Chapter 2197 — The Ancient Cauldron
The Blossom Guardian · Page 1 of 2
"If the young master says it's damaged, then damaged it must be." Elder Five took the cauldron from Tian Canbian's hands and studied it carefully for a long while himself before passing it back to You Zhentian. "This is a fine cauldron, no question—it must date back to the ancient era, perhaps even the primordial age. But it has cracked and been ruined, and it can no longer be used to refine pills..."
"Then... can't it be repaired?" You Zhentian's face fell at the verdict from Tian Canbian and Elder Five.
"It can't." Elder Five shook his head. "The art of forging vessels has been lost. That is precisely why our Xuandan Sect can make first- and second-grade cauldrons but has never been able to produce a third-grade one!"
"But even if it can't be forged anew, surely it can be patched?" You Zhentian asked.
"Patching a vessel is no simpler than forging one!" Elder Five said. "Legend has it that forging requires a constitution steeped in three attributes at once—metal, fire, and wood. As for patching, the修补者 must possess both metal and wood attributes together... The art of repair does survive in the world, scattered here and there, but only the technique itself—the matching heart method and oral formulas were never passed down. Of the five elements, metal overcomes wood; with ordinary heart methods, no one can cultivate both at once! So this cauldron of yours is, in truth, worth very little. If it has any value at all, it is as an ornament to look at."
"Is that so..." A pang of grief shot through You Zhentian. He had bought the thing at a steep price from an antique collector—the man was a collector and did not part with his pieces lightly, so to acquire this cauldron You Zhentian had paid dozens of times its market value, along with a whole raft of other costs and concessions. And in the end, it was nothing but an ornament. Regret gnawed at him.
Had he known, he would never have paid such a sum. You Zhentian had no love for collecting antiques to begin with; and even if he had, buying at that price would have been the act of a fool. His original plan had been sound enough: present the thing to Tian Canbian and curry a little goodwill for the You family. But now it seemed the Xuandan Sect had no intention of taking it at all.
"You Zhentian, I appreciate the thought," Tian Canbian said mildly, understanding perfectly well what was in the man's heart. "You have run errands for our Xuandan Sect, and I will not treat you shabbily."
"Thank you, Young Master Tian!" You Zhentian's spirits lifted at once at this word of approval.
"All right, Zhentian. You may go down first." Old Master You was disappointed as well. A verbal acknowledgment from Tian Canbian was all well and good, but the item had not been taken a liking to after all. The You family had paid a fortune for a piece of junk, and it left him rather sour.
"Yes, sir!" You Zhentian turned and withdrew. He had no sooner stepped out of the secret chamber's door than the phone on his person rang. He glanced at the screen—it was You Panhu—and answered at once. "Hello? Panhu, how did it go? Did you get it?"
"Uncle. That Wei Zhao seems to be on his guard this time," You Panhu said with a bitter smile. "We offered him five second-grade pills, all Lesser Qi Gathering Pills, and he wouldn't take them. He just turned and walked off..."
"Oh? What is that supposed to mean? Does he think the stakes are too low, or does he simply not want to trade with you at all?" You Zhentian asked.
"He certainly doesn't much want to trade. But since he'd already shown the thing to others, if I pressed him, he ought to be willing. And when I named the stakes, he did stop in his tracks—he only refused after hearing me out..." You Panhu said.
"In that case, our offer must simply not be enough!" You Zhentian mused for a moment. "Here's what you do—throw in a top-grade ancient cauldron and see whether he bites!"