Chapter 2516 — A Pleasant Cooperation

"Yes, sir!" the young captain of the Law Enforcement Hall answered at once.

"Give me the radio set. I want a word with the vice president," Wei Zhao said suddenly to the captain.

"This..." The captain of the Law Enforcement Hall hesitated.

"Give it to him," the Heaven Rank vice president ordered outright.

"Yes, sir." The captain hastily handed the radio set to Wei Zhao.

"Mr. Ling, that's you, isn't it? Heh heh—how did you come to wander into our medicinal garden?" The Heaven Rank vice president's tone was pleasant, with not the slightest hint of reproach. "Still, you know how it is—those two disciples were only carrying out orders. Don't hold it against them; our medicinal garden really is a restricted area."

"Mm... I know. You needn't be nervous either, Vice President. I'm not the sort to kill at random," Wei Zhao said with a wry smile.

Those words gave the two Law Enforcement Hall disciples a great fright. Surely not? The vice president was actually speaking to Wei Zhao in such a respectful tone? And from the sound of it, this Mr. Ling might have killed them? At that thought, cold sweat broke out all over the two disciples.

"Heh heh, I was only speaking offhandedly. So—Mr. Ling, is there something you wanted?" the Heaven Rank vice president asked.

"Vice President, if I may be so bold—the medicinal herbs grown on the mountain, are they for sale?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Oh? These medicinal materials are naturally for sale, though not through our market's channels—they're sold through the channels of a higher-level trade fair," the Heaven Rank vice president said. "Why—is Mr. Ling interested... ah, of course. Mr. Ling did provide some pills earlier..."

"Exactly. I was wondering whether I might purchase some of the materials," Wei Zhao said.

"That doesn't fall within my jurisdiction. I'm only responsible for the safety of the medicinal garden; the sale of the medicines is handled by another vice president," the Heaven Rank vice president said. "Tell you what, Mr. Ling—I'll make some inquiries for you. In about a month, give me another call and I'll have news for you. This batch of medicinal materials won't be ready for some time yet anyway, so there's no rush."

"Very well, then—much obliged!" Wei Zhao said. "I can promise you this: the pills I refine will be offered first to the vice president's market."

"Heh heh, that would naturally be for the best!" the Heaven Rank vice president said with a laugh. "Then here's to a pleasant cooperation!"

In truth, the reason he was helping Wei Zhao like this was precisely that Wei Zhao could supply pills to the cultivators' market. One had to understand that pills were among the greatest sources of profit for a cultivators' market; the profits from the invitation cards were taken directly by the cultivators' guild and did not count toward the Heaven Rank vice president's performance, whereas the profits earned at the market's auctions were his performance—which was why he was willing to lower himself and cultivate Wei Zhao's goodwill.

Otherwise, the mere fact that Wei Zhao was stronger than he was would hardly have been enough to make him so genial.

For a long time, the pills sold at the cultivators' market had all been supplied by the Hidden You Family, but the Heaven Rank cultivators were far from satisfied with that, for the Hidden You Family's quantities were simply too small—only twenty or thirty pills each time, and most of those were common pills such as the Minor Restoration Pill, the Channel-Opening Pill, the Qi-Returning Pill, the Foundation-Building Pill, and the Body-Tempering Pill. Cultivation pills like the Minor Qi-Gathering Pill were exceedingly rare. Wei Zhao had provided five Minor Qi-Gathering Pills in one go, which had astonished the Heaven Rank vice president!

"A pleasant cooperation! I hope the Heaven Rank vice president will be generous with his help!" Wei Zhao said quickly.

"Mm... I'll do my utmost to bring it about," the Heaven Rank vice president said with a nod. "But you'll have to give me a guarantee first: every three years, can you supply a quantity of pills comparable to this time's?"

"Every three years?" Wei Zhao was slightly taken aback.

"That's right. The Hidden You Family supplies that number of pills once every three years," the Heaven Rank vice president said.

Wei Zhao was astonished. So the Hidden You Family's pill output was not especially high after all—only this much in three years! Yet he and Han Jingyi, given the materials, could refine that many in a few days at most!

Of course, Wei Zhao absolutely could not say such a thing. If he did, he would be a monster, and it might well bring disaster upon him!

"Does the cultivators' market only hold a fair once every three years?" Wei Zhao asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Naturally not. When I say every three years, I mean second-grade pills. As for first-grade pills, under ordinary circumstances the Hidden You Family can supply them in abundance, so I wouldn't advise Mr. Ling to go into that line of business—the market is essentially saturated," the Heaven Rank vice president said frankly. "Although your Spirit-Gathering Pills all sold this time, that's only because Spirit-Gathering Pills are cultivation pills and thus in high demand. As for other first-grade pills, they're neither so sought after nor so profitable."

"So that's how it is." Wei Zhao nodded. In truth, he had never intended to have Han Jingyi refine first-grade pills again—since the effort was the same, refining second-grade pills naturally held more promise and value. "You have my guarantee!"

"Good. With Mr. Ling's word as guarantee, I'll do my utmost!" the Heaven Rank vice president agreed readily.

"Then I'll be on my way down the mountain. I leave everything here to you, Vice President." With that, Wei Zhao returned the radio set to the captain of the Law Enforcement Hall.

The captain took back the radio set with an expression of utter shock, then said, "Senior Ling, take care on your way..."

Wei Zhao nodded, hoisted the large leather case, and headed down the mountain. This trip to the cultivators' market had been quite fruitful—Wei Zhao had obtained many of the things he needed, and had also found a supply of materials for pill refinement. The journey had certainly not been in vain.

On his way down the mountain, Wei Zhao encountered no one else. The Hidden You Family had probably long since departed, and Wei Zhao had reached an agreement with the Heaven Rank vice president. So long as the vice president was not a fool, their relationship would only deepen as their cooperation grew; they could not possibly become enemies again—unless the vice president wanted to quarrel with money, and with his own performance record.