to eat first—you two go ahead and drink." Spotting some dumplings left on the table, Wei Zhao pulled the plate over and began wolfing them down.

"Boss, you went out and didn't eat?" Fatty Lai was startled. He had assumed Wei Zhao had gone out for dinner, never expecting him to come back and eat like a starving wolf.

"Heh..." Wei Zhao chuckled. "I ate. But there was a little girl who could really put it away—she polished off the whole lot by herself."

"Uh..." Fatty Lai's eyes went wide. "Don't tell me that was Feng Xiaoxiao from just now?"

"Mm, that's her." Wei Zhao made no attempt to hide it.

"Oh... I wonder what her background is. Even Wu Gonggao is wary of her old man!" Fatty Lai certainly remembered Feng Xiaoxiao. He was a businessman, and he made a point of committing people of consequence to memory.

"Heh, her father and I go back a ways. But as for her background—best not ask for now." Wei Zhao waved a hand. "That sort of thing is confidential."

Wei Zhao had known Fatty Lai only a short time, so he could not yet trust him completely. Some things could be told to him now, but others could not.

Guan Xuewen, however, understood what Wei Zhao meant. He had known before of the connection between Wei Zhao and Yang Huaijun, and now, recalling how Wu Gonggao had addressed Feng Tianlong, he immediately put two and two together about Feng Tianlong's identity!

Feng Tianlong was most likely an agent as well—though exactly which department he belonged to, there was no way of knowing.

Lai the Fatso said no more, and instead fell to discussing the auction with Wei Zhao. "Boss, take a look—here's tomorrow's auction catalogue. See if there's anything on it you fancy!"

Lai the Fatso's invitation was a red one, and red invitations did not entitle the holder to the catalogue until the very day of the auction. Guan Xuewen was different: his was a gold invitation, which let him obtain the list of lots well in advance.

Guan Xuewen had never paid such things much mind, but reflecting that Wei Zhao might have a use for it, he had asked for a copy.

"I've already been through the lots," Guan Xuewen said. "The only thing of any medical interest is a single thousand-year snow lotus. I don't know whether it would be of any use to you."

"A thousand-year snow lotus?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback; the thing was exceedingly rare. "A thousand-year snow lotus serves as a guiding ingredient in many ancient prescriptions, and it has an unexpectedly potent effect on repairing scars on the human body..."

"Oh? So it's useful to us as well, then?" Lai the Fatso asked, somewhat excited. "Shall we nab it tomorrow?"

"No need for that." Wei Zhao waved a hand. "The cost is far too high. There's no way it could ever be produced on any scale."

"True enough—one snow lotus really isn't good for much at all!" Lai the Fatso deflated at once.

"Ha, for instance, the premium wound medicine we mean to auction, the one that repairs scars—the original formula called for a thousand-year snow lotus, but I substituted something else for it," Wei Zhao said. "In fact, many of the ingredients in ancient formulas are very hard to find nowadays, but substitutes can always be found."

"Good heavens! Boss, you're really something!" Hearing this, Lai the Fatso was overcome with admiration. "You can substitute even that? Does it affect the efficacy at all?"

"Perhaps it does, perhaps it doesn't—but I haven't noticed any," Wei Zhao said with a smile. "It should be negligible."

"Boss, you truly are a miracle doctor!" Lai the Fatso might not have understood medicine, but he knew well enough that doctors who could diagnose illness and write prescriptions were many, while doctors who could freely alter a formula and find substitutes were very few indeed.

Guan Xuewen, too, wore a look of shock at that moment; Wei Zhao had brought him far too many pleasant surprises, so many that he could scarcely take them all in. It was just as the saying went: live and learn, and there is always a taller mountain and a higher sky. He had once been hailed as a miracle doctor, yet beside Wei Zhao he felt like a frog at the bottom of a well.

"It's nothing, really—very simple stuff." Wei Zhao waved a hand. "Let me have a look at the catalogue first."