Chapter 2767 — A Pleasant Trade

Mother Tang's strength came entirely from taking pills. She had consumed no small amount of Snow Valley's Spirit Gathering Pills, Spirit Gathering Elixirs, and Minor Qi Gathering Pills—not for the sake of power, but to live a few more years alongside Tang Zhi, and incidentally to keep plundering Snow Valley for a few more years.

"Uh... this... shall we make the exchange now?" Wei Zhao asked.

"Let's do it now!" the Supreme Elder nodded.

"Oh, then you two go ahead and trade. I'm off." Seeing that Wei Zhao had arrived, Mother Tang was naturally eager to go find Tang Zhi. She knew that once the Supreme Elder finished trading with Wei Zhao, she would hurry him out of the valley—so Mother Tang had to waste no time.

With that, Mother Tang left of her own accord, not sparing the Supreme Elder so much as another glance.

Wei Zhao was all the more astonished. Was this not taking the Supreme Elder a little too lightly?

Once Mother Tang had left, the Supreme Elder breathed a sigh of relief and said to Wei Zhao, "Come, Mr. Lin—accompany me to the treasure vault, and we'll fetch the items for the exchange."

The Supreme Elder had more or less guessed that Mother Tang was likely going to find Tang Zhi, so how could she let Wei Zhao linger in the reception room? She had to go with Wei Zhao to the treasure vault, complete the transaction, and then personally escort Wei Zhao out of Snow Valley, avoiding any contact with Tang Zhi.

Ordinarily, the Snow Valley treasure vault was off-limits not only to outsiders but to everyone within Snow Valley save those of elder rank or above. But to keep an eye on Wei Zhao, the Supreme Elder had no choice but to bring him along.

"Very well, Supreme Elder. That person just now—the Snow Valley patrolling overseer—what position is that, exactly?" Wei Zhao asked, puzzled. "She seemed rather formidable?"

"Ahem..." The Supreme Elder cleared her throat twice, somewhat at a loss for how to explain. "She's someone you can't afford to offend. Never mind—let's not speak of her. Her position is very special. Let's hurry to the treasure vault!"

"Oh... all right." Seeing that the Supreme Elder was unwilling to say more, Wei Zhao asked no further questions. This was, after all, an internal matter of Snow Valley, and as an outsider he could hardly press the point.

After leaving the reception room, Mother Tang ran straight to the place where Tang Zhi cultivated. The disciple on duty at the door did not dare stop her and simply let her enter the room.

Tang Zhi had just finished cultivating. Hearing footsteps, she opened her eyes and saw Mother Tang. Somewhat surprised, she asked, "Mom, why are you here?"

"Come, Yun'er—Mom's taking you to meet someone!" Without another word, Mother Tang seized Tang Zhi's hand and headed for the door.

"Huh? Meet who?" Tang Zhi was baffled. What had gotten into her mother today? She had come rushing over here, and before saying more than a few words, she was already dragging her out the door.

"You'll know when we get there. Any slower and we'll miss them!" Mother Tang intended to give Tang Zhi a surprise.

"Oh..." Tang Zhi was pulled along by her mother, the two of them racing the whole way.

"You there—halt!" After running for some distance in the direction of the reception room, Mother Tang suddenly stopped and pointed at a Snow Valley patrol disciple.

"Ah..." The disciple started and hastily came to a stop. Who in Snow Valley didn't know Mother Tang? It was impossible to know Tang Zhi without knowing Mother Tang. "Auntie Wang, is something the matter?"

"Tell me—did you see the Supreme Elder?" Mother Tang asked.

"This..." The patrol disciple had indeed seen the Supreme Elder, but patrol disciples had no right to discuss the whereabouts of the elders, so he hesitated and gave no answer.

"So you won't talk? You want to be out of a job?" Mother Tang glared and snapped, "I'm sure you've heard the terrifying legends about me in Snow Valley. People say it's better to offend Valley Master Xueli than to offend Auntie Wang! I suppose you'd like to offend me, then? Shall I have you thrown out this instant?"

"This..." The valley patrol disciple was drenched in sweat.

"Out with it. If anyone blames you, I'll vouch for you—just put it all on me!" Mother Tang snorted.

"Yes—this humble one did see the Supreme Elder. She went in the direction of the treasure vault..." Hearing Mother Tang's guarantee, the disciple breathed a sigh of relief and answered hurriedly.

"Oh? Was she alone, or with someone else?" Mother Tang pressed.

"She was with a young man," the disciple answered truthfully.

"All right, you can go!" Mother Tang waved a hand, signaling that the disciple was dismissed.

The disciple felt as though a great weight had lifted. He wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and hurried away.

"You old thing, I knew you were up to no good. Come, Yun'er—we're going to the treasure vault!" Mother Tang waved a hand and led Tang Zhi charging off in the direction of the vault.

"Mom, what are you talking about? What old thing? What do you mean, up to no good?" Tang Zhi was utterly lost, with no idea what her mother was going on about.

"Oh, never mind that. Just follow me," Mother Tang said.

"Oh..." Tang Zhi nodded and followed behind her mother.

……………………

"Mr. Lin, this is our Snow Valley treasure vault. Once you enter, please do not touch anything. I trust you understand." The Supreme Elder was courteous to Wei Zhao only because she did not wish to create unnecessary conflict; she simply wanted to hand over the goods and send him on his way, lest he run into Tang Zhi in Snow Valley and spoil everything.

"Understood." Wei Zhao understood as well—this was the treasure vault of an ancient sect, and it was already quite generous of them to let him inside at all. He was not so tactless as to go groping about.

The Supreme Elder took out the water-attribute Heaven-rank divine weapon treasured within the vault, then brought out four stalks of Orchid Mustard Jade Lingzhi Grass and handed them to Wei Zhao. "Here are the items. Please inspect them, Mr. Lin. If all is well, leave your mist-attribute Heaven-rank divine weapon, and then I will escort you out of Snow Valley."

"Very well..." Wei Zhao got the distinct impression that the Supreme Elder was shooing him out—as if she could not wait to complete the trade and be rid of him. Still, the Supreme Elder had been reasonably courteous and had made no move to break their agreement, so Wei Zhao could hardly concern himself with such things. Let the Supreme Elder do as she pleased; perhaps she had other matters to attend to shortly.

After all, the Supreme Elder of a sect had many duties—she could hardly devote all her time to receiving cultivators who came to trade for treasures.

Wei Zhao quickly inspected the items the Supreme Elder had brought. Everything appeared to be in order, so he nodded and said, "No problem. A pleasant trade."

"A pleasant trade..." The Supreme Elder's expression froze for a moment, though somehow the words sounded rather forced. "Mr. Lin, allow me to escort you out now."