Chapter 4624 — A Letter from Zhong Island

"I figure the problem could lie in one of two places. Either the technology isn't mature yet, or the business is too sensitive and has cut into someone's core interests, so it had to be shut down halfway. Beyond that, I can't think of any other reason to kill off a business with a monopoly like that." Hong Zhong ventured.

A monopoly—that was what nearly every merchant in the world dreamed of, and plenty of people had shed blood for it. When had any merchant guild ever voluntarily given up its own exclusive trade?

Wei Zhao nodded thoughtfully. The Zhongshu Chamber of Commerce, which had risen so suddenly, was far too mysterious, especially the immense shadow looming behind it. The mere thought of it sent a chill crawling down one's spine. To capture a large number of Golden Core experts for human experimentation—what a terrifying organization this was!

The two fell silent for a moment and did not pursue the topic. Wei Zhao changed the subject: "By the way, Elder Hong, have you been to Zhong Island lately?"

"I have. I made a trip just last month, and I even sought out Cai Zhongxuan and Hou Guanqi and had them take me to the Heaven Pill Pavilion. Business has really picked up!" Hong Zhong said, watching Wei Zhao with an amused look. Given the relationship between the two of them, Wei Zhao of course would not keep the matter of the Heaven Pill Pavilion from him—after all, this was a true ally who could be counted among his own people, and besides, Wei Zhao had previously asked Hong Zhong to help ship pills to the Heaven Pill Pavilion.

"How are they doing?" Wei Zhao asked hurriedly.

"They? You mean Cai Zhongxuan and Hou Guanqi? Same as ever, of course. Those two have such placid natures, they'll never change as long as they live." Hong Zhong said with deliberate teasing.

"Oh, Elder Hong, don't keep me in suspense. You know I'm not asking about them—it's about *them*." Wei Zhao rubbed his hands together, a little sheepish.

"Heh. 'Even heroes cannot pass the gate of beauties'—that saying really is no lie. Cai Zhongxuan and Hou Guanqi went out of their way to ask me to bring you a message, and you don't even care. Your only concern is your two fair confidantes. If they knew, their faces would be a sight to behold!" Hong Zhong said with rare sly amusement.

"A message for me? What message?" Wei Zhao was instantly taken aback.

"They wanted me to tell you that Grandmaster Zhang Lifeng hasn't come back once in the past two years. If he ever does return, they'll send word to you at the first opportunity." Hong Zhong relayed.

"Ah, I see. It's good of them to keep it in mind all this while. Next time I go to Zhong Island, I'll have to thank them properly." Wei Zhao nodded. He could not really say he was disappointed—that Zhang Lifeng came and went like a dragon with neither head nor tail was only to be expected. So long as he waited patiently, there would surely come a day when they met.

"As for those two fair confidantes of yours, I don't need to say much—you'd best read the letter yourself." Hong Zhong gave a chuckle, then drew another letter from his sleeve. It had clearly been entrusted to him by Tianchan and Xueli.

"A letter?" Wei Zhao took it quickly, and could not help asking in surprise, "Then why didn't you give it to me together with the other one just now?"

"I meant to give them to you together, but before I could, you snatched the first one and started reading it as if your life depended on it. The way you went at it, I didn't have the heart to interrupt. Besides, that letter looked more important and somewhat suspicious—if I'd given them to you together, I was afraid you'd mix them up." Hong Zhong spread his hands.

"All right." Wei Zhao opened the envelope right there. It was nothing like the previous one, which had been stuffed full; inside were only two thin sheets of letter paper, and judging by the handwriting, it should be Tianchan who had written it.

*All is well.* That was the first line of the letter, and it was just as Wei Zhao had expected. With Tianxing Dao, that formidable vice island master of Zhong Island, watching over them, and with Cai Zhongxuan and Hou Guanqi helping to look after them as well, any fool blind enough to provoke them would not live to see the next day.

Quite apart from anything else, the deterrent force of the Tianxing Dao name carried considerable weight on Zhong Island. This was a figure who could stand alongside Zhang Lifeng as a legend, and his strength defied all conventional reckoning. While still at the Nascent Soul stage, he had been able to effortlessly annihilate an expert at the Mystery Ascension stage. Who would dare provoke the likes of such a madman?

In addition, Tianchan had also described the recent situation at the Heaven Pill Pavilion. Before Wei Zhao left for the South Continent, because he sent pills over at regular intervals, there had been no shortage of the finest pills of every kind, and business had flourished and prospered. But ever since Wei Zhao went to the South Continent, that supply had been cut off all at once, and the entire Pavilion could only rely on Tianchan alone to hold up its pill supply. Business had immediately gone into decline.

There was nothing to be done about it. Tianchan could refine pills too, and her quality was decent enough, but in both quality and quantity she was simply no match for Wei Zhao, who possessed the Divine Farmer's Cauldron. That she could keep the Heaven Pill Pavilion afloat by herself at all was already a not inconsiderable miracle.

Reading this, Wei Zhao could not help feeling a secret pang of guilt. Had he known, he would have stockpiled more pills before leaving for the South Continent—and in fact he had done exactly that, but he had only laid in half a year's worth. At the time it had never crossed his mind that he would be trapped in the South Continent for so long. This business had brought bad luck not only on Wei Zhao himself, but on Tianchan and the others as well, and the thought of it was unbearable.

What rather surprised Wei Zhao, however, was that although business at the Heaven Pill Pavilion had declined over the past year, it had not fallen as badly as he had imagined. Daily turnover could still be maintained at around sixty thousand spirit jade. That outcome was truly unexpected; even if it was a good deal lower than at its peak, it was still quite extraordinary.

Only after reading the whole letter did Wei Zhao suddenly understand. There were, in fact, two very crucial reasons why the Heaven Pill Pavilion could keep its daily turnover at sixty thousand spirit jade.

One was that Tianchan and Xueli ran the place with great skill. The two divided the work between them: after Wei Zhao's supply was cut off, Tianchan's efforts guaranteed the Pavilion's pill supply, while Xueli, faced with the reality of dwindling stocks of the finest pills, devised a corresponding strategy of raising prices.

Rare things are precious. Raising the price of top-grade pills was perfectly normal anywhere; it was the Heaven Pill Pavilion's practice of selling them like common goods that was truly abnormal. What was more, Xueli's strategy was not a simple price hike—it also began restricting the daily quantity sold according to the remaining inventory.

Selling only three top-grade pills a day—that was a brand-new gimmick that drew people in, and to a great extent it preserved the Heaven Pill Pavilion's popularity.

That alone, however, could at best keep the Heaven Pill Pavilion from dying. It was still unrealistic to think it could sustain daily takings of sixty thousand. Hence the second reason: the patronage of Wei Shenjin.