Chapter 4031 — Wrath of the Pill Hall

That Wei Zhao, a mere newcomer from Qingyun Pavilion, had simply muscled his way into the post of honorary vice-chairman of the Hong Chamber of Commerce — if word of such a thing ever got out, it would sound like nothing short of legend.

"Mine is only an honorary vice-chairmanship, whereas you, Elder Hong, hold a vice-chairmanship with real power in your grasp. We are hardly on the same level at all. I shall be counting on Elder Hong's guidance from here on." Wei Zhao spoke modestly.

And that was the plain truth. The credit this time belonged entirely to Wei Zhao, but if one spoke of the greatest beneficiary, it was Hong Zhong all the same — from manager of the North Island branch he had vaulted straight to a vice-chairmanship at the Hong Chamber of Commerce headquarters, second only to the chairman and the executive vice-chairman, all but certain to be the third in command. Such a rate of promotion was no different from riding a rocket.

"Young Hero Lin, you do this old man too much honor," Hong Zhong said, shaking his head with a laugh. "With abilities as world-shaking as yours, Young Hero Lin, this old man — vice-chairman or no, even were I to seat myself in the chairman's chair, I would still have to lean on you." Then he sighed. "And yet, circumstances make the hero — that saying is not one jot false. I toiled with diligence for decades and stayed pinned as manager of the North Island branch, unable to advance a single step. Now, after one crisis, I have ascended to the vice-chairmanship in a single bound. Even thinking on it feels somehow unreal."

"There is an old saying in the mortal world: risk and reward are ever in direct proportion," Wei Zhao nodded.

"And that too is thanks to Young Hero Lin — only so were we able to turn peril into safety. Otherwise this old man would by now likely not even be able to hold on to his seat as branch manager; I would have become the scapegoat for those above me, and where would today's glory be?" Hong Zhong said, still shaken.

On the battlefield of business there are no flashing blades, yet the peril there is no less — nay, it surpasses the battlefield. This crisis had come out of nowhere, and even in recollection Hong Zhong could not help breaking into a cold sweat. Thank heaven Wei Zhao had been at his side!

As the two of them spoke, the new day's auction opened amid the clamor, and Hong Zhong promptly proposed, "Though our task is already complete, the Four Islands Auction is a rare opportunity. If Young Hero Lin has no objection, let us linger a couple more days here on the Far North Island. Whatever catches your eye along the way, Young Hero Lin need only say the word — this old man will surely secure it for you at auction, if only as a small token of thanks. Young Hero Lin must not refuse."

Seeing the other speak so earnestly, Wei Zhao could hardly decline. He nodded. "Very well, then. I thank you in advance, Elder Hong. As it happens, I would like to see what fine things there are!"

This favor was too great. If Hong Zhong were not permitted some private recompense, the man would likely feel uneasy about it; such feelings, pent up overlong, might prove no good thing, and would ill suit their long cooperation in days to come. Better simply to let him show a little gratitude and ease his heart — in any case, Hong Zhong did not look at all like a man short of spirit jade.

Compared with the day before, today's auction was a notch or two lower in scale and class, but as for the sheer bizarre variety of the lots, it was second to none — truly an eye-opener.

Many of the items even the several professional appraisers present could not make head or tail of; they could only pronounce vaguely that this object was extraordinary, and that its specific use would require the buyers to explore and uncover for themselves.

Wei Zhao had always been keen on such novelties. Even if he himself could not tell the true from the false, there was still some ghostly thing nesting in the space of his jade pendant — a thing that had lived who knew how many thousands or tens of thousands of years — and it could always make out a thing or two. Who knew but that he might carelessly pick up a treasure like the Star Ink Stone and make a killing?

Yet it was not only Wei Zhao who took an interest in these curious oddities; the others were all nursing the same hope of snatching up a bargain, especially Nan Tianxiong and his crew. With Yu Jiang among them — a man who had read every book under heaven — their knack for spotting hidden treasure far surpassed that of ordinary folk.

And while Wei Zhao was busy bidding and bargain-hunting against these people, Tianchan had already returned with the Pill Hall delegation to Central Island, escorting Zheng Tianjie's corpse.

When word of Zheng Tianjie's death came in, the normally quiet Pill Hall instantly boiled over. Zheng Tianjie's grandfather above all — Zheng Dongjue, vice-head of the Pill Hall — nearly fainted on the spot.

Zheng Tianjie was the only Golden Core expert among his grandchildren, and an alchemist besides, a man of boundless potential on whom great hopes had always been pinned, raised as the future successor. And now he had gone off to the Far North Island and come back a charred corpse. How was he to accept such a thing?

"Who did this?" Those words burst from Zheng Dongjue's hoarse throat like a howl from hell, and every disciple of the Pill Hall in the hall felt a chill run down their spines.

Apart from Zhang Lifeng and a few registered disciples, everyone else, under the aggressive glare of Zheng Dongjue, trembled with fear.

In the end, one of the elders who had led the party to the Far North Island was forced to step forward and explain: "Vice-Head, Young Master Zheng's death was not murder — it was... it was that last night, while refining pills, his furnace exploded and killed him."

"Furnace explosion?" Zheng Dongjue swept him a cold glance and roared in fury. "Tianjie was a fourth-rank alchemist of standing, and a Golden Core expert besides — and you tell me he died of a furnace explosion? You go and blow up a furnace, then, and let me see it!"

The elder shrank his neck and had no answer. And no wonder Zheng Dongjue reacted so; in truth, even these men had found it hard to believe at first. Only after repeatedly examining the scene and the corpse had they dared to reach the conclusion of death by furnace explosion.

"Hmph! This hall-master holds that your foolish conclusion is not to be trusted at all. Go and summon all the elders — this hall-master will reexamine the matter himself!" Zheng Dongjue snarled through gritted teeth.

As vice-head, with Zhang Lifeng absent, Zheng Dongjue was all but the final word in the Pill Hall. Even those elders of transcendent standing would not lightly contradict him, much less over so small a matter.

Seeing all the elders assembled, Tianchan's heart leapt into her throat. Every one of them was a personage of note on Central Island. Setting aside their status as top-tier alchemists, their strength and insight alike were far beyond the ordinary — and when it came to examining a matter like a furnace explosion, they were experts among experts.

Holding her breath, she watched the elders come forward one after another to examine the corpse, her heart more anxious than ever before, terrified that these people might detect some abnormality that should not be there.

Yet the conclusion the elders finally reached was the same as before: Zheng Tianjie had indeed died from a furnace explosion! R1152